Page 34 of Bet On Me, Daddy

A fair enough point, and one he likely would have made himself if the situation had been reversed. “What’s Braden picking up for dinner?”

Ice’s smirk said he knew he’d won even if Beckett refused to actually say so. “I sent him to that little Thai place you like downtown.”

Glancing at the clock on his microwave, Beckett did the math in his head. Even if he took an hour for himself, he could be at the club well before Ruby’s shift ended. And, if he played his cards right, he could talk Braden into letting her off early or at least giving her a longer break so they could have a chat. “All right. Aquickdinner and then we’re going to the club.”

“Deal.”

CHAPTER 12

RUBY

“Who pissed in your Cheerios?”

Jerking her head up from the glass she’d been cleaning, Ruby glared at Tara, Club BDE’s head bartender. “What do you mean?”

Tara raised a single dark eyebrow and Ruby had to fight the urge to squirm. Despite being several inches shorter than Ruby even in heels, Tara had Domme energy in spades and it was currently all directed solely at Ruby. “I mean, who got you so riled up that you’re slamming my glasses around and snarling at all our customers. Do you need to go home?”

“No, ma’am.”

Approval lit in Tara’s eyes. “Good girl. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

The denial burned on Ruby’s tongue, but one look at Tara’s expression told her that was a bad move. “We have customers.”

Eyebrow raising even higher, Tara glanced around at the deserted bar. It wasn’t even eight-thirty, which meant that while they’d had a couple early birds the club was relatively empty. Things wouldn’t pick up for another two hours or so, and they both knew it. “I think we can manage,” Tara said, her tone dry.

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope. And I can be annoying as fuck when I want something, so you might as well save us both the trouble and just tell me now.”

“Oooh, what’s Tara getting all bossy about?” Practically bouncing with excitement, Lottie hopped up onto one of the bar stools.

“Ruby here has a bug up her ass, and she was just getting ready to tell me all about it,” Tara said, her lips pulling up in a smirk before Ruby could tell Lottie it was nothing and hopefully send her on her way.

“Ah. Is it a bug named Beckett Stone, by any chance?”

Scowling, Ruby slapped her towel down on the already sparkling bar. Nervous energy buzzed along her skin and she needed to dosomethingto work some of it off. “Yes.”

Lottie’s expression shifted from excited mischief to sympathy in a heartbeat. “What happened? You guys seemed fine after your scene last night.”

“Wait.” Eyes wide, Tara held up a hand. “You and Beckett finally stopped fucking around and scened together?”

“Yes. It’s a long story that basically starts and ends with me being a dumbass.”

The worried look that passed between her friends didn’t go unnoticed. “Did you guys have a fight or something?” Lottie asked.

“No. Not really. Well, not at all.” Blowing out a deep breath, Ruby weighed exactly how much to tell them. “Let’s just say, he reminded me why I don’t date men like him.”

Tara’s eyes narrowed, fire snapping and turning the pale hazel to amber. “Ruby. Did he hurt you? I swear to god, I don’t care how long he’s been a member of this club, I’ll get him booted so fucking fast?—”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Though it did help her nerves a bit to know Tara was so ready to go to battle for her consideringthey’d only known each other a few months. “He didn’t really do anythingwrong.”

Lottie reached across the bar to give Ruby’s hand a comforting squeeze. “What did you mean when you said he reminded you why you don’t date ‘men like him’? Men like what?”

“Men with more money than God.” The words burst out of her, and she was too tired, too mad to hold them back any longer. “Men who think they can flash their black Amex and women will just fall at their feet. Men who think they can use their money and their connections to get whatever the fuck they want.”

Face carefully blank, Lottie pulled her hand away. “So you don’t like rich people.”

Shit. Sometimes she forgot Lottie and Braden fell into the ‘more money than god’ category. Guilt immediately pricked at her chest. “That’s not what I said.”

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