Free Unknown (Unknown Identity #1) by Lexy Timms Page B

of those intersections of fate that seemed way too coincidental to trust. She glanced at her image in the mirror behind the bar and absently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She thought about Amber, who was probably sticking her tongue down the throat of some sexy German while Josie was grinding up against some ridiculously rich and young stockbroker. They were out there living life and doing what they wanted to hunt down the thrilling excitement of love and adventure while she was letting yet another opportunity slip by. She should get off this stool and actually do something that was bold and daring.
    After she finished her drink, she would do it.
    Or maybe after the next.
    Nope.
    She stayed put on the stool.
    Eventually, the rich and the famous along with their entourage of guests, friends, and partners made their way out of the bar, the hours dwindling away, and it was later than Leslie thought as she polished off her third or fourth gin and tonic—now with a lemon slice.
    She glanced around behind her, realizing she was now alone with Conrad and the bartender.
    “It’s my break,” the bartender said to her with a charming smile. “You need anything before I step out?”
    “I’m good,” Leslie said, completely put off by the clichéd and tacky nature of this walking stereotype. It was like he’d watched a bunch of noir movies and applied for this job. What could they possibly have seen in him to think that he was a good fit to the job? It made her question this whole establishment, but as she watched him go she knew that this was the moment where she could act and she wouldn’t actually be judged. If she wanted to talk to Conrad, then she needed to do it now. Liquid courage. She looked over at him and felt a sinking feeling in her gut that was sour and vengeful, probably from mixing fish tacos with gin and tonics.
    “I watch your TV show,” she blurted out. The words felt hollow and almost disappointed, like she wasn’t excited to see him at all.
    He looked at her through his mirrored aviators, like he was some really cool guy who was hiding. It was almost laughable. He smiled and let out a short little laugh that was so sarcastic it stung when she heard it. “Yeah, a lot of people watch that crap,” he said with a shrug. “But it’s a paycheck, you know?”
    “The writing’s terrible,” Leslie said after a moment. “Not to mention that none of it makes any sense.”
    “Yeah?” he chuckled, turning and looking at her. “Maybe I should tell the writers they should look you up.”
    It was funny, almost in an ironic sense, but there was no way that he could have known that he was talking to one of the top producing writers in the entire country. Heck, I’m one of the greatest in the world . There was a moment where Leslie was smiling to herself. She wasn’t a screenwriter, but she was fairly certain she could come up with a better plot than a love triangle with a new character every four episodes.
    Conrad took a drink from his glass of amber liquid and let out a very satisfied-sounding sigh as he glanced back over at her. “What do you do?” he asked after a moment, clearly tired of sitting inside his own head and stewing over the breakup that was so clearly and obviously known around the world.
    “I write some stuff,” she said with a shrug.
    “Write some stuff?” he repeated, taking another drink, clearly not satisfied with the answer she’d given him.
    Leslie didn’t care. The fact that she was talking to him was one of the things on her bucket list she had no clue that she’d actually had. It was like she was marking off something on a fantasy list, like visiting Mars or riding a unicorn.
    “What kind of stuff?”
    “Books mostly.” Leslie shrugged again. “It’s not that interesting.”
    He nodded, clearly not sure what he was supposed to do with that.
    Leslie kicked herself, knowing that there was really nothing that anyone could have done with that. She had practically