“Really?” he pushed on, clearly enjoying living on the edge of my temper. “Do you really think this latest escapade of yours is a good idea?”
“What latest escapade, Andy?” I asked, deciding it was time to make him spell it out. Only he and Jane knew what I had planned, and I intended to keep it that way.
“This girl, Prince, the hooker. For God’s sake, are you really planning to go through with it?” He kept talking as if he wasn’t sitting in my living room, drinking my 60-year-old whisky. No fucking respect. “I mean, what do you know about her? She could be coming in with some pimp boyfriend, waiting for you to fall asleep so she can cut your throat and clean you out.”
I stared at him as if he was mad. “That would be pretty stupid. She’d never get her money.”
“Yeah…about that,” he said, draining his glass. “You don’t have any.”
“I’ll make a plan.” I scowled. I didn’t need my friend rubbing my nose in my shitty circumstances. I glanced at my wristwatch. “I think it’s time you headed home.”
Andy’s face dropped, and he shot a look at his nearly empty glass. “But I was just about to pour another,” he grumbled.
“Take the bottle. Now, get out of here.”
“But why can’t I stay over? It’s late, dammit, and I’ve had a few too many.” He was eyeing the hallway that led to the guest wing. There were half a dozen empty suites down there and he normally made himself at home. Not tonight, though. I’d had enough of his shit for one day. And I had other plans.
“Call a cab,” I said, spotting his phone on the coffee table and tossing it toward him. “And go get some rest. I need your mind sharp. We’ve got big things to plan. That chip. It’s going to be the answer to all our problems.”
He brightened up immediately. “Good point!” He was on his feet and heading to the bar in the corner, reaching for The Macallan as he tucked his phone between his shoulder and his ear. The fucker was actually going to take my whiskey with him. Whatever. As long as he left before she got here.
I stood and paced again, giving the place a final inspection. I don’t know why I was feeling so anxious about her arrival. Though maybe it had something to do with the fact that I’d never had a woman here before. Apart from my mother, of course. And Angelique once or twice. That had always been a fuck-up. As I thought about it more, it was dawning on me that she never truly fitted into my world. Or maybe I never gave her a chance.
Too bad. And too late.
I had more important things to think about. As Andy left, slamming the door shut behind him, I turned and stared out the window at the glittering city lights that stretched before me. My body tautened with anticipation. She’d be here any minute.
Any minute… and she’d be mine.
