Gluttony

by LJ Baker

She narrowed her eyes. “Why exactly?”

  “Why isn’t it a problem? Or why am I glad to help?” Luc leaned back against the door frame and rested his hands in his pockets.

  “Why everything? Why would you do something so selfless for a person you don’t even know? Because if you’re looking for some kind of payback, or for me to be eternally grateful so you think you can get some sexual favors in return, it’s not going to happen.” She crossed her arms over her chest again and pulled tight.

  Maybe the alcohol had more of an effect than Luc realized. It looked like she was gearing up for battle and Luc had no idea why.

  “Have I asked you for anything?”

  “No, but the way you look at me sometimes, I know you’re thinking it.”

  “Oh. I see. You’re psychic now. Maybe you should charge for these tidbits so you can make even more money.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you know what I’m thinking, which is very impressive, since you don’t even know me at all.” Luc opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a glass. “I guess next time, I’ll just overcharge you and leave it at that.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s not how I meant it.”

  Luc gulped down the alcohol and poured another. She watched him, as if she expected him to offer her some, but he ignored her expectant stare. “How exactly did you mean it? Because I was only trying to do something nice and you’ve been treating me like a predator ever since we met.”

  Amanda let her arms drop to her sides and she took a step toward Luc. “You’ve been great. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not sure why you’re so guarded. Maybe you’ve been hurt, maybe people have treated you badly. I don’t know, but what I do know is that I didn’t accept your original prices because they weren’t fair. To you. Maybe I wouldn’t have cared with a different distributor, or maybe I would have. I don’t know because it’s never happened before. But when you came in here, I saw something in you. I wanted to help you succeed. I guess that was wrong.”

  Luc was losing patience with this whole round of the game. Everything came so easy with Ronnie Falcon. Sure there were problems. That girl was a mess from the start. But it was never hard to get close to her. Luc never felt like the month would end and he’d be no closer to knowing who she was than when it started.

  That was exactly how he’d felt with Amanda Mitchell.

  She was a stranger and she just might remain one the whole month long.

  Before Luc realized what happened, Amanda was standing in front of him with one hand on her hip. “Are you going to offer me some of that?” She eyed the bottle and his glass.

  “I hadn’t planned on it.” If she wanted to play hardball, so could he.

  “Well too bad.” She pulled the bottle from his hand and took a long swig off it. “Wow, that’s good.”

  “That’s over fourteen hundred dollars a bottle. At least use a glass.” Luc scrunched his nose up at her and tried to pull the bottle back, but she resisted.

  “Life is too short to bother with glasses.” She took another long swig.

  “That hasn’t been my experience.”

  “Yeah, because you’re ancient.” She laughed and took another gulp of Luc’s expensive bourbon.

  “I’m older than I look.” Which he knew wasn’t more than thirty, but it wasn’t like he could explain to her that he was older than the entire human race. Hell, he was older than the Earth, or Hell itself. Even if he did try to explain it, she would either laugh, or think he was insane, and she already had a poor enough opinion of him.

  Luc attempted to grab the bottle once again, but she spun around just out of his reach. “Well, maybe for you, life isn’t short, old man, but for the rest of us mere mortals, things happen. Everything doesn’t always work out the way we want. We run out of time.” She gulped down half a glass worth in one mouthful and clutched the bottle to her chest. “I can pay you for this if you want me to.”

  “I don’t. But I do think you’ve had enough.” The bourbon, in addition to the shots she’d done with his idiot brother, were making her a bit more intoxicated than he preferred, especially since she’d driven there on her own.

  “That’s not your decision to make.”

  “Actually, I think that it is. You know, since that’s my bottle of bourbon that you’re polishing off.”

  “Have you ever lost anyone you love?” She took another gulp and advanced toward him a bit too fast, causing her to stumble, then catch herself.

  “I have.” Luc took a step forward without thinking, but made no move to reach for her.

  “It sucks.”

  “Yes, it does.” He wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but he gave her the time to work it out in her head and share with him, if she chose to. He doubted she would, but maybe the alcohol would tamp down her walls.

  “Toby thinks you’re hot.”

  “And what do you think?” He hid the smirk that begged to break free.

  “I think you’re just like all the others.”

  “And how exactly is that?”

  “You know what you’re like.”

  “Yes, I do, but somehow, I think you might have a very different view than the actual facts.”

  “So, what you’re saying,” she took another long gulp of the bourbon, then came at him, poking him in the chest with one thin finger. “Is that you’re different from all the other assholes out there?”

  “I can assure you that I am quite different from anyone you’ve ever known, Ms. Mitchell.”

  An understatement.

  “Ha!” She snorted. “That’s what all the liars say. First they make you think they’re a good guy and you can trust them. Trust me they say.” She spun around, and again, nearly stumbled. This time Luc grabbed her arm to keep her on her feet, but she shrugged him off. “I’ll always be there, they say.”

  “And then they hurt you?”

  “See, you do know.”

  “It was implied, don’t you think?”

  “No. I think that it’s easy for you to figure out because you’re all the same. Like minds think alike.” She went to take another swig off the bottle, but Luc managed to grab it before she could. She frowned, but didn’t argue.

  “We’ve had three conversations, Ms. Mitchell. What makes you think you can know my entire personality and how I act based on that? What have I done to offend you?”

  Amanda tilted her head, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Luc waited, partly amused, partly wanting to know what she would say, and maybe a little angry.

  “You look at me with those… those eyes.” She waved her hand around and pointed in the direction of his head.

  “How else might I look at you? I’m pretty sure with my eyes is the only way possible.”

  “No, don’t be stupid. You know what I mean.”

  “I can honestly say, I have no clue what you are trying to get at.”

  Luc had certainly checked her out, but he hadn’t been overtly clear about it. He purposely tried to keep his thoughts reigned in and not make her feel like a piece of meat. Not that he didn’t want to get her naked. He most definitely did, but he wasn’t in a rush, and she’d made it clear, she wasn’t interested anyway.

  “You, with your sexy eyes, and your perfect body, and that way my name slides off your lips like it’s caressing my clothes right off. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

  “So, I’m a bad guy because my eyes are sexy, I have a decent body, and you like the way it sounds when I say your name?”

  “Decent?” She laughed. “I said, perfect, not decent.” Her cheeks turned a deep scarlet and she clamped her hand over her mouth. “I should go.”

  “Hold on now. You can’t just say those things and accuse me of basically being a douche like every other man you’ve known, then run out of here without giving me a chance to defend myself.”

  “Sure I can.”

  But Luc was blocking the door.


  He wouldn’t hold her hostage and force her to talk to him, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for her either.

  “What did he do to you?”

  “Who?” She eyed the bottle in Luc’s hands, so he tightened his grip to make sure she didn’t swipe it again.

  “Whoever hurt you and made you so cynical.”

  “I’m not cynical.”

  It was Luc’s turn to snort. “You most certainly are. And judgmental, and irrational, and closed off, and bad with finances. Also, you drink too much, and instead of being nice to someone who is trying to help you out, you’re being kind of a jerk.”

  “A jerk?” Her mouth dropped open and she started at him for a long moment.

  “You made your mind up about me the moment you walked in the door to my club, and ever since, you’ve been trying to fit me into your stereotype.”

  “If the shoe fits.”

  “The shoe most definitely does not fit. You don’t know anything about me, Ms. Mitchell. And too bad for you, because I think you might have found that I’m not the monster you’ve decided I am.”

  Luc opened the door to his office and stepped aside so she could pass. She remained in place, still staring at him, but he was done talking. The woman was becoming infuriating. Luc didn’t need anyone in his life that clearly wanted nothing to do with him and caused him so much irritation. He was the God-damned devil. He could have any woman he wanted with a mere look. If this one single female didn’t want him, then she could get the hell out of his office and leave him alone.

  “We can discuss the contract another time, Ms. Mitchell. Maybe a time when you’re sober and not being a bitch.” Luc cringed to himself at his choice of words. He tried to be respectful to women, but this one specifically, just got to him. Not that it was an excuse. Maybe when they both cooled off, he would apologize. Maybe.

  She looked from Luc to the door, took a breath, then walked from the room. He refrained from muttering good riddance and slamming it behind her. But he most certainly did both of those things in his head.

  ***

  It didn’t matter what Luc did. The girl didn’t like him. Not that Harley would ever admit it, but she had to have made the wrong choice. Luc waved his hand over the mirror where Harley showed him the picks originally. The glass swirled and fogged, then an image of a pink-haired girl appeared.

  Around the girl was a group of frat boys chanting “Chug, chug, chug!” She was dressed in shorts that showed off her ass perfectly and a crop top that barely contained her ample boobs. She was drinking beer from a funnel and damn could she drink a lot.

  When she finally broke free of the liquor, she belched the loudest Luc had ever heard come from a human and the boys cheered. They took turns slapping their chests into hers and she took each one with a excited yip. A small-framed girl, dressed in what looked like a French maid costume, came buy with a tray of cocktail sausages and the blond grabbed two handfuls of them and shoved each handful into her mouth, one after the other.

  She was the poster child of gluttony.

  She was everything Amanda seemed to have shoved down into the deep, dark recesses of her mind. She was fun. Luc imagined there was no way she would snub him. She’d have made it to his bed the first night they’d met. Sure, that wasn’t the point of this whole experiment, but it was still the way things were supposed to be.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Harley appeared from thin air and startled Luc. He waved his hand in front of the mirror to make the image disappear, but it was too late. She’d seen what he was doing.

  “Nothing.”

  “Dirty little liar. That was Candis.”

  “So what if it was? You never said I couldn’t check up on the cast off.”

  “I didn’t think I needed to.” Harley planted her hand on her hip and glared at Luc with her disapproving stare that he hated so much.

  “I was just curious. No harm done.”

  “No? So you’re telling me that you weren’t watching Candy there and thinking how much easier things would be if I’d chosen her?”

  “That’s not exactly what I was thinking.”

  “Okay smart ass, what exactly were you thinking?” She tapped the fingers of her free hand on his desk and waited for a response. He probably should put her back in charge of torture in Hell, because she was certainly good at it.

  “It’s just that Candis is the picture of gluttony. Everything about the girl screams overindulgence. Drinking, eating, sex… she personifies the sin. Amanda, not so much. Sure, she seems to drink to excess, but I’m not feeling full blown gluttony from her.”

  “And?”

  “And isn’t that the point of all this? Take Ronnie Falcon for example. Now that was one angry chick. She was wrath, no doubt about it. Candis, clearly is gluttony. But Amanda, I’m just not seeing it.”

  “You’re not looking hard enough. Sometimes, you need to put in a little more effort and you find it pays off. Also, in Amanda’s case, a lot of her overindulgence is on hold. It’s up to you to bring that back out in her. Or aren’t you up for a challenge?”

  “I’m always up for a challenge.”

  “Good. Then you have your work cut out for you.”

  Luc wasn’t used to working so hard for things. He’d never had to.

  “She hates me. I can’t force her to let me get to know her.”

  “No.” Harley leaned back against the wall and sighed. “You can’t force her, but maybe if you change your approach a little, you’ll find that you don’t have to.”

  “This girl isn’t my soul mate. You have to know that.”

  “You know how you said that even though Ronnie wasn’t the one now, she might have been under different circumstances?”

  Luc nodded. “I do.”

  “Well, you might find that each one of these girls might be right under the perfect circumstances. You might just have to find the one who fits at this time, under the current circumstances.”

  “So, you’re saying that I have what, seven plus possible true loves out there? That seems to cheapen the whole idea of a soul mate.”

  Harley shook her head. “Did you think that on this planet of over seven billion people, there was only one out there for each of us?” She laughed. “You’re funny, Lucifer. So funny.” With that, she walked away, leaving him standing there with his mouth dropped open.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “You said what?” Toby’s eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open. “Mandy, are you insane? Not only was this contract a huge deal for you, but what if he tells his associates about you, and no one will work with you?”

  It wasn’t until she was deposited into the back seat of an Uber, because she was clearly too intoxicated to drive her car back home, that she realized the monumental mistake she’d made. The worst part was, she had no idea why she’d done it.

  “He said I was cynical. And a jerk. And I’m pretty sure he called me a bitch.”

  “Well, you are cynical, and it sounds like you were being both a jerk and a bitch.” Toby leaned his back on the counter and propped his elbows up to support himself. “You couldn’t stop talking about how important this contract was. Why would you screw it up like that? And why on Earth would you drink at a business meeting? That’s usually the one time you have a little self-control.”

  “I have self-control.”

  “When?”

  “All the time.”

  “You’re delusional. Please tell me you didn’t drive home like that. If you get one more DUI you’re going to jail.”

  “I didn’t. The bartender, Harley, called me an Uber.”

  “Your car is in its spot. I guess she also dropped it off here sometimes between last night and this morning.” Toby looked over his shoulder, out the window, to where Amanda’s car sat in its usual spot. Hopefully the keys weren’t in it. They didn’t live in the kind of neighborhood where you could leave your keys in the car and expect it to still be there.

  But for now, the car was the least
of her worries.

  Toby let out a deep sigh and went about making them some breakfast. He was clearly not prepared to deal with her this morning and she wasn’t prepared to listen to his lecture. It wouldn’t last forever. He’d find the right words and she’d be stuck listening to him.

  When breakfast was done, he slid a plate with scrambled eggs, toast, and a heaping pile of crispy bacon in front of her. She wasn’t sure why he was being so nice to her after the way she’d been acting, but she wouldn’t question it. You just didn’t question bacon. Certainly not with a hangover, and she had a bitch of one, which she most certainly deserved. Though she wasn’t about to mention that to Toby.

  “What time are you going over to the club?” Toby nibbled off the end of a slice of bacon and glanced up at the clock. “It’s already after eleven. Shouldn’t you get yourself together soon?”

  “For what? Why would I go back there? So he can laugh at me and throw me out on my ass?” Amanda shoved two slices of bacon into her mouth and chewed quickly so she could shovel in some more.

  “You’re not serious. You’re not, right?”

  “Of course I’m serious. What are you talking about? He called me a bitch. I think that pretty much means he’s no longer interested in working with me. I definitely blew that one.”

  “That’s one solution.”

  “Huh?” He was making even less sense than usual.

  “Blow him.” Toby ducked just in time to avoid being hit with her toast.

  “I’m not blowing anyone.”

  “No one? Ever? You have bigger problems than I realized.”

  “Stop being an ass. You know I can’t go back there.”

  “Uh, no. You have to go back there. Especially after yesterday. You need to apologize and work this shit out. You need this, Mandy. And I want to go back there. You owe me that much.”

  He was serious. He wanted her to actually walk back in that place and face him after the way she behaved. That guy was a professional. There was no way he was going to overlook the fact that she’d gotten drunk, during a business meeting, and said awful things to him. She doubted even blowing him would make up for that. Not that she was going to try.