Read Vanity, Vengeance And A Weekend In Vegas (A Sophie Katz Novel) for Free Online Page B

with another woman.”
    The frown I had forced my mouth
into got heavier and a lot more real.   “Another woman?” I repeated.
    “It’s possible that she’s just a
friend but…” His voice trailed off.
    “But what?” I asked softly.   When Marcus didn’t answer I raised my
voice to a much louder volume. “But what, Marcus? What aren’t you telling me?”
    “Nothing,” He said throwing up
his hands as if protesting his innocence. “It’s just that they seemed…close.”
    “How close?”
    “Last I saw them they were
sitting on a sofa in the main lobby.”   Marcus paused long enough to down the rest of his drink.   “He had his arm around her.”
    “HE HAD HIS ARM AROUND HER?”
    Marcus looked miserable. He
flagged down the bartender and ordered another drink, steadfastly refusing to
meet my eyes.
    “What does she look like?” I
asked desperately. “Is she cute? Hot? If you were straight would you do her?”
    “I’m not straight.”
    “No shit, Marcus. If you were straight
would you want to have sex with this woman?”
    Marcus hesitated. The music in
the bar seemed to have gotten louder. Or maybe the ringing in my ears was being
caused by something else, like the little voice in my head that was screaming.
    “I don’t think I’d be into her if
I was straight.” He said slowly as his drink arrived.
    I sighed feeling the tiniest bit
of relief.   “So she’s ugly?” I
asked.
    “No, I just don’t think that as a
straight man I’d be into the bleach blonde bunny type. I see myself more with a
Hillary Swank kind of girl.”
    And then even that mild sense of relief
disappeared.   “Double D?”
    “Maybe,” Marcus said cautiously.
“Maybe triple, but they have to be fake. There’s no way boobs that big could
stay up on their own if they were real and there’s no way she could have been
wearing a bra considering the skimpiness of that top.”
    “Oh hell no.” I slammed my drink and got to
my feet.
    “Where are you going?”
    “Where do you think I’m going?
I’m going to the lobby and I’m going to rip Anatoly’s head off!”
    “Honey, this is not a good plan.”
    “This isn’t a plan! This is blind
rage that needs an outlet!”
    The few patrons who were close
enough to hear me over the music threw bemused smiles in our direction.
    “Yes,” Marcus said, “well that’s
not so good either.”
    “Marcus, there’s no way any of
this can be good!” I heard the faint edge of hysteria in my voice and I
struggled to contain it. “At this point all I can do is aim for bearable! If I
can hurt him now and then chill out by watching people being murdered in a film
noir then I might be able to bear this…this mess!”
    “Ooh,” Marcus said slowly, ”You
still want to see The Maltese Falcon? I didn’t think you would so—“
    “Wait, are you telling me that my
ex-boyfriend has moved on in less than a week AND you didn’t get us tickets to
The Maltese Falcon? Are you serious? Are you trying to make me suicidal?” Yes,
I was definitely hysterical. Obviously the movie wasn’t important but something had
to go according to plan.
    “Okay,” Marcus put a firm hand on
my shoulder. “Tell you what, I’ll go get the tickets now and you sit here and
have another cocktail. If by the time I get back you still want to decapitate
Anatoly I’ll lead you to him.”
    “The only reason you’d be going
with me would be to stop me from actually committing assault.”
    “There are worse motives to
have.”   He waved at the bartender
again who was by his side in lightning speed.   “Get my friend another drink, darling. You have my card.”
Marcus then turned and gave me a light kiss on the cheek before pushing me back
down on the barstool. “Stay,” he said sternly before giving me another kiss,
this one on the top of my head, and walking away.
    I waited for him to be out of
sight before finishing off what remained of Marcus’ drink, leaping back up onto
my feet and pushing my way