SOUL TIES (The Sánchez Brothers Series, Book 1)

CHAPTER 21 : DEBBIE

I spotted Andre's car parked outside the location he'd sent to me. Moonlit Martini Lounge had some really impressive cars in its parking lot but Andre's Rolls Royce Phantom easily stood out and its owner was leaning on the hood until I parked beside it. I took my sweet time to kill the engine and meet with him. We had agreed to arrive at the venue separately since we both brought cars to work that day, it was easier that way. 

"I fucked up the directions at some point and that made me waste a couple minutes. How long have you been here for?"

He glanced at his wristwatch and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe 10 or 15 minutes."

I frowned at that and apologized profusely. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry. For standing you up for that long." He shook his head in dismissal and grinned at me. Although it was 6:30pm and the sun had long gone, his gleaming teeth was a nice substitute. "So this is the place, huh?"

He nodded and put his hands on my shoulders to turn me to face the building. "What do you think of it?"

"From the outside, it looks pretty decent." I shook my head and turned my neck to glance at him. "Actually nah, it looks more than decent. More like extravagant. I bet one bottle of Hennessy in there costs a leg and a few fingers."

He threw his head back to laugh and my eyes zeroed on his bobbing adam's apple. Wow, it was going to be a really long night. "Luckily for us, you've got two pretty legs and a couple fingers. I say we're good to go."

I purposely chose to not think about his nice compliment and just shook my head in humor. "You're delusional."

"That's a rather nice way of saying you think I'm a sick fuck." He teased and made a superfluous gesture towards the bar entrance. "You ready to get wasted?" I glared at him and he responded with a playful wink. I had to actually bite my lip to prevent me from laughing out loud at his stupidly adorable gesture. 

"Lead the way, big guy."

Inside the classy bar with elaborate designs, a couple men greeted Andre and he waved back at them. The place wasn't packed full, but it wasn't secluded either. Most of the customers were dressed in corporate wears so it was safe to say they were just like Andre and me- office people who wanted to let off steam after a hard day's work. Andre led me to the bar counter and my eyebrows went up slightly when he dabbed the bartender. They looked familiar with each other. After they exchanged pleasantries, he turned to me. 

"You want to sit at the counter here or you'd prefer to sit at a table over there?" He pointed behind me and I shook my head without looking, I didn't mind sitting at the counter. "Alright then. Corey, this is my coworker. Sky, this is Corey aka Corey the Bartender."

Although he had just started calling me the name that day, I was welcoming it real fast. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside whenever he called me Sky, probably because of the sentiment behind it. The bartender, a handsome man probably in his early 40s, threw me a sultry wink that had the ability to make a ladies' panties drop. Not mine though, my pink lace underwear was tightly snugged around my butt. 

"Hello, pretty ma'am. How was work today?"

I let out an exaggerated sigh. "Terrible but hey, I made it out alive today. Hopefully, I'll be just as lucky tomorrow."

He chuckled and his mustache shook. "What can I give you to lighten the mood?"

"She'll have a glass of beer. Just one, Corey. Regardless of what happens, don't bring a second one. She's got work tomorrow." The bartender gave Andre an amused look before nodding. "What do you think of the interior?"

I narrowed my eyes in mock suspicion. "Are you fishing for compliments right now?"

"Of course. Pleasing you is my greatest pleasure." His voice dropped to a deep whisper. "So am I doing that or nah?"