Page 20 of Wicked Flirt
He grabbed a bunch of napkins from the table dispenser and wiped his mouth. “You’re gonna get the cops in here on indecency charges.”
She lifted one shoulder. “Same thing. Tits, dicks.”
He stared at her. “It is not the same thing at all.”
“Tomato, tamato. Anyway, we could give out a bead necklace when they walk in and then for prizes for different games. Trivia, best float, funniest float, cutest speed-dating couple, stuff like that. The person who has the most necklaces at the end of the night wins something. Maybe a fifty-buck bar tab so they’ll return and bring their friends.”
“That sounds good to me. I’ll probably need you to help run it.”
“Absolutely. I—” She stopped and stared at someone over his shoulder.
He turned to where his longtime waitress, Ellie, stood in her favored tight ripped jeans and skin-tight thermal shirt that emphasized her large breasts. That combined with long wavy brown hair and striking blue eyes meant she raked in the tips with the male customers. She was also his best employee—here with him from the beginning—and she managed the bar in his absence. “Hey, Ellie. How’s it going?”
Ellie smiled. “Hey, boss.” She turned to Lexi. “Hi.”
“Hello,” Lexi said.
Ellie turned back to him. “How long are you going to do this living-in-the-burbs thing? We miss you around here.”
“Not sure,” Marcus said, thinking of his mom. He forced a smile. “No worries with you around. You keep it running smoothly.” He was lucky he could count on her to step in while he was living part-time near his mom. He patted his jeans pocket, suddenly remembering the key he’d left in his office. He’d get the checkbook while he was there too for Lexi. “Excuse me a minute, ladies, I’ll be right back.”
He stood and turned to go.
Ellie pointed toward the kitchen. “I left you something sweet in the fridge.”
“You’re killing me.” He slapped a hand over his flat stomach. “You know I’m off sugar.” He kept walking.
Ellie called out to him, “That’s cuz you’re already sweet, sugar.”
He laughed and kept going.
~ ~ ~
Lexi went back to her laptop.
“What’re you two planning over here?” Ellie asked.
Lexi lifted her head, surprised Ellie was still there. “He hired me to plan a Mardi Gras event on Fat Tuesday.”
Ellie smiled. “Sounds fun. I’m usually in the know, but it’s been tough with Marcus out in the burbs half the week.”
“I’m sure he’ll fill you in.”
Ellie leaned down, speaking in a conspiratorial tone. “I hope you don’t take Marcus’s flirting too seriously. I mean, most women do.”
“No worries.”
Ellie glanced over her shoulder before whispering, “There was a woman who took him way too seriously. She was one of many he was dating. When he dumped her, she tried to kill herself.”
Lexi’s hand went to her throat. Did Marcus know the devastation he’d wrought? A woman tried to kill herself over him? That was serious. She swallowed hard. “How do you know this?”
“Her brother Nate is a regular. He tells anyone who’ll listen to steer clear of Marcus.”
“Was this recent? Does Marcus know?” She couldn’t imagine Marcus not caring if he did know.
Ellie glanced over to where Marcus was now striding toward them, and turned back, leaning close to Lexi to confide, “The only reason he screws around so much is because of his divorce. That bitch really did a number on him.”
Lexi hadn’t known Marcus was married before. How well did she know him, really? She didn’t want to believe the bad rumors about him. She liked him, and he’d been good to her. But maybe that was how he was with all women, which was why they ended up devastated.
