Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“Until she turns psycho.” Carlo jerks his thumb toward the door leading to the main lounge.
“Yeah, there's that.” I seem to let my dick do the thinking when it comes to women. Another reason to keep them in the periphery and not actually allow them into my life. In the business we’re in, it’s too dangerous. You can’t mix psycho with La Famiglia. People will get killed. I’m definitely done with clingy crazy. My next arrangement is going to be clean. At the first sign of emotional attachment, I’m calling it off.
“What about you, Dean?” I change the focus of the conversation to one of the other soldiers whose wife gave birth six months ago. “How’s family life?”
He chomps on his cigar. “Good, good. Olive is sitting up. Cute as fuck. Jessie’s doing an amazing job with her.”
“She’s not pissed about you coming out with us tonight?”
He grins. “I negotiated a deal. I get to come to poker night, she gets a ladies’ night, which is essentially just a book club where they drink wine and talk about dirty romance novels. She comes home all ready to put into practice what she’s been reading, so it’s a win-win for me.”
We laugh. It sounds sweet, but no part of me misses having a woman to answer to.
I am never doing that shit again.
Lexi
I camp out on a barstool near the corner where the cocktail waitresses put their orders in and get their drinks made. I have no business being here considering every dollar I earned cutting hair this week needs to go to the rent on both my apartment and the salon, but it’s Friday night, and I deserve a little fun. I need it. I’m at Swank, the nightclub where my best friend Gina works as a cocktail waitress.
“I just got a hundred-dollar tip.” Gina appears at my elbow and moves the glasses from her tray onto the bar. The bartender swiftly takes them and loads them into a dish rack below the bar.
“Are you serious? Damn, that’s good money. They’re not hiring now, right?”
The bartender, Stan, overhears and shakes his head as his hands fly mixing drinks.
“Do you think you could put in a word for me next time there’s an opening here? I could use a few tips like that.”
Gina hands Stan a ticket with her drink orders and flashes me a sympathetic look. She knows I'm in dire straits financially. A car accident this past year left me with a pile of medical bills, and for two months I couldn't work because I couldn’t stand. I've been scrambling to catch up ever since without much luck. I'm currently three full months behind on rent at both my apartment and at the salon.
“You already work your ass off at the salon,” Gina says. “You don't need a second job. What you need is a sugar daddy.”
The guy standing near me–the one who has been moving closer and acting like he's going to strike up a conversation but hasn't worked up the nerve yet–gives a little scoff. I ignore him and roll my eyes at Gina. “I don't think that exists.”
“Oh, it exists,” she says with total conviction. She tips her head toward the back room, the private area where the owners hang out. I know who she means. Swank is owned by the mafia.
“Those guys?” There's no way I'm getting involved with that crazy stuff. “No thanks.”
“You should just let me introduce you. There's one guy in particular who might be perfect for you.”
“The heavy tipper?” I don't know why I'm even asking. I am not interested in this idea of hers. Not at all.
“Yes–the heavy tipper. He's hot and plays sugar daddy.”
I sense the guy beside me wanting to insert himself in the conversation again, but I continue to ignore him.
“You better be careful, if Leo hears you say another guy is hot, he'll tear the guy’s head off.” Leo is her heavily-tattooed and muscled boyfriend who works as a bouncer at Swank.
He’s crazy about Gina but also possessive and jealous when it comes to her attention.
“Well, not this guy, but yeah. He’d want to.” Her gaze automatically goes across the club to where Leo’s standing by the door looking every inch the beefy badass bouncer. He catches her looking, and they share a smile. Her expression momentarily goes mooney. It's very cute. I have to admit sometimes I'm jealous of what they have.
The bartender finishes making all Gina's drinks, and she loads them onto her tray and leaves.
“Can I buy you a drink?” The guy next to me asks.
I was going to refuse when I felt his interest earlier because he’s not my type, but what the hell? I am literally sipping sparkling ice water because every dollar in my purse is earmarked for rent. I have an eviction notice posted on my apartment door that I need to take care of before the time runs out and I’m out on the street. After my conversation with Gina, it seems like maybe I should let a guy treat me for once.