Hired To Love

Chapter One

"It's cute though," the Boy Next Door responded, smiling politely at me.

I stared at his teeth, feeling a stab go through my heart. Of course, he had perfect teeth. Perfectly straight, perfectly white. Why would I have ever expected otherwise? These two were on a whole different level than me. I couldn't look even a fraction as flawless as them even if I took five hours getting ready every day.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" I asked, wondering if I sounded as depressed as I felt. Every second in front of them was like a hard kick to my morale.

"A shot of Lagavulin for me, Henley," the dark-haired one said, not even bothering to pick up the drink menu.

"Absolutely. And sorry for this, but I need to see your I.D," I responded, offering him a half smile. He didn't look under-aged and I was pretty sure I'd served him alcohol before, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"What? You don't know who I am?"

"Am I supposed to...?"

He looked troubled for a moment before something dawned on him and he nodded. "I guess I wouldn't expect someone like you to know."

Something about the way he said that irked me. Was he a celebrity? He looked like he could be an actor or maybe a musician. But then again someone like me would definitely know if he was. He was probably the son of some rich guy who made airplanes for a living. I didn't particularly care who he was. "Your I.D.," I repeated.

The guy dug out a black leather wallet from his jeans and stitched along the lower left-hand cover was the word Hermes. He held out his hand. "Here you go."

I took the I.D from him, my eyes sliding over the name on the card before I could stop myself. Bennett Calloway. Really? I thought. Bennett? What kind of name was that? It didn't ring a bell, either, so he probably wasn't famous. Pursing my lips, I scanned over his birth date. 12/25/89. "You're a Christmas baby?" I said, handing the card back to him.

Bennett nodded, tucking his I.D back into his wallet. "Since the day I was born."

I felt my lips twitch into a smile before I could stop myself. "Kinda sucks though, doesn't it? I bet your Christmas and birthday presents are combined as one."

Without even blinking his response was a nonchalant, "No, never."

I just kind of let out an awkward laugh. Figures. "Anything for you?" I asked the other man.

"I'll have a glass of ice water," he said.

"No, he won't. He'll have a nice shot of whiskey with me," Bennett cut in. "Give her your I.D."

"I'm going to stick with water."

Bennett shook his head, giving his friend a disapproving look. "I'm going through a crisis right now and it is your duty as my best friend to drink the night away with me. Give her your I.D."

I wondered what kind of crisis this probably filthy rich, twenty-five year old could be going through, but figured I was better off not knowing. If I heard anything along the lines of "not being able to afford three Porsches" I'd probably off myself. I hated to believe first impressions, but this guy kind of looked like the type of spoiled person who would consider that a crisis.

"Ben, I wouldn't really call this a crisis—"

Aha! It probably was a three Porsche ordeal! What a world I lived in.

"Seb, we're keeping this lovely girl from doing her job. Just give her your I.D. I promise I won't make you take more than a couple of shots. I know you're a lightweight."