Playing Dirty (Risky Business, #2)(29)

I blew her a kiss and turned the corner.

A night out with the girls had been impromptu, but it sounded great. Maybe just what I needed to blow off some steam.

*

“No, don’t use that. I’ve got some with glitter.” I dug in my makeup bag, producing a stick of cream eye shadow and handing it to Megan. “It’ll go perfect with that dress.”

I loved Megan’s cocktail dress. Turquoise and black beads in varying sizes were sewn on the fabric, creating a gorgeous combination. It had elbow-length sleeves, a wide neck, and was made out of a stretchy material that clung to her.

I’d chosen a champagne-colored tulle cocktail dress with a scoop neck and cap sleeves. The fitted bodice and mini-length skirt were wrapped in glittering beads sewn on in various patterns. With a cutout back, it was elegant and sexy.

“Need a refill?” I asked, talking over the music playing.

“Sure.” She handed me her empty glass.

I headed into the kitchen, giving us both fresh margaritas before returning to my bathroom, where every inch of counter space was covered in makeup containers, makeup brushes, perfume bottles, curling irons, and cans of hair spray. Most of the time, my favorite part about going out was getting ready. It wasn’t like glitter and smoky eye were really appropriate for the office, so it was fun to get all dressed up and go full out with the makeup and hair.

“Can you curl the back?” Megan asked. “It’s hard for me to reach and make it even.”

“Yeah, sure.” I set down my margarita and took the curling iron from her.

We were quiet for a moment, listening to Taylor sing about having style, then Megan met my gaze in the mirror.

“I haven’t told you something,” she said.

Uh-oh. “That sounds serious,” I said. “What is it?”

She winced. “I kinda … slept with Brian.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding? And you didn’t tell me!” I was loud enough to even overpower Taylor. “When did—how—I thought you weren’t speaking?” I moved on to the next curl.

“I told you Todd and I got in a fight about his ex,” she said.

“Yeah …”

“Well, he came by my desk last night around six, trying to explain, and I thought things would be fine, but he still refused to stop talking to her. So I said we were through. And Brian was walking by at the time, so when Todd stormed off, Brian stopped to see if I was all right.”

I moved to another curl, listening avidly. “And …?”

“And we got to talking and he asked me if I wanted to grab something to eat. So I said yes, and we went to eat and had a few drinks, then back to his place. One thing led to another …” She shrugged, her cheeks turning pink even as a little smile curved her lips.

I laughed aloud. “Holy shit!” I crowed. “I cannot believe it! So? How was it?”

Megan’s face got even redder and she nodded. “Oh yeah.”

“That’s awesome! I’m so glad he lived up to your expectations.” I was still grinning. “So … what now? Are you two seeing each other or what?”

Her smile faded a bit and she gave a little shrug. “I’m not sure. We didn’t really talk about it, you know? We both had to be up early this morning, so I was up and leaving when it was still dark so I could get back to my place. I thought maybe he’d come by today, but he was too busy, I guess.”

Internally, I frowned, but I kept my outward smile in place. “I’m sure that’s what it was,” I said. “I think there was some kind of server problem today. He was probably dealing with that.” And that had better be the reason, because if he thought he could just toy with my best friend like that, then he had a serious wake-up call coming, courtesy of me.

Megan had been half in love with Brian for months now. If he wasn’t planning on more to their relationship than a one-night stand, she’d be devastated. Then KLP Capital would be looking for a new IT guy because I was going to kill Brian.

“I say we go out tonight, forget about men, and have an awesome time.” I finished the last curl and used my fingers to fluff her hair. “Hold still. Cover your eyes.”

Megan carefully covered her face with her hands as I sprayed the hair spray until her head was immersed in a thick aerosol cloud.

“That’s enough, don’t you think?” she asked, coughing. “You want these curls to stay or not?” I retorted, giving one last spray for good measure.

“I wish I had your hair,” she sighed. “It’s always got that perfect shampoo-commercial wave. Plus it’s shiny and soft—”

“All of which can be replicated with a few select salon products and a curling iron,” I said. “See?” Grabbing one more pump bottle, I sprayed a light mist of the contents over her hair. “Shine from a bottle. They think of everything.”

“Okay then,” she said. “Ready?”

I grabbed a bottle of perfume and did two sprays to my neck and one for my hair. “Ready.”

It was cold outside the club and I shivered, wrapping my arms around my torso to try and keep warm. We hadn’t wanted to deal with coats inside. Maggie and Kelly were already there, waiting in line. When Maggie saw us, she grabbed my arm.

“C’mon,” she said, dragging the rest of us up to the front of the line.