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Just like Jessica and Drew had shattered my entire world.
I refused to wallow though. Since Drew took my scotch, I decided to hit the bar at the corner. I could have gone home and had higher quality liquor, but the idea of being alone in the penthouse right then was decidedly unappealing.
* * *
The bar wasn’t a dive,but it wasn’t high-end either. The noise the moment I stepped inside made it difficult for me to hear myself think, which was exactly what I needed. After a couple more drinks, I saw what else I needed right now.
She was tall and blonde, with nice curves, and the kind of gleam in her eye that said she could make me forget about my shitty day. She also just happened to be sitting on the stool next to mine.
Must’ve been my lucky day.
She giggled as I leaned in and murmured to her, “Come back to my penthouse with me. I’ve got a great view.”
She shot a nervous look to the back of the room before saying, “I’m here with my boyfriend. But if I wasn’t…”
“We can always leave now before he comes back,” I said, not entirely joking.
I needed to get the fuck out of my head for a while and I didn’t care how I went about doing it. Besides, if she was willing to cheat on her boyfriend, that was up to her. In a way, I was doing the guy a favor.
“Don’t tempt me.” She bit her lower lip and slid her eyes across my face, then lower.
“Selena, is this guy bothering you?”
I lifted my gaze to the guy who’d pushed through the crush of people to reclaim the seat next to hers. He looked like he could’ve been the poster boy for the wordmeathead. His neck was the size of my thigh, and his IQ was probably the size of my pinky. I met his gaze and gave him a slow smile.
“I was just asking if she’d like to come back to my penthouse and check out my…view.”
Her eyes widened, some of the pretty color draining from her cheeks. His face, on the other hand, went a dull shade of red.
“What the fuck did you say?” He’d been in the process of sitting down, but now he came around the stool, standing at her back and glowering down at me.
“I asked her if she’d like to go somewhere with me,” I said with a shrug as I picked up my bourbon and took a sip. Smiling into his scowling face, I added, “She said no.”
If I couldn’t fuck my temper away, maybe I could blow off some of the mad in a fight. He might’ve been a muscle head, but I had the rare characteristic of not giving a damn at the moment
“That’s enough, boys,” the bouncer said, stepping in and giving us both a hard look. His eyes came to me as I slid off my stool and he asked in a polite voice, “Sir, is there a problem?”
“No.” I grinned at him, then looked at the boyfriend. “He just doesn’t like that I’d asked his girlfriend to leave with me.”
The bouncer blinked. “I can’t imagine why. Maybe you should find another place to sit.”
“No, I’m good where I’m at.” I emptied my glass and signaled to the bartender to fill it up again.
The bouncer held up a hand and the bartender stopped, hand halfway to my glass. The bouncer’s eyes didn’t leave me. “No, sir. You’re not.”
Shooting him a hard look, I said, “I’m fine where I am.”
“How about we step outside and discuss it?” He crossed big arms over his chest and offered a polite, disarming smile while his eyes went hard.
I turned back to the bartender. “Another.”
The bouncer grabbed my shoulder. “We’re stepping aside now. Settle your tab.”
“Later—” I started to jerk away, but the hand on my shoulder tightened.
“Unless you want to be banned from this bar and have the cops called, you will settle your tab and step outside,” he said, moving close enough to speak in a low voice. “I don’t care who you are or how much money you have—you’re not causing problems in my bar. Pay your tab. Now.”
Something about his coolly authoritative tone cut through the fog and I sighed. Throwing a few bills on the bar, I turned and headed for the door.