by T. L Smith
“Your hair is still blue.” That’s the first damn thing that leaves his mouth, and I sigh. “Father won’t be happy.”
“Papa will get over it,” I say shaking my head. “And nice to see you, too, brother.”
He slides his phone into his pocket, turning to give me his full attention as the driver starts the engine. “Have you had your fun, yet?”
I roll my eyes like I would when I was teenager. “No. I’ll come back when I want to come back and certainly not when you tell me to.”
“Why must you make everything harder than it needs to be, Olympia.”
Finally, we come to a stop, both of us not speaking as we make our way inside the restaurant. Barren pulls my seat out for me, and I sit as he steps around to sit opposite me. He places his hands on the table, opens and shuts them, indicating for me to place mine up. I put mine in his, and he squeezes them. “Let’s start this off right. Father misses you and so do I. When can we expect you home?”
He doesn’t listen to me, not at all.
I pull my hands back and place them in my lap. “I’d like to order. What are you having?” I ask him smiling. He knows my fake smile and shakes his head with a groan as he reaches for his menu. My brother is an attractive man, I know this because all through school I was told by my girlfriends how much they wanted to go out with him. He was the most popular boy there, and girls wanted to be near him any chance they could get. He has a charm about him, just like Papa.
“You get that from Father, do you know that?” He shakes his head and gazes over the menu.
“When are you getting married?”
He shrugs. He’s been with the same girl for almost ten years, and not once has he spoken about marrying her. What’s he afraid of, I wonder.
“Lilly and I aren’t there yet. We both want to better our careers.”
“Please, that’s simply an excuse. I bet she’d jump at the chance to marry you.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Is it the money or me?” he mumbles. I didn’t know he felt that way. I glance up at him and see the hard lines appear around his eyes.
“Why are you here, Barren?”
He looks up from his menu. “I came to see my sister.”
“Thank you.” I stand, walk over to him and give him a cuddle. He wraps his arms around me, hugging me back.
“Father’s pressuring me to marry Lilly. You know he loves her,” he says when I sit back down.
“If you don’t want to, leave her. It’s worse to drag her along.”
He shakes his head. “I love her, but…”
“Do you think there should be a but with I love her?”
“She’s been with me through so much, it would kill her.”
I shrug. “But you may just release her, too. What if she wants kids and marriage? And here you are denying her of all of it.”
“You’re the only one who talks to me as if I’m not a rich mogul.”
I wave my hand at him. “Please, I remember when you used to pee in my bed. You’re no mogul to me, brother.”
We order and our drinks arrive. Barren checks something on his phone, and when he looks up, he stares over my shoulder. His eyes straining as he does so.
“Olympia, why is there a man over there staring holes into the back of your head, and regarding me as if he wants to kill me?” I glance over my shoulder to see Darby sitting at a table with everyone else. They have a large table farther back in the restaurant. Storm notices and waves me over.
“That’s my boss and his friends. Do you want to go and meet them?”
Barren stands and looks down at me. “You’re working?”
I shrug, not wanting to go into it.
“Yes, introduce me, now.” He pulls on his shirt, making sure it’s flat and in the right position as we make our way over. Darby’s eyes don’t fall from me until we reach the table.
Storm stands, wraps me in a cuddle before she sits back down. “Olympia, fancy seeing you here,” she says.
“Yeah, blue, what’s the likes of you doing in a place like this?” Falcon says winking.
My brother’s hand falls to my back, and I know he doesn’t like the way they’re speaking to me. You speak to women in a proper manner or not at all. Unless you’re family.
“Who’s your date?” Falcon’s eyes fall to Barren who reaches over with his hand outstretched.
“Barren.”
Falcon notices it, then I see Ariel nudge him, so he shakes Barren’s hand then looks to where Darby’s seated.
“Why don’t you join us, dear. You and your friend are more than welcome,” Ma says, sitting with a gentleman next to her. It’s then I notice the baby in the stroller, and Darby still staring intently between myself and my brother.
“No, thank you. We’ve already ordered, we best be on our wa—”
“So, what kind of business is it that you own?” Barren interjects.
I groan and turn to him, shaking my head. “It’s just a bar. Come on, Barren.” I slide my hand in his and pull, but he doesn’t move.
“You’re working at a bar?” He huffs. “A bar?” he says it again like the words are a stain on his tongue, and he simply can’t believe it.
“Yes, now come back to the table so we can talk.”
“No. Why don’t you sit. I’m sure we can fill you in.” My head whips around to that voice. They stand and move chairs, making room, but Darby who offered doesn’t move, he stays exactly where he is. Two extra seats are pulled around, and before I know it, our drinks are at the table. I slide in next to Darby, clenching my teeth. Damn, he smells so good. Barren sits next to me, and I know he’s fuming. I can feel the tension rolling off of him.
“So, you all own this bar?” Barren finally asks, his leg bouncing up and down with the anxious tension he’s obviously feeling. He turns to me. “You work with all these men?”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to go?”
“No, stay. Ask away,” Darby says smirking, while his eyes keep flicking between us both. I check around and notice everyone’s watching us. I know almost everyone here except for that one man sitting next to Ma. I hope I haven’t ruined their night by sitting down with Barren who’s being totally obnoxiously rude.
“I’m sorry for interrupting your night,” I say looking over at Ma.
She waves a hand at me. “No interruption, honey. You’re always welcome.”
“And you are?” the man sitting next to her asks.
I smile, reaching across the table and offering my hand. “Olympia, sir.” He smiles at me and shakes my hand. My papa raised me with manners to respect my elders.
“It’s lovely to meet you. Next time my son here won’t be so rude when we meet.” He taps Darby’s shoulder, who doesn’t give him any attention. That makes sense, they both have the same eyes. The baby starts making noises, and Darby picks him up, placing him on his shoulder. I lean in closer so I can see him.
“Hey, little guy, haven’t seen you in so long. I have a new song for you.” A chair is pushed back and a hand reaches for me, pulling me away and up. Barren’s face is telling the story, it’s red and angry. I wave goodbye to them as he pulls me outside, and the minute the cold air hits our skin, he starts pacing back and forth.
“Calm down, Barren.”
“You work with men. Do any of the women work there?”
“No.”
“And you think it’s safe to work with four men?”
His protectiveness is shining through. I thank my papa for that. Damn him.
“You’ll quit. Find a normal job. Not one in a bar. What bar is it, anyway? It better not be a strip joint.” I cringe at his words. “Oh my God, Olympia, it is, isn’t it?”
“Nooo.” If he knew what it was, he would tie me to that car and drive me all the way back home without a second thought. A strip joint would be a better choice than my line of work, but maybe it’s not as safe. The boys take great pride in their club and how accomplished they are at keeping
it safe for everyone, employees and clients alike.
“Olympia…” A voice comes from behind me, making me spin around. Darby’s standing there with an intense stare that tells me he wants to beat my brother unconscious. That will not happen. “You should come back inside.”
“She isn’t going anywhere with you,” Barren says stepping up to Darby.
Darby steps even closer so they’re almost nose to nose. “And you think she would be better off with a man who lays a hand on her. Why are you with him, Olympia?”
I stare at the ground. “I love him,” I say.
I hear Barren harrumph.
“He’s my brother!” I state the obvious.
He clearly doesn’t know.
Darby’s eyes flick from me to Barren, then he steps back. “Brother or not, don’t touch her like that again.” Darby walks back inside the restaurant door, and it shuts behind him.
“He likes you.”
I shake my head. “No, he doesn’t.”
“He does. I know when a man likes a woman. He likes you.”
The car pulls up, and Barren slides inside while I stay on the side of the road.
“I’m going back in… lunch tomorrow?”
He nods, closes the door, then the car drives away.
Most of the time my brother is an ass, but I do love him anyway.
Walking back inside the restaurant feels like I’m doing the walk of shame. All eyes go to me, but it’s Darby I stay glued to. He holds baby Charles in his arms and doesn’t look away when I get closer.
“I’m sorry about my brother, he’s overprotective.” Some nod, some just go back to their conversations with a smile.
“Sit down, Olympia.” Darby looks good with a baby, so fucking good that my ovaries want to explode just by watching him.
I lean down, so I’m close. “I wanted to apologize, now it’s best I leave.” I pull up so I can see him, and his dark eyes bore into mine.
“Sit.” I do so on his command. He hands me Charles, and I happily take him. “Did you eat?”
“Um…” Charles makes a sound, and I pull him back to check on him. He’s smiling, and I simply love that smile. When I realize I never answered, Darby’s talking to the waiter whose eyes flick to me, then he walks off.
“I think we’re going to leave.”
It’s then I notice almost everyone stand, and the only person who doesn’t is Darby. He keeps watching me as I play with Charles in my arms.
“Oh, I’m sorry to have ruined such a lovely evening.”
Darby’s father waves me off. “You did no such thing.” His eyes turn to Darby then back to me. “It was actually nice to meet you. A first, really, for Darby.”
I don’t understand his words so I draw my eyebrows together and then look back at the baby. When they all walk out, my food arrives, and Darby stands next to me and leans down, far too close so that instead of smelling that beautiful baby scent, all I can smell is him.
“Eat, Olympia, then I will take you home.”
I nod my head as he takes Charles and check the food in front of me—it’s what I ordered with my brother. Taking the first bite, I turn my head slightly to gaze across at Darby.
“Why didn’t you go?”
Charles is back in his pram, his eyes falling shut while sleepiness takes over. Darby places a blanket on him as he leans his elbows on the table and turns to me. “Because you haven’t eaten.”
“Why do you care if I’ve eaten or not?”
He shakes his head. “Stop with the questions. Why all the questions?”
I gape at him. “I hardly ever question you.”
Darby sits back, now crossing his hands over his chest. “No. You’re innocent, aren’t you? You don’t try to sleep with me.” I place my fork on the table and cross my own arms over my chest as I stare at him. His eyes fling to my breasts then back up to me.
“You make me want to sleep with you. Trust me, it isn’t the wisest decision on my part.”
“If I slept with you, I would have to fire you first.”
I laugh at him then lean over. “You could fire me as you spank me, then hire me back when I’m leaving.” Something twinkles in his eyes, but I try to not read too much into it as I pick up my fork and start eating.
“You test my boundaries.”
I shake my head at him. “Please, if I remember correctly, you kissed me.”
“Are you finished?” he asks looking at my now empty plate.
“No,” I say as I call the waiter over and order dessert, with a big smile on my face.
13
Darby
Observing her eat is making my cock stir, the way she licks the chocolate off the spoon then lifts the glass of champagne I ordered for her to her lips. It’s like watching fucking heaven. Sweet baby Jesus, what the fuck am I doing even sitting here with her? It’s bad enough I was so fucking angry thinking that man was with her and that every time she reached over to grab his hand, it took everything within me to stay where I was and not make a scene. But my eyes couldn’t, wouldn’t move away, even when I demanded them to. She was out on a date, and it was making me furious. And not just a date at a shitty restaurant, it’s one of the best in the city.
Then I found out it was her brother, after he basically told her to not work for us and that it was beneath her. I now know more about her family after I’ve done some digging, thanks to Echo. I should have checked photos, though that would have made this night run a lot smoother, rather than ending with me watching her mouth-fuck a spoon when I wish it were my cock. Her father basically runs the company that was handed down to the men in the family. There’s not one woman’s name mentioned anywhere in the company roster.
“Will you stop that?” I finally groan, moving in my chair, trying to make this more comfortable.
Her head swivels to me, and she smiles, placing the spoon back in her mouth. “Stop what?”
“You know what you’re doing, stop mouth-fucking that damn spoon.”
She bursts out laughing and holds onto her stomach as her head drops. When she manages to calm down for a second, she looks back up at me with happy tears in her eyes.
“Is that even a word?” she asks.
“Fucked if I know, but stop it.”
She leans forward so her neck is all I can see as she shifts in closer to my ear. “Do you want to kiss me again, Darby?”
I like it when she says my name, slow and deliberate. My tongue darts out and touches her neck.
She jumps a little as my lips kiss her, then I pull back.
“No.”
Olympia sags in her chair, her hand coming up to touch her neck. “Just fire me, this tension needs to go.” Her hands go up in the air then back down in some sort of frustrated movement.
“I won’t re-hire you.”
She waves me off. “Like I need the job…” her eyes go back to me, “… but the bar needs me.” She winks.
Shit, she’s right, it does.
Johnny isn’t back, so she’s it for the time being.
And Creed actually likes her, which is fucking new.
“The dilemma is real then. Guess you will have to find another way to get rid of all that sexual tension.” She’s a little vixen, because the moment she finishes saying that, she stands and leans over the table reaching for something. My eyes stay glued to her ass in that perfectly tight dress. Fuck. Now I have to adjust myself because I want her more than anything. But I also don’t want her because there’s consequences to that action.
“We should go.”
She sits back down and crosses her legs one over the other. “We should. I would invite you back to mine, but I know you won’t come.”
“I have Charles.”
She leans forward. “So invite me back to yours instead.”
I shake my head. “That’s not happening, this needs to stop. I’m your boss, you have to stop this.”
She stands then looks over to Charles then back to me. “If this is how you wa
nt to play, that’s fine. Friends?” she asks offering me her hand. I stand, taking her hand in mine. She pulls me into a hug, and when she does, my cock rubs against her. The friction makes me regret everything I’ve just said and want to take her right now, not giving a fuck who sees or cares.
“Laters, big man.” She offers me a small wave and begins to walk out.
I watch her even after she’s gone and wish I wasn’t always so fucking concerned with work and the fact that I’m the boss. I wish for once I wouldn’t think about what could happen after and not plan everything like I do in my head, over and over again. Because I really do want to fuck her.
“So, you like this young girl?” my father questions while sitting opposite me the next day as we sit having our coffee. I’ve been sitting across from him in silence for longer than fifteen minutes, and now he decides to speak. I look up at him confused.
“Olympia?” I ask, and he nods his head. “She’s an employee.”
He shrugs. “Reminds me of how your mother was. She was open and talkative. I was lucky to be around and have her conversations all the time.”
“You don’t speak of Mom much.”
His eyes fall to his coffee, and he stares at it. “Speaking about her hurts.” He glances up to me and continues, “What do you want to know?”
“Did she love me?”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Love you… you were her world. Not even I could compete with you.”
Both our heads snap up to the sound of Charles waking. Dad gets up first and walks away, then comes back shortly after with a wide-awake Charles in his hands. “I would like to stay for a while to help… with him. If that’s okay?” He’s smiling down at Charles.
“Why?”
“Because I love him, and he reminds me of you. I was in too much sorrow with you and missed out on so much. I don’t want to miss this… any of my grandson’s life.”
“What about the farm?”
He purses his lips. “I have staff. They’re happy to run the place until I say otherwise.” He starts talking to Charles, and I sit back watching him. He’s changed so much since I was a kid—more open, more talkative, more like a dad should be.