I shook my head. “I think my luck is about to change. Meet me behind the curtain?”

Her grin widened as she agreed to my plan.

As I took my time moving toward the bar, my eyes enjoyed every raw inch of her as I drew closer—the curve of her hips, the way her dress accentuated every curve. I was nearly vibrating with anticipation.

“You know, I’ve heard, if you flirt a little with him,” I started off, pointing in the direction of the idiotic bartender, who was currently throwing a wide-eyed grin at a group of college girls, “he’ll be yours for the night.”

Her back was still turned to me, but I saw a shake of her head.

“I’m good!” she hollered back, barely making the effort to turn her head.

I caught the side of her face. Tiny freckles dotted her flushed cheek giving her an innocence I hadn’t quite expected.

“I kind of enjoy the entertainment,” she said.

Feeling emboldened by the whiskey swishing around in my belly, I took an eager step forward. “Well, if it’s entertainment you’re looking for, then please, look no further. I’ve got an empty couch in the VIP lounge, an endless wallet for drinks, and… hell, I’ll give you the party of a lifetime.”

Her hand met the tender flesh of my cheek so fast that I was seeing stars before I knew what had hit me.

“Does that crap actually work on women in this city?” she roared. “Because, if so, I feel sorry for my gender for falling for stupid, boneheaded idiots like—oh, shit!”

Her rant was cut short as I straightened myself—or tried to, removing my hand from my jaw long enough to even out my shirt and grab the corner of the bar for balance. The endless shots of whiskey were starting to make their way back to the surface and the room started to spin. The moment she saw my face, she went as white as a sheet and bolted for the crowd.

And that was the moment I chose to black out.

Chapter Four

“I still can’t believe you decked your boss!” Tyler laughed into his cup of coffee, feeling rather chipper, despite our late evening.

“For the tenth time,” I said, shaking my head, as I rummaged around the kitchen, looking for something remotely edible, “I did not deck him. I slapped him. Hard.”

His laughter increased, so much so that I swore I heard the old Bulgarian woman next door curse in her native tongue as she shuffled around her apartment. Another great thing about New York was, you could make what would be considered a ton of money anywhere else in the world and still end up living in a crappy hole-in-the-wall apartment with paper for walls.

I was in a foul mood.

A crappy hate-the-world type of mood. It was a rarity for me.