“Um, no,” she said slowly. She glanced over at the bouncer and felt her stomach start to churn with guilt. “He was just doing his job. He-“
“Are you defending his treatment of you?” Jericho asked. There was no judgment in his tone, just curiosity.
“He was just doing his job,” she repeated. “I didn’t even know I could go in or, I mean, I don’t know the rules and what’s acceptable and what’s not.”
Jericho smiled that heart-racing smile, tilting his head to the side at such an angle, it reminded her of a cat. “Are you nervous, Ms. Brennan?” he asked with that smile.
Annie wasn’t sure how to respond. If she said no, he would know she was lying and perhaps continue to not take her seriously. Which could be an advantage. On the other, if she said yes, she would be verbalizing her fear of him and he could use that to his advantage. It was clear no matter what that she was nervous; what she needed to decide if it was worth actually admitting it. What would that mean to him? How would he treat her? She didn’t particularly care one way or the other but she did care about how it would affect her standing with the house. She had a meeting with her friend next week regarding the legality of it all, but for now, she thought the best thing she could do was bite her tongue and be nice.
“You babble when you’re nervous, don’t you?” he asked, raising his brow. “It’s adorable.”
Adorable. She never expected that word to come out of his mouth. She hadn’t thought it was in his vocabulary. But somehow, the word fit their situation so she didn’t come up with a rebuttal.
“What do you have to be nervous about?” he continued, grabbing his left arm with his right arm and furrowing his brow. It was as though his focus was completely on her. He didn’t notice all of his patrons in a long line. He didn’t notice the grey clouds, threatening to spill rain at any moment. His only consideration was her.
“Look,” she said. “I came down here to meet with my brother. I don’t know why he wanted me to meet him but he did. So that’s what I was doing.”
“Until Boll told you that you couldn’t come in, correct?”
Annie opened her mouth to defend the bouncer again but stopped. She already said what she needed to say and didn’t want to sound like a broken record.
Jericho nodded his head once, as though her silence was answer enough. She turned back to look at both bouncers and that amused sparkle that was always in his eye whenever she saw him had vanished.
“She can come here no matter what she’s wearing,” he told them. His voice was still silky but it was much more curt and no-nonsense. “She can come before opening or after. You let her in. You do not charge her. If there’s a problem, you call me immediately. Do you understand?” Both bouncers nodded. Jericho turned his head so he looked at Annie once more. There it was again, that sparkle. “Let me walk you in and show you around. Then, I’ll take you to your brother. How does that sound?”
That was an odd question to ask her. It didn’t matter what she wanted. He had already made that decision himself.
“Thank you,” she said in a voice just above a whisper.
He smiled and nodded. “Come on, then,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Annie didn’t have to look to know that people in line had their phones out. Jericho was practically a celebrity here and to see him lecturing his bouncers because of some girl in a trench coat was a curious thing to behold. She had no idea how Jericho was completely fine with all of this, how he was able to ignore the chaos that surrounded him. It was probably what made him such an excellent businessman, his ability to stay cool amidst everything else.
She had no choice but to follow him, so she did. She walked through the open door and stopped at the coat check. Jericho slid off his own jacket and then offered to take Annie’s. Suddenly, she was embarrassed to have shown up in a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. Jericho himself was in a white collared shirt and beige slacks, and that was probably his casual attire. However, Jericho probably wasn’t going to leave without checking her coat and umbrella so she untied her belt and unbuttoned the coat.
“Plaid,” he said with a small smile as she slid the coat off and handed it to him. “How fitting.”
She wanted to ask him what that was supposed to mean but she didn’t think it was actually an insult. Instead, she took the ticket the pretty girl handed her, and Annie couldn’t help but notice the curious look on her face as she looked between Annie and Jericho. Annie couldn’t blame the girl; Annie probably wasn’t the type of woman Jericho brought here, although she wasn’t sure if Jericho brought any of his dates to his own nightclubs. That would be kind of lame, wouldn’t it? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t know the proper protocol when it came to dating billionaire businessmen.
Not that she was dating Jericho at all. She was just living with him. For now.
He led her through the entranceway, past the coat check. There was a photo booth set up just before emerging into the actual club for people who wanted to commemorate their evening. There were even props to the side, neatly organized based on what type of celebration people were here for.
Everything was a metallic black, making the club look sleek and modern rather than cheesy and thematic. The music was already thumping, so it was a good thing Jericho wasn’t actually speaking. The dance floor was bigger than a lot of nightclub’s and it was next to a long bar manned with at least six different bartenders, including her brother. Because the club hadn’t officially opened yet, the employees weren’t on the floor. The lights were on so Annie could clearly make out the VIP lounge tucked in the corner of the club, placed where they could see everything. There was also a second floor reserved for private celebrations and housed Jericho’s office and the employee break room. There were rumors that said Jericho handled his side business – his organized criminal enterprise – upstairs simply because no one was allowed on that second floor unless invited specifically by Jericho.
He walked her through the dance floor and to the stairs, where a bouncer stood already.
“Stan,” Jericho greeted with a nod. “This is Annie Brennan, Bruce’s younger sister. She is allowed up here whenever she’d like; she doesn’t need me to be with her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod. He smiled at Annie and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Brennan.”
Annie felt her lips twitch up with a small smile as she regarded the big bouncer. He didn’t look all that intimidating with the genuine smile on his face. She placed her hand in his.
“Nice to meet you, Stan,” she told him.
Annie proceeded to follow Jericho up the black staircase. She placed her hand on the rail and was thankful she decided to wear her converse shoes, even if she stood out like a sore thumb. At least she didn’t have to worry about slipping and falling on her ass.
Once they were up the stairs, Annie tried to take in everything she could. There were cushy chairs and roped off areas. A smaller dance floor was used up here, probably for private shows and high rollers. There was even a special bar in the back. If there was a private party, they would be catered to explicitly by the club while also having a view of what was going on below.
He led her through the floor and to the back. There was a large room with double doors, currently closed. Probably the break room, Annie assumed, considering there was a subtle sign with black letters on white background that stated EMPLOYEES ONLY. Instead of leading her there, however, he took her down a dark, secluded hallway and pulled out a ring of keys after stopping in front of a red door. He opened up the door and led her inside.
It was an office. Probably his. It looked normal, surprisingly, with dark furniture including a desk, a laptop, and a couple of chairs, and a couch against the wall for lounging around.
"I'll let your brother know you're here," he told her smoothly. "Can I get you something to drink? I can have the kitchen prepare you some food, if you'd like."
"The kitchen?" she asked, furrowing her brows at him. "I d
idn't realize nightclubs had kitchens."
"Not all of them do," he agreed, "but all of mine do. We don't serve food to our typical patrons but if they request a private VIP treatment, then they get a meal out of it. Would you like something?"
It boggled Annie's mind that he was offering to get her something. Didn't he have employees for that? Why was he doing this himself?
"You seem troubled," he remarked.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks turn pink but she kept her gaze focused on him despite the discomfort it caused her. "You cook me breakfast and let me live in the house without paying rent. You pay off the mortgage and you're paying all the bills. Why are you doing this?"
His smile turned slick. "No good deed, hmm?" he asked, pushing his brows up.
She shook her head. "That's not what I'm trying to do," she told him. "I just didn't expect..." She let her voice trail off, unsure how to finish that sentence without coming across as offensive. "I just didn't expect someone like you to be so..." She was struggling and he knew it. Instead of jumping in and saying something about how he understood, he let her work it out for herself. "You're willing to do trivial things like get me food. I didn't expect that from someone with your power and wealth."
"Can I take that as a compliment?" Jericho asked.
Annie shrugged shyly. “Take it however you’d like,” she murmured.
He smiled. “What would you like?” he asked. “Anything you want, my chef will make you. Oysters, lobsters, sirloin. Whatever you wish, I will make it come true.”
Annie rolled her eyes, a teasing smile on her face. “Stop,” she instructed. “I’m fine with some eggs benedict and breakfast potatoes.”
He shot his brow up in surprise. “Breakfast for dinner,” he murmured. “My kind of girl.” Before Annie could register his comment, he headed to the door to his office. “I’ll put this order in for you and let your brother know you’re here. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Annie shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you,” she mumbled. She had no idea why she felt so shy suddenly. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t expected him to be so… nice. Genuinely nice. It made her insides buzz with warmth and she eased into one of the cushy chairs in Jericho’s office, feeling herself flush.
Her mind started to go over the facts as she knew them: Jericho was insanely attractive. Somehow, she managed to refrain from acting like a complete idiot in front of him, which was a miracle unto itself, probably because she didn’t trust him. Which brought her to fact number two: she was starting to trust him, which was a dangerous thing. It was an unspoken fact that he did some shady business dealings, including taking advantage of the corruptible law enforcement at the Seattle PD. He was known for violent offenses – drug and gun trafficking – but never against women or children. And he was right when he said he was a fair employer and gave back to local community charities. He was dangerous but sweet and Annie had no idea how to handle that.
What did you expect, Annie? she thought to herself. No one is black and white.
Perhaps not, but Jericho was somehow simultaneously on both ends of the spectrum. Were these feelings for him – feelings was a strong word; attraction seemed to work better – appropriate? Could she actually rationalize feelings?
Now she was thinking too much on it.
She just hated that this was what she had to think about. She actually didn’t feel bad about being attracted to Jericho. Every woman and some of the men in Seattle were attracted to him. Hell, she had been attracted to him before she even knew him. But there were underlying feelings that accompanied that attraction, things like – she liked the way he smelled, she felt special when he cooked things, and she appreciated the fact that he took care of everything. Things like that. Things that had the potential to make her fall for him.
How could it have only been a week? How had her feelings completely turned around?
Probably because you know him better now, a voice in her mind pointed out. Not how the media portrays him but who he actually is.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Before she could respond, the door opened and in walked Bruce, a sheepish look on his face.
“Why didn’t you text me when you were here, Annie?” he asked. “I totally would have come to get you.”
Annie opened her mouth to respond but she shut it. She wasn’t in the mood to get defensive with her brother or start a fight with him. They hadn’t ended things on good terms since they last saw each other. In fact, they hadn’t spoken since Bruce’s meeting with Jericho. Then, randomly, Bruce decided to text her, asking to come down to the club so they could talk. She had no idea why he required her presence at the club, why they couldn’t go out to dinner where it was just the two of them, but she refrained from asking any questions. Truth be told, she wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible. She wasn’t that mad at Bruce anymore – not that much, anyway.
“I’m here,” she said. “What did you want?”
“No, hi Bruce, how have you been, I haven’t talked to you in forever,” he drawled. His eyes were wary, unsure of how much he could push her but his lips were curled into a smile and she couldn’t help but appreciate what he was trying to do for them.
“You never picked up the phone, either,” Annie pointed out. “You could have done it too.”
“Oh, Annie, every time I dialed your number, I couldn’t bring myself to actually make the call,” he admitted. “Same with the text. You have no idea how badly I feel about the whole thing.”
Annie clenched her jaw to keep from immediately responding. He felt bad? No shit, he should feel bad. He literally gave away her home. He gave away their parents’ legacy because instead of working hard for his money, going out of his way to save for it, he borrowed money from a criminal and didn’t pay it back for a year. She was surprised Bruce was still able walk and that Jericho hadn’t resorted to violence – which he could have. And he would have gotten away with it, too, considering he got away with pretty much everything. At least, that was what rumors said and rumors weren’t always to be believed.
“You have no idea how many times I texted you something,” Bruce continued. Annie wasn’t sure if he hadn’t seen her facial response or if she just didn’t care. Regardless, he felt the need to fill the space between them with words, as though to give the appearance that everything was still okay between them when just the opposite was true. “Even a word, like Hi or Hey or How are you? I just assumed you wouldn’t have responded.”
“You probably would have been right,” Annie mumbled. “To be honest, I have no idea how I feel about the whole thing, Bruce. Some stranger, some strange man, is living with me and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Is he hurting you, Annie?” Bruce asked. She couldn’t tell if it was because he was genuinely concerned or if he was trying to make a point that maybe the situation she was currently in sucked but at least he was a gentleman about it. Like that made it better.
“Well, no,” she said, and Bruce jumped in.
“Okay, good,” he said. “See? Nothing to worry about. Jericho is a good guy, Annie.”
“Just stop.” She rolled her eyes. “Just because he’s nice does not mean he’s good, Bruce.”
"He's been nice to you, hasn't he?" Bruce asked, pointing out, pushing up eyebrow as if to say, See? He isn’t as bad as you think he is.
"You are not going to win this argument, Bruce," Annie told him, shooting him a serious glare. "Yeah, things could be way worse. He could have thrown me out. He could have hurt me to get to you since, I don't know, you borrowed fifty grand and it took you a year to pay him back."
He winced. "Maybe I fucked up," Bruce admitted. "I can admit when I'm wrong, okay? But this worked out way better than I thought. I'm no longer in his debt and you still have a roof over your head." He caught sight of Annie's look and threw his hands up. "Gosh, that was just a joke." He perked his brow. "T
oo soon?"
"It will always be too soon," she told him, her voice droll. She paused and took a deep breath, trying to get ahold of herself. She had agreed to meet Bruce here, which meant she was open to at least hearing him out. She could do that, couldn't she? Yes, she was still mad and that wasn't going to be taken away from her, but she could see what he had to say. She did want to move on, after all. "What did you call me here for, anyway?"
Bruce smiled sheepishly. "Can't a big brother just want to see his little sister, especially after everything that happened between them?" he asked.
Honestly, yes, he could. And typically, Annie would never think to question that. But Bruce had forced them into opposite directions and now, her trust in him had been knocked down, bruised and battered. It was still there, but it would take some time. She needed some time to herself to regenerate, to really be able to forgive him. She wasn't sure if she was there just yet, truth be told. Each time she thought about Bruce and what he did, her teeth would clench on their own so tightly together her jaw would pop. She never understood where the phrase 'so mad her blood was boiling' until that night at The Red Door. She had no idea how she made it through the night without going off on Bruce but she was so mad once everything was said and done, she couldn't even formulate any words. The car ride was silent, to say the least. Annie wasn't even hungry after that.
"Bruce," she snapped. "Don't make me ask you twice. I know you called me here for a reason. What do you want?"
"I need you to ask Jericho for another five grand," he said seriously.
Annie's mouth dropped open. He wasn't being serious, was he? No, from the way his eyes were looking directly in hers, from the strained look of his mouth, the clenched jaw. He was serious, but more than that, he was desperate.
"What the fuck, Bruce?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and clenching her own set of teeth together. "You are not seriously asking Jericho for more money, are you?"
A Corruption Dark & Deadly (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 3) Page 6