by Mandi Beck
Jasper brushes his fingers over his mouth trying to hide the grin lurking there. “I’m sure. I’ll talk to you soon, Fannin. Ladies,” he gives a small salute. “It was a pleasure.” The three of us watch as he saunters away, perfect ass hidden by black denim, dreamy looks on all of our faces.
Dear God what was in that whisky?
Chapter Four
Jasper
“What was all that, mate?” Theo asks, gesturing to Fannin’s table.
Coming behind the bar I shrug, “Nothing. Just talking to some beautiful women.”
“That looked like a whole lot more than talking. You looked down right cozy with the one in purple there.”
“Aye. I guess I was.” My accent always become a bit more pronounced around Theo. Damn Brit has me embracing my Scottish roots.
“Care to elaborate?” he asks, leaning back against the bar and watching me.
“She needed a date for her step-sister’s wedding. She got one.”
“You? You’re taking a perfect stranger to a wedding?” Theo lets out a barking laugh. “Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not mad. Did you see her?” I glance over my shoulder, the girls are sipping their drinks and laughing at something. My gaze settles on Fannin, her head thrown back in laughter, the column of her neck exposed, the happy sound floating to where I stand. Just like that I find myself smiling at her merriment. Glad she didn’t let the ex bring her down.
“Look at ya, grinning like a fool. Where is my stoic mate, Jasper?” He’s enjoying this.
“I’m not stoic!”
Eyebrows rise in disbelief as he scoffs.
“I’m not.”
“Well, you’re not the kind to be taking a lady you don’t know on a date either. To bed, yes. On a date, to a wedding? Never.”
“Never say never, pal. It’s happening.” I snap the bar towel at him. “Now leave me be so I can get back to work.”
“Back to work making eyes at your new girlfriend,” he teases.
“Fannin isn’t my girlfriend you idiot. I’m just doing a favor. Her step-sister is marrying her ex-fiancé. Nobody should have to face that shite alone.”
“Oh, ‘Fannin’ is it? No, I don’t suppose anybody should. That’s fucked up. No wonder you agreed to go.”
“Oh, I didn’t agree, I offered.” Not looking away, I meet his wide-eyed stare as he processes that.
“You taking the piss?”
“Nope. I offered when the arse started poking at her for not having a date.”
“Proper cunt that one is.”
“Aye.” An understatement I think.
“And what do you get out of it?”
“The company of a beautiful woman?” It’s the truth. I’m actually looking forward to spending some time with Fannin. Find out what makes her tick. Not sure why but I can’t seem to find it in me to care at the moment. Plus, if how her ex behaved today is any indication, this wedding is going to be a bit of nightmare for her. “By the way, she’s from some advertising firm supposed to be talking to my boss next week. I’m assuming you set it up?”
“I did. My cousin Sterling handled it all. Best friends with one of the big shots there. Noah.”
“Isn’t that interesting? Fannin is Noah’s cousin.”
“Small world.”
“Aye. Let me know how it goes.”
“And just where will you be?”
“I’ll be here bartending.”
Not sticking around to discuss anything more with him I walk away whistling. Before I disappear to the cellar to check on the whisky that just came in, I chance a glance over at Fannin and catch her watching me. I raise my hand, giving her a two-finger wave. With a cheeky grin she waggles hers back at me. For the first time in forever I’m looking forward to getting to know a woman, not just getting her into bed. Although I can picture Fannin spread out on my king-sized bed, that crazy mass of curls of hers a just-fucked mess. Might be in a spot of trouble here if I’m not careful. Not that I’ve ever been careful a day in my damn life. It’s the reason I’m here in the States and not in Scotland. Trouble disguised as beautiful women always seemed to find me there. But they were the wrong women. It was time for a more permanent change, and just now Fannin looks like the right kind of trouble for me to be in. All. Night. Long.
***
Glancing up at the clock above the bar I groan. One a.m. and the bar is still packed. I haven’t had a minute to think let alone call Fannin. Not wanting her to think I’d forgotten or that I was reneging on our date, I pull out my phone to text her. Hopefully if she’s sleeping, it won’t wake her up.
Me: Hey, it’s me, Jasper. Don’t want to wake you but just wanted you to know I haven’t forgotten about you. Still working.
Not expecting her to be awake I start to slip my phone back in my pocket when it pings.
Fannin: You didn’t wake me. Just left the office. Looks like we’re both workaholics.
Me: The office? Isn’t it a little late?
Fannin: Yeah, there was an emergency with one of my accounts.
Me: All fixed?
Fannin: Finally
Me: Call you tomorrow?
Fannin: You really don’t HAVE to do this!
Me: Oh but I do. I’m taking you. Night, Fannin
Fannin: Night, Jasper
Talking to Fannin, however briefly, gives me a little jolt of energy the three cups of coffee I had earlier hadn’t been able to. Just the boost I need to survive the rest of this night and the blonde at the end of the bar determined to take me home tonight.
Chapter Five
Fannin
My desk is covered with idea boards and post-it notes and all the information I’ve gathered about whisky distilling and every other thing whisky I could get my hands on. Noah sits across from me having just popped in to see if I’m making progress with the Iron Flask account and to laugh at Adam’s lame ass attempt to get me kicked off as lead.
“Seriously though, Fannin. Say the word and I’ll take him off the account. I didn’t even think about it when I added him to the team. I just knew that he handled that winery account a few months ago and thought he might have some helpful insight. If he’s going to make your life miserable though, I will pull his ass.” My cousin is sincere and that means more to me than anything. I feel like with this whole wedding thing and the affair, I’ve kind of been made to be like the third wheel in the whole mess. Everyone is so happy for them that nobody has taken my feelings into consideration. I know that I’m partly to blame for that since I’ve made light of the situation in front of my family. I don’t need their pity. And I won’t let any of them know just how badly I’ve been hurt. By all of them.
“No. It’s fine. I won’t let him get to me and he’ll just accuse me of getting him kicked off and cause more problems for me.” I sip from my now-cold coffee. “At least now he knows that you’re not going to let him persuade you to take the lead from me.”
Noah snorts, “Fucking idiot. Like I care who you date.”
“Did you really tell him that you didn’t care if I slept with the entire staff as long as I landed the deal?”
“Damn right I did. And I don’t. I mean, try not to, but . . .” He trails off on a laugh which throws me into a fit of giggles.
We’re interrupted by a sharp knock on my door. Before I can answer, it’s thrown open and Bethany stands in the doorway, Jade, my secretary, behind her speed-walking and trying not to spill the cup of coffee she must have been bringing me.
“Is it true? Are you bringing a . . . bartender to my wedding? At. The. Plaza,” my step-sister demands, not bothering to mask her disapproval.
“It’s okay, Jade,” I reassure my frazzled assistant.
“I’m so sorry, Fannin. She slipped by while I was getting you a fresh cup,” she apologizes as she swaps out the mugs on my desk.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not like she’s the CEO,” Bethany bites out in her snotty tone.
“No, but I am,” Noah
says sternly. “And it’s policy all guests need to be announced. This is a place of business, and you don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors.” That last was a dig since I found out about her and Adam’s affair when I walked in on them in a compromising position . . . in his office.
Bethany stands a little straighter, toying with the pearls at her throat. “I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t realize you were in here,” she simpers. My step-sister is blonde, lithe, impeccably dressed, and beautiful and thinks it will allow her to get away with anything and it usually does. But not with Noah. Not only is he married to a beautiful, powerful woman, but he’s my cousin, and he has no love for Bethany.
“Precisely.”
She blanches a little at his curt response and his unaffected manor but recovers quickly. “Noah, we really should spend some more time getting to know one another. We are, after all, family.” Reaching with that one, sister dearest. It takes everything I have not to roll my eyes. “I’m thrilled that you and Olivia are going to be at the wedding. So nice that we run in the same circle. Speaking of which—” Bethany turns her attention back on me. “Do you really think your date is appropriate for something like this? I mean, it’s a wedding at the Plaza not a concert at Madison Square Garden.” Again, her words drip with disdain.
Having this discussion in front of anyone else might be embarrassing, but this is Noah and he knows what a pretentious bitch she is. “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that there was some kind of requirement that my date had to meet in order to come to your super-fancy wedding. I should probably tell him that there’s a dress code, huh?” I sit back in my chair, crossing my legs. “What’s the matter, Bethany? Worried that you won’t be able to seduce this one because you’re too uptight for a beast like Jasper? I’ll let you in on a little secret, he likes to fuck with the lights on and his socks off, unlike someone else we both know.” Noah chokes back a laugh, trying to mask it by clearing his throat. “If that’s all, I have a lot of work to do. Why don’t you go see your fiancé?” She turns with a huff, too dignified to tell me to go fuck myself like I know she is dying to which only pisses me off more. “Bethany?” I call, waiting for her to turn back to me, her eyes filled with hate. “Be sure to knock—you never know who he may be doing in there,” I offer sweetly, smiling as I watch her stalk off in her flouncy sundress and strappy sandals.
“You feel better now?” Noah asks.
“I do actually,” I admit, meeting his gaze and finding no judgement there.
“Does Cafferty really leave his socks on?”
I bust out laughing—leave it to Noah to pick up on that. “He really does.”
“Consider yourself lucky then. You dodged a bullet with that one,” he says, giving a little shudder.
“Ain’t that the damn truth.” And it is. In more ways than one.
Chapter Six
Jasper
Looking at my watch I see that it’s only just eleven thirty. I put the phone to my ear, watching for cars as I cross the street in front of Tate and Cane. I’m not sure what time she goes to lunch but I’m hoping it’s about now.
“Hello?” She sounds distracted.
“Hiya, Fannin. You busy? I can call back.” Our work hours are so different, I’m just getting ready to start my day and she’s probably been in the office for a few hours already.
“Jasper? Hi! No. Well, yes. I’m always busy.” She gives a little laugh. “Not too busy though. What’s up?”
“Well, I was wondering if you fancied some lunch? I can bring it to you or we can go somewhere.”
“Umm, yeah. Okay. I can meet you in about twenty minutes. Is there somewhere you had in mind?” I hear papers being shuffled around and almost feel bad for taking her away from her work. But then I remember what she looked like sitting in the bar yesterday, and suddenly I don’t feel so bad.
“I’ll meet you outside your office, we can pick a place close by.”
“You don’t have to do that, Jasper. I can just meet you.”
“You say that a lot, you know that? Just let me take you.” I find that I say that to her a lot. I think I can’t help it. I want to take her. To lunch. To bed. I want to take her everywhere. By the sound of her voice, the breathy quality to it now, she wants me to take her as well.
“Okay. You can take me.”
“Good girl. Do you want me to come up or wait out front?”
“I’ll be right down. Let me just let my assistant know to hold my calls.”
“See you,” I answer, disconnecting the call.
With my sunglasses settled on my nose, I sit on a bench outside of the massive building. Kicked back, my arm along the back rest, my feet planted wide, I watch the door. People rush by, going who knows where in such a damn hurry. That’s one thing I miss about Scotland. The pace. It’s amplified by about a million here. I’ve been here full-time for a year now and I’m still not used to it. The people watching is for damn sure more interesting though. Speaking of people watching, here comes a woman I could watch all day. Her hair is down today in a wild tangle of curls around her head, arms bare in a canary yellow silk tank top thing and a black pencil skirt that hugs all of her curves. She’s tall—I would guess about 5’10”—in her matching yellow heels. She’s edgy, even when she’s all business. It’s sexy. And I’m not the only one to notice. Men all around us are noticing just fine. Makes me proud that it’s me she’ll be having lunch with. With her killer legs and stunning beauty she could very well be a model. I wonder what made her choose business? She hasn’t noticed me yet as she is glaring down at her phone tapping at it violently.
“Better be careful before you a poke a finger right through the bloody thing, Fannin.” Her head whips up searching me out. When she spots me, her lips curve into a sheepish smile.
“Sorry. I swear one day I’m going to throw this thing off the Brooklyn Bridge!”
“Aye. I can understand that. Do you have to stay here to handle that?” I ask, gesturing toward the phone in her hand.
“No. No. I should’ve just ignored it. Wasn’t important anyway.” She slips it into her purse. “So where do you want to go?”
“Well, I don’t want to keep you too long, so we can go somewhere close by. Your pick.”
“You look like a meat and potatoes kinda guy,” Fannin says, sizing me up.
“Aye.”
“Let’s do burgers. There’s this place down the street that is amazing.”
“Love a good burger, lead the way.”
She turns and starts weaving her way through the throng of people, reaching back and clasping my hand so that we don’t get separated. Once we make our way out of the upstream we’ve been fighting, we walk a little easier, side by side instead of her dragging me behind her.
“Sorry. It gets insane this time of day. You have to be an aggressive walker or you won’t get anywhere.”
“I see that,” I chuckle. “You’re a pro. I would’ve still been shuffling my way along.”
“I’ve lived here all my life. You’ll learn,” she assures me as she tugs me toward the entrance of a hotel, the door opened almost instantly by a smart looking doorman. I nod my thanks and lean in to whisper in Fannin’s ear.
“You know, we could’ve just gone back to my place, love,” I tease. Loving the way her eyes go soft with a smoldering look.
“Tsk tsk, Jasper. I may walk fast but that doesn’t mean I am.” She tosses me a cheeky wink. “You’ll at the very least have to feed me a couple times before I put out.”
The little minx. She’s forward and confident, and I fucking love it.
“Och, I can do that.” I nod.
“You’re super Scottish, you know that, right?”
“Aye. Born and raised there. You’ll learn.” I repeat what she said about the pace of the city. “Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. I love it.”
“Maybe next time I take you out I’ll wear my kilt.” Her eyes flash.
“You have one?”
“Aye. Course I do. What kind of Scotsman would I be if I didn’t?”
Fannin considers me for a second and nods, “Indeed.”
Tugging me behind a curtain, we’re suddenly in front of a hostess stand of a restaurant, hidden away in the lobby of a hotel. I’ll be damned.
“Two please,” Fannin tells the girl.
“Reservation?” The hostess asks in a bored tone.
“Tell April that Fannin is here. I have a long-standing reservation.”
“Oh, connections. I like it.” She grins at me over her shoulder.
“Stick with me, I have all kinds of connections.”
The bored looking hostess perks up a bit after hanging up the phone she had been on at Fannin’s request. “Right this way please, Miss McGuire.”
We’re taken to a round booth tucked away in a corner. As Fannin slides across the leather, she thanks the girl. I wait for her to get settled before sliding in after her. She hands me a menu. “I absolutely love the brisket burger here. It’s not anything crazy fancy, but it is insanely good.”
“Then that’s what I’ll have.” I put the menu down without opening it.
“You’re not even going to look?”
“Nope. I trust you.”
“You do?” She sounds baffled.
“Aye, why wouldn’t I?” I laugh.
The server comes over to take our order. “Go ahead, Fannin, order for us.” Her mouth drops open as she gapes at me before shaking it off and telling the girl what we’re having. Once she bounces away, with way more energy than anyone has a right to have, I watch Fannin watching me. “What? Is there something in my beard? A wee chipmunk or something?” I kid.
“Umm, no. No ‘wee’ anything,” she giggles. “I’ve never dated a man okay with me ordering for them, that’s all. I mean, not that we’re dating,” she hurries to add.
“Och, those aren’t men, Fannin. They’re boys in girly knickers. If a woman ordering for them makes them feel threatened, those aren’t the men you want to be dating.”
“Did you just say ‘knickers’?” she asks, biting at the inside of her cheek—to keep from laughing I’m guessing.
