“Oh my God.” She placed her hand over her mouth. “I am so sorry.” She grabbed a handful of napkins from the bar.
“Don’t worry about it.” I took the napkins from her and started wiping the scotch from my suit. “I buy you a drink and this is the thanks I get?” I spoke with a hint of irritation.
“Really? I’m sorry that you have a lack of respect for personal boundaries and were practically up my ass.” She cocked her head. “I’ll be more than happy to pay for you to get that five-thousand-dollar Tom Ford designer suit cleaned.” She asked the bartender for a pen, wrote something down on a cocktail napkin and handed it to me. “Here’s my phone number. Let me know how much it cost, and I’ll Venmo or PayPal you the money. By the way, thanks for the drink.”
She walked away and left me standing there speechless.
“Did she just give you her phone number?” Danny asked as he walked up next to me.
I stared down at the napkin and saw her name with her number. “Yeah. Apparently, she did.”
One Week Later
“Good day, Mr. Thorne.”
“Hello, Kenny. Is my suit ready to be picked up?”
“It is. Let me go grab it for you.”
Kenny was the owner of the dry cleaner my family had used for years. I remembered coming in here as a child with my nanny when she’d drop off my father’s suits to be cleaned. Every time we would come in, Kenny would grab a lollipop from under the counter and lean over and hand it to me with a smile on his face.
When he walked over with my suit, he set it on the hook and rang me up.
“By the way, I found this in the pocket of your pants,” he spoke as he handed me the cocktail napkin with Jenna’s phone number on it. “I figured you might still want that.” He gave me a wink.
“Thanks, Kenny. I appreciate it.”
I walked out of the shop and handed my suit to my driver, Thaddeus.
“After you drop me at the office, can you run the suit home for me?”
“Of course, Lucas.” He nodded.
As I was on my way back to the office, my phone chimed. When I pulled it from my pocket, I saw I had a text message from Sophia, one of the women I occasionally went out with.
“Hi. I’m sorry, but I have to cancel our date tonight. My sister is flying in tonight instead of tomorrow. I hope you understand.”
Shit. I was really looking forward to getting laid tonight.
“Of course, I understand. We’ll go out another time. Have fun with your sister.”
“Thanks, Lucas. I’m available Tuesday night.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule and get back with you.”
Damn it. Now what? I thought to myself. Placing my phone back in my pocket, I felt the napkin I had tucked in there before leaving the dry cleaners. Pulling it out, I stared at Jenna’s name and number. Even though she spilled her drink all over my five-thousand-dollar suit, she was still gorgeous, and I wanted to see her. The way she sent that guy to his knees and then copped an attitude with me saying I didn’t respect personal boundaries intrigued me. I’d wondered if she’d have an attitude like that in the bedroom. There was only one way to find out.”
Chapter 2
Jenna
I was sitting at my desk when my phone chimed with a text message from an unfamiliar number.
“Hi, Jenna. I’m the guy you spilled your drink all over at the club. You gave me your number and told me to tell you how much the dry-cleaning bill was.”
“Um, hi. I remember. Did you get it cleaned?”
“I did. In fact, I just picked it up. Instead of paying for the dry cleaning, have dinner with me tonight to make up for it.”
I furrowed my brows as I read his message. I remembered the jerk and the attitude he gave me even though he was the one invading my personal space. But I also remembered other qualities about him. The sexy as sin physical qualities. Six foot two, great build, dark brown hair that was short and slicked back on the sides with a medium length textured top, penetrating brown eyes, and a strong chiseled jawline with a clean five o’clock shadow. What was the harm in having dinner with a sexy and handsome man? It was a Friday night, and I was available. The only plans I had consisted of pajamas, Thai food, and binge-watching Netflix. I enjoyed meeting new people. Maybe this time he wouldn’t be such a jerk.
“Okay. I’ll have dinner with you. What time and where?”
“Tavern on the Green at seven o’clock. I can pick you up if you’d like.”
“That’s okay. I’ll meet you there.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you at seven.”
When I arrived home, I threw my hair up in a messy bun and took a quick shower before I had to get ready to leave for dinner. While I was washing the dirt and grime off from the day, it suddenly hit me that I didn’t know this guy’s name. Ugh. How could I have been so stupid not to ask him. As soon as I finished my shower, I grabbed my phone and sent him a text message.
“Hi there, guy from the club! It’s the girl who spilled her drink all over you because you have no respect for personal boundaries. You didn’t offer your name and I totally forgot to ask you. So…”
A few moments later, he replied.
“We’ll discuss more about personal boundaries at dinner, and I’ll tell you my name when you arrive.”
I stared at his message in disbelief. He was definitely a jerk and I couldn’t believe I agreed to meet him for dinner. Maybe I should cancel. But I was hungry, and I loved Tavern on the Green. I’d just leave right after dinner. An hour tops with him. I could deal with his jerkiness for an hour. After putting on an “evening” look on my face and throwing a few curls in my long brown hair, I slipped into a short black dress with three quarter length flared sleeves. After zipping up my tall black boots, I grabbed my small black evening bag and headed to the restaurant.
I arrived at five minutes after seven, and when I stepped inside the restaurant, a perky blonde hostess greeted me.
“Welcome to Tavern on the Green. Dining for one?”
“No.” My brows furrowed at her. “I’m meeting someone.”
“Name for the reservation?” she asked.
“See, here’s the thing. I don’t know his name. He said he’d tell me when I arrived. He’s incredibly handsome and has a lack of respect for people’s personal boundaries.”
“You’re in luck. A handsome man just walked in about ten minutes ago.”
“Did you get his name?” I smirked at her.
“Only his last.”
“And?” I raised my brow.
“Thorne. Mr. Thorne. I’ll take you to his table.
As she led me through the restaurant, I saw Mr. Thorne sitting in a corner booth staring at me. Damn, he was sexy.
“Good evening.” He smiled as he stood up. “You’re late.”
“I was here. The hostess was trying to figure out whom I was meeting since I wasn’t given a name.”
“And she figured it out?”
“She did. I told her I was meeting a man who had little respect for people’s personal boundaries. She knew instantly I was here to meet you, Mr. Thorne.” I arched my brow as a small smile crossed my lips.”