Rascal (Rascals Book 1)(32)

I laughed. I should have guessed these guys wouldn’t want to deal with the moving and schmoozing involved with PR. But luckily, I knew someone who did.

I pulled out my phone. “Leave it to me. And someone better make a good martini.”



Twenty minutes later, Kelsey was shrugging off her jacket and taking a seat at the bar, where a martini was waiting for her. She had three sets of male eyes on her as she took a sip. Kelsey always commanded that kind of attention from men—after all, she was a babe, curvy, petite, and cute, and clearly the guys had taken note. I wanted to warn them that she was all but unavailable because of her ridiculous, unrequited crush on her boss. But I was getting ahead of myself. Instead, I watched as she closed her eyes, savoring the taste of the drink. Then she smiled.

“That’s perfect,” she said, and everyone relaxed. “OK, what can I do for you gentlemen?”

“We need publicity for the opening tomorrow,” Emerson told her, laying out their current situation. “We had someone, but they fell through. Now we’ve got a big grand opening planned and need to make sure there are people lined up around the block. VIPs, if you can get them.”

Kelsey pulled out her phone. “OK, I’m sure I can find someone. Or a few people. But first, let me know what kind of vibe you’re aiming for. We have to make sure the celebrity is the right fit for you guys.”

Sawyer, Chase, and Emerson all exchanged baffled looks.

“You’re good,” Emerson said. “Our other PR person just gave us a bunch of names of famous people.”

“I didn’t know most of them,” Sawyer said, which apparently surprised no one.

“Oh no.” Kelsey looked shocked. “That wouldn’t do at all. Events like these need to have the right kind of face attached to them.”

“Totally agree,” Chase said, taking a seat next to her and winking.

The charm was turned way up, but Kelsey, as usual, was clueless to any male that wasn’t Justin, aka totally unavailable.

“Why don’t you tell me about the bar and I’ll think of some options,” Kelsey suggested, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“I’ll handle this,” Chase told the other guys, both of whom seemed to barely be containing an eye roll. “You were going to stack chairs, weren’t you?” he asked Sawyer, who gave him a middle finger before leaving.

“Let’s go into the office,” Chase suggested to Kelsey. “It’s quieter in there.”

She blushed as she followed him to the back.

“Maybe I should tell them to leave the door open,” Emerson said, his voice low in my ear.

I shivered, thinking of how much trouble the two of us had gotten into the last time we were alone in his office. I suddenly wanted to switch places with Chase and Kelsey, so that Emerson and I could be alone, instead of at the bar, cleaning glasses.

“He seems to like her,” I commented, wondering if I should warn him that barking up the Kelsey tree was a waste of time. I wish she’d drop her unrequited crush and pay attention to other guys, but it didn’t seem possible.

“Sure. Chase likes all women,” Emerson said dryly. “But he doesn’t really do the whole relationship thing.”

“Oh,” I said, my worries going out the window. “Good.”

If Chase didn’t want a relationship and Kelsey was only interested in Justin, then the two of them would be just fine.

An awkward silence surrounded us for a moment.

“I’m almost done with the glasses,” I finally said. “Shouldn’t take me much longer to finish them.”

“I can take over,” Emerson offered. “Because I’d actually love your help looking over these supplier contracts.”

I perked up. It was nerdy as hell, but I loved going over contracts. Apparently it showed on my face because Emerson laughed.

“I was hoping you’d react that way,” he said, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me towards him for a kiss.

If he had intended it to be a short, sweet kiss, it quickly developed into something a lot hotter. Pretty soon I was pinned against the bar, Emerson’s hands on my ass. Then, someone cleared their throat behind us. We jumped apart to find a dark-haired guy standing at the end of the bar, giving us both a bemused look.

“Should I could back later?” he asked.

He was wearing what looked like a very expensive suit, his hair combed in that particular way that finance guys always styled their hair, but there was a naughty twinkle in his eye that kept him from looking stuffy and uptight. It probably also helped that he was gorgeous.

“Liam,” Emerson greeted his friend.

The fourth musketeer.

“I heard you guys were in trouble and needed some help.” Liam looked around the bar. “But it seems like you have everything in hand.” He gave his friend a pointed glance.

I blushed, but Emerson just grinned.

“This is Alex,” he introduced me.

I shook Liam’s hand. “I live upstairs,” I offered, not exactly sure how to describe what was going on between Emerson and me. Dating? Hooking up? Making out whenever and wherever we could like horny teenagers?

“Nice to meet you,” Liam said, shrugging off his jacket.

“Alex is going to look over some of the supplier contracts,” Emerson told his friend. “She’s a lawyer.”