Page 8 of Tempt Me

Chapter 3

Maxwas inthemiddleof pouring a drinkwhen his boss,and the ownerof theclub,caughthis attention.

“I needto haveawordwith you,”Evangelinesaid.

He nodded ather,slidthebeerhewas pouring across thecounter and snatched up themoney thathad beenleftonthebar.

A ten bucktip.Happyfuckingdays.

As hewalkedtotheend ofthebar,heslid the bill intothejar bytheregisterand followed his boss toher office.Their head barman,Jeremy,wasalreadythere.

“What’s up,boss?”

Evangelinewasa woman with model goodlooksand theattitudeofaviper. Shewasa ball-busting bitch ofa woman,butshewas a damn good boss. She’d also personally seen that he got all the training and mentoring he’d needed to work his way up in the business. Maxrespected herand her workethica lot.

“I’vegota favor toaskof you both. I’d completelyunderstand if eitherofyousaid no,butI thoughtI’d askin anycase.”

Maxand Jeremylookedateach other.“What’s thefavor?” Jeremyasked.

“Asyouknow,Temptationhas beengoing well. Sowell, in fact,thatwe’veexpandedand we’re opening up a club in NewYork.Wehad ahead bartender and manager lined upand readytogofor the opening,butsomething has happened and nowneither can dothejob.”Evangelinelookedboth of themin theeye. “Iwanttoknowwhetheryou’dboth bewilling toheadoverto NewYorktoget theclub up and running until I can find replacements.Max,Iunderstand youmightwanttostay heresinceyourwifeand daughter arehere,butit’llonlybefor acoupleofmonths—four atthe most.”

“No,I’d liketogo,”hesaid,clearing histhroat.Getting outof LAwould actually bea fucking good idea. Maybehismomwould help outwithErin until hecould find a babysitter whowould work everynight.

“Really?”Evangelineasked,her brows rising. “That’s great.”Turning to Jeremy,sheasked,“What aboutyou?Areyou interested?Ican setyou both up in greatapartments in thesame building.One ofmy business partnersowns real estatein thecity.”

“Yeah,I’minterested,”Jeremysaid. “I’ve never beentoNewYork.”

“Great.It’ssettledthen. Theclub opens in threedayssoI’ll getyouon flights leaving tomorrow night. Will thatbeenough timetofinalizethings here?”

“Fineby me,”Maxsaid.

“Me,too,” Jeremyreplied.

Evangelinegavethemararesmile.“You boys havejust mademynight. I’llbooksomeflights tonightand letyouknowthedetails beforeyou finishup.”

Outin the hall,Maxcalledhismother.

“Howisshe?”heasked in lieu ofa ‘hello’.

“She’s been sleeping soundlysinceI putherto bed a fewhoursago.”Hecouldpracticallyhear thesmilein her voice.

“Shehasn’tbeen anytroubleatall?”

“No,Max. She’s been great. How’s workgoing?”

He rana hand through hishair. Hewasn’tsurehowhis motherwas going totakethenews. She’d probablytell himhewas being thoughtless touprootErin andmoveacrossthecountry,but dammit,hecouldn’tstand thethought ofstaying inLA foranotherweek,ormonth, and being remindedofwhatChelseahad donetothem.

“Myboss issending meto NewYork,”hesaid.“I’m moving.”

Suddenlytherewasnothing butthesound oftheTV playing in thebackground.“Saysomething, Mom.”

“Whenareyou leaving?”

“Tomorrownight.”

“Whatabout your daughter?”

“Erin iscoming withme.”

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