“No, but you walked away from our most important customer,” Julius scolds, staring at me like I should know who he’s talking about.
I raise my brows and throw my hands out, shrugging my shoulders. Who is he talking about? The guy in the suit? His name didn’t ring any bells with me. If we were expecting a very important guest tonight, why wouldn’t Julius let us know?
He sighs and rubs his forehead aggressively. “Emris, the man in the nice suit, is the CEO of Bloodka. Haven’t you seen any of his press conferences?”
My eyes widen and I blink slowly at Julius, shaking my head. “No.”
“Mallorie.” Julius pinches the bridge of his nose. “If that man wants to talk to you all night long, you talk to him all night long. He is bringing in the sales by just being here, and if he likes our place, maybe we can get a good deal on Bloodka.”
Crossing my arms, I groan. “Julius, Ihavebeen talking to him, but I am not something that can be bought by any of our customers, I don’t care who they are.”
“I’m not suggesting that, I’m just saying be nice, be chatty, and keep him here as long as you can,” Julius reassures me, holding the door open and gesturing me inside with quick hand movements. “Now, please. I’ll give you a bonus for tonight.”
“Say less.” I hurriedly enter the bar again, smiling about the upcoming bonus.
Quickly checking myself in the mirror, I fix my hair and wipe away some fallout from my makeup. Not only will I be getting a good tip from this guy, who is now confirmed uber-rich, my boss is giving me a bonus just to talk to him. This night is taking a turn for the better. It’s about time something good happened to me.
As I approach the bar, I notice a few girls surrounding Emris. Normally, I’d be happy about this, since it would allow me time to converse with other customers and earn more tips. Not tonight though; he’s mine to entertain.
I adjust my top as I get closer, making sure I look good enough to draw the attention back to me. Julius wants this guy to stay here all night—I can keep him here. Time to turn up the flirting and push past the things that irk me.
“Can I get you another drink?” I interrupt the girls around him, and at the sound of my voice, he swivels in his seat.
The girls hover for a moment before they realize he’s no longer paying any attention to them. They all scoff and shoot daggers at me before wandering off into the sea of creatures that is the rest of the bar.
Sorry, ladies, but not really that sorry.
“You’re back quick.” He ignores the question, but I pour him another drink anyways.
As I slide the drink over to him, I look over at him through my eyelashes. “This one’s on the house.”
He smiles and takes the drink, and this time I make sure to let my hand graze his. The same cool spark ignites at our contact, and I can’t help the small amount of heat that rushes into my cheeks.
“Are you trying to get me drunk, Mallorie?” The sound of my name coming from his lips makes those butterflies in my stomach appear once again.
Emris’s voice is not only angelic, but exudes sexiness. He’s a bit cocky, but hot. Flirting with him will be easy, when I’m not stifling my anger at some remarks I’m sure he’ll let out. This is just business, that’s all I need to tell myself.
I lean on the bar toward him and lower my voice. “That is my job, isn’t it?”
“Am I just a job to you?” He leans forward on the bar, matching my energy and bringing his face only a foot away from mine.
The one thing I did get from my family was my inability to lie, or at least to lie well. I can’t just outright tell him that I’m only talking and flirting with him because my boss told me to, but I’m drawing a blank on something else to say. What does it really matter though? I’m positive all he wants is to hook up, and that isn’t happening.
“Well, I’ve never seen her get this up close and personal with any other customers before,” Cerise chimes in as she rushes by, making the heat rise in my cheeks even more.
I glance over my shoulder at her, and she gives me a wink. Oh, this girl knows exactly what she’s doing. I bet Julius told her to cover me so that I could focus on Emris. She knows I think he’s hot anyways, so now she’s trying to make this situation more than work for me. It won’t be, though. I won’t break that easy.
Emris chuckles, drawing my eyes back to him. “I’m honored that a beauty like you would entertain a conversation with me.”
“I’m sure you don’t struggle to have conversations with beautiful women.” I tilt my head at him, resting my chin on the back of my hands.
He takes another sip from his drink slowly, and I watch as his jaw moves rhythmically. Gods, if only he were slightly less hot, this wouldn’t be getting to me. I don’t date jerks,anymore at least, and I certainly don’t date rich men. They’re all compensating for something by brandishing their money.
“What’re you doing after work?” he pries, a slight purr in his tone.
I narrow my eyes slightly and push off of the bar, increasing the distance between us. “Do you ask every girl that the first time you meet them?”
He smirks, letting out another low laugh. “Occasionally, but I’ve never been called on it before.”
