get my hands on—”
“Vi, let it go.” I need to end the conversation and fast. Wrapping as much of the glass as I can in the rag, I dump it on the tray and hoist it back onto my shoulder.
Luckily, Violet gets the hint and returns to the bar as I manage to lug the tray to the kitchen. But even as I wander back out, I can’t get her offer out of my head.
It’s ridiculous. I could never put myself through that again. Hollywood is built on the almighty dollar. I found that out the hard way. Talent can get your foot in the door, but it only takes greed and an offshore bank account to slam it in your face.
Pushing the thought from my mind, I keep busy by serving drunks who will eventually pay their bills and continue traveling to parts unknown. Someplace else. Any place else.
Lucky bastards.
“So, what’s that all about?” The question catches me by surprise, and I turn to see Violet again, draped over the bar like she doesn’t have three waiting customers giving her death stares.
“What’s what all about?”
Smirking, she pushes up on her palms. “That,” she says, making duck lips at table number four. “I know eye-fucking when I see it, and that, my friend, is a ‘bent over the table, do-me-from-behind’ kind of eye-fuck.”
My breath catches. I feel those infuriatingly cocky blue eyes on me before I see them. Violet is right. His stare is vicious. Feral. An arctic blast that seems to look through me and peel back layers of raw skin.
“Considering the way he bulldozed in here swinging his dick around you’d think he owned half of California.” She cocks a hip, a smile dancing under her nails as she drums them across her lip. “He may be one to keep around, Ang.”
“Oh, shit, I almost forgot!” Spinning around, I dig in my apron and pull out a folded piece of paper, shoving it in her hand. “I need you to make this for me.”
Violet, lifts an eyebrow, slowly unfolding it before wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Who the hell ordered that?”
Stealing a cherry from the garnish tray, I pop it in my mouth and wink. “Someone about to get a hard dose of reality.”
Chapter Six
Dominic
I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth like most kids in LA. I did what I had to survive. Unfortunately, Los Angeles’s finest didn’t quite see it that way, and I found myself a nice little six-by-eight-foot home away from home.
You might think I regret breaking the law, but I don’t. The time I spent behind bars taught me things I would’ve never learned anywhere else. Like just because a man wears a badge doesn’t mean he’s the good guy, and sometimes the truth won’t set you free, but degrees of distortion will line your pocket.
Mostly, I learned if you listen more than talk, problems solve themselves. The key is to blend in with your surroundings enough that people forget you exist. Eventually, they get so caught up in being the center of their own universe they don’t notice you’ve become a part of it.
And that’s how I find out Angel the waitress is also Angel the actress.
A fucking actress.
Maybe somebody up there does like me because this just keeps getting better.
“Here.”
My elbows slip off the table as a glass clunks in front of me. Looking up, I see Angel standing at the edge of my table wearing a triumphant smile. I glance down at the tall shot glass full of thick white liquid topped with whipped cream. “What the hell is that?”
“A Sloppy Seconds shot.”
“And what is it doing in front of me?”
“You told me to prove I know what kind of man you are.” Dropping her palms against the table, she slides them forward until her breasts are eye-level to my face. “Well, taking into consideration your lack of charm and weak conversation skills, I assume sloppy seconds are all you’re used to.”
Son of a bitch.
I don’t know whether to report this girl or worship at her feet. Instead, I push the shot away. “You’re ballsy, you know that?”
“And you’re a sore loser.” Letting out a low laugh, she reaches across me to grab the wad of cash, but I clamp my palm over the top of her hand.
“Not so fast.” Reaching under my wallet, I unroll the folded ticket. “The bet was for you to bring me what I wrote on this paper.”
Her smile peels into a