The Hot Corner by Amy Noelle Read Free Book Online Page B

Baxter tonight and she—”
    “Has slept with him. You want to show her up.”
    I snorted. “Like that’s possible? I just don’t want to look like the pathetic ‘before’ picture in a magazine: ‘This is the creature he dated before fame and fortune, and look at the perfection he’s upgraded to now!’ ”
    “Dani, you have never looked like a ‘before’ picture and I have no doubt you could outshine even Pamela Baxter if you put your mind to it.”
    “What if he leaves with her?” I was already cursing myself before I finished asking the question.
    “I thought you didn’t care.”
    “I don’t want to.”
    “At least you admit that much. Tell me, is Brad the type to take one girl to a party and leave with another? Especially when that girl is in a strange city without transportation? I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you once tell me that he had good old-fashioned Southern manners?”
    I cursed the day she’d gotten me wasted and I’d spilled my guts to her. It was coming back to haunt me in a major way. “Yes, and he still opens doors and waits for me to sit before he sits.” It was funny, the little things I hadn’t noticed until now.
    “Does that sound like the kind of guy who’d take off with his fuck buddy? Wouldn’t that leave you open to savaging him in the book?”
    “I suppose so.”
    “Then don’t sweat it. He’s not going to leave with her. Worst case scenario is he takes you home and hooks up with her later.”
    My jaw dropped. “I hadn’t even thought of that! Why would you say that?”
    Bec laughed. “Because you would have thought of it eventually and had a whole new scenario to worry about, so I said it now to get it out of your system. He’s not going to do that, Dani. And if he does, then he is the jerk you think him to be and you can forget about him, right?”
    “I guess so.” Forgetting about him had been the plan. It seemed I’d failed spectacularly.
    “I know so. Now go and get ready to knock his socks off.”
    She was right. I had a couple of hours to shower and make myself presentable. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Damn right you will. Call me when you get up, hopefully not alone.”
    I laughed. “I guarantee I’ll be waking up alone.”
    “That’s a darn shame. Have fun regardless.”
    “It’s business, not pleasure.”
    “When are you going to learn it’s so much more fun to combine the two? Look at us, we’re friends and coworkers.”
    “And look how well that’s working out for me,” I said.
    “You love me.”
    “Not today I don’t.”
    “You wound me, Dani, you really do. But because I love you, I will forgive you. Go get devastatingly beautiful.”
    I shook my head. “Bye, Bec.”
    “Bye, Dani. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
    “More like, don’t do anything you would do.” I hung up before she could say anything more. That was a road I didn’t need to go down.
    I took a hot shower and dried my hair while wearing the supersoft hotel robe I was going to have to purchase when I left this place. I went for smoky eyes and attempted to tame my hair, but my curls had other ideas. I didn’t have time for the flat iron, so I let it go. It looked good, just windblown. I cursed my pale skin as usual, but at least the gold in my dress didn’t wash me out.
    It had no back, so a bra wasn’t an option, but luckily the girls were still pretty perky and the dress had built-in support. I was just stepping into my matching shoes when there was a knock on the door. I took a deep breath before opening it, and it was a good thing because I’m fairly sure I stopped breathing at the sight of him.
    I’d seen Bradley Reynolds in most stages of dress in our time together, from naked as the day he was born to nice suits for fancy dinners and awards ceremonies. I’d seen him in magazines wearing a tux, but nothing compared to the real thing, live and in person. He was devastating. The tuxedo showed off his broad shoulders and