Because of His Future (For His Pleasure, Book 26) by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online Page B

was
instantly swarmed by a mob of men—some of the very same ones that she’d
seen that day at Easton’s wedding.
    Or maybe they all just looked alike.   Rich, elite, having grown up privileged
and wealthy, their smiles and haircuts and fancy clothes a testament to
everything Grace wasn’t and would never be.
    Easton and Red were down the far end of
the bar, drinking together.   She
almost went over and then remembered that they’d just fired her.
    So Grace stood awkwardly near Liam as he
was handed a shot and a beer and dutifully drank both in record time.
    There were women in the restaurant,
too.   Women that couldn’t wait to
make sad faces and hug Liam and tell them how sorry they were for his loss.
    It was difficult to stand there and watch
these beautiful, privileged people congregating and knowing that she really was
outside of it all.
    Nobody wanted to talk to her.
    It wasn’t an obvious shunning, so much as
there was just a lack of any real effort to include her or speak to her.   She might have a quick two-minute
conversation with someone who seemed to be looking past her the entire time.
    But it was so clear that she wasn’t up to
par in this society.
    And Liam was busy talking, laughing,
drinking.
    Grace went to the bar to order a beer for
lack of anything better to do.   But
even at the bar, the bartenders were busy serving everyone else and seemed to
ignore her.   After they’d asked for
the orders of people standing next to her and even behind her, Grace finally
lost her patience.
    She felt stupid and insignificant.
    “Am I invisible or something?” she
finally asked nobody in particular.
    The lack of answer was her answer.
    But then a hand fell on her
shoulder.   Smiling, she turned,
expecting to finally see Liam there, coming to her rescue.   But it wasn’t Liam.
    It was Easton.   “Buy you a drink?” he asked, his
expression one of sympathy.
    Grace nodded, swallowing as she strived
to control her emotion.   Just that
one little gesture meant so much.   “That would be lovely,” she replied.
    Easton got the bartender’s attention with
a quick snap of his fingers, and he ordered two beers and two shots.
    When the liquor arrived, he paid and as
Grace thanked him, he waved her off.   “Don’t even think about it,” he said, quickly knocking back a shot.
    Grace laughed.   “I must really look pathetic if you came
over to talk to me,” she said.
    “Have that shot right now,” he said.  
    “Is that an order?” she asked.   “Because I’m pretty sure you fired me.”
    “Doesn’t matter,” Easton grinned.   “Once a boss, always a boss.”
    Grace laughed again and did the
shot.   It made her choke a little,
then cough, and then she closed her eyes and licked her lips.   “Whew.”  
    “Just what the doctor ordered,” Easton
said.
    Grace opened her eyes and grabbed her
beer.   “Thanks for talking to me,”
she said.   “I feel a little out of
place here, if you couldn’t tell.”
    Easton sighed.   “You’re not as out of place as you
think.”
    “Could’ve fooled me.   I feel like I’ve got Community College
tattooed across my forehead or something.”
    “That’s bullshit,” Easton said.   “It’s more like ‘I hate spoiled rich
kids’ tattooed across your forehead.”
    “Is it that obvious?”
    “Kind of,” he chuckled.   “But don’t worry, we all hate spoiled
rich kids.   Even the ones who
actually were spoiled rich kids.”
    Grace found herself watching Liam and one
of his buddies squaring off in a mock boxing match.   They slap-boxed with one hand, while in
the other, their beer bottles tilted precariously, spilling here and there
while everyone cheered.
    “Sure does love to fight, doesn’t he?”
Grace murmured.
    “He’s not half-bad either,” Easton
said.   “Just needs to mature a
little.”
    “You mean as a fighter or a person?”
    “Both,” Easton said.   He turned towards her and leaned in
slightly.   “Don’t