Oh my God, they’re talking about me like I’m some kind of deal to be made. Like I’m for sale.
“Excuse me,” I tell the man. Panther, his security card says. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on Earth. That’s not how you get a woman. Not by offering to pay for her. I expect at least a nice dinner and a foot rub before I put out.”
Asher coughs, like he’s trying not to laugh. So I turn around and fix him with a dark stare.
“I’m leaving,” I tell him.
I turn on my heel, but I don’t get far. Because his hand catches my wrist again. Gentler this time, but no less firm.
“Francie,” he says, his voice low, rough.
I look over my shoulder. Panther has gone, thank goodness. There’s only Asher behind me, his gaze dark, focused. I can’t read his expression at all.
“Dinner and a foot rub,” he murmurs. “Good choice.”
My breath catches, and then he lets go. “Stay safe.” This time his voice is demanding. And I hate the way it makes my skin flush.
So I walk away, my heart racing, absolutely certain of one thing.
I’ll never look at him the same way again.
three
ASHER
“Did somebody piss in your cornflakes this morning?” West asks. “You’ve had a face like a baboon’s ass ever since you walked in.”
I knew I shouldn’t have come here, despite Hudson and West’s insistence. My brother and his best friend are both in Manhattan for the night – for their respective businesses. I’d turned down dinner with them because I had to complete the contract at the Ivory Rooms. And to be honest, I didn’t want to come to this club to drink with them either.
But the alternative – going home – doesn’t feel appetizing anymore.
After making sure Francie got into my car, despite her vow to Uber, I waited until the driver confirmed she was safely inside her apartment before I strode back into the club and demanded that Panther be removed and banned from the place.
Thankfully, the owner agreed.
And then I made a couple of phone calls to our security team, before I left the Ivory Rooms and climbed into the car that came back to pick me up.
“I’m fine,” I say to West, taking another sip of whiskey. “It’s just been a long day.”
“Did you get it done?” he asks. He’s aware of my business problems with Nathan. He’s the one person I was able to talk things through with when it looked like I was about to lose everything. I know Hudson would have helped, but he has his own problems to deal with. His daughter, Ayda, has had a whole lot of issues after a massive custody battle with his in laws. The last thing he needs are my problems too.
“All done.” And that’s all I want to say about it. There’s no way I’m telling them that I saw Francie Salinger in a sex room.
And I definitely won’t be telling them that she looked like trouble in heels. A walking contradiction with her innocent eyes, filthy setting, and her smart mouth that made my blood pressure spike.
God, I need to stop thinking about the way she looked.
The hostess walks over and fills our glasses with the expensive bottle of twenty-five year-old Macallan that West must have bought.
“Thank you,” he says, winking at her. She smiles back at him and he leans forward to whisper something in her ear, making her giggle.
Unlike Hudson, who’s so straight laced it isn’t funny, West is laid back. He lives in L.A., and although officially he’s an entertainment lawyer, he’s more of a trouble shooter. And his clients get in a lot of trouble.
He’s also got the gift of sweet talking. He’s never without company. And from the looks of the way the hostess is nodding at him, he won’t be tonight, either.
“Asher,” West says when the hostess leaves with a promise to meet him later, “you’ll be delighted to know that Mindy has a friend. We’re meeting at my penthouse in a few hours.” He grins at me and I wrinkle my nose.
“That’s okay,” I say. “I need to go home and do some work.”
