He looked at her fist, confused, then realized she wanted him to bump it. He gave her a wan smile. Then, as his eyes skimmed down her dress, it warmed to something more real.
“You look amazing,” he said.
Her face heated. As did parts of her that she didn’t want to respond to him. “I feel like a fraud.”
“Well, we are trying to fool them,” he pointed out. “But they’d be lucky if you hit on them for real. No one in there deserves you.”
She didn’t know what to say to that.
The bouncer waved them in with a glow of Luke’s eyes, and they slipped inside.
“We can do this,” she said, trying to convince them both.
“We can do this,” he repeated back to her, and squeezed her hand before they separated.
She stepped up to the bar, made of mahogany and polished brass. It probably weighed a ton and cost a mint.
A white man a few years older than her slid in next to her. She willed Luke to let it happen and felt him glide away.
“What’s your poison?” the new guy asked. He had a completely unnecessary Patagonia vest over his button-down and his watch was probably worth a couple months’ rent.
She blanked out for a moment and then forced a smile. “Manhattan.”
“You got it.” He signaled the bartender. “Come here often?”
“First time,” she said. “I work up near Union Square.”
“Tech?” he asked. It could have been one of the manydoctors’ offices, or publishing, or heaven forbid, a non-white-collar job. But those things didn’t exist to people like him.
“Tech,” she confirmed. She leaned against the bar as she sipped her Manhattan and tried not to make a face. She had no idea what was in it, just that it sounded like the kind of thing you’d order at a place like this. She usually stuck to the cheapest white wine on the menu—but then she didn’t usually come to places like this. Across the room, Luke laughed at something another guy with a nearly identical vest said. She hoped he was doing better than she was. “What brings you out tonight?”
“Celebrating,” he said smugly. “Just closed a big M&A deal.”
“Congrats,” she said, forcing a smile and wondering if a product she liked was about to cease to exist. “All you ever dreamed of?”
“Well, for the weekend, at least.”
“And what comes next?”
“We go after the next one.”
Bingo.
“So what would you do to get an even bigger deal?” she asked, trying to sound idle.
“Whatever it takes,” he replied. His hand had slid along the wood and now brushed her elbow. “But that’s Monday’s problem.”
“Tonight’s for celebrating,” she agreed. She raised her glass. “To dreams coming true.”
“To dreams coming true.” He clinked rims.
“I’d like to help make a few of those dreams come true,” she said, looking up through her lashes like she’d seen in the movies and trying to convince her skin not to crawl.
“Oh, really?” His hand rested on her forearm now.
“Come on,” she said, stepping away from the bar. He looked intrigued. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
His eyes lit up. Then he followed her gaze. His lip curled down. “I think… maybe you’ve gotten the wrong idea.”
