Remy waved at the bartender and signalled for another round, which appeared in seconds.

“Just keep ‘em coming, Nance. My boy here is mourning a loss,” Remy chortled and Luke scowled at him.

“I’m not mourning shit,” he countered.

“Uh, yeah,” Remy retorted, slamming back the tequila and nodding for Luke to do the same. Grimacing, Luke followed suit, closing his eyes as the alcohol burned his gut.

“I don’t give a fuck that Carter is dead,” Luke insisted.

“I’m not talking about Carter. Fuck Carter. He didn’t suffer enough if you ask me,” Remy hissed, his grey eyes flashing. “Fucking aneurism. He should have died by Chinese water torture or some shit.”

Luke cast his best friend an appreciative glance but he wondered if Remy hadn’t had too much to drink. He wasn’t making much sense.

“Then what am I mourning?” he asked, instantly wishing he hadn’t.

“The missed opportunity to bang that lawyer!” Remy yelled loudly enough to capture the attention of everyone in the bar. Luke cringed and lowered his head.

“Nothing good would have come from that,” he replied without an iota of conviction. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the luscious, strait-laced blonde since he’d seen her out of his apartment that morning.

A few beers after she’d gone, he found himself fingering the card she’d left conspicuously on his table and eyeing his cordless phone.

It was then he’d called Remy to get him the fuck out of the apartment before he did something stupid.

But would it be stupid? She wanted me too. A one-night stand with that woman would just be sticking it to Carter even more, wouldn’t it? She’d probably submit to me just for the chance to get me on board and I’d just be saying a giant fuck you to my father as he rolls around in his grave.

It wasn’t really his style to lead women on. He’d never had to do it, after all. Women came and went in a slew of doggy-style and silken fistfuls of hair without attachment or commitment.

Why can’t Meredith Maddox be one of those women?

“How is Rachel taking it?” Remy asked suddenly and Luke grimaced.

“Shit. I need to call her back. She’s going to the funeral.”

“Brave girl, that one.”

“Misguided sense of loyalty,” Luke retorted, reaching for his beer and downing it in one shot. “Carter should have left the company to her.”

“Why don’t you give it to her?”

Luke looked up at his friend through blood-shot eyes.

“What?”

“Why don’t you take over the company and transfer title to Rachel? I’m no lawyer but I bet it can be done somehow.”

Fuck, that’s perfect. Why the hell didn’t I think of that? Rachel could run the company. She deserves it after the time she put in. She’ll love it and it would piss Carter off to no end!

“You’re a fucking genius, Remy,” He leaned forward to clap his head to Remy’s in a headbutt and instantly released him.

“That’s why I’m the brains of this operation,” Remy joked, but suddenly, he seemed to lose his interest in the evening.

“I need to get out of here,” he mumbled. “Call me an Uber?”

“Yeah.”

Luke pulled out his phone and called up the app, ordering his long-time friend a car. As he lowered the phone to the bar, signalling the bartender for the bill, his eye caught the attention of a group of young women near the entranceway.

They openly stared at him and Remy, making eyes at them coyly.

“You sure you want to go?” Luke asked, nudging his friend. “We’ve got fucking potential at one o’clock.”

“You always have fans,” Remy yawned, barely looking where Luke nodded. “Even the gay guys in our platoon wanted you.”

Luke snorted.

“Yeah. You’ve definitely had enough for tonight,” he agreed. He looked toward Emma who still hadn’t brought the bill.

“Em? We’re calling it a night,” he told the owner and she scoffed.

“Yeah. See ya,” Emma replied, still wiping the glasses with her dishrag.

“Em…” Luke sighed. “Give me the goddamn bill, please.”

The heavyset woman smirked and winked at him.

“Not gonna happen, hunky. Get that one home in one piece.”

“Emma, we’re gonna stop drinking here if you don’t start charging us,” Luke growled at her.

“Baby,” the woman sighed. “You have paid for more than enough over the years.”

She smiled warmly at him and lowered her eyes.

“Your money is no good here.”

“You’re a pain in my ass,” Luke sighed.

“Likewise, honey.”

She waved as Luke helped Remy away from the bar and his friend laughed.

“You bought the damned building and don’t charge her rent, Luke. I think it’s safe to say we’re drinking for free forever.”

“You know why I did that,” Luke growled. “She helped me when—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Batman. You’re paying her back for helping you out after you told your old man to fuck off but you’ve also gotta let it roll both ways.”

Luke grunted.

Once outside, he dumped Remy in the Uber.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Luke promised. “Get home safe.”

“Wait, what?” Remy demanded, lifting his head. “Where are you going?”

Luke grinned at him and looked back toward Emma’s where the girls were watching them from the window wistfully.

“Just because you’re too drunk to get it up, doesn’t mean I am,” he laughed and slammed the door against Remy’s protests.

Her name was Candice or Candy or something equally irrelevant. She kept calling Luke “Lou” which made their proper names that much less important.

It was after two a.m. when Luke brought her back to his apartment, eight blocks from Emma’s.

Candice or Candy was a fun girl with an infectious giggle, but that was not what had drawn Luke to her. No, even in his slightly intoxicated state, he knew that she bore a slight resemblance to Meredith Ruiz-Maddox.

The tension which had been growing inside him since the previous day, the one which hadn’t been cured by fighting or jerking off, had to be cured by fucking, and Candice (or was it Candy? No, it was Candice...definitely Candice) was going to be the lucky girl who was relieved it, a role she seemed happy to take on.

Naked and belly down on the bed, she tried to reach back and touch his pecs but Luke easily gripped both wrists in his right hand, pinning her relentlessly to the soft faux fur comforter.

Candice moaned, bucking up against him and the feel of her cool ass cheeks against his shaft caused a drop of moisture to emerge from him. He slid himself over the crevice of her ass and she groaned invitingly.

“Fuck, you’re huge!” she gasped. “I could tell you were huge. I have a sense for these things.”

Luke wished she would stop talking and tightened his fingers around her wrists, forcing her deeper into the mattress as his left hand snaked around to explore between her legs.

“Oh yeah!” she cried out the second he touched her clit. “Right there! Right there!”

Shit, Luke thought, his jaw locking. She’s going to kill it.

Even as he thought it, he felt the urge to screw her start to fade and he squeezed his eyes closed, trying to bring forth the image of Meredith Maddox but Candice wouldn’t stop yelling out.

“Right there…yes! You’re like a bull! I’m coming!”

The once sweet-sounding twitter was now becoming an annoying tweet. He released her wrists and pushed himself off the bed as soon as her quivers started to slow. He ripped the condom off, tossing it into the garbage while he simultaneously tucked his hard-on back into his pants and zipped them up.

“Wait! What’s wrong?” Candice demanded. “Where are you going, Lou?”

“I’m done.”

“B-but…did I do something?” she asked and he shook his head,

Candice sat up, a dazed look on her face as she crawled toward him.

“Let’s do that again,” she purred but Luke shook his head and smiled at her.

“Not tonight,” he told her. “I really should get some rest.”

She peered up at him in shock.

“Wow, really? You’re just going to kick me out?”

“You got it, princess.”

“No! You can’t – I mean…we had a real connection there, Lou. I think you touched my soul…”

Her plea died off at the cold look on his face. She sighed, sliding off the bed. “I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“Sure,” he mumbled.

He saw her out and returned to his bedroom. He looked down and noticed that he had Meredith’s card in his hand.

You can’t call her now, idiot. At least wait till morning.

But I will have her, he vowed.

Because something told him that he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Meredith Maddox…if only one time.