by Sandra Owens
“No thank you,” the apparently-not-happy Jill said.
Well, she’d tried. What did Jamie see in her? In a million years, she’d never have put him with Jill. The woman was just too . . . beige. With her brown eyes and hair, she really should opt for colors in her clothing other than, well, brown. It wasn’t her problem though, was it? When she heard the door behind her open, she grabbed the phone and pretended there was someone on the other end. At the last second, as Jamie escorted Beige Jill out, he glanced over his shoulder, their gazes colliding.
“Y’all have a great time,” she called after them.
When he disappeared from view, Sugar exhaled, the air rushing out of her lungs. What had just happened? Some kind of strange spark had seemed to travel on a direct line from him to her, stealing her breath. She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and tried to decipher exactly what she’d seen in his eyes when he’d looked at her. It hadn’t been his usual dismissive expression, but something similar to what she’d seen in her cat’s eyes when stalking a bug—intense focus and want.
But he didn’t want her. He’d made that very clear. Shaking off her ridiculous notions, she gathered the billing statements she’d printed out from the spreadsheet and took them to Maria’s office.
“I’m done with these,” she said, standing in the doorway.
“Come on in.” Maria rotated her shoulders, then sighed. “I could use a break.”
Sugar pulled a chair over to the side of the desk. “Jamie’s girlfriend seems nice.” Well, hell, why’d she say that?
Maria’s eyes lit with interest. “You met her? When? He’s never brought this one around.”
This one? How many were there? “Just now. He brought her here, parked her in the lobby with me. Guess he needed to see the boss or somethin’. They’re on their way to the movies.”
“What was she like?”
The conversation was turning a little uncomfortable. For some reason, she didn’t want to talk about Jamie behind his back. “Like I said, nice. Kinda bland though.”
“Hmm. Aren’t they all?”
What did that mean? “Are you saying he has more than one girlfriend, and they’re all bland?”
Maria shrugged. “Seems that way, although he only sees one at a time and never for more than four or five months.”
Sugar wanted to ask more questions, but she was still uneasy talking about him. She handed Maria the statements. “I think you should take a look at two of these before they’re mailed. Based on the work y’all did for them, I think the billing hours aren’t enough.” She handed over the two statements in question, watching as Maria pulled up the spreadsheet on her computer, narrowing her eyes as she scanned it.
“You’re right. Good catch.”
“Thanks.” The praise warmed her and gave her hope that maybe Maria would consider her for the accounting manager’s position.
After printing corrected statements, Maria handed them to Sugar. “My time’s spread so thin, sometimes I get in too much of a hurry. I’m good at the financial side of the business, but my love is the law. As soon as I can get everything organized enough to bring in someone to take over this part, that’s where I’ll put my efforts.”
Interesting. “In what way?”
Maria stood and went to a small refrigerator in the corner of her office. “Water? Or if you’d prefer, I have sodas.”
“You got a root beer?”
“I do. Saint drinks them, so I keep them on hand.”
They liked the same soft drink? Not that it meant anything, but at least they had one thing in common. She took the offered soda and sat back, listening to Maria’s future plans for K2. Her friend must trust her if she was willing to share the information.
They’d met six months ago when Maria had come to Jake’s condo, looking for him. To Maria’s disappointment, Sugar hadn’t known the whereabouts of her next-door neighbor. Nor did she know the full story on what had been going on between the two of them then, but the second time Maria came by, she’d had Saint with her. Having fully embraced her persona as Sugar Darling by then, she’d acted the quirky, flirty role she’d adopted for herself. The kind of woman Rodney would never think to look for.
Unfortunately, Jamie took an instant dislike to her, and his opinion hadn’t changed in the times she’d been around him since. For a while, she’d thought maybe Maria was playing matchmaker, inviting her to cookouts and lunches where Jamie was present. Nothing had come of it, and if her friend once had intentions in that regard, she’d apparently given up.
Maria pulled out the bottom drawer and propped her feet on it. “Our plan is to branch out by offering consulting for corporations wishing to do business in foreign countries. We can ease their way by taking care of all the legalities. That’s my specialty, international law.”
Sugar didn’t know what all K2 did. There was a lot of secret stuff going on, and unless she missed her guess, some of it involved dangerous missions. She was pretty sure Jamie had just returned from one. Hannah would have feared being anywhere near the place, but Hannah was dead. Sugar, on the other hand, thought it beyond exciting.
Although she’d planned to wait a few more days to bring up the subject, it seemed an opportune time to express her interest in the accounting manager’s job.
Furtively crossing her fingers, she made a little wish as she took a deep breath. “If you’re taking names, I’d like to throw mine in the hat.”
Maria raised a brow, then picked up a band from the top of her desk. She swept her long, black hair back and deftly wrapped the band around the ponytail. Was she stalling for time to figure out how to say no? Sugar pressed her lips together to keep from jabbering on, which she would do if she tried to talk. To her ears, her heart sounded as loud as a jackhammer busy tearing up asphalt.
“You’ve certainly impressed me, Sugar, but I think the position requires someone with an accounting degree and experience in managing a company’s finances.”
“Both of which I have.” During the days while Rodney was at work, she had secretly taken online classes from the University of Alabama, earning her bachelor’s degree.
Not wanting to draw unwelcome attention to herself, she never shared details of her life. She’d never implied to anyone she did anything more than work as an accounting clerk for the Booby Palace. Her love of numbers was one of only two things she hadn’t been able to bear giving up. The other, her eye color, was unique enough that people noticed it. Both of which her father and Rodney could use to eventually find her if they exercised what few brains they had.
The job at K2 would be higher profile, but she’d weighed the risks and decided being surrounded by a gang of badass ex-SEALs tipped the scale. Proof of how badly she wanted to get away from the Booby Palace.
It was time to take the plunge. “I have a Bachelor’s of Accounting degree and plan to get an MBA. At the Booby Palace, I have full control of all their finances and payroll. I’ve worked there for almost two years, and my boss, the owner, has even turned over his personal investments to me. He won’t be happy to lose me, but . . . but I hate working there, Maria.”
“Why?”
Damn. She hadn’t meant to say that last part. Maria might be a friend of sorts, but this was a job interview, and she shouldn’t be saying she hated the place she worked. The door had been opened, however, so she trudged on.
“There’s a guy, the bartender, and he creeps me out. He doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. I just think it’s time to move on.”
“Would you like my brother to have a word with him?”
Oh, wow and holy mother moly. Maria’s brother was scary as hell. Kyle would probably crap in his pants if Logan Kincaid cornered him. What if it turned into a fight and someone called the police? The last thing she needed was that kind of attention.
“Ah . . . although tempting, it’s probably bett
er if I just find a new job.”
Maria stared at her long enough for Sugar to want to fidget.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
My life story. “I’m not sure what you mean. If you don’t think I’m qualified, I understand but reserve the right to disagree.”
“You’re hired.”
What? What? “Pardon?”
Her friend smiled. “You have secrets, but don’t we all? I know I do. Maybe someday I’ll tell you mine. The job is yours if you want it after we talk salary and benefits.”
It was a close call, but Sugar managed to resist slobber-kissing the hand Maria placed over hers. “Okay, so I make thirty-five thousand a year at the Booby Palace. I think I’m worth more than that.”
“Have I ever told you how much I like you, Sugar? I know I asked you when we first met, but is that really your name?”
“No and no.” Well, hell. Might be a good idea to slap some duct tape over her mouth. Much to her surprise, Sugar found herself telling Maria about Hannah Faith Conley. Not everything, but enough to explain why she’d changed her name.
Hannah crept out of the bed with practiced stealth. If the sleeping man caught her, there would be a punishment, but she couldn’t bear to spend another second next to him. That had been happening more and more lately, her repulsion toward him causing her to take such a risk. It wasn’t her; not really. She didn’t have the courage to defy him. A stranger had taken up residence in her head, one who seemed to take control of Hannah’s body and make her do things that she was too scared to do on her own.
She curled up in a dark corner of the room, and watched the man sleep. You have to escape before he kills you, the woman’s voice said in her mind. “I don’t know how,” she whispered. Where would she go? How would she live? Those questions worried her, but the most frightening question of all; if she did run, what if he found her?
But God, she wanted to get away. She winced when she moved her legs, the pain in her groin worse than ever. Something was changing in him. He’d always liked hurting her, but if the new games he played went on much longer, she would end up damaged beyond repair. He was too mean and too powerful to fight; against him she had no chance.
You have to run. Yes, the voice was right. It was the only way unless she wanted to end up dead. She shifted, trying to get comfortable on the carpeted floor. Pain shot up into her stomach and down both legs. A moan escaped, and she slapped a hand over her mouth.
The bedside light snapped on, and she froze.
“What the hell are you doing on the floor, girl?”
There was no explanation that would satisfy him, so she stayed mute as he rose from the bed. From her position looking up at him, he seemed ten feet tall. A monster, a thing of nightmares, walked toward her. The eyes he had locked on her promised a punishment, one he would thoroughly enjoy.
“You have to run!” Sugar yelled at the girl cowering in a dark corner. In her desperation to get away from the monster, Sugar ended up on the floor next to her bed.
Gulping in huge breaths of air, she frantically searched the room. As she’d not been able to sleep in the dark since escaping, every outlet had a night-light plugged into it. She was in the bedroom of her condo, not in Rodney’s house. He wasn’t in her room.
Her cat perched on the edge of the bed and peered down at her. “Oh God, Junior, I was so scared.” She hadn’t had a nightmare in months, so why now? Perhaps sharing some of her secrets with Maria had brought it on.
“He’s not here,” she whispered, and reached up to pet Junior, needing to touch his warm, soft body. He purred his pleasure.
Normally, she didn’t take a nap between her two jobs, but the long hours had caught up with her, and she’d thought to catch a few hours of sleep before having to leave for the Booby Palace. It was the last time she would do that no matter how tired she was.
“Time to get ready to go to work, sweetie,” she said, giving her cat one last rub.
Bored, Jamie fell asleep halfway through the movie. Dorian Gray’s eyes turned a violet-blue color, his face morphing into Sugar Darling’s. She was running away from the cab of a beer truck as Jamie yelled at her to stop. Angry that she ignored him, he took off after her. Did the confounded woman think she could just leave the truck in the middle of the hotel lobby for the Somalian rebels to find? Did she not realize they would guzzle all the beer, and then the idiots would be so drunk he’d never get the information he needed?
He tried to catch her but she crossed a shimmering red line, dropping out of sight in a wasteland. When he reached the place she had disappeared, the only thing she’d left behind was her ugly orange car. He stared at the clown car, rage building that she’d escaped his grasp. “Dang it, Sugar!” He would find her and when he did . . .
“Jamie! What’s wrong with you?”
Someone was shaking him. Her voice didn’t have a southern accent, and he didn’t want to listen. He needed to find Sugar.
“Jamie. Stop yelling. You’re embarrassing me.”
He jerked up, disoriented. A quick glance around brought him to his senses. Murky mermaids; he was in a theater, not in the middle of a wasteland in some Godforsaken, barren country.
“You were calling her name,” Jill whispered.
“Whose?” he asked, although he knew. It occurred to him that if it had been Sugar sitting next to him when he called out another woman’s name in his sleep, she’d probably bash him on the head and not be whispering.
Bash me on the head, Jill. Show you care that much.
“I would like to go home,” she said, still whispering.
It appeared his plan to carry their relationship to the next level was off. That should probably disappoint him. It didn’t. “I’m sorry,” he said, and from her expression, he knew she understood he was apologizing for more than talking in his sleep.
When he walked her up to her door, he said it again. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too,” she answered before disappearing into her house, the door lock clicking behind her.
Jamie stood on Jill’s steps and examined how he felt knowing he’d never see her again. Nothing. It appeared Jill wasn’t the one. He’d known she wasn’t for a while; he just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Not at all happy, he returned to his car. Halfway home—a place he really didn’t want to go at the moment—he called Jake Buchanan.
“Up for company?” he asked when his friend answered the phone.
“Well,” Jake drawled, “I was about to ravish my wife, but I suppose that can wait. See you soon.”
A dial tone sounded and Jamie clicked off. The boss, Logan Kincaid—once his SEAL commander—and Jake Buchanan, a former SEAL teammate, were now married and by all accounts deliriously happy. Jamie tried not to envy them, but ever since he’d lost his parents, he’d wanted a wife to love, and a family. Kids, white picket fence, the works. He’d bought his house with a future family in mind. It was a longing he’d never shared with anyone, not even Buchanan, his closest friend.
Two hours later, at the end of a friendly game of poker with Jake and Maria, he threw up his hands. “There’s no way you can have a full house, Maria.”
“She cheats,” Jake said, cheerfully.
“I do not.” She glared at each of them as if insulted.
Since both he and her husband knew she absolutely did, they rolled their eyes. What impressed Jamie though: he’d never been able to catch her at it. According to Jake, he hadn’t figured out how she did it either.
“I have a favor to ask,” Maria said as he stood to go.
“Sure, what?”
“It’s about time for Sugar to get off work. I’d like you to see she arrives home safely.”
Not happening. “No. I’m tired, and it’s past my bedtime.” He jiggled the keys in his pocket for emphasis.
“Please, Jamie. There’s a guy she works wi
th that’s hassling her, and I’m worried.”
“All right, but you owe me one.” It was likely Sugar’s active imagination, but the idea of a man sniffing after her set his teeth on edge.
CHAPTER FOUR
The building really was silly. Sugar held up her phone and took a picture of the two domed structures placed side by side. There were even nipples poking up on the tops of both. Why she wanted a photo of the Booby Palace, she wasn’t sure. No, she did know. In her later years, when she wondered if she really had worked at a place designed to look like a pair of titties, she would have the proof.
She needed to remember to take another shot in the daylight, but she wanted a picture of the place when all the shining spotlights lit it up in all its infamous glory. The owner, Robert, had told her when he’d first finished construction and the sign went up, churches had organized pickets, protesting it as obscene. That he’d even obtained approvals from the city to build the Booby Palace was amazing in itself.
Although he hadn’t seemed surprised, Robert hadn’t been happy when she’d given her notice earlier. He’d offered her more money and when that didn’t work, he’d thrown in free insurance and a three-week vacation.
“I don’t even take the one week I have now,” she’d reminded him. She liked Robert and she liked the work, but the clientele she had no use for, nor the bitchy girls. Then there was Kyle. If she told Robert the bartender was hassling her, he would put a stop to it. Still, she’d never felt comfortable working at the place. No, she would be a lot safer at K2, especially now that Maria knew her real name and why she was hiding.
That had been a surprise; not only that she’d spilled some of her secrets, but Maria’s reaction. Her friend had assured Sugar she’d be safe at K2. It had been a risk, but she was glad she had trusted Maria. She felt a lot better about not accepting the job under false pretenses.