The Club by Tara Brown writing as Sophie Starr Read Free Book Online Page A

a wry grin. “If he never saw you for what you are
then he never deserved you. Finding a laid back, hipster, young girl is not
hard these days. They’re everywhere. Finding a sophisticated woman who is
driven and successful is much harder. Girls in their twenties who want to be
taken care of, looked after, and loved because they are young and tight and
beautiful are a dime a dozen. They all want a Mr. Grey of their very own. They
want us to be rich and successful and mysterious. They don't realize we want
the same thing in women. We want you to be successful and to know what you want
in life.” He leans across the table closer, too close, but he doesn't look like
he wants to kiss me. He speaks softly, brushing his words across my lips,
kissing me with them. “What do you want, Hannah?”
    I gulp. It’s
perfectly timed but the sarcastic side of me rescues me from the moment of
unplanned intimacy. “A hipster guy I can coddle and mother so he can be
artistic and write me songs.”
    “This is
exactly why I am here at this table. I adore your flippancy.” He laughs,
leaning back. The comment has broken the ice but the kiss of words still
lingers upon my mouth.
    I nod. “One
drink and then you go away and we speak when we have to for business. Fine.”
    He lifts his
scotch to me. “To our business deals.”
    “That I can
drink to.” I sip my drink, glancing about the bar for my dear, sweet friend who
has vanished. My phone doesn't vibrate with a text from her, but I know she has
left me there, alone.
    He drinks
slowly, staring at me in a way I don't think I understand. His instant
attraction is annoying and predictable. I finish my drink off in three gulps
and place it down on the table. “I am exhausted. Thank you for the drink.”
    He stands,
leaving his drink and holding an arm out for me. “I will escort you home. You
cannot walk at this hour alone.”
    I am about to
argue when it dawns on me he’s right. Bec has abandoned me. I nod. “Fine.” We
walk through the crowd I swear has thickened since we arrived. It’s happy hour
and everyone is looking incredibly joyful. I glance back at him as we walk out.
“I need to text Bec and make sure she made it home all right.”
    He grins. “I
assumed she had stayed on the other side of the bar. Has she gone home?”
    I shrug,
sending a message on my phone quickly. As soon as we are out on the cool
sidewalk I receive her response. She is home and indisposed but will want
details in the morning. I shake my head, putting my phone back into my purse.
    “Have you
lived here long?” I ask, desperate for some kind of conversation to fill the
void now that we are on the street and the sounds of the crowds have
diminished.
    He shakes his
head. “No. I was separated, like you, two years ago and came out to the city
then. I moved from California.”
    “All the way
to New York?”
    He nods, I
think desperate to seem casual about it, but I can see emotion in his dark-blue
eyes. “I needed a fresh start.”
    He no longer
seems smooth. I like this side of him better. “When did you take up mergers and
acquisitions?”
    His smile
comes back and he’s instantly charming. “I have always been in this line of
work. My father owned a small printing press when I was in college. I started
investing my gambling winnings and got lucky with my portfolio and when my
father’s business got into trouble I purchased it from him.” He looks up into
the night sky, taking a deep inhale. “I loved the feel of taking something
someone took only so far and making it better. A year later I sold it for twice
what I paid.” He grins like he’s a schoolboy gloating over a football match.
    “Your father
must have been proud.”
    He shakes his
head. “He was not. He imagined I would run the business like he had.” He turns
onto my street without me directing him.
    “My father has
never been proud of me either.” I scoff. “He wanted grandchildren. That is all.”
    He lowers his
face,