Page 9 of Tease Me

"Six dirty martinis," she said, not bothering to look Evangeline in the eye. Instead, she was looking at her reflection in the mirrored surface behind the bar.

Evangeline rolled her eyes. Dumping in some ice first, she measured out the spirits and poured them into three Boston shakers, then got to work. She transferred the martinis into the six waiting glasses and began putting them onto the bar top.

"That's one-ten."

Wiping her hands, she waited for the obscenely rich woman to drop her black AMEX onto the bar then ran it through the machine.

"Have someone bring them over to my table," the woman said, sliding the card back into her Gucci purse.

"We don't do table service here. Sorry," she replied, unapologetically.

With a theatrical sigh, she dropped a fifty-dollar bill onto the bar. "Just bring them over," she said, then sauntered off.

Evangeline bit her tongue to stop herself from telling the woman where to go. Instead, she called over one of the junior bar staff and handed him the fifty. Pointing to the drinks, she said, "Take them to that table over there."

"What was that about?" Max asked, appearing from around the corner of the bar.

She pushed the bangs from her face. "Just another one of Hollywood's finest," she replied dryly.

He laughed. "You shouldn't let them get to you."

"It's kind of hard not to when they wave their wealth in front of you like that."

He wandered off to the other end of the bar with a small chuckle. She was glad he found them so amusing. She hadn't grown up with money. Her formative years had been tough, but she'd made it out the other side with her morals and integrity intact.

She turned to serve her next customer. "What can I get—”

She froze, her world spinning for a minute before it equalized and she got her head back.

It couldn't be him, she thought.It couldn't be.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She studied the guy in front of her a little more closely. For a moment, she thought it was John—a friend of Beau's—from college.

He finally looked up at her, his eyes going wide. "Oh my god," he muttered.

Itwashim. "John?" she asked. He nodded. "What are you... ah, what are you doing here?"

John glanced away, scanning the crowd for someone before looking back at her. "Getting a few drinks with a friend."

"Of course," she replied hollowly. Why else would he be at a bar? She cleared her throat. "What can I get you?"

"Two s and two shots of tequila, please."

With a small nod, she reached beneath the bar to grab the beers from the fridge and removed the lids. She placed two shot glasses beside them, filling them with clear liquor.

"That's twenty-eight."

John handed her a fifty, telling her to keep the change.

"Thanks. Well, have a good night," she told him, her mind working, trying to figure out how to get out of there. The bar was too busy for her to just hide away in the back so she could avoid him.

He gave her a wide smile. "I will." He expertly picked up the drinks, gave her a nod and disappeared into the mass of bodies. She watched him go, losing sight of him for a moment before seeing who he'd come to the bar with.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

It was Beau.

HerBeau.

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