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“Didn’t look that way to me. Fuckin’ guy outweighs you by about a hundred pounds.”
“But nothing says you’re serious like a heel to the instep or a knee to the balls.”
“Yeah, I get it.” An admiring smile crossed Samson’s lips. “I remember you handling a few assholes in Brooklyn that way.”
“Unfortunately, they’re all over.”
“Agreed. That guy was a first-class asshole and had no right putting hands on you, but gotta say, you look way hotter than these strippers you brought in.” His easy smile widened, making him look less intimidating. “And great job with the entertainment. Those girls are all class.”
“Thank you. I’ve used them before, and people are generally pleased with their performance.”
Samson leaned into her ear. “Can we talk?”
“I think we’re doing that right now.”
“Nah, I mean someplace quiet where we don’t have to yell.”
She bit her lower lip, stalling for time. “There’s nothing more to say. Circumstances threw us together again, and as I told you, I’m happy to work with Club Wicked, but I’m engaged, so we can only communicate on a business level.”
Lisbeth squared her shoulders, proud of her assertiveness and determined resolve.
“Yeah, okay, but there’s something I’d like to get out. I know it probably don’t mean shit anymore, but I always felt bad about how I ended it with you back in Brooklyn.”
You should feel bad. You gutted me and left me damaged for a long time afterward, but I’m stronger now—
“It was a long time ago.”
And I’ve moved on with a wonderful man.
“Will you just hear me out for old times’ sake?”
Samson anchored his stormy blue eyes on her, and what choice did she have? Let him unburden himself. Maybe then they could move forward on a business level and put the past in the past.
Without waiting for an answer, he guided her around the back of the booths, heading toward the same hall where Boa had his office. They passed that door and stopped further down the corridor at another one manned by a bouncer. Samson and the guy exchanged a look, then he opened the door, nodded for Lisbeth to enter, and closed it behind them.
A soft pink light bathed the square carpeted room, which consisted of a granite bar with an assortment of liquor that stood in the corner, a sound system built into the wall, and a U-shaped red velvet couch
“Big difference from the private rooms back at the Oasis.”
“Absolutely.” Lisbeth picked at a loose cuticle, suddenly nervous and awkward at the same time. Memories of Samson refusing to let her entertain in the Champagne Rooms at the Oasis flashed through her brain, along with visions of them using the small rooms as their personal playground. Lisbeth’s heart ratcheted up and heat prickled down her spine.
“Seeing you again made me remember the shitty way I ended things between us, and I wanted you to know it had nothing to do with you.”
Her legs wobbled, so she perched on the edge of the couch. “Oh please, not the old ‘it’s me, not you’ act.”
“I know it sounds cheesy, but I was so messed up back then. Everything I did with you was wrong. I led you on, thinking we could have more when I knew that was impossible. Then, when things got hard, and shit went bad, I pushed you away. I wanted to make sure you never came back, make sure you hated me—”
“Well, good job because I wanted nothing to do with you. Even moved clear across the country.” Lisbeth’s flippant tone belied her pain.
“Okay, I get it. I fucked up whatever we could’ve had, but that’s not what this is about.”
“Then, please tell me because I’m working this party. Besides, I’ve moved on, and all this rehashing the past is unnecessary.”
And . . . extremely painful.
“I know it is, and it was painful for me too.”
Was he reading her mind now?
