What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,83

her on the knee.

“That's silly,” he teased. “If I was your pimp, you'd be paying me at the end of the night.”

They pulled up in front of the restaurant, and a valet swiftly helped them out of the car. They were led to a hostess podium, and then were quickly escorted to their table, where two men were already seated. She glanced at a large clock behind the bar, noting that the men were early for their meeting.

“Ari,” the older of the two said, a thin man in his fifties, as he stood and held out his hand. “Good to see you.”

“You, too, Scott,” Ari shook his hand.

“This is Evans Daniels,” Scott introduced the younger man, then prattled off some job title that made no sense to Valentine. Evans stood, as well.

“Aaron Sharapov, junior partner ...” Ari prattled off his credentials and some of his accolades. Then his hand was against her bare back, urging her to take a step forward. “And this is Valentine O'Dell – I managed to convince her to grace us with her presence this evening.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. O'Dell,” Scott shook her hand, giving her a warm smile. She shook Evans' hand, as well, but there was something more than warmth in his smile.

“Valentine,” he repeated her name. “Patron saint of beekeeping, epilepsy, fainting, and the plague.”

“Oh wow,” she laughed. “You are literally the only person I've ever met who knows that.”

“Really?”

“Yes – it's somewhat of a parlor trick of mine, I like surprising people with the fact that he was about more than just love.”

“Sorry to steal your trick, then,” Evans laughed.

“Oh, don't worry. I've got plenty more,” she replied with a wink.

Ari cleared his throat, then everyone took their seat. A bottle of wine was brought to the table for Ari's inspection, which he approved, and then all their glasses were filled while they ordered appetizers.

Small talk and people-pleasing were her forte – literally her bread and butter. Whenever it felt like a lull was about to happen, she picked up the slack, telling Scott a joke, or bantering with Evans, or teasing Ari. And she knew when to take a step back, like whenever the conversation veered towards the corporate world, only offering her thoughts when they were asked for.

After their plates were taken away and they were waiting on dessert, Scott excused himself to go smoke, and Evans offered to go with him. Valentine watched while the two men walked out of the restaurant, then she turned to Ari.

“I think it's going well,” she said, leaning back as a waiter sat a piece of strudel in front of her.

“You do?” Ari mumbled, grabbing a fork and stealing a bite of her dessert. He hadn't ordered any for himself.

“Yes. Evans is into me,” she pointed out, taking a bit for herself. Ari snort.

“He's into your tits. If he looks at them one more time -”

“Ari, that's literally the reason you brought me here,” she laughed. “And Scott likes me in his own way. I think if we had a couple more dinners together, I could convince him to adopt me as his daughter.”

“Fascinating. So how does any of that help me?” he asked, stealing another bite. She slapped at his hand.

“If they like me, it means they like you,” she explained. “Obviously you're smart and successful, and you just reek of power and authority, which is a big draw, but sometimes it can also be too much. You could very easily intimidate them, or it could turn into a dick measuring contest. But you were smart by bringing me, because my softness dulls your sharpness. Makes you less of a god, more of a mortal.”

“I'm flattered that you think I'm a god,” he laughed. “But I'm pretty sure they don't think that. You might be over thinking it.”

“I'm not. By bringing me, they not only think you have excellent taste in women, but that you must be a great guy, yourself. I'm sexy, I'm smart, I'm funny, and I've got style. I'm a catch, and you're the one who caught me. That says something about you.”

“It does, huh,” Ari muttered, dropping his fork and propping his elbow on the table. “You're a catch, and I'm the one who caught you.”

“Well, I mean, that's what they assume,” Val laughed, turning in her seat to face him. “And that's what you wanted, right?”

“Yeah ...” his voice drifted off, and she realized his gaze had dipped down to her mouth. She slicked her tongue