Page 48 of Can't Win 'Em All
That’s why I’d suggested a night out with my best friend. Zach and I had been hanging out as much as usual—basically when he wasn’t playing naughty games with my sister and trying to hide it—but we hadn’t had a true guys’ night out in months.
“Sports bar?” Zach asked when we met in front of the elevators. One good thing about all of us living in the hotel was that it took minimal effort to coordinate a meetup.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m thinking the sports bar. It’s not as if I’m in the mood for dancing.”
“The last time you danced, you got a baby out of the deal,” he noted. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to risk that again.”
I scowled at him. “Do you have to keep getting in little jabs?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to be passive aggressive until the baby is born. When it gets here, I might ease up. It depends on if I feel you’re sleep deprived enough or not.”
“You’re a true joy,” I drawled.
He grinned, enjoying himself too much. Then he clapped a hand on my shoulder, telling me everything was fine. “I heard you went to the doctor with Ruby the other day. How did that go?”
“I thought it went great.”
He was instantly suspicious, and I didn’t blame him. “Why did you phrase it like that?”
“Your sister wanted to throttle me.”
“You didn’t hit on the doctor, did you?” Zach was appropriately appalled. “That’s not okay, man. Although … was she hot?”
Now it was my turn to make a face. “First off, her doctor is a man.”
“Really?”
I nodded. We smiled at the hostess as we arrived at the bar but didn’t wait for her to usher us to a table. There was a reserved table near the screens, one that was for hotel employees only, and that was our normal spot. The bartender lifted a finger when he saw us settle, his way of asking if we wanted our regular drink choices. I nodded and he set about filling glasses from the tap.
“I was as surprised as you,” I admitted as we got comfortable. “I mean … the dude is hot.”
“I didn’t realize that did it for you,” Zach said with a straight face.
“If I rolled that way, I would be all over the guy. He’s got dimples and everything. Your sister mentioned the dimples when we were driving back to the casino. I think she did it just to irritate me.”
I didn’t realize I’d fallen into a pouty pond of self-reflection until Zach cleared his throat. “Sorry,” I said automatically. “I was just thinking about those stupid dimples. They belong in a movie, not on the guy who uses a flashlight to look inside the mother of your child.”
Genuine horror flashed across Zach’s features. “He used a flashlight?”
I shook my head. “No, but he had a light.”
“Was he flirting with her?”
“Definitely. Ruby says no, but I recognize flirting. He seemed pretty happy when he heard we weren’t a couple.”
The server picked that moment to sidle over with our drinks. She was dressed in short shorts—they were just south of the law—and a low-cut top. The uniform in the bar left very little to the imagination. Technically, we weren’t allowed to discriminate based on appearance, and yet every server in the place looked as if she could’ve anchored her own nudie magazine spread.
“Thanks, Celeste.” I smiled at her and sipped my beer. “This hits the spot.”
“No problem, Rex.” Her voice was a low purr. “You know I’m always happy to be the one whoservesyou.” She put emphasis on the word “serves,” which suddenly made me uncomfortable. Before, when she flirted with me, I would’ve flirted back. I never dated anybody who worked for Stone Group—it was a rule I lived by—but flirting was fair game. This time, I wasn’t in the mood.
“We’ll probably want another round in fifteen minutes or so,” I said rather than acknowledge her offer.
It wasn’t unusual for the showgirls and servers in the building to try to seduce me. I had a good job, was in a position of power, and my friendship with Zach meant I was even higher up the food chain than some of the other department heads. I used to make a game of flirting with the help—flirting, never touching—but it seemed like a waste of time this evening. I had other things on my mind.
“What was that?” Zach asked when Celeste turned on her heel and headed for another table.
Confused, I fixed my full attention on him. “What was what?”
