Page 16 of Honey, Honey
“I like BaristApp.”
She scoffed and took another sip of her drink. “What? No one likes that app.”
I tapped a finger against my chest. “That’s not true, Tiff.Ilike the app, and I’m sitting right here to prove it.”
She put down her cup and picked up her bowl of rice, spooning kimchi and fish cake onto it. “Okay, but maybe you just like it because you have a billionaire boyfriend,” she said, and then held up a chopstick, “oh, wait, not boyfriend but fiancé, my bad.”
My cheeks heated at the mention of my make believe fiancé. “I don’t know what Lawson has to do with it.”
“He has everything to do with it. You don’t need to work with a man like that calling you his girl.” She winked at me when I tried to protest. “No shame in the game, Honey. I’m glad you got someone like that pulling for you. New York isn’t a kind place. You need someone with a little power in your corner, you know?”
I closed my mouth, eyes dropping back to the sizzling grill in front of me. “Yeah, I know,” I said, because what she was saying was 100% gospel. The city would chew you up and spit you out if you didn’t have some steel to you, but New York was also a 24/7 grind that wore a girl down. It helped to have support, especially if that support was Lawson Sokolov. I could see why Tiffany thought I was set, and sitting here looking at her with her big smile and earnest eyes, I wished not for the first time that what she was saying was the truth.
God how I wished Lawson Sokolov was well and truly mine. Of course, he wasn’t and never would be, but that didn’t mean I could tell Tiffany that. Not when she thought it was the truth, and not when we were on our way to becoming friends. How quick would that end tonight? I could just see her look of surprise and then bewilderment. She’d leave. I knew it. If I could take back every lie about the man…I shook my head and quickly speared a pickled radish. I couldn’t even finish the thought, because it wouldn’t be true.
When a man like Lawson Sokolov claimed you, if even for the moment, you grabbed hold of it with both hands. There was no morning, day or night that I would not do what I had done. There was no world where I didn’t lie about being Lawson’s.
“So like I was saying, when you want to kick the app to the side and settle down...you know our shop is right down the road from your man’s work. You two could come into work together and be cute before he scoots off to his big building.” She grinned at me triumphantly while I pretended to consider her words. If we were a real couple and not just a lie, she would have a great selling point.
I pulled our meat off the grill and began dishing it out to her, cutting it quickly with scissors before sliding some onto her plate. “I’ll think about it, okay? Can’t spring it on a girl on our first friend date and think I’m going to agree. I’m hard to get, Tiff.” My words were light and I knew they would come across as a joke. It would be enough for me to change the topic of conversation and enjoy the rest of the night with Tiffany.
“Okay, all right,” she said, throwing up her hands and pouring sesame oil into a dish beside her meat. “But don’t think this will be the last time I bring this up. I want you working with me, Honey.”
I hummed and took a bite of my food. It was good food and I savored it while I poured myself and Tiffany another drink. I downed my wine quickly and refilled my glass, which earned me an excited clap from Tiffany.
“Wait for me! Wait for me,” she laughed, quickly throwing back her wine and pouring us another round. “If we are getting a little drunk, I’m game.”
“Then we are getting a little drunk.”
“Oh, what a perfect night.” Tiffany was smiling at me. The wine had begun to go to my head which was my signal to not only drink some water from the carafe beside us, but to also down more of my food. It was going to be a long night, even if it was going to be a good one.
Chapter Seven
LAW
Korean food on a rainy night was heaven. On its own the cuisine was perfect, the right mix of spicy and savory. There was sweet and pickled, the crunch and snap of vegetables both fresh and preserved, the meat flavorful and tender, fatty in the right ways.
It was one of my simple pleasures and it was one that I indulged in when I burned the candle at both ends. The long day, the damn deal that went sideways and had cost me a cool 40 million, and the fucking weather had me in a shit mood. I needed a damn hot meal, a dry place to relax, and a beer.
Korean food it was, which meant I was crossing the bridge and going into Queens for it. I nodded my thanks at the hostess who handed me a menu and took my coat with a smile. I was in a private room, one that was meant for parties. The unused places at the long table could be seen as wasteful by some, but I didn’t think there was anyone that would be excited to dine with me after the day I’d had.
The empty room suited my mood for space. For quiet.
A server came and quickly took my order of soju, a beer, and galbi. I added on an order of stew as well, my rumbling stomach reminding me that I hadn’t had much that day by way of food. I couldn’t remember consuming anything beyond the coffee I’d drank that morning. I frowned, closing my eyes, and leaned back in my chair, head falling back in annoyance.
Coffee.
Coffee.
Honey.
“Fuck,” I grunted, eyes opening as I sat up. It wasn’t just the money or the long as fuck day. The weather had little to do with why I was in a piss poor mood. It was Honey. I’d spent nearly all day trying to keep the woman from taking over my thoughts, and by how I felt, ticked off and sulking in a Korean restaurant, I knew I’d done a shit job at it. The more I tried to push her to the back of my mind the more she rose to the forefront. Her eyes, those pouty lips, fucking gorgeous tits that I knew were waiting for me beneath her shirt. She’d be soft, her skin would be like silk under my hands, and I could practically hear the gasp from her when I touched her. Fingertips lightly tracing the underside of her breasts before I caught her dusky nipples between my fingers, rolling the plump flesh between them until-
The door to the room slid open and I forced myself not to jerk in surprise. The server gave me a quick smile and placed my drinks, side dishes, meat and a pot of bubbling stew in front of me. “Thank you.” I meant to be succinct but even I could hear the gruffness to my words. They were barely more than a grunt.
“No worries.” She flashed me another smile, but this one was tentative and she cleared her throat, looking like she might keep speaking, which was the last thing I wanted or needed. I nodded at her and reached for the beer she’d placed in front of me. I needed at least half a beer in me before I was going to entertain small talk. I popped the top off while the server flipped on the grill in front of me. The flames sprang to life and the familiar sound of it relaxed me. I took half a swig of my beer and was already reaching for the tongs beside the platter of meat when the server spoke again.
“Will there be anything else?” The server, a pretty dark haired woman, asked me with another quick smile. But this one didn’t have the same veneer associated with friendly customer service. She was searching for something. Her eyes scanned my face and she came forward, the tray against her thighs, fingers clutching it so tightly I could see her knuckles were turning white. She was nervous, but forced herself to come closer.
