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“You need a ride?”
I shook my head. “No. There’re cabs sitting around out front waiting for people who need rides. And the concierge said if for some reason there aren’t any, he can call and have one here in five minutes or less.”
Beck eyed my almost-drained wine glass. “Working on liquid courage?”
“Are you going to make fun of me if I say yes?”
“Nah. I had two fingers of scotch in my room before I got the balls to come back down to the bar after my Zoom call the night we met. You can be a little intimidating.”
My eyebrows climbed toward my hairline. “Youwere intimidated byme? You’re lying.”
He motioned to the open seat next to me. “You want some company?”
“Sure.”
Beck sat down. The bartender walked over. “What can I get you?”
“Can I have a sparkling water, please?”
“Coming right up.”
The bartender pointed to me. “You want a refill?”
“What the hell. Why not?”
When he walked away, Beck looked me over. “You’re wearing your favorite color today instead of mine.”
I glanced down. I’d completely forgotten what I had on—a pale pink sundress. “I’m actually more of a hot pink fan than light pink. But that doesn’t wear so well. You have a good memory though.”
Beck tapped his pointer to his temple. “Hard to forget. I won’t be getting the image of you in that blue dress out of my head anytime soon.”
I hid my blush by finishing off the last drops in my glass before the bartender brought my refill. “You finished your work already?”
“Not yet. I was heading to the business center to pick up some documents my assistant emailed over for me to sign. The bar is on the way.”
“Oh. Well, don’t let me keep you. I’ll be fine.”
“You want to role play?”
“Pardon?”
He gave me a slow, sexy smile. “Believe it or not, that wasn’t meant to be dirty. You’re nervous. So pretend I’m your father and say whatever you’re planning on saying to him. We’ll do a little dry run.”
I bit my lip. “That’s the problem. I don’t have anything planned.”
Beck shrugged. “We’ll freestyle then. Improvise.” He lifted his chin. “Close your eyes for a minute. Take a few deep breaths, maybe shake out your arms and roll your shoulders, and then just shoot from the hip.”
I nodded. Why not? So I did as Beck suggested and let myself relax as much as possible. Then I turned to face him head on.
“Hi.” I smiled. “Are you Alex Stewart?”
Beck kept a straight face. “I am. How can I help you?”
I drew a complete blank and stared at him. “Holy shit, Beck. What the hell am I going to say to this man?”
“I don’t know. How about starting by asking him if he remembers your mother?”
“Oh. Yeah…that’s a good idea. It’s an icebreaker.”
