“You better not try to pull one of your tricks, Glenn.”

Eyes closed, I slumped in the chair. “Buddy, the only trick I’d pull right now would be the one that would make you shut up.”

It wasn’t going to happen, though. I could always hang up, but I knew my manager. Peter would just call again—or worse, come over.

I was going to have to get all straight-laced and act like a good boy tonight—and for the foreseeable future—which meant I needed to have the afternoon to relax.

What I didn’t need was to have my manager yammering in my ear.

And yet, he yammered on.

“So, you’ll be ready then? I’ve got a car coming…”

His voice trailed off, and I spoke into the silence. “Yeah, yeah. You told me this already. I know, Peter. I’ll be waiting.”

“Wear something other than blue jeans, for fuck’s sake. You’re a star, not some bum off the streets. Look the part.”

I didn’t see how wearing a penguin suit made me look more or less like a star, but whatever.

“I’ve already got the suit laid out, Peter.”

There was a paused, then he said, “Good.” Another brief hesitation before he added, “I know this is all stressing you out. I know settling down just isn’t your thing. But all this bad press is going to kill you, Glenn. Too many people are still thinking about that girl and how she took a header off the balcony.”

A sick, greasy feeling settled in the hollow of my belly. Grabbing the glass of whiskey from my desk, I tossed it back, hissing as it burned all the way down. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to think about that—don’t want to talk about it. Got it? I’ve thought about it enough, talked about it enough.”

“Hey, hey…man, I’m on your side here. I know you tried to stop her. It’s just…her, and all the other…”

“Enough.” I put the glass down, slamming it so hard, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it broke.

“Okay, okay. Look…just…be ready on time. You’ll have fun. You like Florence. You’ll have friends at the party, too. We’re turning over a new leaf, right?”

“Right.” And I was hanging up. Without letting him have another word, I dropped the phone back into the cradle, then looked down.

A woman, her bright red hair cut short, knelt in front of me.

She tilted her head back just enough to meet my eyes as she bobbed her head up and down in a slow, steady motion.

Now that I wasn’t on the damn phone, maybe I could concentrate on relaxing.

Pathetic that I had to concentrate on doing that. I closed my eyes, tried to will my mind to empty itself as she continued to demonstrate her not-inconsiderable talents.

My cock thickened, pulsing in tandem with her rhythm, and she wrapped a hand around the base, steadying me.

She made a humming sound low in her throat.

That felt…nice.

Cupping the back of her head, I nudged deeper, felt her shudder.

Her fingers trailed up, then down my thigh.

She was staring at me.

I could feel it.

It made it really damn hard to get off with her watching me like that.

Grabbing her head between both of my hands, I started to move against her mouth, throwing her off balance. She made a startled little noise, and I opened my eyes enough that I could make sure I wasn’t hurting her or pushing too deep.

Her eyes were closed as she started to suck on me.

That was better.

I grunted in approval and continued to thrust my cock into her mouth, chasing after the orgasm.

It came, but it was…empty.

She curled up on my lap, stroking my chest and rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. Sliding a hand up her leg, I found her naked under the brief skirt of her dress and stroked her expertly. She squealed, then started to moan, riding my hand until she found her own climax just a few seconds later.

“That was…lovely,” she said, sighing against my lips and kissing me.

“Yeah.” I eased her off my lap. “I gotta go, babe.”

“Go? Go where?” She blinked up at me, looking confused.

“There’s a party. A business deal.”

A hopeful look entered her eyes, but I shook my head. “Sorry, sweetheart. My manager’s already got things lined up for me. I’ve got to go and behave, be a good little boy.”

“But you’re so much more fun when you’re not.” She slid a hand up my thigh, smiling at me from under her lashes.

“Glad you think so.” I winked at her then gave her a swat on the ass. I didn’t much care if she thought I was fun or not, but there was no point in hurting her feelings. “Go on, now.”

Once she was gone, I slumped back in my chair and reached for the bottle of whiskey, just barely an arm’s length away from my desk.

The hands on the clock counted down the hours.

I wondered if I could get completely drunk then sober again in time for the damn party.