His Little Editor (Ellis PH book 1)

Chapter 2

  Learning my lesson, I put my phone in my purse and make my way out of the building and down the two busy San Francisco blocks to 34 Planes a whiskey/oyster bar that the young professionals of the city frequent. 

Walking in I see the back of Shawn’s head, knowing it was her by her long shiny natural strawberry blonde hair pulled half up like it always is. I seriously envy her, she looks like a china doll with her fair and freckled porcelain skin, round Blue eyes, and straight across bangs. Shawn was tiny too, standing no taller than 5'1 on a good day with a perfect body built from working out five times a week. She was literal perfection.  I slide into the bar seat next to her and mockingly say, “Sup sexy, can I buy you a drink?”

 Laughing and rolling her eyes she hugs me and says, “You my dear Charlie are late.”

“I know. I know, but we’ve been so busy with the Merger, and we still haven’t met the new boss yet. I don’t even know the boss's name or if he’s going to be letting people go. So, I’m stressed, and trying to get all my authors ready to move on without me if they have too.” I wave to our bar man Evan and he pours our usual, Whiskeys of choice.

Crinkling her nose at me clearly disagreeing as I sip my drink, she Calmly states, “Whoever the new boss is, isn’t going to fire you. You handle some big clients, and you’re hot.”  I’ll be honest, I’m by no means ugly, but I wouldn’t classify myself as hot. My dark chocolate hair falls in long layers to the lower middle of my back, I have my grandmother’s Portuguese olive skin, left dimple only, and big hazel eyes. My teeth are straight from the braces I had in my ugly duckling years, and a perfect cupid's bow going into slightly pouty natural lips. My nose was the slightest bit cooked from getting in a fight with my college boyfriend, and I was a decent 5’8 with long legs and curves for days as Shawn says.

“If we keep talking about this, I’m going to need at least 3 more drinks, but I will tell you I ran, literally, into a hot as sin man while leaving work tonight. He has to be a new author of ours or something because he was going up, but I had never seen him before.” I gulp my drink down after finishing up describing him to Shawn and wave at Evan for another before asking her how work was this past week. Shawn and I meet every Wednesday since we graduated UC Santa Barbara together for Whiskey Wednesday to catch up. We’ve been friends since we were 7 and roomed together in college just to move from our small town, to the same city after College.

She goes on and on about how her boss the Mayor of San Francisco wanted to clean up all of the drug abusers in front of city hall and how he doesn’t have a plan to do it he just thinks it makes the city look bad. Mayor Davis doesn't even have any kind of real grasp of reality towards the situation. Kind of losing focus of the mayoral issues she’s having I glance around the bar checking out my prospects of suitors for the night. My goal on Wednesday is to never have to buy a drink, and since I’ve bought the first two rounds, I’m looking for a sucker to buy the next. My eyes land on the group of tall young men walking in the door. Each of them hot in very different ways. My eyes fall on the last man in their group just as I take a sip of my whiskey Just to start choking. 

When I finally stopped coughing, I turn to my friend and whisper, “Okay Shawn, don’t look now but look at the group of men that just walked in. The tallest man is the brick wall made of sin I ran into.”

Slyly her head turns, and her eyes widen. “Holy Mother, that is seriously the hottest group of guys I have ever seen. Girl he’s Beautiful though. I think you should buy him a drink to say sorry. I might buy Ginger a drink, or maybe tattooed tall dark and handsome. Choices, Choices. Oooo, Or maybe I'll buy Clean cut football star a drink.”

I roll my eyes and turn back to the bar. “My goal on Wednesday is to not buy drinks remember. So, in buying his drink I’m failing at my goal. Plus, he can probably get any Woman here to buy him a drink, so he doesn't need me.” Glancing back, I smirk and turn back to Shawn, “Case in point, Blonde Barbie over there already has him set.”

Shawn looks and Shakes her head, “He sent her away and didn’t take the drink. You might just have this in the bag Charlie, especially if he was flirting the way you said he was. Wait no there's another one, a red head this time. Still no bite Char, this could be fun to just to watch this all night.” A few more women went over to the group of guys.

“Maybe they're in some weird s*x cult and can only have s*x with other members. Anyways I would still rather have a drink bought for me, and not the other way around,” finishing my second drink for the night I start looking around for a guy to buy my drink. Glancing at Brick walls group I notice he’s gone, and I sigh in disappointment. Someone sits in the barstool next to me and before even looking I Snark, “Unless you’re going to buy me a drink then that seat is taken.” Shawn snickers and I look at her, “What?” 

“The plan was to buy you a drink to say sorry for having to run off earlier, but now I’m not sure, you kind of hurt my feelings,” a deep somewhat familiar Southern voice laughs. Whipping my head around I meet Brick walls grinning face with wide eyes. I groan and hide my now blushing face in between my arms. Mystery man laughs again and leans over the bar motioning to Evan.

“What can I get you sir?" Evan looks at me, then back at him, " Generally that seat is reserved for Charlie's suitor of the night. Is that you? "Evan's eyes find their way back to me and questions, " Charlie is this poor man buying your next round?” Evan grins at me and shakes his head.

“I was debating about it, but she was a little sassy and I’m not sure she deserves it anymore. Plus, you make it sound like Charlie is here every night, and I'm just not a one-night kind of guy. So, Charlie, if I do this for you, buying your drink that is, what do I get in return? I mean it seems like I’m just going to be next in the line of heartbroken men if I do.” Mystery man smirks at me his damn dimples show again.

Evan and Shawn who are dying of laughter, offer him high fives, while I cover my face that I can feel turning an even brighter red. I hear mystery man start to laugh too, and my head whips up to glare at him. “No Evan, he will not be buying me drinks because you can’t bribe me with alcohol to have s*x with you." Turning to MM as I've taken to calling him in my head, "And don’t call me Charlie, only my friends call me that. You can call me Charlotte,” I state matter of fact.

Laughing harder Evan pours me my whiskey, and the man looks at me with laughter still in his eyes, “Awe baby don't be like that. But yea, I will be definitely buying her and her friend drinks for the night. The guys over there too, if they come up. I’m Sawyer by the way. You two should come join us at our booth. We look like we bite, but that only happens in bed,” He winks at me then looks back at Evan, “I need a bottle of your top shelf scotch and six glasses please.” 

“Why thank you Sawyer. Aren’t you the perfect southern gentleman,” Shawn replies flirty, “I’m Shawn, and this is as you heard, is Charlie.” And before I can say anything, she hops off the bar stool, grabs her drink and heads toward Sawyers friends.

“Where do you think you're going missy?" I question, but the only response I get is a mischievous smile and a wink. "Well then I guess I’m joining you,” I begrudged before picking up the bottle and my drink that Evan put down in front of us while Sawyer grabs the tray of glasses and we make our way to his table.

“Guys, this is Charlotte, the girl that almost took me out earlier, and that’s Shawn. She is the friend that just took pity on me and made it so Charlotte had to join us.” Laughing Sawyer puts the tray down and then grabs the bottle while I just stood there looking at him with shock. “Charlotte and Shawn this is Luke, Jax, and Declan.”