Page 68 of Whiskey Sour
I turn, brow furrowed at the man approaching us. He looks so…familiar. He’s tall, lean, with stark black hair and dark gray eyes. There’s something about his composure and the casual yet guarded way he walks that sparks deja vu in me.
He stops in front of us, greeting us all with a slight nod of his chin before addressing Everest. “This is a lovely gathering.”
“Thank you very much,” Everest replies, and my eyes nearly pop out at the one-eighty his voice took. It’s so…cold. Is this how rich people talk to each other? Like it’s all some kind of big competition to see who can be the best robot? “How are you these days?”
“Well,” Archibald grunts as he looks around. “Where is my brother?”
I cock my head and throw Cassius a questioning look, but he just shrugs. Enough of this…weird tension. I stand happily and thrust my hand out at Archibald. “Hi! I’m Skylar!”
He looks down at my hand, not in distaste but apprehension. Finally, he takes it and gives me a firm shake. “Archibald. Pleasure to meet you.”
My best friend doesn’t bother standing, simply up-nodding at the fancy man. “Cassius.”
“You’re looking for your brother?” I try to make conversation. “Do we know him?”
“He’s talking about Knox,” Rhys grunts, eyeing Archibald with distaste.
I barely contain my gasp.Thisis Knox’s brother. Don’t get me wrong, I figured he had a family, but I also always imaginedKnox just appeared in the universe a tattooed bad boy with an attitude problem. Like maybe he came as a peace offering from the lizard people that live in the sewers.
“He hasn’t come out yet,” Everest says politely, but there’s a bite to his tone.
Archibald doesn’t bristle, and something tells me he must be used to it. He sighs deeply, glancing at his watch before nodding. “I have a meeting in an hour. If I can’t see him, could you please tell him I came?”
My eyebrows pinch at that. There’s something almost pleading in his request that has even Rhys’s eyes widening. Everest nods slowly, eyes calculating as he watches Archibald walk away. Once it’s just the four of us again, I plop down in my seat and slam my hands excitedly on the table. “Okay, there’s gossip here.Spill.”
Everest rolls his bottom lip into his mouth, shooting a questioning glance at Rhys, who just shrugs. “Knox’s family isn’t exactly…”
“They’re a bunch of elitist pricks,” Rhys finishes for him, probably a bit more crudely than Everest would have put it.
“I wonder why his brother bothered showing up then,” Cassius muses as he plays with the hair on the back of my neck. “Appearances?”
Rhys shakes his head. “No. Apparently, Archibald actually wants to have a relationship with him. He’s the only one in the family who was invited.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Everest snorts. “The twins are creepy as shit.”
“Wait, how doyouknow all of this?” I ask Rhys. “Aren’t you two supposed to be dueling for who can swing their dick the highest?”
Cassius snickers beside me as Rhys frowns. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat as the tips of his ears turn red. “Knox and I are…friends. I guess. Maybe.”
“Haven’t you heard? They’re besties now,” Everest teases, mostly just to wind up his fiancé. “We’ve all been hanging out.”
Well, that’s nice, at least. That whole thing that went down with Everest and Knox and then with Knox and Elton was all one big clusterfuck. Soap opera material, I tell you. All involving a lot of the same people too. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun to watch, but it’s also nice knowing we’re a big happy family now. Although, I will admit, I’ll miss the way Rhys and Knox used to lunge for each other’s throats. Maybe they’ll still do it now, only with love.
Aw, that’s actually really fucking cute.
“I see my employees are having a good time.”
“Jesus fucking Christ!” I yell, just a touch too loudly, causing a gaggle of rich people to eye me curiously. I ignore them as I turn to Davis and frown. “Where did you come from?”
Davis, always impassive, doesn’t answer. He takes a sip from a fancy-looking glass and eyes the crowd. “This is a nice gathering. Elton invited me.”
Rhys cocks an eyebrow. “And you came?”
I can relate to Rhys’s incredulity—even Cassius seems a bit shocked—because Davisnevercomes out with us. Granted, he’s our boss, so it’s not like we invite him everywhere, but I kind of just thought he lived in the club. Or is a vampire. I mean, I’ve only ever seen him at night so…it tracks.
“Knox and Elton work for me and they’re only moderately cringe-worthy,” he responds, taking another sip. Still, looking around the crowd, his lips purse.
“Looking for someone, boss?” Cassius asks as he leans forward to cock his head.
