“Good old days indeed. When I wasn’t in class or in lab, I was here or behind the bar at Danton’s. I don’t think I got more than four hours of sleep that entire year.”
“Well, it was good for me. Now all I have are wannabes and what I think might be a thief. Tell me something to make my day better. Anything to get my mind off my troubles. Tell me all about the new job.”
“There’s not much to tell, to be honest. The one owner called me a little while ago to let me know the job is mine. That’s the owner I like. The other one isn’t too bad either. He doesn’t say much, but he’s okay. The one I have to work with, Stefan March, is a complete and utter jackass, though. Just my luck.”
“Why? What happened?” Carrie asked as she began to fold a pile of pashminas.
“The man is perfectly Cro-Magnon. I swear he borderline sexually harassed me within the first five minutes of meeting me.”
Carrie rolled her eyes. “So the player sexually harassed you? Big surprise. Is he hot?”
“Your way of excusing the bad habits of bad men really isn’t one of your best qualities, you know that?”
“I have no problem with bad men, Shay. They’re fun. And players are the best. You know how I love the game.”
“Well, I don’t. Players can go play with other women. I don’t have time for games.”
“So is he good looking?”
I couldn’t deny Stefan March was hot. Tall, with light brown hair and brown eyes, he had a body that would make most women bow down and worship him. And between the tats and tongue piercing, he definitely had a bad boy vibe to him. In fact, the only real problem with him became clear when he opened his mouth to speak, and then the man became a total zero.
“He’s not as great as I thought he’d be. Lots of muscles and tats, but he’s a Grade A jackass. I didn’t get a player vibe. Just an asshole vibe.”
“So you’re not seeing why women love him?”
I shook my head and scrunched my nose up. “No. I won’t have any problem not loving Stefan March. Trust me.”
“Well, then working at Club X should be a walk in the park for you. No temptation. Nothing to take your eye off the prize.”
I picked up a pink pashmina and held it up to my neck to check how it looked in the mirror. “I’m there for the cash, Carrie. Period. End of sentence. If that ass Stefan March has any other ideas, he better go find someone who gives a damn. This girl is disinterested.”
“That’s good for Elliot,” she said in a singsong voice.
Throwing the scarf on the counter, I held up my hand. “Stop it with the Elliot bashing, for God’s sake. What did he ever do to you?”
Her mouth turned down into a frown. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I’m out of line. Forget I said anything.”
“I know you mean well, Carrie. I do.”
“It’s not even that I have anything against Elliot, Shay. I really don’t. I guess I’m just worried you’re going to miss out on something great because you’re settling for something meaningless. And before you say I’m bashing him again, meaningless is how you described what you two are, not me.”
That had been how I described my relationship with him. I couldn’t deny it. No matter how much he wanted us to be more, I’d made sure no meaning had snuck into what we were. Nothing serious. Just great sex and a good time.
“I can’t do any more than meaningless right now, Carrie. If there’s anyone to feel bad for, it’s Elliot, though. He’d like us to be more than just sex and hanging out. It’s me who doesn’t.”
Carrie held up her hands as if in surrender. “Okay, I get it. You’re content to play. Play on playette.”
Her words hit me like a slap to my face. “I’m not a player. Elliot knows exactly how I feel. He went into this thing with his eyes wide open, and even though he’d like us to be more, he’s okay with how things are.”
“Spoken like a true player. Maybe that’s why you don’t like your new boss. Perhaps you see something in him that you see in yourself.”
I scoffed at the idea that there was anything similar between Stefan March and me. The man was a base animal without even the finesse of a twenty-year-old. Guys like him used women for sex, and they deserved whatever misery they got in return.
But Carrie’s comment sparked something inside me, and as I moved to walk out of her shop, I stopped. “Player, huh? Well, if anyone can outplay Mr. Stefan March, it’s another player, right?”
She narrowed her eyes to suspicious slits. “Where are you going with this, Shay?”
“That man needs to be taught a lesson. He seems to think he’s God’s gift to women. I think it’s time he learns just how common he really is.”
“So you plan on doing what exactly?”
“I’m going to outplay the player. He thinks we’re just toys for his amusement? Well, I bet I can get him to fall for me. Then he’ll see how it feels when the shoe is on the other foot.”
“What about poor, dear Elliot?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Now you care about him?”
“No, not really. I’m just trying to cover all the bases. Isn’t your seducing Stefan March going to get in the way of whatever you and Elliot have?” she asked with a sly grin.
“Elliot knows what we are. This isn’t going to change how I feel about him, and anyway, whatever we’re doing has to end when I leave for Copenhagen in a few months.”
“I think you’re playing with fire, girlfriend. Stefan March isn’t a twenty-year-old boy. He might just be out of your league.”
My mouth hung open in shock. “I can’t believe you don’t think I can outplay that frat boy wannabe. You watch. Stefan March has met his match.”
“Okay, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I turned on my heels and headed out the door. “I’m off to my new job to fill out some papers before I go to my old job. I’ll talk to you later!”
“Call me and try to stay out of trouble!” she yelled as I left.
As if some guy could ever be trouble for me.
For the second time that day, I entered Club X with butterflies in my stomach. Even though I’d gotten the job, I really wasn’t sure what I was getting into. My friend from The Brew House had clued me in on the sexy antics of the place, making sure to let me know how hot some of the patrons were. I cared more about how great they tipped, and she’d bragged about Club X being the best place she’d ever worked for just that reason. But something in the way she kept stressing the part sex played in the job made me nervous.