I shook my head, smiling. “Nope, never touched a drop. My brother drinks enough for the both of us, to be honest. I’ve never even been interested in it.”
“So how does a nice girl like you wind up working for a crazy-ass like Simon?” Adam waved to the bartender for another drink. “Perfect gin martini stirred with the dirty ice back, please.”
His drink sounded so refined and he was freaking dreamy—and probably way out of my league. I guessed he was at least in his mid-twenties and the Rolex he kept flicking on his wrist was just the right amount of flashy. Brayden would refer to him as a pompous-ass motherfucker, but there was something so James Bond about Adam without being completely clean cut and falling into the tall, dark, and handsome category. He had the tall and handsome part nailed down, and his long red hair and beard were extremely sexy to me.
“I was a figure skater until I was in a car accident. You know the sayingThose who can’t do, teach? Well that’s me to a T at this point.”
His warm hand landed on my leg, making shivers shoot up my spine.
Is this guy being too forward?
Is this fucking normal?
Act cool.
Don’t let your age show.
“Myla!” Simon scream-slurred in my ear. Adam removed his hand, smiling at our friend as Simon hooked an arm around each of our necks. “I’m just so glad you two are hitting it off. I knew you would. I just freaking knew it!”
“You always know best, Coach.” Adam winked at me.
“Simon says!” Simon yelled at the top of his lungs before leaning on the bar to bark his drink order at the bartender.
“Is he always like this when he’s out?”
Adam pursed his lips together. “Honestly, I wouldn’t know. This is my first time out with him since I moved back to the city.”
“Oh, when was that?”
“A few weeks ago. My company just absorbed another right here in Manhattan and when the board members suggested the move, I couldn’t turn it down.”
“So what is it that you do?” I rested my elbow down onto the bar top, right into something extremely sticky. It icked me out to no end but I kept a straight face, sliding my arm back and trying to wipe it off without drawing attention to myself.
Goodness, you’re such a mess!
Luckily, Adam was too into telling me about himself to notice my embarrassing situation. “In college I started an insurance software company, just trying to make ends meet while I was supporting myself through school. Turns out, there is a lot more money in that than I could have even hoped. I’m lucky to say I have done pretty well for myself and since then, I have always been my own boss.”
“That’s incredible.”What was an accomplished business mogul doing in a bar talking to a nobody like me?
“Eh, it has its moments. It’s not the most interesting job in the world, but running my own company is something I have always wanted to do. What are your dreams, Myla?”
I wanted to say so many other things than what came out of my mouth. I wanted to say that I wished I had been able to go to the Olympics, that I wanted to be a professional figure skater, that I never imagined being washed up before my nineteenth birthday, but all that came out was, “I’ll let you know when I figure out what they are.”
“Sounds good to me. So do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
“Isn’t that very ungentlemanly of you?”Deflection—perfect.
He chuckled a little. “I guess you’re right. My apologies, my lady.” He bowed his head and I burst out laughing.
“I’m twenty. And you are?”
His face never wavered. Hopefully my age wasn’t going to be a problem for him. “I am twenty-six.”
“Does my age bother you?” I was so inexperienced compared to him in just the simple game of life. He’d been to college, started a company, made a crap-load of money before his twenty-fifth birthday, and I was barely seeing the outside of a skating rink for most of my life.
His hand traveled up to touch my shoulder as he shook his head. “No. Should it?”
“Not in the slightest.”