by Lexy Timms
A chuckle echoed over the line, sending a shiver down her back. Imagine if he could see her now, standing almost naked, hand on her breast because she was talking to him? Bloomin’ stroking herself because of his voice? “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice rising slightly.
Kallie blinked her eyes and nearly jumped at his voice. “Yeah. Nothing. Sure,” she replied in a daze, then blinked and shook her head slightly, realizing she sounded like an idiot. “Right away. Thanks, Sasha.” She hung up and dialed her landlord and got his voicemail again. She left the message and waited.
Sure enough, he called right back.
She’d been right: he was screening his calls. “Hey, I’m at my place, if you want to meet me. I took your advice. We can go over the robbery if you’re available. Just you and me.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there. No cops, right?”
She wasn’t sure if it was safe for Sasha to be there. A thought whipped through her head. What if the landlord had something to do with the robbery? It could make sense: he just robbed her and left her unharmed. Maybe he had other plans. Maybe… “No cops,” she said, realizing she was taking too long to respond.
“Good. Be there shortly.”
She hung up and quickly called Sasha to warn him. “Hey Sasha,” she said as soon as he picked up. “I just spoke to my landlord. He says he’s on his way over. I’m thinking he might’ve been the one who took my apron. He’s pretty concerned that I don’t involve the cops.”
Sasha’s laugh was like a soft rumble. “Ya think?” he asked. “Shhh, I have to go. No more calling. I’ll be back shortly.”
Was this going to happen every time the man spoke to her? Kallie pressed her eyes closed, relishing the effect the simple conversation had on her. The way he teased her and conversed with her, it was just so natural and somehow soothing. It’d been so long since she was reminded she was a woman. Even under the circumstances, being so stirred was a welcome diversion.
She ended the call, then stepped into her uniform and zipped it up at far as she could. She had no problem with it the day before, but now she couldn’t seem to manage. Another swing of bad luck on the pendulum called my life. She was going to have to ask Angie to zip up the last inches.
She dabbed some color on her eyes, played a bit with the rest of her makeup and did her lips, then went back out to the bar to eat her meal. The bar itself was empty except for Angie and her. It made her feel a little uneasy. This place had seemed deceptively safe when she got hired, but yesterday taught her differently. There were guys in the kitchen, but Kallie would feel better if Sasha and Sal were back.
“Hey, Angie?” she asked softly, paranoid to be too loud. “Do you mind…”
She let the sentence trail off as Sasha entered the bar, clutching the ties of her apron like it was a hunting trophy.
“You found it!” she exclaimed.
He handed it to her with a cheeky smile on his face. “As luck would have it.”
Kallie reached into the pockets and counted the money, then shook her head.
“Problem?” he asked with an arch of his brow.
“There’s more money in here than what I earned. In fact, there’s five times the amount,” she scoffed.
“Are you complaining?”
“Well, how did that happen?”
Sasha placed his hand warmly on her back and then stopped her from moving around.
Kallie became fully alert. What was this man’s game? Why did he touch her so much? If he weren’t attracted to her, then maybe it was just the way he interacted with people.
Then his fingers tugged her zipper all the way up. Their eyes met, and he guided her back to the bar and grabbed her a plate of dinner from the kitchen. The shift meal was chicken breast, brown rice, and a vegetable. “Eat,” Sasha teased. “You’ll fill out that cocktail dress better.”
Kallie’s mouth opened as she gawked. Did he feel she needed to put on some weight? Maybe, as she’d lost some since her life took a dive down a few floors.
He gently closed it with the firm touch of his finger. “Your landlord was very surprised to meet us there,” he began.
Sal laughed as he took his place behind the bar. “But it was a good thing we were because he suddenly recalled, after we described your apron and the money you lost, having seen the apron in the apartment of one of the other tenants. He had it in the rental office.”
Kallie was glad to have the cash, but she was worried. She couldn’t go back to her apartment now, not without sleeping with one eye open. The landlord was going to be pissed.
“What’s the matter?” Sasha asked her.
“I appreciate what you guys did for me, I really do,” she began.
“But?” he pressed.
“I don’t feel like it’s a safe place to live now.”
His eyebrows shot upward with amusement. “News flash,” he said. “It wasn’t a safe place to live when you moved in. What’s the story?”
Kallie squirmed on the bar stool. She knew what he was asking and she didn’t feel like talking. Not now. Not in front of Sal or Angie or anyone. She lifted a forkful of chicken to take a bite.
He stopped her. “What’s the story?” he asked again, no hint of amusement in his eyes this time.
“What’s what story?” she repeated, suddenly nervous.
“Here comes the cliché: What’s a girl like you doing in a joint like this? In a joint like that apartment?” he demanded.
“I’m just working and making a living,” she evaded.
He crouched in closer to her. “Want to try that again?”
She sighed. “What’s the big deal?”
“You got a closet filled with Michael Kors and other designer names.” He leaned in closer, his breath warm on her face. “One pair of your shoes is worth half your rent.”
“You looked through my stuff?”
He put a calming hand on her shoulder. “Just having a look around to see if anything didn’t point to your landlord being the thief.”
“Now who isn’t being straight?” she muttered.
“So, you admit you aren’t being straight,” he concluded with a tilt of his head.
“It’s my private life,” she countered boldly. “You had no business looking in my closet.”
“Those dresses were more than expensive,” he paused, giving her an impatient look. “They were skeletons…if I didn’t know better. But I do.”
Kallie didn’t want to think about it. How would she answer his question? That she came to work at the bar and to live in the worst part of town to hide? Then he’d demand from what. Then she would tell him the story and he would see she was more stupid than he’d already thought. Being taken in by a man, letting him take over her business, then having the shame of being seen as either a rube or a woman who ran a call service.
“Did you get divorced?” he asked suddenly? “Or are you running from your husband?”
Something in the tone of his voice gave her warning, like he was doing a specific kind of fishing. Now it wasn’t just curiosity about what a woman with high-end clothes was doing in a rat trap like this. He wanted to know if she had a guy somewhere.
“No, I didn’t get divorced,” Kallie replied, tearing up from the pain of even thinking about the past. “I’ve never been married.” She pressed her lips tight to stop them from trembling. He had no right to ask!
Sasha gently patted her hand. “I’ll let up for now,” he said quietly, and then cleared his throat. “You finish your meal.” He took out his wallet and laid down two one-hundred-dollar bills. “No more going without groceries.”
She looked up in surprise as he turned away and started walking to the kitchen. He paused by the door and glanced back at her. “And by the way, you’re moving.”
Chapter Six
Moving?
She really didn’t have a choice now. The look on her face must’ve worried Sasha, as he turned and started walking back to her. Kallie took her plate and, with her head d
own so she didn’t have to look at him, hurried into the kitchen. She wrapped it up with the industrial cellophane wrap and set it in the walk-in refrigerator, then tied her apron around her waist. What the hell have I gotten myself into? And how am I going to get out of it?
She went back out front, and counted out all but what she’d made in tips from the previous night before handing the remainder back to Sasha—along with the two hundred he’d just given her.
“What’s this?” he demanded, his eyebrows pressing together as he stared at her and then the cash, and then at her again.
“I can’t take your money.”
He didn’t even try to hide the fact that his gaze took a walk all over her. The cocktail outfit was a little over the top for the dark bar. It was mostly white, which was good for her because, as a brunette with blue eyes, the color flattered her. “It’s not my money you’re taking,” he said, folding his hands over hers. “It belongs to the shit who robbed you. Take it.” He handed it back to her.
“I don’t want it.” She needed it desperately but wasn’t going to admit it to him. “I now have to worry about him, too.”
“Kallie…sweetie, you don’t have to worry about a thing. Understood?” His look softened. “Now go do your job.”
If she wondered whether Sasha watched her work the night before, she was certain of it now. She wouldn’t kick the man out of bed for eating crackers, but she didn’t want to be a conquest of his either. Given Angie’s even more chilly nature toward her, Kallie wondered if Sasha’s interest had something to do with it. If the other waitress didn’t like her because she thought Kallie was Sasha’s bedmate…she shook her head. None of this is any of her business.
Maybe it was all in Kallie’s imagination, thinking Sasha was even interested in her. The place grew busier than it was the night before, and there wasn’t time to consider the issue any longer. She moved to take an order and pushed Sasha from her mind. The man was her boss and he had a girlfriend. He wasn’t interested in her. He was only trying to help an employee in trouble. That was it. She let herself become preoccupied taking care of customers. Enough so that she didn’t notice Sasha leave the bar.
Kallie checked her watch as another couple left, and she brought the dirty glasses to the sink behind the bar. The door opened, and in walked the gorgeous woman from the previous night. Kallie had completely forgotten about her until that moment. A stab of jealousy sliced through her and she dropped her head down to focus on filling the dishwasher. Sasha might not have been here now, but his gorgeous woman was.
The sight of her made Kallie wonder what the woman and Sasha had done the previous night, after she’d left with Sal. Kallie shuddered; she didn’t want to know, or picture it—but she couldn’t stop herself. As she worked and forgot about her personal troubles, like her safety from the landlord who was for certain going to be pissed at her, she became a virtual voyeur, playing a movie of Sasha making love to the woman. Maybe she was becoming unhinged; fantasizing about him in any way couldn’t be a good thing. Slamming the industrial glass dishwasher’s door closed, she did the fast wash and decided to leave it be. Someone could clear it tomorrow. It’d be better if she made a run for it, right out of the bar, out of that apartment, and out of Sasha’s perimeter, period.
Okay, maybe empty the dishwasher first. And finish her shift, as she had another hour to go. That was the least she could do. She grabbed a dry towel and opened the washer to stack the glasses properly. The next thing she realized, she’d stopped thinking about the woman and began to envision herself underneath the magnificent man. The fantasizing grew addictive and she became immersed. She took her time drying each glass, saving more space for thinking about the hot sex with Sasha. It was a fun private game she played until a sharp pain stopped the daydreaming.
There was a yank from the back of her head. Her body staggered as she tried to pull free. The change in her apron went flying. Someone had pulled her ponytail and it hurt like hell.
“Hey!” she hollered.
“Kinda clumsy,” said the guy who tugged her hair.
A few of the men at the bar laughed half-heartedly as the guy leaning over the bar sat back down.
One of his buddies shook his head. “Are you crazy?” he said. “Maybe you should lay off the booze and the waitress.”
“I was just playin’,” he defended.
Kallie crouched down and crawled around, picking up the change.
Angie joined in.
“Thank you,” Kallie said to her.
“Sure,” she said. “Sal saw it. He’ll probably throw them out. If Sasha were here, he’d definitely throw them out.”
The bar suddenly grew quiet and the men sitting at the counter shifted uncomfortably. Sasha appeared at the side of the bar and he scowled at the man who’d pulled her hair. “Why aren’t you on the floor, helping her find her money?” he asked with barely visible restraint.
“Sorry, Sasha. I don’t know what I was thinking,” the guy defended nervously. “I didn’t think I was allowed behind the bar.”
“I have a better idea,” Sasha snapped. “Give me your wallet.”
The guy looked like he was about to argue, but the guy beside him must’ve kicked him in the shin. He pulled out his wallet and reluctantly handed it over.
Sasha whipped out a wad of cash. “Here you go, doll,” he said to Kallie.
Kallie and Angie had gotten all the change they could. They both climbed to their feet. Kallie didn’t want to cause any trouble, so she took the money.
“Count it,” Sasha instructed.
She apparently didn’t have a choice and counted the hundred dollar bills behind the bar. There was a thousand dollars! She had no intention of keeping it. She took out a single bill and handed the rest back to the man. “Here,” she said stiffly. She wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed with the man or Sasha. She loved the power that came off him, and his charisma, but she wasn’t going to let him be the excuse for hijacking people’s wallets.
“I don’t think I’d better take it back,” the man said quietly, and glanced at Sasha.
“Well,” Kallie said, setting the cash on the bar counter, “I’m not going to take it. Leave it there, then, for someone else.” She walked around the bar to check her tables and take any new orders. It was going to be a long night. So much for running away. She took an order for more drinks and held back an inner sigh. The men at the bar had left; all that remained were Sasha and his lady friend.
Preparing to ignore him completely, she moved to the pretty lady’s side and put the drink order in.
“I have a small house in a much better neighborhood. You can come stay tonight after shift if you want.” Sasha was clearing talking to her.
Kallie blinked in surprise and leaned around the woman to look at him. “You want me to move in with you?” she asked for clarification. It could be a double-edged question, too: be with him, or not be with him.
Sasha’s woman turned to glare at her.
“Uh, no,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve a small house. On a property in a nice neighborhood, but it’s not the house I live in.”
“Thank you,” she said coldly as heat flooded her face. “I’m fine where I am. Can I get two rum and cokes, two drafts, and a Bud?” she asked Sal, who was now bartending.
“Well, that’s too bad.” Sasha shook his head, his beautiful hair swinging. “It’s already all arranged. If you don’t like the house, you can have your miserable one back. But since I’ve already moved all your stuff, you’re going to give it a try.”
Kallie stepped toward him, hands on her hips. “You already moved me?” She huffed. “You can’t do that!”
His girlfriend snorted. “Yeah, Sasha, you can’t do that.”
Sasha couldn’t stop himself from smiling. It annoyed the hell out of Kallie that the man had to look so gorgeous when he smiled. It was a slow reveal, eventually showing perfect teeth in his already perfectly chiseled face.
“Well, actually, I c
an and I did.” He winked at her.
Kallie shook her head. “I realize you have, but you’re not allowed to. That’s what I meant by can’t.”
“I went down to your place and straightened out the robbery. You live in a shit hole. Maybe because you didn’t know better, or you can’t afford more—or for another reason I can’t figure out. But you’re not living in the projects. That’s not where you’re from. You know it, I know it.” Apparently, her glare gave him the hint to stop. “Look, I have a nice little house; you’d be doing me a favor. It’s safe and it’s decent. It’s empty.”
“It’s cute,” Sasha’s attractive woman friend chimed in.
“Just check it out,” he urged.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she loved how he made it sound like she had a choice. She had a very strong feeling he could charm her into doing whatever he wanted her to do, while still making her think it’d been her idea.
She knew she’d be an idiot not to take the place. Anything had to be safer than where she was. But that didn’t change that fact that she was pissed off. It was outrageous how someone could just move her like that. She stood speechless. It obviously wouldn’t matter what she said anyway. Shaking her head, she abruptly took her tray and went back into the table still waiting for it.
As the evening wound down and the crowd thinned, Kallie had calmed down enough to think she could sit down after work and figure things out. She just needed a plan. Something that would work.
She cleaned her tables and sorted plates and glasses. Each time she glanced over at the bar, she saw Sasha watching her.
She was still annoyed with him and didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of saying something; she decided to play his game, acknowledging that she saw him watching but did nothing to respond to it.
“Lady, you give amazing cold shoulder,” he joked.
Seriously? He’s going to flirt? Now Kallie was annoyed on behalf of the woman who clearly seemed to be his companion, who he didn’t even have the decency to talk to. Okay, maybe he’s not flirting. A thought of what she’d been imagining earlier popped into her head and she blushed. That was inappropriate. She slid her tray under her arm and held out her hand. “I’m Kallie, by the way,” she said to the beautiful woman.