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small velvet box in her coat pocket, her fingers tracing the familiar shape of the watch inside. It was
t the harsh fluorescent lights. A smile pulled at her lips. She quickened her pace, her rolling
e, rhythmic motion. A sound drifted through the
made her taste the cheap airline coffee she had drank hours ago. Her fingers
he oil-stained concrete, but her hand reached out
st friend, her maid of honor, was straddling him, her skirt hiked up to her waist. Kate's head snapped around, her eyes wide. She
signature red lipstick. "Chloe!" He gasped, push
er veins. She stared at them, at the tangled limbs, at the guilty shoc
d hurled it at his face. It hit him square on the nose with a satisfying crack.
her name, even when she heard Kate crying. She threw her bags into the back of he
go to her apartment. She couldn't stand the thought of her own bed. She found hersel
u ever want to forget, go there. The men are li
e out of her head. She parked haphazardly and walked straight past the b
chest, and the air smelled of expensive cologne, vodka, and sweat
r throat, setting her stomach on fire. It wasn't enough. She ordered another. And anoth
the crowd. She was looking for someth
r yearly salary. The fabric was dark, the cut impeccable. He looked bored, swirling a glass of amber liquid
rf
ing her bold. She slid into the booth across from him and
nsettling brown, framed by thick lashes. H
words slurring slightly
smile spread across his face.
n she never touched. She scrawled a number on the crisp paper, her hand shaking. Fifty thous
e challenged, her ch
back at her. His eyes lingered on her swollen, red-rim
east pocket, right next to a silk handkerchief. He stood up, towering over
th me,"
all of her back. The heat of his palm burned through her thin jacket. He guid
nthouse suite that was bigger than her entire apartment. Floor-to
hard. She tasted the whiskey on his tongue and the mint on his breath. She kissed him with all the
st, pulling her flush against him. He didn't ask
night, Chl
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