Page 39 of Mr. Wicked

“See, I didn’t fuck anything up,” I said to Laura as though I needed to prove, out loud, that I could do this.

I didn’t know why.

I had zero desire to move forward.

But I also knew I didn’t have a choice.

There were certain things we did for Hooked, and this was one.

I just hoped these motherfuckers knew how much I was sacrificing for our company.

“You didn’t,” Laura said, “but you could have thanked her for the double. She is going to be your future wife and all.”

“How can you be so sure she’s going to say yes?” I asked.

Laura shrugged but smiled at the same time. “Oh, it’s just a hunch.”

I might have lain on my back for this one, but that didn’t mean I was going down without a fight.

“Did the hunch also tell you that I was going to thank Jovana for the drinks?” I challenged.

“No, it didn’t,” Laura replied. “I just hoped you had some manners ... and you don’t.”

I nodded toward Easton and Holden. “You picked a fiery one, fellas.”

The two of them laughed.

So did Laura.

“And you know what?” Easton said. “She’s going to save your ass, and she’s going to save Hooked’s ass too.”

CHAPTER SIX

Jovana

I had no idea what Grayson was still doing at the bar, considering everyone he’d come here with had already left, but he was sitting in the same spot, nursing his latest round of vodka.

His fourth, to be exact.

It seemed that with each new glass I set in front of him, his stare intensified.

I felt it everywhere.

When I tended to the other tables, I swore his gaze followed me. When I went to the bar to pick up drinks, it burned through my backside. When I dashed down the hallway where the restrooms were located, I could even sense it there.

Though his eyes followed, he stayed put.

During the time he’d sat there alone, he didn’t speak to any women. He didn’t appear to be waiting for someone else to join him—at least there were no signs of that by the way he was staring at me. And with his large, well-stocked bar at home, he really had no reason to still be here.

Unless it was to watch me.

In that case, he was getting quite the show.

I’d taken every bit of Sloane’s advice and made that asshole see what he was missing.

When I walked, I shook my butt a little harder than normal. When I approached my tables that were full of male patrons, I amped up the flirtation. When I brought Grayson and his party more drinks, I looked everywhere but at him.

If he wanted my attention, he was going to have to earn it.

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