Page 15 of Flawless Foundations

"Well, I'm out of town, and I won't be home for another three days. Can this wait?" He sounds annoyed.

"No, actually." He sighs. I continue, "I just wanted to let you know I'm no longer interested in our arrangement."

"Hmm, I have to say that I'm surprised by this." I have his attention now.

"You had to have seen this coming, Marshal. We aren't emotionally involved and I'm just looking for more. Our arrangement has worked for me, now it doesn't."

He's silent, and I wonder if he's still on the line.

"Is this because of Levi King?" he asks.

"What? No. Why would you think that?" Why would he say that? I practically acted like I didn't know him at dinner.

Marshal chuckles. "I saw the way the two of you eye fucked each other. Don't get me wrong, you both did a great job of pretending like you didn't care the other was there, but it was obvious to anyone willing to pay attention. And I wouldn't make the big bucks if I didn't have excellent observation skills."

I lean back in my chair. Shocked.

He continues, "Why do you think I was such an asshole? I wouldn't make the money I do if I didn't know how to exploit weaknesses. And you my darling, could be the downfall of Levi King."

"I don't understand," I whisper.

He laughs again and ignores my confusion. "I'd personally love to see it. Someday, maybe."

His words are harsh, and I don't like what I'm hearing, but I'm shocked by the direction our conversation is going in. I clear my throat to speak when he talks again.

"As for the reason you called, I understand. I'm not emotionally available and our arrangement was fun while it lasted. I wish you only the best, Becca."

The bastard hangs up before I can reply. I pull my phone from my ear and look at it in confusion. What the hell did he just say? How could I cause his downfall? I shake my head.

You know what? He said it himself, he pretty much mind fucks people. So, I'm going to ignore his words and move on from this. I look at my phone once more and see that it's time for me to head to work.

Sigh. Ten more hours and I can put this day behind me.

About three hours into my shift, my head is about to explode. Rick is on a power trip. I'd love to say that he's pushing everyone around, but nope, he seems to just be taking it all out on me. I'm not feeling it.

"What do you say you and I sneak out during your break and get to know each other a bit better? What do you say, Sugar?" A patron I've never served before tonight slurs as I slide him another whiskey.

I give him a tight smile. "Sorry, Bud. Not interested." I move on to fill the drinks order for one of the tables.

"Come on, Sugar. I know you service some other guys who come in here. Give me a shot." I close my eyes, take a deep breath.

"Look, I don't mix business with pleasure. Ever. Leave me alone or you're out of here," I snap, and he raises his hands.

"Fine, fine, whatever. I'll be sure to Yelp this place a two stars. At least the hard stuff," he points to his glass, "is decent, unlike the service. I didn't get no service." He stumbles away from the bar.

"Ick," I say, and shake the cringiness away from the interaction.

"What the fuck, Becca?" Rick comes up behind me. I turn and his hands are on his hips. He looks pissed. "You don't get to decide if someone is kicked out. And you're going to pay for that bad review."

"Rick, he was suggesting that part of my job is to service him in the alley out back in addition to serving his drinks. He also wasn't taking no for an answer." My tone is laced in annoyance. I'm not playing this game tonight.

"The patron is always right, Becca. Maybe if you weren't a spoiled little rich princess, you'd get that simple fact." Rick takes a step closer to me, like he's trying to intimidate me. His words only infuriate me.

"You know what, Rick?" I forcefully toss the white bar towel I was just using down on a small puddle of spilled tonic water. "I'm done. You can go fuck yourself." I push past him and head to the back and grab my purse and shoes. He follows me the whole way, berating me, but I ignore all of it. I don't even change out of my heels into my walking shoes. I kid you not, Rick follows me all the way to the door yelling at me and making a scene. Blush is a high-priced cocktail lounge, this kind of commotion doesn't happen here. I hope all these people Yelp review this place with one- and two-star reviews for this madness.

The last thing I hear out of Rick's mouth is that I'm not welcome back here, and if I ever come for a drink, I won't be served. It will be a dream come true if I never have to set foot back in this place.

I huff down the block for a bit before I stop and take a deep breath. I pull out my phone, it's a little after seven. It's getting dark and I'm emotionally overwhelmed from this freaking day. I pull up the Uber app and request one. Lucky for me, the wait is about two minutes.

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