Avoiding Decisions (Avoiding #1.5)(14)

“At least let me get you a drink,” he said, flashing her an award-winning smile. That always worked. He didn’t even need to use it. She was already pretty drunk and clearly on the prowl. It wouldn’t be wrong if he let her use him as much as he was about to use her, right?

She giggled as if she had been expecting that. She probably had been. Parker always got offered drinks when they had gone out too.

“That’d be great,” she drawled, crossing her hurt leg over the other.

“What’s your guilty pleasure?” he asked, his voice laced with seduction. He was really laying it on thick. “You seem like a Sex on the Beach kind of girl.” She blanched at his words. All right. Guess not. He would change tactics. “Or are you more of a whiskey girl. I hear a Southern accent in there. Did you want a SoCo or a Jack and Coke?”

He waited for her response. He wasn’t sure what nerve he had touched on, but she began to fidget at the suggestions. But he knew a Southern accent when he heard one especially up here. He hoped he hadn’t offended her, because now that he had started, he wanted to see this through.

Ramsey tilted his head and studied her as he waited for a response. Why was she trying to make this difficult? Her body language was an open book, and all she was screaming was read me.

And he intended to.

“Shots,” she yelled over the music that escalated in the room.

Finally, she made up her mind. At least it didn’t mean that she was backing out. They had a bargain. Well, she didn’t know about the bargain, but it was a bargain nonetheless. “Do you care what of?”

“Anything but Jack,” she stated firmly.

He smirked at her answer, and then nodded his head. He leaned over the bar and smiled at Lacy. She sauntered over immediately and he ordered the shots.

Lacy looked at him incredulously. “Really?” she asked glaring at him. “Two?”

“Don’t be difficult,” he said.

She started pouring the drinks. “Don’t forget about pie.”

“Never.” He added a smirk for good measure.

Ramsey snatched the two shots off the bar and handed one to the girl. They downed them happily. He liked a woman who could hold her liquor, and she was a tiny little thing. He ordered another round, more replaced that round, and then another round after that. She melted into him, and he let her. With his hand around her waist, he could almost close his eyes and picture another.

His eyes snapped back open and brought him back to reality. Could he really do this? The alcohol was taking a toll on her tiny body and her breast brushed up against his hand. She seemed very pleased to be past the point of intoxication.

Yeah, he could do this.

CHAPTER 4

TRUST

“So,” she slurred, “what do you do?”

He looked at her glazed eyes wondering if he could answer that question. Deliberating was futile in the long run. She was in the VIP section of a high-end club. There was no way that she wanted to actually know what he did. She just wanted to know whether or not he had money. And he did.

He leaned in closer to answer her. “Live off a trust right now,” he said, giving her the answer she wanted to hear.

“Oh?” she asked dryly, clearly unimpressed.

He was thrown off. What did she want if not for him to have money to take care of her? Wasn’t that why girls came to these places dressed like that in the first place? He didn’t understand. He had used that line dozens of times…more than that probably, and it had worked every time. The girl was putty in his hands. They tried to tell you that money didn’t matter, that they cared for you regardless, but it was a lie. They wouldn’t have cared half as much if he had been broke. He knew. He had tried that too.

So what made this one different?

“Yeah,” he said, trying to recover from her obvious distaste. “Not really my thing, but it helped me when I was in a pinch.” He shrugged, trying to push aside the discomfort of having to backpedal.

“Well, what are you doing here, Mr. Trust?” she asked giggling. It was adorable.

“Daddy’s work,” he said coldly. Why was he telling her this? She didn’t need to know anything about him. “Just trying to get a feel on a guy they’re interviewing for a job, and he’s in New York. I happened to already be in New York. It was a win-win for them.”

“Oh,” she said, nodding along as if she cared.

He doubted that she did. He didn’t even care about his father’s stupid interview. He was already trying to forget that guy.

“Where are you supposed to be meeting this guy?”

He smiled, wanting nothing more than to get the subject back on her. He didn’t talk about himself. All women talked about themselves. Begrudgingly, he answered her questions, “Here, actually. I tend to feel more comfortable in clubs, but he hasn’t showed yet.” His eyes left her for the first time to scan the VIP area once more. Might as well make sure he wasn’t going to miss the guy now that he had already invested in this girl. “Guess he got caught up.”

She reached forward, pulled his blue and white striped tie between her fingers, and tugged lightly. This was more like it. “Well, then it’s your lucky day, isn’t it?”

He smiled wide. “I suppose it is. How’s your ankle? Can you dance on it?”