“So, that’s the way of it, huh?” Noah grinned around his bottle before he took a sip.
“Fuck off.”
“You lose your quippy comebacks when you’re twisted up about a girl.” His smile faded. “Don’t get too bent, brother.” He stood up straighter and clamped a hand on my shoulder. “Promise me.”
I finally caught her gaze and any assurance I might have tried to make dissolved on my tongue. “Not sure I can do that. I don’t break my promises to you, Noah.”
He sighed. “Man. Well, there’s always a beer in the fridge for you in Colorado.”
I hoped I wouldn’t need it, but I nodded. “How long you here?”
“Got a job in town for the next two months.”
My attention swung back to Noah. “Really? And you’re just now telling me?”
He shrugged. “Figured I could crash with you, but maybe I need to find my own place.”
I shook my head. “You know the code at the house. There’s plenty of room.”
Noah’s gaze wandered over my shoulder. “Soundproofed?”
I shot a look over my shoulder. A woman with dark hair and darker eyes smiled warmly. I slapped his arm. “I’ve done some remodeling since your last visit. You’ve got your own wing.”
“Damn, I love visiting you, little brother.” He set the beer on the ledge and pushed off. Noah relieved a waitress of two glasses of champagne with an easy smile and made a beeline for the brunette that had captured his interest.
I turned my attention back on Kenny and caught her talking to a slim blonde woman in an ice blue suit. I recognized her, but couldn’t quite pull her name into my head. When Dex came up to meet them I groaned.
Donovan’s version of Pepper Potts, minus the naked time. Lila something or other. I didn’t really want to wade into that conversation. Then again, everything I’d been thrust into tonight had been against my better judgment.
My balls tightened. Well, except Kennedy McManus.
I’d be thrusting into her balls deep, even if it was the worst idea in the history of ideas.
10
Kennedy
Dex clinked his ice cubes before taking a sip of his whiskey. “That was inspired, Kennedy. Is that how your PR firm works? Fuck the clients? Then put a spin on it?”
I gripped my small purse dangling from my wrist, resisting the urge to twist. Showing any sort of weakness in front of Dex was a mistake. His sharp obsidian eyes were looking for an angle. I wasn’t sure if it was to move up the ladder at Ripper Records, or to show up Lila—whatever it was, I didn’t want any part of it.
Lila Shawcross’s elegant blonde brow arched. “Don’t be crude, Dex. She minimized an escalating situation. The press smelled blood in the water—which I wouldn’t put it past you to have chummed yourself.”
Dex gave a dismissive shrug. “Bad press is even better than good press for sales.”
“That’s not how we do it at Ripper, and you know it.”
“You don’t know the Donovan I do. He plays dirty with the best of them. Believe me.”
Lila lightly twisted the stem of her wine glass. “That may be so back in your London days, but it’s not how we do it now. You’ll do well to remember that.”
Dex peered down at his feet, rocked back on his heels a moment before taking another sip. “I get results.” He lifted his glass then seemed to have spotted someone over our shoulders. “Cheers.” His wide smile was in place as he sauntered off.
My wristlet was cutting off my circulation before I realized I’d been twisting it subconsciously.
Lila plucked a glass of wine off a passing waiter and handed it to me. “Dex is a shit, but he’s right, he does get results. I just don’t particularly like his methods.”
“Yeah, well today was a clusterfuck.” I took a gulp of wine, happy to find it was a shiraz rather than the drier merlot I’d been expecting. Too bad. If it were a merlot, I’d probably drink it slower. The fruity, full bodied wine went down way too easy. I drained the glass and helped myself to another.
Lila made a hmm sound.
“I know I screwed up. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Donovan to hold my favor over me again.”
“About that.”
I groaned and took another gulp. I deserved it. Whatever was coming my way. I’d behaved unprofessionally. I’d literally let my libido derail my common sense. I hadn’t even done that as a teen. “Lay it on me.”
“Donovan’s worried about Hunter.” She took a delicate sip of her white wine. “And you.”
I blew out a breath. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments, but I think we managed to put the right spin on it.”