Page 8 of The Broker

Everything about her screamed high maintenance, yet I was still drawn in. She was so sexy, and I was so starved for attention I was willing to ignore every warning sign.

Her lips parted as if she were going to say something, but it never came. The silence stretched between us.

The expression on the guy’s face sitting next to her filled with irritation. “Oh, this must be the boyfriend you’ve been waiting for.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said instantly.

Boyfriend? What the fuck are you doing?

It was too late to take it back. I grabbed the stool beside her and plopped down at the bar, committing to the bit. I did my best to make it sound casual and familiar. “How was your day, sweetheart?”

A single blink was all it took to wipe the surprise from the girl’s face. “It just got a lot better now that you’re here.”

I wanted to chuckle at her meaning, but I merely smiled. And then I motioned to her mostly empty martini and the puddle of vodka around it. “Do you need another drink?”

She angled her shoulders to face me, blocking the other guy out, and her tone went warm and soft. “Yeah, that would be great.”

Shit, she was such a great actress that for a split second she had me convinced we were together.

I was about to ask her what type of drink, but she had me covered. “Lavender martini.” She brushed a lock of hair back over her shoulder. “How was your day?”

“It was fine,” I answered truthfully. “Busy.”

The bartender had gone back to mixing the cocktail he’d been working on, but he glanced in our direction. It wasn’t toacknowledge my presence; it was probably more to check on the girl and make sure she was doing okay.

As soon as he placed the drink in front of the customer, I motioned to him. “When you have a minute, she’d like a—”

“Lavender martini,” he replied, nodding. His focus slipped from us to the man seated beside her, and it was obvious he didn’t like what he saw.

“You two don’t look like a couple,” the man grumbled, maybe more to himself than us. His gaze wheeled around and landed on me for a moment. “Isn’t she kind of young for you, bro?”

The man’s eyes were rimmed with red, and the way they bounced around... He was high on something. Coke? Molly? A fuck ton of Adderall? It didn’t matter. I’d seen all sorts of shit during my stint in private wealth management at Hale Banking and Holding, and had a massive aversion to drugs these days.

So my pulse ratcheted up, right along with my desire to keep this girl from having to interact with him a moment longer.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, the girl’s head whipped around to face him. “I like that my man’s older.” Her voice filled with smoke as she glanced back at me. “Isn’t that right,Daddy?”

Fucking hell.

If someone had asked me five minutes ago if this was one of my kinks, I would have said no, but now? Her eyes smoldered, and I worried I might sweat right through my shirt. The idea of being this little girl’s ‘daddy’ was way more appealing than it should have been.

And it wasn’t a stretch to say she looked the part of a spoiled brat, either.

I was happy to play my role and tried to match the heat she’d put in her voice. “That’s right, baby girl.”

Her grin was wide.

Less pleased was the guy beside her. The moment my statement registered, he looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. His head jerked back, and his upper lip lifted with disgust, so her gamble seemed to work. He swiped up his drink and guzzled the rest of it, choosing to ignore us.

“Can I get you anything, sir?” the bartender asked as he delivered her a fresh martini.

No,the voice in my head warned.It’ll make it harder to leave.

My fake girlfriend was probably trying not to look too needy, but her expression pleaded with me to stay.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll take a pint of Heineken.” I didn’t have any other plans tonight, and one drink wasn’t going to be the end of the world.

Relief coasted through her expression, and she leaned an elbow on the bar. “Why was your day so busy?”

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