“You know, Rae, I think you should go for it. I mean, if he’s busy with you, he can’t really be concerned with me, can he?” I called her bluff, my mood off. Between the pent-up sexual frustration from Jared’s kiss and annoyance from Scott, I wasn’t up to the usual game we played.
Raelle coughed, surprised she’d been given the green light. “What?”
“You and Justin,” I leaned back into my large leather chair. It was wrong that I got joy out of it, but given the status of my evening, I was going to have to take my satisfaction where I could get it. “I bet you guys would make such a cute couple. You want me to call him, set it up? Orrrrrrr maybe I’ll give him your number? Then you can tell him all those naughty things you want to do to him.”
“Okay, stop. You win. And I’ll drive you home, just don’t give him my number. I don’t want to give your brother the wrong idea, and to be honest, I can only deal with one Tibbs at a time.” She held up her hand, conceding quicker than I’d expected.
“Fine, be that way. We could have been sisters, Rae. So it’s totally your loss.” I sighed, pretending to be disappointed. “Oh, well. Guess we’ll have to go back to the original reason I called you in here.”
“Hey, if this is about Leighton, we can skip that too. I wasn’t flirting, and he couldn’t have been less interested if he tried. So let’s go back to me pretending like I didn’t notice the two of you leave together last night and that his hands were waaaaaay too close to your ass. Besides, you know he’s not my type. Anyone who walks through those doors and hands over cash or a credit card is automatically out of the running. And as much as I hate to admit it, cute firefighters with smoking hot bodies aren’t exempt.”
It shouldn’t have made me happy to hear that, but it did. Because I had issues, and it gave me a warped sense of satisfaction to know he hadn’t even tried. Which was stupid because clearly what we’d done had been a one-time deal.
Looked like neither of us were going to be getting laid.
“Actually, it wasn’t about Leighton, but thanks.” And since I wasn’t exactly sure what my feelings were, there was no need to talk about them. Nor did I have the patience of the pretense. The one where I acted like I didn’t give a shit, and Raelle had mis-seen what she had.
Please, she was too smart for that.
“It’s about Scott Collins.”
Rae shook her head, grinning. “Don’t even bother, boo. I hear he’s a terrible lay. Such a shame because he looks like that.” She waved her hands animatedly like she was conjuring up his spirit. “But I heard it’s all just window dressing. Two pump, chump. No stamina, and doesn’t even go down on a girl. Says he doesn’t like the taste.” She rolled her eyes. “And yes, I saw him and his friends slide on past to the VIP room. But trust me, not worth your time or your birth control.”
Raelle wasn’t only the best bartender in my crew, but also one of my best friends. We weren’t looking to join a book club, or share lipstick as we giggled in the bathroom, but when shit went down, Rae was the one woman I could count on. There was no bullshit with her, and even if she hadn’t proven again and again how awesome she was, it was a flat-out tie between her and Bennett as to who was my most invaluable employee. Only reason she didn’t know about the expansion yet, was because she—like most bartenders—liked to talk. And I didn’t need information shared before the time was right. But she didn’t just have a big mouth, her ability to listen an even bigger commodity. Hell, I was positive Rae had heard more confessionals than a Catholic Cardinal, and unlike the Padre, she wasn’t bound by the constraints of the cloth.
“The warning is unnecessary. I don’t sleep with guests or movie stars. And I’ve made enough bad decisions for a while.” She probably assumed I was talking about Lewis and I wasn’t going to correct her. “But apparently he has business to discuss, and as much as I think it could be a line, I don’t think he’s smart enough.”
Rae laughed, tipping her head back and letting her mess of red curls go wild. “Business? Presley, I’ve had vibrators with higher IQs, only business he’s capable of is screwing up an orgasm.”
“Still, I’ve invited him to set up a meeting, and I don’t want to go in blind. Do your thing and let me know what you find out. A man like that isn’t able to keep his mouth shut. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to find out what he wants.”
The smirk on Rae’s lips was instantaneous, her excitement for my random assignments almost more than the love of her job. And she’d never let me down. Because if you needed to know something, a bartender could usually find out. Hell, I was sure they had some secret society or something. A skull-and-bones underground establishment with better networking than the Freemasons. And when they gathered, Boston shakers and jiggers in hand, they traded the secrets no one else knew.
“I’ll call my guy in L.A. at Tight and see if he knows anything. Scott likes to hang out there.”
I leaned forward, no doubt the information would be landing in my lap faster than any P.I. I could hire. “Good. Do your thing and let me know if you need anything. I’m not expecting a freebie.”
“Girrrrrl, you know I’ve got this.” She waved her hand, shrugging like it was all good. “Besides, Blaze has a crush on Scott, so will be only too happy to spill. I keep telling him the man is pretty but incredibly straight, not that Blaze will listen. Who do you think told me about his inability to give a woman an O? He’s freaking tickled about it, convinced since Scott needs an orienteering map to find the G-Spot he is probably better suited to the D.”
The laugh bubbled up my throat. “Good, then I’ll see you later on the floor. We can discuss it further on the ride home.”
Rae flipped her hair over her shoulder, eyeing me suspiciously. “You sure you don’t want to ask Leighton for that ride? He’s probably still at the bar. I can send him back here if you want. You know, to make sure things are all good.”
There was no need to clarify the subtext, I was positive I knew what things Rae was referring to. And unlike Scott, Jared did not need a map.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got a mountain of work to get through.” I motioned to my desk, the papers still in disarray.
“Okay, girlfriend. Enjoy. I’ll see you on the battlefield.” She mock saluted, turning around and then sashaying her lithe body out the door.
My eyes went to the monitors, Jared putting his bottle on the bar, looking toward the back of the club where my office was.
He was considering it.
And then he turned and walked toward the exit.
Damn it.
Jared
AS FAR AS making shit right, I hadn’t.
Nope, instead I was laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling with a hard-on for a woman whose brother was occupying the next room.
But Jesus Christ, that mouth.
It was easier for me to remind myself I was going to be hands-off when she wasn’t standing in front of me. But one look at her, that body and that smartass mouth, and I was making bad decisions all over again.
Hadn’t intended to kiss her, but fuck me, if I could stop myself.