“Yeah, yeah, you’re a saint among men.” Paxton waves me off. He leans forward, waggling his brows. “You hook up with his wife yet? She’s fine as hell.”
“She is.” I lean back in my chair and sigh heavily, picturing her in my head. That topless photo of her had become a favorite in the middle of the night. “But I’m a man of honor.”
“Bullshit.” Both of the assholes at my table say. They clink glasses and Geoff looks smug.
“He’s a pain in my ass, though. He catches second wind at three in the morning and blows up my phone. I haven’t slept more than four hours in two weeks. Tonight, I’m going home and sleeping through the entire weekend. Turning off my phone. Money be damned.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Well, call the press because Eric Stevens is closed for the next two days. If I don’t get some sleep soon, I’ll die and lose out on the paycheck. This mediation bullshit is nothing more than a three-day-long guilty plea, man. We’re going to win. So I’m going to sleep.”
“For you.” Becky hands me a whiskey. I take a sniff and am immediately impressed. This is good shit, way better than anything she’s ever brought us. It almost makes up for the tequila.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I take a sip and close my eyes to enjoy.
“Not from me.” She winks and walks away.
I immediately survey the bar. This week, none of my old conquests are lining the walls, and no one takes credit for it. When life gives you free whiskey, though, you fucking drink it.
“It could be poisoned.” Geoff offers after I drain the glass.
“Fuck off, Geoff. No one likes you.”
Five minutes later, Becky returns with another glass.
“Who is it?” I ask, taking the glass. “Show her to me.”
“Who says it’s a she?” Becky teases and leaves.
Paxton claps loudly. I mull this over, staring at the brown water that saves my life every weekend. Taking it up the ass is not my style, but I’d gladly share a bottle with the dude if he wants to keep sending it my way. I toss the drink back.
“I need to move to family law,” Paxton marvels. “Every one of you fuckers has liquor falling from the sky, wherever you go.”
“It’s a shit pit. You don’t want in it. You’ll end up jaded like the rest of us and resist relationships to fuck everything that moves. On second thought, maybe you should.”
A third drink is put into my hand. This time, Becky nods toward the end of the bar. I’d know that body anywhere. Kate McArthur. The beautiful brunette in a screaming red dress is spending a lot of time studying the beer list on the back wall.
There is a certain power to whiskey when it crosses my bloodstream. Instead of whiskey dick, I become invincible. Sex for hours, up all night, luck at the casino. Name it, it happens. Suddenly my plan to sleep the weekend away no longer looks appetizing.
“I thought you were going to—”
“Geoff, none of us like you. Go home.” I toss Paxton a two-fingered salute at my temple and skirt around the full bar tables to the vixen responsible for feeding me booze. “I understand you like good whiskey.”
Thick curls I can already envision wrapped around my wrist bounce as she turns around with a smirk.
“I knew you wanted me.” I drop into the seat next to Kate McArthur. Without David mouth-breathing next to me, it’s easier to check her out. She looks better than she did six years ago on that topless beach. “But this is pretty brazen.”
“I know you think this cocky asshole routine is cute, but it’s really not.” Kate tosses back with a flirty smile.
“I’m not the one buying you drinks.” I spin the half-empty glass on the bar and give her a hard look. “You can’t buy me off, no matter how good the whiskey is.”
“Who said I was looking to buy you off?” She checks her phone, bored. “You looked like you wanted to kill your friend over there and blood makes me nauseous. Your kind usually shuts up with a little booze.”
“I don’t think you know anything about my kind.”
“Try me.”
It’s a threat. It’s an opening. It’s a heavy suggestion. Her eyes are heavily lined and her lips are as red as her dress. Everything about her screams fuck me.
“If you fuck me, I’ll nail you for infidelity.”
“Ridiculous. Everyone knows we’re getting divorced. We’ve been separated for a year. It means nothing anymore.” Here, she sounds a little bitter. The mask shifts just a bit. Everyone in Hollywood has their tells. “Besides, everyone in town knows you like to sleep with your clients’ exes.”