“The trivia night is Saturday.” Nancy dropped her gaze back to the scattered papers on her desk. “Be there by six-thirty.”
“Oh, no can do, boss.” Macie crossed her arms. “I’m not working ten hours then spending my free time with Alex this Saturday. I’ve got other plans that I cannot cancel.”
“Fine. I’ll get someone else.” Nancy glanced up at her through her eyelashes. “This time. Next time you won’t have an option.”
Macie kept her mouth shut and simply nodded before stepping out of the office.
Wanna bet? she thought as she strolled toward her own cubicle closet and wondered how she was going to get out of this mess.
HAPPY HOUR WASN’T SO happy, but that was normally the case. Zac stood at the edge of the crowd, sipping a generic beer and eavesdropping the best he could. It wasn’t easy. Most of his co-workers knew he was a Sparks. They were careful to keep their traps shut around him. He’d hoped the more booze the looser the lips, but they trickled out of the bar still too sober to talk. Except for one.
Tabitha Walton had been with Sparks Investments since January as the receptionist. She was gorgeous—long legs, tan skin, and flowing brown hair. Her doe eyes could entice any man into buying her a drink. Zac noticed she hadn’t paid all night. She smiled at him and crossed her bare legs. Her skirt rode up to dangerous levels, and Zac knew a sign when he saw one. Tabitha didn’t want to go home alone.
Zac signaled to the bartender for two more drinks even though he hadn’t finished the one he’d been nursing for two hours. He slid onto the barstool next to her. “Hey, Tabby. How’s it going?”
Tabitha shrugged and ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass. “Things are looking up.”
Zac raised his eyebrows and downed the rest of his beer as the bartender set down another.
“So, Zac Sparks, prodigal son, heir apparent to the Sparks throne. Why are you here?” She rested her elbow against the bar and leaned her head on her fist. “Or do you like causing a stir?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Zac grinned, glancing down at her abundant cleavage. Maybe he could forget his mystery girl for one night.
“Oh, yes you do.” Tabitha sipped her pink frou-frou drink. “Either you’re here to get laid or you’re here to make everyone else uncomfortable. I’m willing to bet it’s the later, but I’m not opposed to the first.”
“Maybe I just wanted to get to know my co-workers.” He sipped his drink and kept his gaze on Tabitha.
“I’m not sure that’s a smart move. Most of them feel threatened by you.” Tabitha downed her drink and waved to the bartender for another. “You’ve got an advantage, you know.”
“Not in the world of my father.” He shrugged. “I’ve heard the board’s threatened by him these days.”
Tabitha raised an eyebrow. “Really? Hadn’t heard that.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Zac said. He knew she was lying by the way she avoided his gaze. “I’m sure you’ve heard everything.”
“I did hear Walters mention something about a takeover. He mentioned it was already in full swing.” Tabitha leaned forward putting her hand on his upper thigh. “Now that we got the information exchange out of the way, let’s move on to more pleasant topics.”
“As enticing as that sounds, I’m not sure it’s a smart move,” Zac said. He inhaled her smoky scent, a mix of bar and perfume.
“And all you make are smart moves, right?” Tabitha leaned closer until her lips brushed against his ear. “Smart moves aren’t always fun moves, Zac Sparks.”
“No strings,” he said, needing to make it perfectly clear that if this happened, it happened once and never again.
“I don’t like strings.” Her hand slid up his thigh, her thumb flicking over his growing erection. “Unless you’re tying me up tonight. Even then, I prefer handcuffs.”
Zac slipped his hand under her skirt. He was never the type of guy to be so bold in a public place, but it was dark and her legs were between him and the bar. If anyone saw anything, they’d have superhuman vision. Her skin was soft, as he expected, and his fingers stretched toward her apex. He expected to find silk or satin, but all he discovered was more smooth skin.
“Jesus,” he whispered in her ear. Zac rarely used such language. It was unbecoming, or so his grandfather had always said. Even now it made him feel wrong.
She nipped at his ear before drawing back. “If you’ll just wait here, I’m just going to ... freshen up.”
Zac watched her hips sway as she walked away, one foot unnaturally in front of the other. He couldn’t remember ever having a one-night stand. They usually ended up going out for at least a few months. Tabitha promised nothing more than a release, a way to forget her. That was exactly what he was going to do. It didn’t matter why she stood him up. All that matter was that she had.
He pulled out his phone and swiped left to unlock it. The Blind Friends app had updated to a brighter white and a different font for the B and F. Shaking his head, he opened it up to delete his profile. His gaze darted to the messages as if on auto-pilot. One new message. It probably wasn’t anything more than a new contact, but he opened the messages anyway.
It was from her.
Part of him didn’t want to read it, he wanted to cut the whole thing out of his life. But the other half needed to know what she had to say for herself. He needed to know if she was the person he thought she was or if she was the exact opposite. He opened
