Page 35 of A Little Moore Action
At first, seeing Denise had seriously doused my libido with the equivalent of glacial waters. However, Chase revved my sex drive up so much that after Denise stormed out, one look at him and I thawed out significantly. Luckily, by the time I reached my sexual boiling point again, I had Warren and Baron up to speed and the new tasks distributed amongst them and my team.
So I hightailed it back to Texas for a week under the guise of needing to get back to fix another client’s last-minute problem.
Now I’m back in the city that never sleeps, and even though it’s been a while since I last had physical contact with Chase, just thinking of it has me crossing my legs with a shiver.
Maybe I should’ve stayed in Texas a little longer. At least until Sunday night. Instead I came back Friday morning at Alice’s request. I haven’t been a very good mentor, leaving her to the wolves of Warren and Baron with just Chris and Ben as buffer. Flying in this morning seemed like a wonderful idea at the time. After all, I had a week to shore up my defenses against the sexy-as-hell Chase Moore.
I was confident. And also very, very stupid.
I didn’t tell Chase I was flying in early. In fact, I’ve been very brief and stingy with my emails to him, choosing to copy him on group emails rather than email him directly. I thought I’d fly under the radar, as it were. Meet Alice for lunch, go over her goals and tasks, and have two and a half days to enjoy the city I still love before facing the man I dry humped in an elevator.
Except after lunch, Chris, Ben, and Chase sauntered in for an impromptu meeting. I honestly don’t know why Chase was even there—he barely said two words. And I should know, as I spent the entire time staring at his mouth while fighting the urge to mount him like an animal.
I totally deserve a drink. Or a few.
Definitely a few.
I can’t forget Moore’s is temporary.Chaseis temporary. As much as the sounds, sights, and even smells of the city calm me, make me feel right with the world in a way that the humid heat of Houston never has, I can’t forget this isn’t home anymore. And why it isn’t.
I’m perched on my stool, legs swinging back and forth. Alice recommended this bar when I mentioned I wanted to get a drink. Angel’s Share is a speakeasy that you get to by entering a hidden Japanese restaurant in the East Village. Above the ornate bar is a creepy-cool mural. It’s like a macabre twist on those cherub frescos from the Renaissance with passed-out angels and devil-horned babies. Otherwise, the place reminds me of something straight out of the 1920s, when speakeasies were actually needed. Dim lighting, fancy drinks, and smooth jazz.
The whole idea is pretty cool, and my mind is busy running scenarios on how well a place like this might work at Moore’s. Maybe as part of Winston’s, with a separate entrance for later hours. A bar that serves fancy drinks from the era that Moore’s was founded in. The social media scene would love it.
Suck on that idea, Denise.
I take another sip, toasting my awesome idea, while my taste buds enjoy the sweet tang of an Angel’s Share Flirtibird. It’s a cocktail of yucca juice, agave nectar, and shochu, a Japanese barley-based drink that reminds me of whiskey. Usually I’m a straight-up kind of gal, but with where my mind has been these past few days with Chase, a Flirtibird sounded apt.
“Howdy, ma’am.” The voice comes from behind me. A sexy voice with a deep timbre that I know too well. I let the vibrations of that voice flow through my body before slowly spinning my bar stool around.
Deep blue eyes meet mine. He’s wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans, and a smile. One of his charmer smiles that he tops with a wink.
“Fuck,” I whisper, as I lick the plum salt from the rim of my cocktail off my lips. His smile fades and eyes darken at the sight of my tongue. Knowing I must have the same sort of effect on him as he does on me makes me want to be reckless. Makes me want to fist his T-shirt and haul him against me in front of God and the creepy-ass devil baby mural. With just one look, my resolve crumbles, and my survival instincts scream at me that I will die if I don’t get Chase between my legs, and fast.
“Hi! You must be Campbell!” A bright, cheerful voice snaps me out of my illicit daydream.
To Chase’s right is a young woman, currently bouncing on the balls of her feet and sticking out her hand for me to shake.
“Um, hello.” I put my hand in hers only to have it pumped enthusiastically.
“I’ve heard so much about you. I’m so glad you could meet us for drinks.”
“Drinks?” My brain doesn’t seem able to compute what’s happening, my eyes locking on this woman’s arm threaded through Chase’s. My first thought? I could take her. My second? He talks about me? The third? Whatthefuckhad he been doing letting me kiss him in an elevator when he has a girlfriend?
“Yes,my sisterLiz here, has been quite interested in meeting you.” Chase’s knowing smile says he read my thoughts.
Jerk.
I plaster on a smile, now recognizing her from the family picture on Chase’s desk. “Then I am delighted to meet you.” I think back on what she said. “You were expecting me?”
Chase butts in. “I may have asked Alice about your evening plans.”
Liz scoffs. “You mean you called Campbell’s hotel room and when she didn’t answer you drove there and knocked on her door. And when she didn’t answerthat, you called Alice and demanded to know where she was.” Chase shoots his sister a look. She glances to the side, mumbling, “Just saying.”
I’m not sure what to say here. I’m an only child, so the antics between siblings confuse me. Is Liz being truthful, or just messing with her brother? I decide not to touch on this.
“Why don’t we get a table?” Chase gestures behind him to the lone vacant four-top in the bar.
Not wanting to be rude, especially in the face of a bubbly youth like Liz, I hop down from my seat. But before I get very far, Liz grabs my arm.
