Read Online Hooker (L.A. Liaisons Book 2) by Brooke Blaine - Free Book Online Page A

chair across from him and waited until I sat down before he took a seat. “I wasn’t sure what your poison was or I would’ve ordered ahead.” Then, as if on cue, a waitress was let inside the rope.
    “Oh, that’s okay,” I said, taking the drink menu that was offered and quickly scanning over it for something sweet. “I’ll have a Violet Femme, please.”
    “Excellent choice,” the waitress said, before turning to Ace. Her ample cleavage was on display as she angled herself so that he’d have the best view. “Another bourbon for you, sir?”
    “Keep ’em coming.” Even though the woman was giving him permission to enjoy the view, he didn’t so much as glance at her chest—or her bare legs in a skirt inches shorter than mine. When she didn’t get the response she was hoping for, she frowned and exited the way she came. Then he unbuttoned his suit jacket and shifted back in his seat, as if ready for me to give him a spiel of some kind.  
    I hadn’t been given a lot of intel on this meeting—okay, strike that, I’d been given none —so I wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for exactly. I was about to, to use Paige’s repulsive expression, “pull it out of my ass.”  
    “Val said you had a meeting earlier this week,” I said, crossing my legs. But as soon as I did, I could feel a breeze against my bum, so I readjusted so that they were crossed at the ankles instead.  
    No blowing bum breeze now. Perrrrfect.
    “That we did. You came highly recommended by a friend of mine.”
    “Well, Val’s done a great job of—”
    He wagged a finger. “No, not Val. You . ”
    “Me?”
    “I heard you’re the brains behind this whole operation, so I wanted to meet with you personally to see if you’re—and I don’t mean any offense by this—as good as I’ve heard you are.”
    Oh…oh wow. Swallowing hard, I tried to formulate a response to what he’d said, but the words refused to come out.  
    People in his circle knew about me? That was more than a little mind-blowing. I briefly wondered if I’d unwittingly helped any supermodels find love lately, but please . Like a model needed help finding a boyfriend. Which raised the question…what the hell did Ace Locke need me for?
    “I thought we could help each other out,” he said, as if he’d been privy to my thoughts.  
    My brain finally snapped back in gear, and I nodded. “Right. Of course. And I know how much our company could benefit from working with you, but I have to admit I’m curious what we can do for you?”
    He grinned. “So you’re aware of my prior dating history.”
    As tempted as I was to play dumb and clarify what he meant, I wouldn’t be half as good at my job if I didn’t keep up with couplings, especially those in the spotlight. “I’m not sure how accurate the reports are, but I think I have a handle on what you may be looking for.” That was about as polite as I could make it, because somehow I didn’t think “skinny blondes who take off their clothes for a living and consume nothing but cigarettes, champagne, and Ex-Lax” would be as PR—even if it was the truth.  
    He took a long swallow from his drink, and when he set it on the arm of the chair, his finger circled the lip of the glass.  
    “The thing is, Shayne, I’m looking for someone a bit…different than my usual.”
    “Different how?”
    “Well, now that’s the question.” Again with rimming the glass. Heh. Rimming. Paige would have a joke about that. “I thought maybe we could get to know each other first before we get into the business stuff.”
    Oh… “Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t bring my credentials, but they’re posted on our website if you’d like to—”
    “No, no, I meant tell me more about you. Your accent is…British?”
    “Australian, actually. Although it’s nowhere near as strong as my family’s. They tend to call me a traitor to the country I was born in. Nice, right?”
    “So you’ve been here a while,