by Eden Summers
“No.” Leo’s tone brooked no argument.
“Excuse me?” She straightened her shoulders and raised a brow. She wasn’t a daddy’s girl or a wealthy socialite who expected her every whim to be adhered to, but when it came to devaluing her, in any way, her hackles immediately rose.
“I said no.” He turned his focus to T.J. “I don’t want her down there.”
“What’s your problem?” she snapped. Yes, he was her stubborn, slightly nauseatingly gorgeous boss, but they were meant to be friends. Even more if he’d finally lower his guard and allow it. And now he was treating her as if she couldn’t handle a simple night’s work at a different bar.
“She isn’t trained to work in that environment,” he continued, no longer acknowledging her presence. “We’ll find someone else.”
T.J.’s brow furrowed. “Shay, can you give us a sec?”
She held tight to the liquor bottle in her fist. “Fine.” Clenching her teeth together, she fixed her arrogant fantasy with a glare and then pushed past him to the open doorway. “Convince him, T.J. Otherwise you might find yourself looking to replace more than one staff member.”
* * *
Leo watched Shay’s ass storm from the storeroom and then winced when she slammed the sliding door. The woman drove him crazy. She was wild and sassy with a delectable body capable of making his cock twitch on a hair-trigger. She was also predictable. Now that she was sporting a mammoth case of fury, he knew she’d go back to work and bat her lashes at every pretentious asshole in the building just to piss him off.
In other words, she was trouble. And as drawn to her as he was, he didn’t need another complication in his life. The restaurant and bar kept him, T.J. and Brute busy, and with the private club downstairs increasing its clientele, none of them needed a distraction. Especially one with pretty light-brown eyes and dark wavy hair.
“Give me one good reason why she can’t work down there,” T.J. muttered, the shadowed smudges under his eyes more prominent than earlier in the evening.
“Like I said, she hasn’t been trained.”
“And like I said, give me one good reason.”
Fuck. Leo let out a heavy breath and wiped a hand down his face. “I just don’t want her down there, okay?”
T.J. and Brute weren’t aware he’d once succumbed to her sassy charm. He’d practically dry-humped her in this very room—his tongue down her throat, his fingers in her panties, sliding through her slick juices. He’d strode away soon after she’d climaxed around his digits, his jaw tight with regret. Unbeknown to Shay, she’d proven she wasn’t what he needed, no matter how much she thought she was. His sexual appetite was raw, demanding, and not suitable for someone with a narrow scope on pleasure.
In the few moments they’d shared, he’d seen her innocence. She wasn’t a virgin by any means, but neither was she a female equipped to handle his desires. She’d gasped at his ferocity, stared at him like he was an entirely different man, and he’d learned long ago to back away when his needs didn’t match those of the woman he was interested in. Things would only become complicated later. Been there, done that, and he had the emotional scars to prove it.
So he’d run, and hoped T.J. and Brute didn’t hear about his fuck up. For weeks, he’d distanced himself from the hope of commitment in her eyes. He’d hated fracturing the defenses of such a strong willed woman, only he hadn’t had a choice. With her penchant for tantrums, he’d had to snap out of this attraction in an instant. Or at least pretend to.
“Unfortunately, with the limited staff employed downstairs, we don’t have any other options. Travis has already scheduled annual leave and I’m not going back on my word when it’s the anniversary of his dad’s death.” T.J. huffed in frustration. “Look, I know you have a thing for her, but you’ve gotta decide—are you her manager or the guy who wants to get in her pants?”
Leo scowled. “I don’t want to get in her pants.” Been there, done that too.
“Then why is it a hard decision?”
Sadly, when it came to the sassy wench, things were always hard. For Leo anyway. Problem was he didn’t have a legitimate excuse to stop her from getting them out of the staffing issue.
“Fine.” He stabbed his fingers through his hair, loosening his ponytail. “But I’ll be the one to show her the ropes. Brute can take my shift up here next Saturday and I’ll take his downstairs.”
T.J. shrugged. “I’m cool with that. You could take her down tonight if you wanted. We aren’t likely to get overrun up here.”
Leo’s palms began to sweat. “Yeah, okay.” He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his lids. Shay didn’t have a good track record of reacting with professional calm when surprised. And the contrasting environment downstairs would definitely be a bombshell.
One of his pet peeves was judgement from others, especially friends and family. Yes, it was human nature for every fucker to have an opinion, even when the situations they were criticizing were none of their god-damn business. He was just sick to death of narrow-minded people opening their mouths and spewing hatred about shit they didn’t understand. He didn’t know how he’d handle that type of commentary from Shay. And she’d definitely have an opinion about the activities in the downstairs area.
“You sure this doesn’t have anything to do with you wanting to slam your cock down her throat?”
“Christ, T.J.” Leo scowled. “Don’t you think downstairs would be the first place I’d take her if I did?”
“Just askin’.” He held up his hands in surrender and backtracked to the door.
“Well, don’t.” Leo jerked his head toward the hall and hoped T.J. would leave him the hell alone so he could think shit through. “Look after the main floor tonight. Leave Shay to me.”