“I’m sorry, Amber, but maybe it’s for the best.” She gives me a dirty look and it almost makes me want to take it back but not quite.
“You try making a living when half your wages are now being shared with an untrained, spoiled little brat. And to top it all off, I’ve got to train the little twit. At least the other guys have two brain cells firing.” There’s the witty Amber I’m learning to love; this girl is definitely one of a kind.
I’m just about to respond when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and a feeling of dread takes over my whole body. Something is definitely not right. Instinctively, I glance around the bar again and suddenly feel claustrophobic, which has never happened before. I’ve never had a problem being in a tight space or in large crowds, but for some reason right now my body is feeling hot and my heart is pounding. Just in the last five minutes, it seems the customers have doubled. Is there no fire code in this place? We need to get out of here, now.
“There’s this really cute…” Amber begins to say but I cut her off.
“Are you ready to go?” I blurt out, the panic in my voice obvious.
“Umm, yeah sure. Are you okay?” The look on Amber’s face says I’m worrying her so I try and calm myself.
Taking a deep breath, I say, “I’m fine.” It’s a lie, but I don’t want to freak her out. “I just need some fresh air.” Where’s our waitress?
“Give me a second, and I’ll go locate our check,” Amber says as she stands and walks toward the bar.
I still feel eyes on me and it takes everything in me not to fidget in my seat. Nausea starts to come over me making my stomach roll. If we don’t leave soon, I’m afraid I’m going to be sick.
Amber heads back toward our table, this time, with a little more sway to her hips. I catch the eyes of the bartender on her backside. No doubt she was just flirting with him. The girl has no shame.
“It appears our check has been settled, as well as the tip,” she says, sliding back into the booth.
“What?! Who paid it?” Now I’m really creeped out. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t care, but this doesn’t feel normal.
She shrugs her shoulders. “He said it was anonymous. Who cares? Let’s get out of here.”
I shake my head back and forth and I’m sure I look crazy, but I don’t care. “Something doesn’t feel right about this, Amber.” I’m panicking and making no sense, but she doesn’t understand.
“Stuff like this is not unheard of, Lace, chill out. It’s not every day you get a free meal, just enjoy it,” she laughs. There is no way in hell I can just chill, not after what’s already happened. I pull my wallet out to leave my own tip and make my way out the door walking much faster than necessary but not wanting to be in this place any longer.
As soon as I’m out the doors, it feels as if a huge boulder is lifted from my chest, and I can breathe easy again. I look over at Amber and see the concerned look on her face. I’m not ready to answer any of her questions, so I hurry over to her car. How can I even explain how looney I feel right now? Clearly, everything was okay back there, and I’m just over reacting. Ugh! Will my life ever be right again? Or will I al-ways be looking over my shoulders?
This changes now. I will no longer let fear consume me. I’m not that person, and I refuse to be any longer. Taking a deep breath, I calm myself and wait on Amber to reach the car. We have a few minutes of awkward silence before she speaks, asking the question I was hoping she wouldn’t. “How are you really doing, Lacey?”
It’s time to open up and be honest with myself and the people around me. “Honestly, I feel like I’m just getting by. I feel like I’m only ever exchanging one problem for another. I’m not used to feeling this way. I feel lost and confused. And most of all, I feel like an idiot. I couldn’t even watch out for myself for one night without screwing that up. And Cory? I can only imagine what he must think of me. I mean, it’s not every day you’re playing caretaker to a grown woman you don’t even know.”
I climb inside the car, feeling good to finally talk to someone. Amber gets inside and starts her car. It’s a few minutes before she says anything. “Cory is a good guy, Lacey. And he never does anything he doesn’t want to. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but that just comes with the territory.”
“So what about you?” I ask trying to deflect the conversation away from me for a little while.
“What about me?” she asks, and I roll my eyes at her. “Is there anyone special in your life? Is there a guy, or even a girlfriend you’re hiding away?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her, waiting for her to dish out the juicy gossip.
“Why? Are you auditioning?” It’s her turn to wiggle her eyebrows at me and we both burst out laughing. The more I’m around her, the easier I find her to get along with. But part of me is not ready to let those friendship walls down all the way. I’m finding it just a little too hard to trust anyone these days. “No, there’s no one special, I’m way too busy to date. However, I do have my eyes on a certain somebody.” A blush creeps up her face and now I want to know more.
“Anybody I know?” I say with a laugh, seeing as the number of people I know in this town can be counted on one hand.
“I’ll never tell,” she says, and now that I think about it, I remember the flirting going on between her and a certain security guard.
“It wouldn’t happen to be a certain sexy security guard named Alex would it?” I ask, pretty confident I know the answer but amused nonetheless when I watch as her cheeks grow even more red, answering my suspicions without even saying a word.
“Is it that obvious?” she asks, sounding a little worried and bringing her hand up to cover her face in embarrassment.
“No, not really.” I smile, lying through my teeth but wanting to calm her nerves a bit.
“Well, we work together, so it’s not like anything can really happen between the two of us. But I do like messing with him and he’s really nice to look at,” she says with a laugh. “Seems like the bigger and tougher they are, the easier it is to rile them up. It’s always fun watching him get aggravated and flustered.” I hear just a hint of awe in her voice as she talks about him, and I wonder if she even realizes it. It also makes me wonder if that’s how I look and sound about Cory; if so I think I might be screwed. I really thought I was doing a good job at hiding my feelings for him.
We pull up outside of Cory’s house, Amber has just rung the bell and now we’re waiting at the gate for Al to let us in. If I’m going to be staying here for a little while, I’m going to have to have a talk with Cory about him giving me the code, and maybe while I’m at it I can ask him to take me to get my car and what little I have left of my belongings. I don’t want Amber to think I don’t want the room at her place, but if I’m going to be stuck living at Cory’s for an undefined amount of time then it would be nice to have my things and be able to come and go as I please.
Chapter 10
Walking in the door Amber and I are both greeted by Al. I can tell by the look on Amber’s face that she has never been to Cory’s house before and didn’t expect him to have a butler. Looking around I notice that Cory is nowhere to be found. I’m not sure if he’s still working in his office or if he’s gone to the club for the night. I could probably just ask Al where Cory is but it’s not that big of a deal. Either way, I invite Amber to come inside, hoping that there is a bottle of wine around here somewhere. I’ve really enjoyed talking with Amber, and I’m not quite ready to give up girl time just yet. I know that Cory is a very private person so I hope he isn’t angry that I let Amber in his home without asking first.
I decide to stop caring if Cory will be upset or not and instead decide to go on the hunt for wine. Turns out, Cory has a wine cellar. Go figure. I spend a few minutes going through the large variety of different wines he has and grab a bottle that doesn’t look too expensive. When I get back upstairs, I head straight into the kitchen to get a few glasses and then make my way into the living room to join Ambe
r on the couch. I hand Amber her glass and begin to fill them up. We both take a quick drink and then settle back into the couch. For once, it doesn’t feel awkward just sitting here in this room.
“He’s got a really nice place,” Amber comments.
“You’ve never been here?” I shoot her a curious look, stunned at what she’s implying. Surely he’s held company parties here, but then I recall his butler saying he never brings anyone home.
“No, never. Around the holidays, he’ll rent a banquet hall in the city where he’ll throw huge themed parties. But he rarely attends them himself. Only to make introductions, then he disappears.”
Hmm, it makes me wonder why he stays to himself so much? “How long have you been working for him?” I’m curious how much she actually knows about him, and if I’m being really honest, I might be looking to get to know more about him myself.
“This year will be five years. I was with him when he first started and it was only a bar. I watched as he grew and developed, eventually buying the warehouse and making it what it is today.”
I note the smile on her face and the pride in her voice and it just reaffirms my belief that Cory has to be a good guy deep down. People don’t talk about someone in a positive way like that if they are all bad. I’m curious where his mind was at when he decided to grow his business from a bar to a high profile sex club. Maybe I’ll get him to tell me one day.
“Has he always been a recluse?” She laughs at my choice of wording.
“For as long as I’ve known him. Occasionally, you’ll see him with a female. But never the same one and they’re only around for a short period of time. I wouldn’t exactly call him a playboy, but a man has his needs, ya know?” she says with a smirk. The mention of Cory with other girls brings a knot to my stomach. I’m not sure why; it’s not like I have any claim to him or anything, but I still don’t like the idea of it.
Once I get past the twinge of jealousy, I start thinking more about what Amber just said. Yes, he does seem closed off and private, but I wonder why he doesn’t date. He’s good looking, very successful, and he doesn’t strike me as someone that lacks social skills. So did something happen to cause him to become so closed off?
“But you have spent the last two weeks alone with him, which is more than any female I’ve seen in the five years I’ve known him,” she says, interrupting my thoughts.
“It’s not like that, Amber. I’m only here because of what happened at the club. It’s strictly professional, for lack of a better term.” But I know that not to be completely true. I feel drawn to him. My knees go weak any time he walks into the room.
“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, but by the look on your face, I’d say you got it bad for him and you know it.”
I hear a voice clear behind me, causing me to just about jump out of my skin, effectively spilling wine all over my shirt. What is it about this damn house that has me startling all the time? I swear I was never this jumpy before I moved to Seattle. My heart is racing in my chest, and I look up wondering how long he’s been standing there and what exactly he heard? God, could this get any more embarrassing?
“Good evening, ladies. Sorry to interrupt,” Cory says with a smirk on his face before winking at me, causing butterflies to erupt in my belly.
“That’s okay, Mr. Lewis, I was just leaving.” She was? I look over at Amber with a questioning look on my face and see her cheeks are as red as an apple which confirms my suspicions that he did, in fact, overhear our conversation. Of course, he did. No wonder she’s trying to get out of here so fast, but can’t she just take me with her?
Standing up from my seat, I chance a look over at Cory. I can’t read his expression, but something tells me despite the smirk and wink he just gave me, he’s not very happy. Maybe hitching a ride out with Amber is the safest bet for me. She clears her throat, saying, “Okay well then, this was super fun and I’ll catch up with you later Lacey.” I’m not intentionally trying to be rude to Amber, but I can’t even respond to what she just said. Nope, all of my focus is on Cory at this moment.
The second he breaks our eye contact, I suddenly feel like I can breathe again. It’s like someone pressed pause on the television and everything was frozen while we stared at one another. What was that?
I watch still frozen in place as he walks Amber to the door, I can see they are talking but I’m too far away to hear what they’re saying. As soon as I hear the door close and see that he still has his back turned toward me, I attempt to make a run for it. I have no idea why I feel the need to get away from him but something on his face before he walked Amber out told me that I should be scared.
“Miss Carter, where are you rushing off to so quickly?” There is a hint of anger in his voice, and I’m not sure if it’s because I just tried to run from him or not. Either way, I know I’m in trouble so I should just put on my big girl panties and face the consequences now.
I take a deep breath and I spin around to face him, not realizing he is so close, and almost lose my footing. Luckily he reaches up and takes hold of my shoulders, making sure I have my balance before dropping his hands. My throat is instantly dry causing me to croak as I speak. “I was going to change my shirt,” I lie, although it’s not a bad one considering that I just spilled wine all down the front of it.
A look of darkness flashes across his face before he quickly backs me up against the wall, slamming his body flush against mine. “I can tell when you’re lying to me, but I’ll let that one slip for now.” He’s so close that I can feel the heat of his breath blowing across my face. He smells of peppermint and man, making me crave him despite the anger radiating off of him. “However, I would like to talk about why you feel like you’re only a job to me.” And there’s that look of anger again. So that’s what this is about?
“I didn’t say that,” I whisper, not quite able to find my voice.
“But it’s what you were thinking.” At this, he backs away and I instantly miss his heat. He’s so hot and cold, and it’s messing with my emotions.
“No, that’s not what I was thinking. But I was just thrown in your lap, Cory. It’s not like you wanted me to be here,” I say, confused as to why this is making him so angry in the first place.
He’s back in my face, his lips so close to mine all I’d have to do is lean in to feel them. “Miss Carter, in case you haven’t already figured it out, allow me to enlighten you.” As he talks I can feel his hands caressing their way down my face, over my neck, and to my hand. I’m breathing so hard I fear I may pass out any minute. The intensity in his voice is doing strange things to me. “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I don’t let people in that I don’t want in.” He trails his fingers lower, moving from the top of my ribcage down to my hip bone. I’m starting to feel dizzy from the anticipation of what and where he will go next. “If you are here, it’s because I want you here.” At that last part, he looks me straight in the eyes, brings his hand up and cups my cheek; his voice softens a little, taking on a gentler note before he brings his lips down to mine, giving me the softest kiss I’ve ever felt before.
I feel tears spring to my eyes. Why am I always so emotional around this man? He completely takes me by surprise when he pulls me closer and kisses away one of the tears trailing down my face. “What’s wrong?” he whispers. Where do I even begin? There’s so much wrong right now, I feel like a basket case. “Would you like to take a walk? I was just heading down to my gym, but I think some fresh air might be better.”
I look up into his eyes, and there is no longer any anger, only warmth that melts my heart. How does he not walk through this world without getting everything he wants? Hell, I’d sell my soul to the Devil right now if he asked me to.
“I’d love that, just let me run up upstairs and change my shirt really quick,” I say, heading for the stairs.
Before I even take two steps he grabs my elbow again, stopping me in my tracks. “You look fine. And no one’s going to see you but me.” Doesn’
t he realize that’s bad enough?
He grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers together and then leads me out the door and down the front steps. We head toward the side of the house that leads into the woods. I haven’t been in the woods since I was a kid, and heading that way now stirs some emotions inside of me that I haven’t felt in a very long time. Suddenly, I’m homesick. And not for Montana. No, I’m homesick for long days just sitting up in a tree stand, shaking and shivering, but doing all I can to sit as still as possible just praying for a deer to pass by. Some days we would spend the entire day up there, watching and waiting and come home empty-handed. But we’d always come home and we could smell momma’s home cookin’ the moment we pulled in the driveway. She’d always have a feast ready for us.
“Hey!” Cory snaps me out of my thoughts. “Where were you just now?” We’ve just reached the yard line when I stop. I’m not sure I can actually walk in there.
“I was just thinking; I haven’t been in the woods since I was a kid. It’s a pastime I shared with my dad.” There is longing and sorrow in my voice, and I wonder if Cory can hear it.
“We don’t have to walk through the woods if you don’t want to. It’s just where I like to jog from time to time. I had a path cleared out a long time ago because I like the scenery while I’m running.” Taking a deep breath, I put one foot in front of the other and take that first step inside.
I instantly feel all the emotions come back to me. I feel my childhood again; that feeling of being wild and free, surrounded by the unknown. There’s just a twinge of sadness at what I can never have again, of the things I miss and can’t get back, but most of all, I feel happy. To most, they wouldn’t understand. But as a child, being in the woods, surrounded by all the trees, greenery, and animals that you can hear but never see, that was my happy place. Spending countless hours with my daddy, learning new things, and enjoying nature— those are some of the best moments of my life. Now, I just wish I would have thought about it before.
Finding Home: A Club Dark Novel Page 10