Overlooked(36)

"Et tu, Brutus?" I slap him on the back after he shoots his tequila and am mildly disappointed he doesn't spew it everywhere. "Decided to move in on my bar wench, did you?"

"She's not yours, Eric." Geoff pulls himself up a bit, like he's a real man instead of the slouch who regularly gets run over in court and in the bar. And the gym. "I've just been nice to her. People like it when you are nice to them, Eric."

Paxton and I are both astounded for a full minute. We gape like fish in a dirty bowl, trying to process how the guy nobody fucking likes scooped up a hot bar waitress. Geoff looks smug as hell and, frankly, I can't blame him.

"I knew something was up when we were boxing. I knew it. You lipped off to Paxton and that shit would never happen. Should have known it was because someone was stroking your balls." I throw a light fist into his shoulder. "Geoff has become a man!"

"I never said I slept with her." Geoff burns a little red and has that whole annoyed schoolboy look going for him. "I just said I was nice to her."

"Just admit you fucked her." Paxton says. "Admit it. It's okay to sleep with people, Geoff. You're allowed to get your dick wet."

"You guys really are assholes, you know that?" Geoff rolls his eyes. "I'll go get another round."

"Say hi to your girlfriend for us! Tell her we miss her!" Paxton calls after him. "Well, I'll be damned. Geoff took your girl."

"Becky isn't my girl." I say dismissively and attend to the vibrating phone in my pocket. A series of texts from David flood in, livid about his recent billing. I shoot back a quick reminder that if he kept his goddamn dick in his pants and listened to me, we wouldn't have this problem. "I fucking hate this guy, Pax. Hate."

"We all take on dipshits we don't like, because those dipshits have money. You don't have to like him-"

"I just have to like his wallet. Yeah, yeah." I rub my face, frustrated. "I don't understand what Kate ever saw in this guy. He's an ugly fuck who can't keep it in his pants. He's whiny and compulsive. I knew he piggybacked off Kate's contacts in LA to make it into the scene, but I swear to fuck this man has no talent."

"I liked his last movie." Paxton shrugs. "So he's a typical piece of Hollywood trash. You know they crawl out of the woodwork here. How is he different from your other clients?"

"He thinks he owns the planet."

"So do all those other fuckers."

"All those other fuckers don't marry good humans." I down my beer and turn my phone upside down so I can't see the bullshit David's still texting. "Kate's record is impeccable, man. She's always been the loyal, loving wife. Stands by his side, gets him into places that would rather give him the boot. Half of what he's done has her name on it."

"We'll touch on that other shit in a minute. I thought you said this case was a slam dunk?" Paxton leans across the table. "If her name is on everything … "

"I know." I throw myself back against the chair and stare at the nasty bar ceiling like it's a fortune teller. Maybe if I stare long enough, it'll tell me the secrets to the universe. "That's because everyone has a past, man. Everyone. This town fuels itself on lies and deceit. But Kate is a genuinely good person. There's no affairs, no sketchy shit. Thought I had her nailed on some topless photos from a few years ago with a dude, but it turned out to be a very gay friend, some make-up artist. They were on a shoot together and hit the local spots. Which means I have nothing."

"No wonder you're sleeping for shit." Paxton lets out a low whistle. "So the plan has been bully the fuck out of them in mediation."

"Exactly. Vivian isn't standing for that, either, but if I can get Kate to buckle, maybe. Also, we're calling into the legitimacy of her involvement in everything. I mean, we'll be okay. I always win. It's just stressful as fuck."

"I guess you sleeping with his wife isn't providing its usual healing powers, eh?"

"It's just sex." I wave him off and ignore the strange feelings in my gut. "I was hoping to break her a little with my dick."

"And?"

"She's proving to be formidable."

"Right. So back to all that bullshit you were spewing." Paxton snaps his fingers at me. He knows I hate it. "Kate is not the purest human on the planet. Kate is a normal person who'd inherited an exceptional amount of money. Exceptional amounts of money mean secrets you can exploit."

"I know."

"Then fucking do it, man." Paxton spreads his arms wide and shoot me a look that's usually reserved for Geoff. "Quit prancing around and knock her out. You know, legally. But if you really like her-"

"I don't." I jump in, again ignoring my gut. Apparently, I have a terrible case of Kate-shaped indigestion. "You know I don't do feelings."

"Right." Paxton pounds his glass on the table. "We are fucking cavemen. Brazen men looking to spread our seed and steal fat-fucker money. But you've got a problem, bro, and it needs to be addressed. Get her the fuck out of your head so you can land the killing blow without getting your balls in a knot."   





 

"You're right." I know he is. Why Kate has gotten to me is questionable, but there's probably something to do with my lack of sleep or excessive drinking or overhaul loathing of David McArthur. "She's nothing to me. I just hate him."

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove she's not a problem. Prove to me, Ms Charity in Nicaragua-"

"Honduras."

Paxton stares at me. "Jesus, this is worse than I thought."

"My job is to know my enemy, Pax. Don't be a dick." I smart off, but secretly file away all the other information about her charity work I might accidentally volunteer while drinking. She really is a hell of a woman. "I'll prove it. See those girls over at the bar?"

I point to a trio of very busty women, laughing over beers. Smart suits, bright red lips, briefcases. The dream, really, because they aren't interested in long-term shit, either. They work too hard to lose their lives to men. Pax nods his approval.

I order them a round of drinks and invite them over to our table. Geoff looks annoyed, finally back from wherever he disappeared to while allegedly getting drinks. The blonde shoots me a flirty wink when they walk over to meet Pax. I smile back, but my chest doesn't feel right. For some reason I feel …  ill. Like I need to go home.

Like I shouldn't be talking to these women.

At that moment, my phone rings. It's David, again. I grab my jacket from the table, holding up a finger like I'm coming back, and slip out the front door. For once in his life, that asshole proved useful.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN

KATE



There are precious few things in my life that I haven't been able to settle while in the tub. Big tubs, big bubbles, hot water and a glass of wine, maybe something stronger, have the capability to make everything seem less toxic, more manageable. Tonight, I've got bubbles up to my eyeballs.

"Maybe I just need to become a nun." I say to my bright white bathroom tiles and take another sip of whiskey. "The opposite sex is clearly a disease."

Outside of my sanctuary, someone bangs on my front door. It's a commanding knock, not a timid one, and it immediately sets my teeth on edge. The last time I heard that knock, it was the night before mediation and …

I shudder. Not a place I'm willing to return. Instead, I sink deeper in the bubbles and pretend no one is there.

They knock again, louder. And again.

It is destroying my Zen vibes in the bathroom and that's enough to make me angry.

"This LA apartment may look comfortable, but the walls are thin and I need whoever the hell is outside to go away." I call, stepping out of the tub and wrapping my dripping body in a towel. I carefully skirt through the water puddles so I don't slip and fall. "It's the middle of the freaking night and I-"

My voice dies. The peephole doesn't show David. It shows Eric Stevens. Looking disheveled, sexy and almost manic. I don't remove the chain, but I turn the top lock and crack open the door.

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay." I have no idea what he wants and my entire body is on edge from it. He is painfully sexy in this light, with him so clearly flustered. It's a powerful, manic energy. But we also haven't spoken since we had sex in Lily's hotel and, you know, that's awkward. "Talk."

He narrows his eyes at me. It's not menacing. It's panty-dropping. If I were wearing them.

"Kate, open the door."

I stare him back down, but my resolve edges away. Our business is not for my neighbors' ears, and my thin apartment walls are still better than the hallway. Me being in a towel, however, is not exactly ideal. I slide the chain off the hook and hide behind the door.

"I was just in the bath, so first I need to-"

I don't even know what I was going to finish saying, because as soon as Eric crosses the threshold of my apartment, he kicks the door shut and envelopes me with his entire body. My words die in his mouth, between his lips and his tongue. His hands take my hair and my waist and he claims me like something out of a black and white movie: with total absolution.

Just like that, I'm lost in the feel and smell of him. He tastes like beer, but I taste like whiskey. His body warmth cascades down me and thaws every piece frigid from getting out of the bath. Eric is more aggressive than ever with his kisses. He bites, pulls and sucks like he's desperate.