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“Of course.”
As soon as they all took their seats, Brody set the cards in front of Gerard to cut, and the game began.
Three hours—and several drinks—later, the ventilation system had given up ridding the room of stale cigar smoke, and the conversation had gone quiet. Gerard, sitting on a full house, aces over tens, focused on maintaining his poker face while under the strong influence of good whiskey, until Xander woke them all up.
“Danni left me.”
“What the hell?” Ben, who’d become Gerard’s only competition this hand, threw his cards down. Face up.
“Hey,” Gerard said. “You can’t just throw down like that, damn it. I’ve got the best hand I’ve had all night.”
“I don’t care. Take the pot.” Ben turned to Xander. “What happened?”
“She said she couldn’t do this anymore. Didn’t give me any explanation, except to say, ‘It’s not you, babe. It’s me.’”
Brody reached for Xander’s shoulder. “Ah, hell, man. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Sucks.” Xander cleared his throat.
Gerard sighed, staring at his cards.
“Sorry I ruined your hand,” Xander mumbled.
Gerard tossed his cards to the center. With one last look of regret, he turned to Xander. “You’re more important than a poker hand. I’m sorry about Danni.”
“You couldn’t change her mind?” Brody said, picking up all the cards.
Xander shook his head. “She had her say, then ran out before I could even wrap my head around it. Then, she just…disappeared.”
“When did she leave?” Ben said, stubbing out his cigar.
“Thirteen days and five hours ago.”
“That’s harsh.” Brody boxed the cards up.
Gerard thumped the table with his fist. “I’m sick of women messing with us. Brittney just filed a lawsuit against me for harassment.” Always careful who he dated, he’d let the twenty-something convince him they could sleep together without strings. He knew better, and now, she’d screwed him royally.
Mateo cocked his head. “Remind me…which one was Brittney?”
“The starlet.”
Ben held up both hands. “Not someone under contract to my company.”
“We went out exactly two times, made love once, and she got all starry-eyed, wanting some serious relationship. I told her I don’t do serious, and bam, I got served almost before the sheets cooled.”
“She doesn’t work for you, so how can she claim harassment?”
“She says with me being so well off financially, I held the position of power in our relationship, and I used her for sex.”
“That’s bullshit.” Brody, who’d grabbed his cowboy hat from the back of the chair, stared at it like he wanted to punch it, then jammed it on his head instead.
“I know. I’m done with women. All they do is take, take, take.” Gerard drummed his hands on the table. “In fact, I’m ready to pledge, right here and now, that I’m done. No sex, no serious relationships, and absolutely no ideas about marriage. Anyone want in?”
“I’ll jump on that bandwagon,” Xander said. “It’s not like there will ever be another Danni, anyhow.”
“Me too,” Brody chipped in, rubbing his beard. “Women come here all the time and don’t want to ride anything but me…all the way to the bank. I don’t take them up on their offers, but I need a break from it all, and this might be an excellent excuse.”
Ben scrubbed a hand through his hair. “All right. I’m in. I’m tired of the shallow women I’ve been meeting. They all have ulterior motives, so I’m your fourth.”
