Page 78 of The Seven Month Itch
I slide my phone into my pocket. “I think I’ll call it a night, but I want to thank you for today.” I run my fingers through my hair. “To be honest, strip clubs aren’t my scene.”
He looks me over. “Is it because of this permission slip business?”
I chuckle and shake my head. “No. It’s not a wife thing, sir. It’s amething. I hope this doesn’t hurt our chances to do business together, Mr. Miller.”
“Harvey.”
“Harvey,” I say.
He considers my words, and I brace for rejection. “You know, it’s not every day I see a man turn down the opportunity to have beautiful women entertain him.”
“What I have at home makes anything else unnecessary. I’m good.”
Thank God Kenny isn’t within earshot of this conversation. I’d never live it down. But I mean what I said. Nothing against people who enjoy the clubs.
“Well then. That settles it.” Here it comes. “I’ll have my assistant send over the paperwork in the morning.”
I’m sorry, what?
Harvey takes in my expression with a laugh. My eyes couldn’t pop further out of my head if I used the Force to fart. Did he say what I think he said?
“Relax, Terrence. No need for a heart attack.” His pat on my shoulder brings me back to reality. “These days, integrity is a rare trait to come by in business. It’s honorable. Hold on to it. We’ll speak soon.” He makes his exit, leaving me to soak in the deal.
Holy shit, we did it.
“We need to celebrate. Hell yeah!” Kenny is two seconds from a Tom Cruise moment on the sidewalk. The only thing the man needs is Oprah’s couch.
Palm trees blow in the wind, taillights illuminate the mild spring night. We’re on Sunset Boulevard, amped up after landing our biggest deal to date, with no destination in sight.
“So, where to now that Mr. Killjoy ruined our night?”
“You’re more than welcome to blow a few hundred on some dancers and stroke your dick next to strangers,” I say. “Today was long. I want to turn in.”
“Amateur hour was fun, but this is where I leave you.” Chris puts his phone in his pocket when a town car pulls up to the curb. There are smooth people, and then there’s Chris.“Congrats, gentlemen. I’ll see you in the morning.” He’ll reach his bachelor pad in the Hollywood Hills in a matter of minutes.
I sigh. “And then there were two.” Don’t get me wrong, I love Kenny, but his frat-boy tendencies didn’t fade after he earned his fancy degrees. He looks polished, but on the inside, this thirty-seven-year-old acts like a teenage boy who beats his meat at all hours of the day. I have no desire to keep up with whatever he wants to get into. Miles isn’t this bad.
“You sure you want to turn in for the night?” He shakes his head at my nod. “At least let me crash at your superhero pad so I can say I saw the fucking place.”
That I can do. “Fine, but only for one night, and you have to wear a blindfold.”
“What kind of kinky shit are you into?”
I raise my hand. “I don’t want you to bring back some woman to make your dick hard tonight. My spot is not for you to get laid.”
He scoffs. “As if I need help. I’m alawyer. I own a successful practice, I’mverywealthy, and”—he grabs his junk—“I don’t lack downstairs.”
I roll my eyes. “If you’re such an Adonis, how come every woman you date leaves after a month?” I chuckle at his silence. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
As I open the Lyft app, I hear a woman yell my name. My jaw is too heavy to pick up off the sidewalk. No way she’s here. “Reina?” There’s no time to register her presence before she leaps into my arms. I spin her around in a bear hug.
“Surprised to see me?” Her grin reaches her coffee-colored tendrils. Reina looks as beautiful as the last time we got together. A year is a lifetime away, but at least we spoke online not too long ago.
“Y-yeah. Yes, I am. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you, silly.” She taps a manicured nail on my nose. “My hotel isn’t far from here. What do you say to a nightcap to catch up?”
I turn to Kenny. He stares at Reina like a starved man at a buffet. She’s in a navy blazer and shorts that rest against her thighs, white pumps, and a white tank. The brunette fromTheVampire Diarieslooks like her twin, if she were Puerto Rican.
