Rapture & Rogue

by Sydney Canyon

  “Mario,” she called. He spun around and lifted his chin in her direction. Gi wanted to smack the smug look off his face as she walked over to him.

  “Is the restroom working?” Taren asked.

  “Yes, down the hallway,” Mario pointed.

  “I suggest you find somewhere else to be, like getting the supply orders taken care of,” Gi growled.

  “What if she wants me here?” he replied with a cocky grin.

  “She doesn’t and I damn sure don’t. You have work to do.”

  “She’s into men, you know.”

  “I don’t give a fuck if she’s into bestiality. She’s not into you, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t be into her,” she snapped. “Get that damn supply order finished by the end of the day. Some of the vendors need more than a week for delivery, especially with the cigars.”

  Taren stepped out from the bathroom hall just as Gi was turning to walk away. Her long, wavy curls fell over one shoulder. The tanned skin of her arms contrasted against the three-quarter sleeves of her bright, white blouse.

  “Is everything okay?” Taren asked, pushing her sleeves up. She thought she must’ve missed something, seeing the anger soften in Gi’s eyes.

  “Fine.” Gi forced a smile. “Are you ready?”

  “Sure.” Taren answered.

  ***

  On her drive home, Taren kept playing the day over in her head. Her animosity towards Gi was starting to wither, and if she was honest with herself, she had no reason to be mad at her. She’d left because the crime business was growing larger and larger and despite her efforts to get Gi to slow down and give it up, Gi kept allowing the expansion and reveled in the power it had given her. Taren could no longer stand by her and watch it destroy Gi’s life and potentially her own in the process. Spending the day laughing and talking with Gi reminded her of the happy times in their past.

  Taren pulled over, stopping in a small parking lot. She squeezed the top of the steering wheel and sighed as her forehead came to rest against her hands. Feeling a sharp poke, she quickly pulled her head away, revealing the diamond engagement ring. Shaking her head, Taren took that as a sign that her life was different now. She’d rarely thought about Gi, until she’d run into her at Rapture. The walls she’d worked so hard to build, that blocked that part of life, were coming down, brick by brick.

  Chapter 12

  A few days later, Taren was sitting at her desk, inputting the monthly statements into her spreadsheet so they could be balanced and paid, when she heard a soft knock and her office door swung open. She stopped typing and watched Gi take a seat across from her.

  “Hi,” Taren said.

  “Did Mario send you the vendor list and supply order for GR?”

  “No.” Taren answered. “I haven’t seen any emails and he didn’t put it in my inbox.”

  “Damn it!” she growled.

  “What’s wrong?” Taren asked.

  “He’s a pain in my ass! That’s what’s wrong.” Gi huffed. “He’s book smart, but completely dumb when it comes to everything else,” she sighed. “He needs to get that order in or the bar will open with no supplies. I told him to get it done by the end of the day and send everything to you. That was three days ago.”

  “I haven’t seen it.” Taren looked through a stack of papers sitting on the corner of her desk. “Maybe he has it finished but hasn’t dropped it off.”

  “I don’t have time to chase him all over town. I have a flight to catch.” Gi rubbed her left temple. “I won’t be available tomorrow or this weekend and he knows it. Do me a favor and call him in the morning. If you still haven’t seen it, I’ll do it myself when I return Monday, while he’s digging my shoe out of his ass.”

  Taren nodded and watched Gi leave the room. She was surprised the owner of the company was taking a long weekend when they were knee-deep trying to get the new business running. It finally dawned on her when she glanced at the calendar on her desk. Saturday was the fifteenth, Gi’s birthday. Taren jumped up from her desk and headed down the hall to catch her, but the receptionist said she’d already gone downstairs.

  As soon as the elevator came to a stop, Taren hurried towards the front door to wish her a happy birthday before she left, but a tall blonde in a short, black mini-dress was standing beside Gi’s car. Taren watched as Gi opened the passenger door for her.

  ***

  The weekend went by extremely slowly for Taren. She cleaned the apartment, did the laundry, and even went to an art convention with Ken, but nothing made the time pass any faster.

  “Something’s bothering you,” Ken finally said on Sunday evening. “What is it?”

  “I’m fine,” she sighed. “That time of the month is coming. You know I get irritable and work is driving me crazy.”

  “I thought things were going great?”

  “They are. I guess I’m just stressed because I’m not finished closing out the quarter and the month is half over.”

  “Are you still busy with the new place?”

  “Yeah. That’s part of the problem. Spending is all over the place, so the ledger isn’t balancing.”

  “I’m sure you’ll get it straightened out.” He smiled, wrapping his arm around her. “Did you give any more thought to planning a trip home?”

  “Yeah, actually. I was thinking of waiting until after the bar opens, when things slow down.”

  “Okay, so a month?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Good. I’ll take a look at the calendar tomorrow and call you so we can try to put the dates together. I know I have merger meetings coming up, so I don’t want to mess up and tell you the wrong dates.”

  Taren nodded. Going home to San Diego was sounding better and better. She missed her family, and she needed change of scenery more than anything.

  ***

  On Monday morning, Taren was walking down the hallway in the office towards the break room, when she heard Gi’s voice. She poured herself a cup of coffee and hurried out of the room, trying to avoid Gi, but it was too late. They nearly bumped into each other in the doorway.

  “Whoa!” Gi said. “In a hurry, tesoro?” She smiled.

  “Something like that,” Taren answered, squeezing past her.

  “I just got off the phone with Mario.” Gi stepped closer. “He said you scared him on the phone.”

  “Well, you left, so I made sure he got those orders placed,” Taren stated.

  “Your ferocious side never intimidated me, but it definitely did a lot of other things,” Gi teased.

  Taren shrugged.

  “How was your weekend?” Gi asked, changing the subject.

  “Great, as I’m sure yours was, too. I don’t have time to hear all about it, so…” Taren turned to walk away.

  “What’s wrong?” Gi questioned, following her into her office.

  “Happy birthday,” Taren sneered, standing behind her desk.

  “Thanks…I wasn’t sure you remembered.” Gi leaned her hip against Taren’s desk.

  Taren set her cup of hot coffee, resisting the urge to throw it at her boss. “Yes…I remembered.” She shook her head. “I’m here busting my ass to get the ledger together for the quarter, and with the new business so far off the page, I can’t even find half of the shit I’m trying to balance. All the while, you decide to take an impromptu vacation, leaving me to make sure the supplies get ordered for the new bar!” she spat. “So, yeah, I remembered your birthday. I even rushed out to tell you, just in time to see you driving off with your latest conquest.”

  Gi crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Let me get this straight. You’re mad at me because you had to do your job while I took my mother out of town to see an old friend who was sick, and had lunch with the mayor’s assistant to talk about campaign donations?”

  Taren swallowed the lump in her throat and felt it hit the bottom of her stomach.

  “What’s really going on
here, Taren?” Gi fixed her with a stare. “You can’t walk around with that rock on your hand, pretending to be in love with some man, and think you have a right to say anything about who I see or what I do. You gave up that privilege a long time ago.”

  “You’re right,” Taren sighed. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “Work here.”

  “Are you quitting?” Gi snapped.

  Taren clenched her jaw. “I don’t know…I can’t function.” She shook her head. “You drive me—”

  Taren’s cell phone rang on the desk, cutting her off. When her mother’s picture appeared she stiffened. Her mother never called her during the day.

  “Hello? Mom?”

  “Taren, Grammy fell and hit her head last night. She has a bad bruise on her brain that is bleeding and swelling. It doesn’t look good, honey. They induced a coma. We won’t know anything until they finish the tests.”

  “Oh, my God, Mom,” Taren began to cry. “We’ll be on the first flight out. Please tell her I love her.”

  “I will. Your dad will get you guys from the airport; just let him know when your flight gets in.”

  Hearing the conversation, Gi wrapped her arms around Taren as soon as she ended the call, and Taren broke down, sobbing on her shoulder like a child while Gi held her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Gi whispered, kissing the side of Taren’s head.

  Taren melded into the warm body against her. Deep blue eyes held her gaze.

  “You should get your flight booked,” Gi murmured, pulling away.

  Taren cleared her throat and stepped back. “I…”

  “Take all the time you need. I’ll handle things while you’re gone.”

  Taren nodded and sat down to book a flight to San Diego, realizing she needed to call Ken. Hands shaking, she picked up the phone.

  Chapter 13

  Taren spent two days at the hospital with her family. When they finally got word that the medication was reducing the swelling and the bleeding had stopped, the family went to Taren’s grandparents’ house to eat some of the food people had dropped off for them.

  Taren was exhausted from lack of sleep and she’d barely eaten anything except coffee, so when they got the good news, she was as eager as everyone else to go eat and get some sleep.

  “There’s my girl,” her father said when she walked into the living room next to where he and Ken were sitting on the couch talking. “Make sure you thank your boss for that beautiful arrangement,” he added, referring to the expensive flower bouquet that had arrived that morning.

  “I will,” Taren replied.

  “Speaking of, how’s the new job going?”

  “It’s good. Gi is expanding to a third establishment, so it’s hectic right now, especially with the close of the quarter.”

  “Gi? As in Gianna Revisi?” Taren’s cousin Melanie asked from the doorway.

  “Yeah. That’s her new boss,” Ken replied. “They actually knew each other in college. Didn’t you go to UCLA, too?”

  “Yep,” Melanie replied.

  “Did you know her as well?” he asked.

  Taren was standing beside him with a serious expression on her face. She met Melanie’s eyes and shook her head. Melanie was her best friend in college. She knew all about the gambling ring, which she was completely against. She’d also been the shoulder Taren had cried on when the relationship had ended. She’d always blamed Gi for getting Taren into that mess to begin with.

  Melanie shrugged. “Everyone knew Gi, she was quite popular.”

  “I haven’t met her yet. Maybe at the company Christmas party.” He smiled, looking up at Taren, who smiled in return, before walking away to take a deep breath. She’d barely made it down the hallway before she was shoved into the guest bedroom.

  “What the fuck are you doing with her?” Melanie asked with her arms crossed like a mother scolding a child.

  “It’s not what you think,” Taren replied. “I had no idea she owned R&R or was even in Chicago for that matter.”

  “So you don’t take the damn job, or you quit,” Melanie growled, shaking her head. “I thought when I saw you we’d be talking about wedding planning, not Gianna Revisi!”

  Taren shrugged, unsure what to say. She knew her cousin was right.

  “Are you sleeping with her?”

  “No,” Taren huffed.

  “Do you want to?”

  “No!” Taren exclaimed, running her hand through her hair and pushing the long, wavy locks back. “I don’t know,” she sighed. “I never thought she’d be in my life again, and she’s running a legitimate business. You know I wouldn’t be working there if she wasn’t.”

  “Legit or not, it still doesn’t change the fact that you’re working right beside her again.” Melanie shook her head.

  “Mel, I love Ken.”

  “Then why the hell are you anywhere near Gianna Revisi? Ask yourself that question.”

  “I do…I have.”

  “And?” Melanie asked.

  “That’s just it. I don’t know.”

  ***

  Two days later, Taren’s grandmother’s medication was reduced and she woke up. The doctors were still watching her closely, but she was sitting up and talking to her family members by the end of the day.

  Feeling better about the situation, Taren and Ken decided head back to Chicago over the weekend, with the promise to return immediately if anything happened. They said their goodbyes to her mother, as well as her aunt and uncle.

  Melanie pulled Taren aside just before they left for the airport.

  “I love you, you know,” Melanie sighed.

  “I know. I love you, too.” Taren hugged her.

  “I only want what’s best for you. I want you to be happy.”

  “You sound like my mother,” Taren laughed.

  “Well, I am older than you.” Melanie smiled.

  “By a whopping six months!”

  They laughed together.

  Ken stepped closer and grabbed Taren’s suitcase. “We need to hurry to beat the long security lines,” he said with a smile.

  “He’s too damn sweet,” Melanie giggled. “And he’s a good catch,” she added.

  ***

  Taren stared out the plane window. She’d tried reading a magazine, a book, and watching a movie, but she was unable to focus on anything.

  “I know you’re worried,” Ken said, holding her hand. “She looked good and the doctors gave her a good chance of a full recovery.”

  Taren nodded. Her mind was moving faster than the airplane and her grandmother wasn’t the driving force. Gi was on her mind and had been since her conversation with Melanie. She’d questioned her true motive for taking the job a number of times and Melanie had simply brought it to the surface.

  Working at R&R alongside Gi was already becoming an issue. Taren had bitten her head off about something that wasn’t even her business to begin with. Two months earlier, she was happy with her life and with Ken, but the more time she spent with Gi…the more she missed her.

  Chapter 14

  Monday morning, Taren walked into Rapture and headed straight for Gi’s office. She was on the phone, so Taren closed the door and leaned against it.

  “I’m going to have to call you back, Uncle Bruno,” Gi said, hanging up the phone as she stood. “I wasn’t expecting you back already,” she murmured, moving across the room. “How’s your grandmother?”

  “Fine,” Taren replied, swallowing the lump in her throat. “The flowers were beautiful, thank you.”

  “It was the least I could do.” Gi stopped a couple of feet away. “I know I should’ve told you what was going on, instead of just leaving you to handle things. I’m sorry,” she sighed. “Don’t quit. You’re a—”

  “I’m not here to quit.” Taren stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Gi’s neck.

  “Taren…” Gi whispered, just before
their lips came together in a frantic, heated kiss that left both of them breathless.

  Taren locked eyes with Gi as she ran her hands over Gi’s shoulders, down her chest to her breasts, caressing them in each hand, before moving them back up and leaning in for another tantalizing kiss.

  Gi turned, keeping Taren in her arms and their lips locked, Gi backed her up against the door. She reached down with one hand, turning the lock on the knob before grabbing Taren’s tight ass. Taren moaned against her mouth and Gi tore her lips away, moving them across her jaw and down her neck, to the opening of her button-down blouse. She reached around with her other hand, opening the buttons one at a time as her mouth traced kisses lower, over the satin bra covering Taren’s breasts to the expanse of skin exposed around her navel. Her hand continued to travel, opening the button and zipper of Taren’s slacks, revealing the tattoo on her hip bone.

  Gi looked up at the eyes watching her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Taren put her finger over Gi’s lips and pushed her head down. Gi pulled her pants and thong down, then spread her thighs and buried mouth in the glistening folds. Taren slammed her head back against the door at the first touch of Gi’s tongue.

  “Easy, tesoro,” Gi whispered, licking in slow, steady circles.

  Taren’s legs trembled, nearly unable to hold her up. Gi pinned her hips firmly against the door and drove her tongue deep inside. Taren moaned loudly, writhing against the cool, metal door. Gi smiled, knowing her old lover. She pulled her tongue out, finishing her off in a steady rhythm of long, hard strokes.

  Taren reached down, grabbing Gi’s head and holding her right where she wanted her, before releasing a guttural sound as she came.

  Gi gave her a second, then stood up, pulling Taren’s clothes up with her. Taren wrapped her arms around Gi’s neck, kissing her tenderly and tasting herself. Gi rocked her hips against Taren’s as she deepened the kiss.