Page 2 of Scarlet Secrets

Somehow, I manage not to roll my eyes at the slink in his voice as he basically asks her to get naked for him with his gaze and tone.

Kara being Kara doesn’t notice, and she just turns to me. “You know you need to drink a Manhattan when in Manhattan, not a G and T.”

“A regular Manhattan,” he asks, “or a Maynard Manhattan?”

“What’s in that?” Kara’s one for actual fancy cocktails. And she leans on the bar, her big brown eyes on the bartender.

To his credit, he doesn’t self-combust. “It’s like a regularManhattan but smooth, like butterscotch and it’s got an extra kick.”

“Sold.” She straightens, slams a hand on the bar, and grins. “I’ll have two. And she’ll have one. Not all at once, but after this round…”

He heads off to make the drink for Kara and I sip what she thinks is a drab gin and tonic. But for me, the drink’s a workhorse, dependable. I always know what I’m getting and if they use one of the newer, fancier gins and some small batch tonic, then that’s a perk. Actually, mine is pink and tastes elevated, so I assume he did that.

“I’m not sleeping with the big boss.” I pause. “Or any boss. Or coworker.” Then I swallow. “Or anyone.”

“Erin, I’m sorry, I…” She trails off, squeezing my hand. “I didn’t mean anything by the joke. I’ve stayed here before, but I’m staying in New York longer than you, so I’m somewhere a little less…” She rubs her fingers together. “Fancy.”

“I know it was a joke.”

She leans in. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I try to think of something to change the subject . The room snafu would be perfect. With a sip, I turn to her just as her drink is delivered to her, and she gets drawn into a conversation with the bartender, who clearly wants to see her outside of work.

Thing is, Kara’s my best friend—sweet, feisty, spirited, loyal Kara—and I think she might be more hurt than me over her brother’s cheating.

Well, okay—not in all ways. There’s still a giant piece of my ego and self-esteem lying on the floor with everything else he reduced to scraps.

Three years of my life. Three. And I honestly don’t know if Toby, who came across as being just as loyal, had been cheating on me the entire relationship. I don’t even get the bittersweet victory of ending things.

No, he did that two months ago—went to town, chewed me up and spit me out like I was nothing. And I let him.

Hell, I was so blindsided, so gobsmacked that words couldn’t even form when he told me he’d found someone better, someone he’d been seeing for a while. Someone who rocked his world.

If I’d been a dude, he’d have told me she had a bigger dick than mine.

As it was, he told me they clicked she was glamorous, gorgeous, and had ginormous—He didn’t actually drop the ginormous tit bomb. But his new piece sounds like a cross between a porn star and Marilyn Monroe.

Yep, I dated my best friend’s brother and didn’t even get the T-shirt.

I suck down the rest of my gin, and the bartender actually tears himself away to return with my next drink, the Maynard Manhattan.

Before he can resume his position, a group of people in fine suits and gorgeous dresses enter. After-work crowd? High-end visitors? I really don’t know. Behind them sits a dark-haired man,in a bespoke suit, alone, tapping his fingers on the bar. A lowball glass rests in front of him, along with his phone. He glares at the screen, nodding and occasionally speaking into what I assume is his Bluetooth earbud.

Then the crowd blocks my view, and the bartender steps in to serve them.

The crazy little beat in my veins stops its thrumming the moment he's out of sight.

I turn back to Kara. “Try it, Erin!”

The damn drink is like butterscotch and the smooth hit of warming bourbon, an extra kick from something else, and the vermouth. I’m not a big drinker, but I’ve worked on enough ad campaigns to have done my duty tasting theproducts at parties—and pitching ad campaigns that won awards for others.

“It’s good.” And I smile. I know her; she’ll want to head out and party. She’s here for a few weeks; I’m leaving tomorrow night. Another damn red-eye from JFK.

Kara fusses with the edge of her dress. It’s borderline too short for the office, but Kara is tall and dark like her brother, and she can pull off whatever she wants. Besides, she always brings her A game.

“How’d the meeting go?”

“There’s a second one tomorrow. And… I’m taking the credit or the fall, but I think they’re going for it. They were on the fence about tomorrow, but now they want that meeting.”

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