Bound to Please(23)
Note to self: Spanky-spanky with Mark St. Crow? Not as easy to get over as one might think.
“So why this emergency brunch meeting, anyway? I hope it’s because you’re going to fill me in on all the naughty details of your night with Mark St. Crow.” Meg took a big sip of her foamy latte.
Ruby reached for her own latte and shook her head. “I got a call from James Cleaver today. He wants us to plan a spring-fling theme party for his company!”
Meg’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God! That’s awesome!”
“Well, there’s a catch. He wants the Riders to perform.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No. He wants it to be a rock-and-roll party. Big venue, big budget. Very high-end. Spring-fling rock theme.”
Meg leaned back, and Ruby could see her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I have so many props for a party like this. We can go over the top. Very glam, very glittery.”
“I know!” Ruby said excitedly. When it came to parties, the two friends shared the same brain, which was why they’d been able to work together so long without killing each other.
Ruby picked up a menu and pretended to read it. Even though they had an office at Emmett and Meg’s place, they often met at Savor for “official” meetings. They found it was easier to be creative with the help of Savor’s excellent lattes.
“Any word from the SF Opera?” Ruby asked.
Meg shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Damn. That could have really blown us into the stratosphere of event planning.”
“Well, James Cleaver isn’t exactly small potatoes.”
“True. Speaking of which.” Ruby peeked over the top of her menu. “Maybe you can call the band’s manager and see if they’ll perform?”
“Um, no?” Meg said.
“Why not? You’re the one with the in.”
“You know why. We’re a lot more likely to get a band like the Riders to play a private event if it’s arranged outside the booking agent. And as it happens, you just spent the night with the leader of this particular band. Ergo, you need to call and ask him.”
“Um. Well—” Ruby laughed nervously. “I may not be the best person to ask Mark for any favors at the moment.”
Meg narrowed her gaze. “Why? What did you do?”
Holding the menu like a shield, Ruby slumped down into her chair. “Nothing?”
“I repeat. What. Did. You. Do.”
“Fine. I kinda kicked him out.”
“Kinda?” Meg crossed her arms over her chest.
“No.” She nodded. “I pretty much kicked him out. Totally.”
Meg was scarily still. “Please tell me you fucked him first.”
“Meg!”
“Well, did you?”
“Of course. I’m not a total idiot.”
Meg leaned over and rested her elbows on the table. “How was it?” she asked in a low, dead-serious voice.
Just thinking about Mark between her thighs excited her. She grinned. “It was amazing.”
“So. Let me get this straight. You fucked him—amazingly, I might add—then kicked him out of your bed?”
“It sounds much worse when you say it like that,” Ruby mumbled.
Leaning back in her chair, Meg started laughing. And laughing. When her guffaws finally died down, she said, “This is great. Perfect.”
“What are you talking about?”
Meg pulled her oversized black sunglasses down her nose so she could give Ruby her Scary Stare over them. “How many times do you think Mark St. Crow gets booted after a quick fuck?”
“It wasn’t that quick.” Ruby shifted in her seat. “And, not many, I’d suspect.”
“So you’ve just turned the tables on him. It’s probably killing him. A guy like that, not being the one on top?”
Ruby refrained from pointing out that last night, she had, in fact, been the one on top. On the chair, anyway.
Meg gestured toward Ruby’s purse. “I bet he calls you today.”
“No way. That is so not going to happen. I didn’t even give him my number.”
“I’m sure that won’t stop him from getting it. And when he does call, you ask him to play this event.”
Ruby just rolled her eyes. “Meg, you’re crazy.”
Meg tapped her temple with a fingertip. “Crazy like a fox.”
Swatting her friend with the menu, Ruby had to laugh. “Seriously, I really didn’t plan on seeing him again.”
“And would it be such a bad thing to see him again?” Meg asked.
“Actually, yes.” Ruby went back to hiding behind her menu.
“Why?” Meg was nothing if not persistent.