AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not tonight.”
“Good. ’Cause Hannah’s coming over.”
Not feeling like being around either Hannah or JD, I walk myself down to the bar.
Felipe looks me over. “I’m thinking baijiu. Or maybe a Shirley Temple?”
I laugh. “Just water.”
“Bridget coming over tonight?”
I shake my head and accept the glass of ice water from him. “You disappointed?”
“I like her.”
I know you do. Aloud, I respond, “Yeah?”
“Well, if you don’t mind unsolicited opinion and promise not to fire me…”
“No promises. You make unsolicited opinions at your own risk.”
“She’s different—in a nice way.”
I lean against the bar and eye him closer. “That wasn’t what you were going to say.”
“I want to keep my job.”
“I heard you hung out at her apartment. You and…”
“Bryan,” Felipe fills in. “He’s an investment banker with Benton-Monterey.”
“Oh, right. Cheryl approved him as a guest of Ronald’s. How’d you end up at Bridget’s place?”
“Bryan and I were doing some shopping on Telegraph and bumped into her.”
It’s the same story Bridget told me. Not that I don’t trust what Bridget said, but in my line of business, it’s better to follow up.
“She makes incredible fried chicken,” Felipe adds.
“I know. She brought some over the other night.”
“You should keep her around just for the fried chicken.”
Among other things, I muse to myself.
“Or not,” Felipe says, changing his tone. “I’m sure you don’t want unsolicited advice from your bartender any more than you want unsolicited opinions.”
I lift a brow. “So what if I solicit your opinion?”
“I like her more than most of the other women you’ve been with, but that doesn’t mean she’s right for you.”
“What would make her right for me?”
“I would say ditching that god-ugly sweater of hers, but it’s actually growing on me.” He shudders in disgust. “But I think she just needs to be taught how to dress. You don’t need a millionaire’s budget to put together a chic outfit.”
“Not sure she’d take lessons. She has other priorities. Like ending world hunger.”
“Yeah, so what do you think about that?”
I shrug. “It’s good someone’s trying to do it.”
“That’s how I feel. I’m not equipped to do that kind of work, and I wouldn’t be very good at it. So it’s best left to people who have the passion and skills for that stuff.”
A pregnant pause follows. I don’t know if he’s thinking what I’m thinking: my sphere is completely different from Bridget’s. We’re from two different worlds. Scratch that. Two incompatible worlds. We shouldn’t be together.
“How was your lunch with Hao Young?” Felipe asks, either because he was thinking along similar lines or because he wants to change the subject.
“Fine,” I reply. “You know, I think I’ll go for the baijiu after all.”
