“Sorry. I must not know what I’m talking about.” Ethan finished his drink with nary another look in Jasmine’s direction. “At least now I know for sure.”
“Know what?” Jasmine’s drink had been untouched throughout this conversation, and now she wondered if she should down it in one gulp.
Ethan snorted into his empty glass. “That you’re an expensive woman.”
“Well, now…” That was an odd thing to say about somebody. I don’t think of myself as expensive. Jasmine certainly didn’t have expensive tastes. If anything, her hippie parents raised her to eschew most material things in favor of living a plain, frugal life. Her parents also didn’t have ruby jewelry.
“A woman I can’t afford, I’m afraid. It was nice of you to keep me company, though.”
Jasmine was permanently stuck to her seat. “Can’t… afford…”
Ethan shrugged. “I may be too rich for my own good, but I’m afraid that I lost my wallet earlier today. No cards. No checks. And definitely no cash. Sorry. Unless you open up a tab for me, I can’t afford what you’re offering.”
He ordered another drink, and Jasmine had to wait for the bartender to go away again before she thought up something to reply with. “I’m not a prostitute!” she hissed.
“I wouldn’t dream of calling you one. I thought you lot went by ‘escorts’ these days.”
Words fumbled on Jasmine’s tongue as she attempted to spit them out. “I’m not… no… what the hell…”
“Oh! My apologies, then. It’s just the only single women who come through a lounge like this are usually looking to hit up a man for some… you know.”
He said it so casually, and yet Jasmine could only sit and stare at that striking profile and perfectly placed black hair. Ethan drank as if he had not insulted her honor. Okay, so Jasmine was out to score some from a hottie. A rich hottie was a bonus. Did that mean it was all right to imply that she was exchanging her body for money? The nerve!
Jasmine slipped off her seat. If she had a bag on the counter she would rip it right off for effect. “You, sir, are making things very difficult for me right now.”
Ethan held up his hand in an attempt to soothe her outburst. “I said I was sorry.”
“You’ve got me wrong!” The few remaining patrons in the hotel lounge glanced at them before going back to their business. They probably think he’s my pimp! What a night. “I’m not looking for money. I wasn’t even looking for a free drink.”
The way Ethan leaned against the counter almost made him look like he was bored. “Then what were you looking for?”
Jasmine took a leap of faith and poked him right in the chest. Damn hard pecs! Because of course he had them! “You know what I was looking for.” She cut him off before he could open his mouth again. “Without compensation.”
Ethan would see. She was far from expensive. Jasmine was quite the opposite of expensive. She was one cheap girl giving away everything for free. Surely, Mr. Lost Wallet could afford that.
***
“Snazzy,” Jasmine said as she entered the executive suite behind Ethan. “So this is how a megarich businessman stays in town.”
She stepped out of the entryway and surveyed the large room. It wasn’t massive, but it had a separate sitting room and master bedroom in the back. The centerpiece was a fake fireplace with a large flatscreen TV hanging above it, as if rich guys passing through only cared about gas fires and football. Or Bloomberg. Is it a split screen that can show both? Not that Jasmine wanted to watch stock prices or football plays. She had other things on her mind.
“Megarich?” Ethan tossed his room key onto a dresser and poured himself a drink from the complimentary bar. More scotch, from the looks of it. “I don’t know about that. I also don’t know how much money you seem to think I have. Either way, you’re probably a gold digger.”
Jasmine pretended she didn’t hear that. She sat on the edge of a plush beige chair and massaged her ankles, which were currently tied up in a pair of strappy red heels. Men liked heels. She had it on good authority. They’re not super comfy though. The price a woman paid for style and seduction. “How long you in town for?”
“What difference does it make?” Ethan stood in front of a mirror and watched himself drink his scotch. Or so Jasmine thought until she realized he was looking at her reflection. “I’m only going to see you tonight.”
The chair muffled as Jasmine sat up straight. “I get that this sort of thing is probably old hat for you, but…”