Page 9 of The Broker

I considered how to answer in case the guy next to her was listening, wanting to keep up the game. “I had that big meeting with a potential client today, remember?”

She hid a smile behind the rim of her martini glass before taking a sip. “Oh, that’s right. How’d it go?”

“Good. He signed.”

“Oh, that’s awesome.” She sounded genuinely happy for me. Like I was a friend and not a total stranger. “Congrats.”

“Thanks.” I tried not to focus on her lips or think about what they’d taste like.Probably lavender martini, dipshit.I straightened in my seat. “Your day wasn’t good?”

She gave a humorless laugh. “No, it wasn’t.” She hesitated, unsure of how to explain. “You know how I had that partnership deal with Blooming Sage?”

Um . . .“Sure,” I lied.

A frown slid across her lips. “I’m going to have to pull out.”

The bartender delivered my pint, and movement caught my eye. The guy sitting beside her held up his empty glass and proclaimed it loudly for everyone to hear. “I’ll take another.”

Rather than move, the bartender evaluated the man critically. “How about a water or a Coke instead?”

Confusion contorted his face, quickly followed by offense. “What?”

The bartender crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not serving you another drink.”

“Why the hell not?”

The bartender’s eyebrow lifted into a sharp, upside-down V. “Come on, man. Youknowwhy.”

The tension between them was thick, and I didn’t want it to escalate any further. “Hey,” I announced, “let me call you an Uber.”

The man looked at me like I’d just offered to spit in his face. “What?”

Everyone except the man knew this was only going to end one way—which was with him leaving. I didn’t care where he went after he left the bar, but I didn’t want him driving. “Hey, it’s no big deal.” I tried to sound friendly, even though I felt none of it. “I’ll even pay for it, if you’d like.”

Yet the man continued to look offended. His gaze narrowed on me before turning toward the bartender, whose expression was steely. No amount of convincing was going to change the guy’s mind and get the man another drink.

So he hopped down off his bar stool and wobbled on his unsteady feet as he pulled out his phone. “I can call my own damn Uber.”

The girl said nothing as he shuffled his way toward the front of the restaurant, but as he disappeared out the front door, she let out a heavy breath. The bartender returned to hisother customers, and she leaned close to me, lowering her voice. “What the fuck was his deal? Was he on something?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “He was high as fuck.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Well, thanks for coming over and pretending to be my boyfriend.”

“Don’t you mean Daddy?” I teased.

She grinned, and I pretended not to see the heat in her eyes as she took another sip of her martini. “Right.” Then she set her glass down and extended her hand. “I’m Charlotte.”

“Noah.” I took her offered hand. “And you’re welcome.”

We lapsed into silence, and I wracked my brain trying to come up with small talk, because I couldn’t imagine we had much in common.

“What you said about signing a new client. True?” she asked.

I nodded. “It was.” I left out that it was my first official client since starting my new role.

She picked up her martini and held it toward me. “In that case, cheers.”

I obliged, clicking our glasses together.

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