by Nia Arthurs
Jo shrugged. “Fine. You want my real opinion?”
“No, not really,” Carrie cringed, sensing she was in for a verbal spanking.
“I think it was reckless. So many things could have gone wrong. What if something bad had happened? He could have chopped you to little bits and we never would have heard from you again.”
“I asked him if he was a psychopath.”
Jo laughed. “You think psychopaths go around telling their victims who they are?”
“I’ll give you that.” Carrie glanced at the beautiful brown-skinned woman sitting to her right. “Sky?”
“Don’t ask me.”
Carrie leaned her elbow on the arm of her chair and nodded at Jewel, the youngest member of their Sweet Treats crew. “What do you think?”
“Me?” Jewel’s bright brown eyes widened. She was incredibly gorgeous with high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. If she didn’t slump her shoulders and shuffle around in sweats everyday, Jewel’s looks would be turning heads.
“I know what these heifers think. What about you?”
“Heifers!” Jo shrieked.
Carrie shoved the dessert plate at her. “Here. Have a brownie.”
Jo munched quietly and gave her the stink eye.
“Well,” Jewel croaked, “I don’t know what to say. I wouldn’t do it, but that’s just me.” She chuckled faintly. “You’ve probably noticed I don’t do so well around men. But you went with the flow and followed your instincts. That’s… bold.”
“She means it was stupid,” Jo piped.
Carrie glared at her friend. “Hey, Ms. I’m Not Judging, guess what you’re doing right now?”
Jewel snorted.
Carrie was secretly glad to see the kid enjoying herself. Jewel was painfully shy. It had been almost six months since the Sweet Treats brownie tradition had begun and Carrie could count on one hand the number of times Jewel had spoken to her.
Sky stretched her brown arms to the ceiling so her T-shirt exposed a sliver of belly between the hem of her blouse and the band of her pants. “Ignore them, Jewel. Continue.”
Carrie leaned in to hear what the kid had to say.
Jewel scratched her arm. “It wasn’t the best decision, but you’ve already done it. Maybe you should focus on how to work professionally with him? I think? I don’t know.”
Carrie reached out and walloped Jewel on the back. “Excellent advice. Jo, pass the brownies. This woman needs some sugar. Stat.”
Sky laughed. “Jewel, I think that was the longest consecutive sentence I’ve heard you say.”
Jewel ducked her head.
Jo checked her watch. “This was fun, guys, but I have to run. Sun Gi’s waiting for me.”
“I’m so jealous.” Carrie closed her eyes and groaned. “You get to report to work whenever you want and do whatever you want because you’re dating the boss.”
“There’s no need for jealousy. You can date your boss too.”
“He’s not my boss!” Carrie moaned.
“Which is worse? Sleeping with your boss? Or sleeping with a random guy who turns out to be your boss?” Jo wiggled her eyebrows.
“You want a war on morality, honey?” Carrie looked over with a smirk. “Don’t let me mention your crush on a married man.”
Jo gasped. “Sun Gi was engaged.”
Sky cackled.
Carrie shrugged. “Same difference.”
“No. Big difference.” Jo coughed. “Besides, we worked it out. Hanna’s cool with it.”
“You got lucky.”
“This isn’t about me, so don’t try to shift the blame.” Jo rolled her eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“Your boss?”
Carrie shrugged. “Pretend he’s not there.”
“Let me know how that works out.” Jo tossed her keys in the air and caught it in her palm. “See yah guys!”
“Remember Nightingale is scheduled to sing next week!” Carrie yelled as Jo headed out the door. Her friend lifted a hand in acknowledgement and sailed to her car.
“Who’s Nightingale?” Jewel asked.
“Someone very important to me and all the men who come to Hidden Reef,” Carrie explained vaguely.
“Oh.”
Sky gave her a secret smile that Carrie returned.
Last year, Jo donned a lacy mask, got on stage and sang at the bar. Her voice took the entire room by storm and no one dared to even breathe until she was finished.
Since she’d kept Jo’s real identity a secret, the patrons dubbed her ‘Nightingale’. There were bets about who she was and several men had made it their mission to get her into bed.
Much to Sun Gi’s chagrin.
Her boyfriend’s misery aside, Nightingale was a major selling point for the bar. The mystery surrounding Jo’s performances was Carrie’s idea. Maybe Benson had a bunch of businesses, but could he be as creative and flexible as she? Definitely not.
Sky got up. “I should get started on the cake order for tomorrow.”
Jewel scrambled to her feet.
Carrie pulled her keys from her purse. “Guess that’s my cue. Thanks for the brownies and the advice.”
“Bye!” Jewel wiggled her fingers and sailed into the kitchen.
Carrie leaned against the counter and gave Sky a thumbs-up. “Your little prodigy’s gotten more confident lately. Good work.”
“It’s slow going. She still won’t tell me what happened to her, but given her skittishness around anyone of the opposite sex, I can guess.”
“Yeah,” Carrie said seriously. “So can I.”
Compassion, and a little guilt, flooded her. Carrie’s man-bashing crusade stemmed from emotional hurt, but she sensed that Jewel’s pain went far deeper. Whatever had happened to make her a shell of herself, Carrie almost didn’t want to know.
Sky offered a trembling smile. “I hope things settle down for you at the bar.”
“Yeah, me too.”
The women exchanged goodbyes and Carrie walked out.
The Caribbean sunshine battered her face. She slipped her shades on and hopped into her car. Sand from her tryst on the beach with Benson was still engrained in the chair. She’d done everything she could to clean up her car, but the stubborn granules remained.
A groan tore from her lips.
Why did Benson have to be Stacie’s brother? Why?
Carrie used to look forward to going to work. Now? It was pure torture. She’d barely survived yesterday.
Avoiding Benson wouldn’t last forever. She needed to get over her awkwardness about their night together and be professional. Like Jewel said, it was spilled milk. No sense crying about it.
Carrie went home and did some sorely needed laundry. Housework ate up most of her day, but at least she had enough time to apply her usual amounts of makeup and comb her hair before work.
She’d flail and foam at the mouth if she thought of the way she’d looked yesterday when Benson showed up out of nowhere.
That mistake would only happen once.
Not today.
She slipped into a tight pair of jeans, a feminine, off-the-shoulder blouse and wedges. Gold bangles danced on her arms. After spritzing herself with perfume, Carrie was ready.
She stared at the bathroom mirror with an approving nod. She hadn’t dressed up for Benson.
Okay, technically, she had.
But it wasn’t to impress him. Carrie needed to feel as powerful as possible so she didn’t fall for his roguish smiles. This—she tapped her blouse—was battle armor.
With a nod, she grabbed her keys and drove to work.
Zeke greeted her when she stepped in. “Hey, Carrie.”
“Hey.” She stashed her keys away and trotted to the bar. Reaching for the inventory clipboard where they kept detailed records, she smiled. “Is Stacie gone yet?”
“She’s en-route to Korea as we speak.”
Carrie let out a breath. “That means things should loosen up ar
ound here.”
“I’m not so sure.” He turned to her with a flirtatious smirk. “You run a tight ship.”
“Because I don’t have time to waste.” She bopped him in the head with the clipboard.
Zeke was cute.
Correction. Zeke was hot. But he was also several years younger than her and far too unstable. Besides, she’d seen him work his game on the single girls who flocked to the bar just to get a glimpse of him.
Carrie didn’t want to get worked over like those poor airheads.
“What do you think about that Benson guy?” Zeke asked.
She stiffened. “Nothing. I don’t think about him at all.”
“Okay....” Zeke studied her face with his shrewd brown eyes. “You’re more uptight than usual. Does he bother you that much?”
“What makes you say that?”
“I noticed you running away from him yesterday.”
“You saw that?” She cringed.
“Everyone did.” Zeke bobbed his head. “You’re not exactly subtle.”
Carrie opened her mouth to defend herself when she heard the clip of heels trotting toward them.
Assuming it was a customer, Carrie called without looking. “We’re not open yet.”
“I’m not here for a drink,” a light, cultured voice sang.
Carrie spun and stared at a stunning woman with pale skin, long red hair and brown eyes. She wore a pair of tiny shorts over a fitted crop top.
“Can I help you?”
The woman smiled at her. “I’m looking for Benson Choi.” She clutched the strap of her purse and added, “My boyfriend.”
6
Benson held the steering wheel with one hand and glanced over at his fidgeting sister. “Why didn’t you ask your boyfriend to drive you to the airport?”
“Luis is not my boyfriend.” She perused her purse as if the world’s greatest treasure was embedded in the pockets. “And he’s busy with work. I didn’t want to bother him.”
“So you bothered me instead?”
She gave him an eye. “That’s what little brothers are for. You’re my own personal errand boy until I say otherwise.”
Benson smirked. He was giving Stace a hard time, but he didn’t mind driving her to the airport.
Anything to get his mind off Carrie.
Yesterday, she’d done her best to avoid him. He even saw her scurrying behind a wall once when he was stalking down the hallway.
Benson was at a loss on what to do with her. Carrie was attracted to him. He knew that like the back of his hand. He also knew that she hated his guts for ‘taking’ her place at the bar.
But they needed to work together.
Every day.
Closely.
What happened on the beach stood between them like a pink elephant. They couldn’t be professional or friendly until they got rid of it.
“You’re quiet.” Stacie blinked her thin eyelashes and stared him down. “You okay?”
“I’m good.”
“You know,” she pulled out her lip-gloss and dragged the sun visor down so she could apply it in the reflection of the tiny mirror, “I’m not flying back to Korea just for the reunion.”
“You’re not?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I never got to meet Seo Ah, but I’m thinking a visit and a butt-whupping are long overdue. I’ll ask Aunt Mae for the address. Deny everything when the police calls and asks why your ex-girlfriend is missing.”
Benson chuckled.
“What’s so funny? I’m serious.”
“No, it’s—” he shook his head. “Just now you reminded me of someone.”
“Who?”
“Nobody.”
Her eyes narrowed again and Benson knew he was being scanned and analyzed. Memories of past confessions wracked through him.
His parents had died when he was young. He and his sister went to live with their aunt and uncle. Because they were often left to themselves, Stacie took on the mantle of both older sister and surrogate mother. Growing up, he’d given away all his secrets when she leveled that blistering stare.
Stacie’s glossy lips quirked. “Who is she?”
“Who?”
“The girl that has you smirking like that.”
He shook his head. “You’re insane.”
“Hey, I’m all for you moving on.” She replaced the cap on her gloss and slipped it into her purse. “After the hell Seo Ah put you through, I thought you’d be incapable of dating anyone else.”
“I’m not seeing anyone. Like I told Aunt Mae and Uncle Ji Soo, I came to Belize to expand my business and clear my head. That’s all.”
“Well, it’s alright if you did date someone. Or hook up. Talk. Whatever the kids call it these days. Just don’t run back to your ex. If you do, I’ll personally fly back here and wring your neck”
“Got it.” He eyed her. “And how do you know Seo Ah put me through hell?”
“Aunt Mae.”
“Wow. Nothing stays secret in this family.”
“You made it obvious, you moron. Aunt Mae said you spent hours at the dojo and worked so hard at the office they had to buy extra tissue boxes to stop your nose bleeds.” She shook her head like a mentor with a disappointing student.
He shrugged. “I thought I loved her.”
“Then she cheated on you. So your response was to make more money? Gosh, you’ve never been the type to process your emotions like a normal human being, have you?”
“How does a normal human process their emotions?” he asked, amused.
“When they’re cheated on?” Her eyebrows hiked. “You get drunk. Bash their windows in. Key their car. Hook up with their best friend. You know?” She grinned. “Normal stuff.”
“That sounds like the opposite of normal.”
She shrugged. “Guess we’re a pair of freaks then.”
“Guess we are.”
Benson slowed down as they entered the airport stretch. Large, wire fences bracketed the left side of the road. He tried to keep his eyes on the highway, but he couldn’t resist gazing at the majestic machines waiting in the fields behind the gate.
He used to love planes as a kid. From the age of five going on ten, he’d swore to everyone he’d become a pilot. Genetics—more specifically the fact that he had to wear glasses just to read anything within a three-foot radius—killed that dream early on.
Benson circled around the lot a few times to find a free spot in the sea of parked cars. He finally did and climbed out to grab his sister’s luggage from the trunk.
The Belize Airport stood tall and proud, taking up several blocks. Tourists in open-toed sandals and duffel bags strapped to their backs paced the large, concrete sidewalk. Taxi drivers lounged under a shelter, talking amongst themselves and keeping an eye out for prospective customers.
He smiled and took a breath of the sweet air. Korea was a stunning place with cutting-edge architecture and non-stop action but, he had to admit, Belize’s gorgeous views stole his heart.
“You don’t have to walk me in,” Stacie said, stopping at the airport’s wide double doors.
“Are you sure?”
“Benson, I’m not twelve.” She threw a fake punch. “And I’m still your noona. I can kick your butt.”
“How could I ever forget?” He bent down and hugged her.
She slapped his back a couple times and squirmed. Their family wasn’t an affectionate one by nature, but he figured he should send her off right.
Benson released her and stepped back. “Be safe.”
“Always.” She winked.
Benson watched her stroll inside and then turned back to climb into his car. On the way to Hidden Reef, he started plotting what he would do to get back into Carrie’s good graces.
Now that Stacie was officially gone, the real test of leadership would begin. The last thing Benson wanted was a tug of war between Carrie—the manager the crew already trusted and him—the manager who’d been appointed out of nepotism.
&n
bsp; If it came down to a fight, he sensed the crew would rather commit mutiny. He could just imagine what kind of damage Stace would do to him if she returned to Belize and heard her entire team had walked.
Open and honest conversation wasn’t Benson’s forte. Like his sister pointed out, he liked to bury his head in the sand until the problem solved itself.
A horrible strategy in this situation.
He needed to take Carrie aside and convince her, somehow, that he wasn’t a threat. And he had to do it all while resisting the urge to back her into the storage closet and have a repeat of that night.
Easy enough, right?
Twenty-five minutes later, he parked behind Hidden Reef and jogged inside. There were a couple of patrons sitting around the high tables on the raised platform. Business men. Maybe lawyers. All young and suited.
He smirked. Figures that Stacie’s ambience would attract her type of people.
Benson headed to the bar and leaned against it. Zeke was hard at work mixing drinks, but he popped him a nod.
Benson returned the gesture and asked, “Where’s Carrie?”
“She went to the back with your girlfriend.”
His eyes popped high. “My what?”
“Some Asian girl named Sewer—”
“Seo Ah?” He balked.
“Yeah, that.” Zeke lifted the tap and handed the sloshing mug filled to the brim with amber liquid and foam to a customer.
“Why would Seo Ah be here?” he mumbled and then fear struck. Why is she talking to Carrie?
Zeke turned around. “Would you like me to…?”
Benson barely heard the rest of the question because he was already on the run. His sneakers skidded against the concrete as he hauled the curve and made a beeline for the employee lounge.
His hand landed on the knob and he threw the door open, expecting…
Benson didn’t even know what he’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t the sight that greeted him when he hustled through the door.
Carrie lay sprawled on her back in the sofa, tears in her eyes. She flapped a slender hand over her stomach and cried, “You’re kidding me!”
“No,” Seo Ah said. “I really went to the concert and yelled ‘oppa’. Then all these teenage girls gave me cold stares. I was scared for my life.”