How to Drink Whisky. Dave Broom

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СКАЧАТЬ as much as you do, if not more.”

      “I know,” Tanner conceded. Both had spent much of their lives trying to follow in the footsteps of their father, a very successful businessman. He and their mother would have been really proud to see just how much they had accomplished up to this point. I’m just glad they lived to see us receive our degrees and start building our legacy, Tanner thought.

      Before he could cut the call short, the limousine suddenly shook violently and Tanner heard a loud thump as they came to a halt.

      “What the hell...” The words spewed from his mouth.

      He heard something similar from his driver, Johan.

      “What’s going on?” Solomon asked.

      “Looks like we’ve been in an accident,” Tanner said irritably.

      “Are you all right?”

      “I’m fine,” Tanner said. “Don’t know if I can say the same about the limo, though. I’ll call you back.”

      Tanner hung up. “What happened?” he asked Johan.

      “The car ahead of me stopped suddenly. I slammed on the brakes, but couldn’t slow down enough.”

      “Great! Just what I need,” Tanner grumbled. He watched Johan open the driver’s door and get out, then followed. Tanner stepped onto South Las Vegas Boulevard, jam-packed with vehicles that were now at a standstill, and made his way to the front of the limo. A cursory glance told him that the damage was relatively minor.

      When he looked at the other vehicle, a red Subaru Legacy, it was clear that it had sustained the worst damage from the collision.

      He watched as the Subaru’s driver got out and approached him. “I’ll handle this,” he told Johan before turning his attention to the female driver. She was tall by female standards, though still about eight inches shorter than his six-foot-four frame. Her blond, brown streaked hair was long and wavy, and she had nice lips that were presently a crooked line, but that didn’t stop him from finding her drop-dead gorgeous.

      She gazed at her vehicle and then glared at him. “Look what you did to my car!”

      “Actually, it was my driver,” Tanner said humorlessly, glancing at Johan. “Technically speaking. Beyond that, you didn’t exactly give him a choice with your sudden stop.”

      “I stopped because a car swerved into my lane,” she snapped. “It would have hit me if hadn’t slammed on the brakes. Maybe if your driver hadn’t been riding my bumper for a couple of blocks, he would have had more time to react.”

      Johan furrowed his brow. “You’re blaming me for this?”

      She turned her brown eyes to him. “The damage speaks for itself.”

      Tanner got between them as if they were ready to come to blows. He looked ahead of her car and saw that traffic had begun to move again, including the careless driver who had apparently been responsible for this entire mess. He didn’t doubt that she was telling the truth, knowing how crazy some of the drivers were in Vegas, but that didn’t change their situation.

      “Well, what’s done is done,” Tanner told the attractive woman.

      “What about the damage to my car?” she asked tartly.

      “Isn’t that what your insurance is for?” Tanner asked.

      “Yes, when it’s my fault. Other than that, I’d rather not have to go through my insurance company, only to have my rates go up unfairly.”

      “I see.” Tanner put a hand to his chin. Though there was no way of knowing who truly was at fault for the damage outside of the other driver, he decided to cut her some slack. But only because he was in a hurry and didn’t want to drag this thing out any longer than necessary. Besides, a buddy of his owned an auto repair shop and owed him a favor. Now, with two cars that needed work, he would owe his friend a favor. “We’ll take care of it, no problem. I can call for a tow to take your car to be repaired and give you a lift anywhere you like.”

      “Fine,” she said with seeming reluctance, as though he planned to kidnap her in broad daylight.

      “By the way, I’m Tanner Long and this is my driver, Johan.”

      “Bianca Wagner.”

      Tanner took out his cell phone and met her eyes. This ought to be interesting, he thought. Maybe in more ways than one.

      * * *

      Bianca sat in the limousine, wondering if she would have been better off simply driving her car to the repair shop herself. But why should she? The rear end of her car was damaged, through no fault of her own, and Tanner Long was footing the bill to have it repaired.

      She glanced at him as he sat next to her, checking her out. Pretending not to notice, she turned away. But the image of him was indelibly seared in her mind. After all, she’d seen him enough on television, the paper and online. In person, he was even more gorgeous, if that was even possible. Tall and trim, he was bald with chiseled features, gray-black eyes, a thin mustache and small chin beard. His business-casual attire was a perfect fit and suited him.

      I’d love to ask him a few questions about himself and his business success, she thought, but I wouldn’t want him to get any more conceited than he probably already is. Especially since she was vulnerable as his passenger and a car-accident victim, rather than being here in her professional capacity.

      “Where are you from?” Tanner asked, as if strictly for conversation.

      “Excuse me?” Bianca’s eyes widened.

      “It doesn’t sound like you’re from around here.”

      “What does my voice sound like to you?” She was curious, considering she believed she had no accent.

      “It sounds sexy,” Tanner said, a half grin playing on his lips. “Aside from that, I think I detected a slight Southern inflection there. Maybe from Texas, Georgia, or Alabama. Am I getting close?”

      Too close, Bianca thought. “Actually, I’m from Houston,” she confessed.

      He smiled. “Houston’s a great city. How long have you been in Vegas?”

      “Awhile,” she responded, deciding to turn the tables. “Where are you from?” She seemed to recall that she’d read he was from the East.

      “New York,” he said. “I loved it there, but my brother and I needed to chart our own territory, so we ended up here in Vegas.”

      “Good for you.” Bianca paused thoughtfully. “And your brother is Solomon Long...?”

      “Yeah, you know him?”

      “Only of him—and you,” she said tonelessly. “I read the papers.”

      “I see.” Tanner sat back. “So are you a gambler?”

      Bianca met his eyes. “Not really. I only like to bet on a sure thing.”

      He СКАЧАТЬ