As she watched one of the hair-swishers pressing in on him close enough to leave another makeup smear on his shirt, Jonah tapped her on the shoulder. “Time for you to take over with Coop.” He glanced toward their employer. “What’s with you two, anyway? I haven’t seen you guys talk all week.”

She was leaving, and Coop was staying. She had to do the right thing. “Coop dumped me. In the nicest possible way, of course. He’s the perfect gentleman.”

“No shit? I figured you guys were gonna last a little longer.”

“S’okay. It had to happen. Better sooner than later.”

Jonah gave her a clumsy pat on the back. Even though he was a cretin, she’d developed a reluctant fondness for him.

Within a few minutes of Jonah’s departure, the crowd again started pressing in on Coop, and she had her work cut out for her. “Let the man have some room.”

Most people didn’t give her trouble, and the few who did were drunk and easy to handle. It was a good thing nobody was getting in her face, because she needed a target for every raw, painful emotion swirling inside her. Only a few more hours...

A bro in a fedora and V-neck sweater wedged in on Coop. She grew increasingly furious as she listened to the moron relive every snap Coop had fumbled and every ball he’d thrown late. Coop was used to this kind of bull, and he was handling it fine. But she wasn’t. As the bro started in on Coop’s lousy leadership skills, all the horrible feelings churning inside her found their target, and her temper exploded. She shoved between a couple of his pals, reared up on her stilettos, and grabbed the guy’s shirtfront. “Back off, asshole, or I will rip your fucking head off. Do you understand me?”

Coop’s eyebrows shot up. The guy blinked, then jutted out his jaw with false bravado. “Yeah? Who are you?”

“She’s my bodyguard,” Coop said evenly. “Best not to mess with her.”

The guy began edging away. “Who needs this shithole club?”

Bryan quickly separated the jerk from the crowd. Coop looked down at her with displeasure. “Real smooth.”

“He irritated me.”

“Cut it out.”

She couldn’t handle this any longer, and she walked away. One more hour, and her job would be over.

She checked the ladies’ room and VIP. All well. When she finally came back downstairs, she ran into a group of men surrounding Coop near the mezzanine stairs. An especially loud, gel-haired jock type had positioned himself as close as he could and was gesturing toward him with his beer. “You and me, Coop. We know what it’s like. I had a bitch try to nail me once. Just like what happened to you.”

“You don’t say.” Coop turned away.