Her eyes widen. “You like it?” I nod and hand her the bottle. She brings it to her lips, staring at me, then she squeezes her eyes shut and takes a swig. It makes her cough and sputter as her face twists into a horrified grimace, and she sticks her tongue out, making an exaggerated gagging face.
“Oh god, that’s terrible!”
I can’t hold back my laughter. “Sorry. I knew if I told you how bad it was you wouldn’t do it. The first shot is always the worst. Don’t worry, the rest will go down smoother.”
“The rest? I’m not drinking more of that,” she says, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and reaching for the mini water bottle in her purse.
“Oh come on, I thought we were having a Friday night party.”
“Are you trying to peer pressure me, Mr. Snow? That doesn’t seem very professional.”
I let her question simmer for a moment before I answer. How is it she can seem so innocent yet so fucking alluring at the same time? Like she knows just what to say to make my mind spiral with all the naughty things I want to do to her.
“Depends, Miss Emmert.” I take a step closer to her, the space between us already limited. “Is it working?” I reach down, not breaking eye contact as I grab the rum and take another long pull before holding the bottle out to her.
She stares at me, unblinking. Her small hand wraps around the neck of the bottle and our fingers brush, sending a sizzling tingle up my arm. She brings the bottle to her lips and takes a sip. She doesn’t react as strongly this time, but her eye twitches and a small cough erupts from her chest.
“So, what do you normally do on Friday nights?” Her question breaks the budding tension.
“Let’s see…” I run my hand over my unshaven jaw, my stubble audibly scraping against my palm. “When I’m not here working late, I’m usually working late in my home office.”
“Seriously?”
“Afraid so. Not a terribly exciting life I lead.”
“I thought being the billionaire owner of a company meant you could do whatever you want. Jet off to Monte Carlo, or wherever rich people go.” She gestures a little wildly with her hands and I realize the rum is hitting her.
“That sounds like an amazing idea but”—I hang my head—“not as exciting as you’d think it would be when you’re doing those things alone.”
“Oh, I guess I assumed…” I grab the bottle back from her and take another long sip, the rum burning a path down my throat and into my chest.
“What about you? What’s your typical Friday night?”
“I don’t really know anymore.” She shrugs and her expression looks a little sad.
“Meaning?”
“Since Tim wanted a ‘break’…” She does air quotes, following her statement with an exaggerated eyeroll. Darting out a hand, she grabs the bottle from me, this time tipping her head back much longer than she had for her previous sips.
I pull the bottle away from her mouth. “Whoa, whoa. Maybe we should pace ourselves.” I place the bottle on the ground and grab her hand. “Here, why don’t we sit.” She doesn’t resist as I guide us both down to the floor.
“These damn shoes are pinching my feet.” She leans forward to unzip the black ankle boots she’s wearing, removing them and kicking them to the side.
“So, tell me about this Tim guy. I already don’t like him.” I don’t offer an explanation. The truth is, the rum is hitting me too, but I don’t care. I don’t understand how a man could have this woman in his life and just toss her aside.
She snorts. “He’s a lawyer, been together for three years now, and he just decided a few weeks ago that he suddenly doesn’t want kids anymore and needs space to figure out if I’m who he even wants to be with.”
“Wait a minute. There were no warning signs, no previous talks, he just decided he needs space and that was that?”
“Yup. Well…” She holds up a finger, her eyes squinting like she’s thinking. “I guess there might have been a few warning signs. At his firm, the new first-year lawyers were recently brought in, which is when he started acting shady. I saw this woman’s name, Tiffany, on his phone, and he acted like it was just because she’s new and needs help or whatever…but when I asked to see the messages, he said it was private because they’re lawyers and it breaks some code or bylaw or something because it’s technically his work property.”
“He certainly sounds like a lawyer.” I grit my teeth. Just hearing about this piece of shit is pissing me off. “So, clearly there’s something going on between those two and he wants to explore it, which is why he said he wanted space.”
She slaps my arm. “That’s what I said! Of course, he said I was being dramatic and jealous. He’s—there’s other stuff.” She twists her fingers together in her lap. “My friends don’t like him, and I’m pretty sure he hates my family.”
“Hey.” I reach out and touch her chin to get her look at me. “He hates your family? Sadie, that’s not a good thing, you know?”
She nods and looks back down. “I know there are red flags, especially since my friends can’t stand him, but I guess I’ve just been too scared to admit it and let go. I hear all these dating horror stories from social media and from my friends, and they made me feel like I was lucky to have Tim because it meant I didn’t have to be out there navigating all that. Pathetic, I know.” She leans over to grab the bottle and takes a drink before handing it to me.