She turned him down politely. Guys with money, she knew, liked to save face- they wouldn''t push if you brushed them off with manners.


    But she''d miscalcted.


    The man took a slow sip of whiskey, then sneered. "Go on, keep pretending. Saw you the second you walked in. You''re alone."<fn5137> ?????? ???? find~novel</fn5137>


    "My boyfriend''s on his way," Sylvia replied, calm as ever.


    "Yeah? I''d love to see when he shows up." The guy wasn''t buying it. He was a regr at this kind of game.


    Sensing things were off, Sylvia reached into her purse and hit Lester''s number. He couldn''t have gone far.


    But there was no reply.


    The man noticed her anxiety, smirked, and nodded toward a booth in the back. "My buddies are over there. Come join us for a drink?"


    "No, thanks. Like I said, my boyfriend''s almost here," Sylvia said, voice steely.


    His face darkened. "Most women don''t say no to me. You cane on your own, or I''ll take you myself. I''m a VIP here, nobody''s gonna stop me.”


    With that, he lunged.


    Sylvia gripped her bag and cracked him across the face.


    He howled, clutching his nose. "You''ll regret that! Don''t let me catch you again!"


    He blocked the door to the exit, but Sylvia didn''t stop to think. She bolted for another entrance into the main bar.


    He was right behind her.


    Inside, she scanned for a way out, but the guy already had his friends covering the exits. She was trapped.


    Sylvia backed up, ncing around.


    The closest booth was empty, people giving it a wide berth. She could just make out a few men. sitting inside the bartender hovering nearby with the nervous energy of someone serving big tippers-or big trouble.  s


    The VIP jerk was closing in fast.


    Thinking quickly, Sylvia stered on a smile and slid into the booth, leaning in close to the man at the edge. "Mr. Zarat, long time no-"


    Her words caught when she saw his face.


    She''d meant to pretend she''d mistaken him for someone else apologizeter, count on him not caring. But the man in front of her was... Rupert.


    She froze, then nced at the others. One of them she knew: Chris. He pinched the bridge of his nose, giving her a look that screamed, Talk about jumping from the frying par into the fire."  s


    Rupert stubbed out his cigarette, a puff of smoke escaping his lips, his eyes narrowing with cold amusement. "Mr. Zarat, huh? Who''s that supposed to be?"


    "My mistake," Sylvia muttered, her mouth dry. She nced nervously over her shoulder; the creep was still watching.


    Rupert turned, his icy gaze flicking to the man. Without a word, the guy bolted. Sylvia exhaled, ready to make her exit, but a sharp voice stopped her.


    "If you made a mistake, then why are you still here? Don''t ruin Mr. Rupert''s night!"


    Sylvia looked up and saw the woman be?ide Rupert-blonde, impossibly chic, her icy blue eyes fixed on Sylvia with undisguised contempt. Even as she spoke, She was pressing her curves a little closer to Rupert, staking her im.  s


    Sylvia took in the disy-yeah, she was definitely crashing the party.


    "My bad, sorry for the interruption. I''ll go," Sylvia said, trying to keep it light.


    Her words only made Rupert''s expression darken. He gripped his ss so hard it looked like it might shatter.


    Sylvia turned to leave-only for a strong hand to mp around her waist.


    She tried to twist free, but the grip was iron-strong, hauling her back into the booth before she could even react.


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