Page 41 of The Fallen Man

“Thanks,” said Caitlin, knowing that Jessica would probably actually do it.

Jessica headed back out to the floor with another laugh and Caitlin made a check of everyone at the bar. The red-head finished his drink and she had a refill ready for him. He tipped the same again. It was going to be a good night.

Jessica came back five minutes later. “So, what I hear you saying is that you need a guy who shows up, fucks you stupid, and then disappears when you’re done with him?”

“That guy doesn’t exist,” said Caitlin.

“What are you talking about? That is, like, everything that guys want.”

“That’s everything that guyssaythey want. But they lie. And the ones that aren’t lying aren’t really… equipped to handle the job.”

“How do you know?” asked Jessica. “If you don’t try.”

Caitlin sighed. Her life was a train wreck. Emotionally, mentally, financially. She could not take on one more project. She could barely pay the rent, let alone look for a guy. Sex would be wonderful, but she didn’t see how she was supposed to get that without having to deal with a bunch of baggage on the way to an orgasm.

“Tell you what,” said Jessica. “Give your number to one guy tonight, and I’ll stop bothering you for the rest of the month.”

Caitlin turned around and saw Jackson, AKA Hot Guy from the House of Amery, on the other side of the bar. She heard herself sigh. Men should not be allowed to be that good-looking.It wasn’t fair to women’s higher brain functions. He was looking at his phone and waiting for her to come down to his end of the bar and do her job.

“Done,” she said, suddenly making up her mind. Jessica was right. Maybe a quick hook-up was just what she needed, and Jackson wasright there. Maybe fate was on her side for once. Jessica glanced in Jackson’s direction and looked him up and down.

“Nice choice,” she said.

Caitlin went to stand in front of Jackson. The chatter from the floor was loud, so Caitlin leaned across the bar to yell at him.

“We’re having a fire sale: all the models you can carry!”

His head snapped up, and he immediately grinned. “Hey!”

“Hey!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Two jobs,” she said, not bothering to justify her life. What was the point after all? He was either going to be up for this or not, and she wasn’t going to try to pretend to be something she wasn’t.

“No wonder I couldn’t find you,” he said. “I was looking in the wrong spot.”

Caitlin didn’t know what to say to that. He’d been looking for her? She felt her cheeks go a little pink.

“I have your coat.” She cringed at herself. Seriously, when had flirting gotten so hard?

“Yes,” he agreed nodding, but with a smile. “Also, all the alcohol I want to drink.”

“What can I get for you?”

“Bourbon, rocks.”

Someone jostled him from behind. The bar area was getting crowded as everyone tried to get a drink before it was time to sit down. He looked around, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

She poured him a bourbon and grabbed a bar napkin, andscrawled her number and a message on it.

“On the house,” she said, setting it down in front of him and handing him the napkin. He grabbed the napkin, and he seemed about to say something when the lights flickered, indicating that it was time to move into the main area.

“Never enough time,” he said, picking up the napkin and tucking it into his pocket. “See you around, Katie.”

The way he said it made it sound like a promise and not a casual statement. Caitlin watched him leave with another sigh. Billy Bob had been going by the name of Jackson lately.

Jackson