Claimed Harder by Em Brown
Chapter 5
BRIDGET
Past
After arriving at The Lotus with Amy and being told that Darren is in a meeting, I decide to say hi to Felipe, the bartender with the friendly smile and about the only person who didn’t treat me like a leper for not wearing an outfit swank enough for the club my first time here.
“Anything ever work out with that hot stockbroker?” I ask Felipe as I straddle a barstool.
Felipe, in the middle of fixing me a Shirley Temple, stops to gush. “OMG, Bryan is the best. We’ve gone out three times since that night you helped set us up.”
“I didn’t set you up.”
“Yes, you did. If you hadn’t talked to that woman and found out he wasn’t on a date with her, I wouldn’t have had the guts to talk to him.”
“I’m glad things are working out.”
“He’s soooo dreamy. I usually hate the way I look in the morning, you know, before I’ve put on a little foundation, but he says I look beautiful.”
I smile. “Sounds like a nice guy.”
He hands me my drink. “So…how are things with you and Darren?”
“Me and Darren?”
“Don’t act all innocent with me. I noticed you going up in the elevator with him last time, and I didn’t see you again before I closed everything down.”
I blush and sip my drink, then decide to confide in Felipe. “He invited me to Phuket. I thought I heard wrong at first. Is that an everyday thing for him?”
Felipe raises his brows. “Not really. JD’s sister is getting married there next week.”
“Going to a family event sounds like a big deal, but I doubt that Darren sees it as serious.”
I try to get a read on Felipe’s reaction but don’t see anything. So I ask, “How long have you worked for Darren?”
“I’ve been here since The Lotus opened.”
“Is he a nice boss?”
“I have no complaints.”
“Anything else I should know about him?”
Felipe, looking down at the bar, doesn’t respond right away.
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna tell on you,” I assure him.
Felipe still hesitates.
Not wanting my question to dampen our still-young camaraderie, I say, “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. If I’m just the flavor of the month, I can take it. I’m a big girl.”
He smiles, but it’s an odd smile, like the kind you’d give a kid who asks you if everything is okay when everything is not okay.
“I like your cold-shoulder top,” he says, “though it’s not as memorable as that sweater you wore before.”
“You should see the puff jacket I left in the coat check. It’s pistachio colored.”
His jaw drops.
I laugh. “And this top actually isn’t mine. It belongs to my housemate, Simone.”
This is the third time I’ve borrowed clothes from her. The first was a jumpsuit I wore to a fundraiser Darren hosted for Eric Drumm’s father. The second was a black halter dress I wore to The Lotus and then Darren’s residence above the club.
“Thanks for the drink,” I say before hopping off to head to the restroom.
I wonder why Felipe had the reaction that he did to my questions. Was I being too prying? Is it because Darren’s a player, and out of loyalty to his boss, he doesn’t want to say anything bad? Well, I’m not like Amy. I’m not going to fall head over heels for Darren just because I’m sexually attracted to him. Super sexually attracted.
Deep in my own thoughts, I accidentally bump into a woman while heading for the stalls.
“Oh! Sorry!” I apologize.
She continues on her way, heading in the opposite direction of the entry/exit. Noticing that she dropped something, I pick it up. It’s a clothespin. A fancy one painted black and with rhinestones.
“You dropped this,” I call out to her.
I follow her to the exit on the other side of the restroom. I’ve noticed this other way out before and figured it was for staff. I step out of the restroom and into…another club? This one is swathed in red pulsing light, and the patrons are…
Holy shit.
