by K. M. Scott
She turned to leave but stopped just as she reached the door. “Stefan, why don’t you want to do anything with me anymore?”
Surprised at her directness, I knew by the hurt in her voice that I’d underestimated Lola’s feelings for me. I searched for a way to tell her I didn’t want to sleep with her anymore, but I couldn’t be that cruel. A lie was the only way out, and I had to play this right.
Standing, I moved from behind my desk and walked over to her. She looked up at me with those big eyes full of fear at what I might say. Kane’s words echoed in my mind, so I constructed a lie vague enough to sound truthful but still nice enough not to hurt her. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep her father happy.
“Lo, you know how it is with us. On and off and all that. You know I still like you, don’t you?”
She reached out and ran her fingertips down my forearm as she stared up at me. A look of relief came over her, and she said, “I thought maybe you met someone and that’s why you never call for me to come in here anymore. But then I saw Kat and Jana last night…”
“You know me, Lo. If anyone knows how I am, it’s you. I’m not the ”meet someone” kind of guy.”
“Oh. You don’t think you’ll ever settle down?”
I smiled and winked at her. “No way. I like being me too much.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was telling Shay the other night. No one could blame you for being like you are, Stefan. You have everything going for you. Settling down would be like denying yourself things you shouldn’t have to.”
Curious why she’d have to defend me to Shay, I didn’t stop myself from asking, “Why? Did she say something?”
Lola moved into defending her new friend. “Oh, no. It wasn’t anything bad, Stefan. She’s just not used to how you are is all. I told her someone like you who’s been blessed with all the good things you have going for you shouldn’t be expected to settle down with just one woman.”
“Shay thought I should?”
She paused for a moment and said, “She doesn’t understand you like I do. She likes her men to be the kind to settle down. She’d never see what I tried to explain to her. To Shay, even a man with looks and money should want only one woman.”
“Well, then thank God we don’t like each other, huh? Sounds like we’d both be miserable.”
“Shay’s nice, but she’s not like us, Stefan. We live this life because we love it. She’s only working here on her way to bigger and better things. She’s good at it, but she doesn’t love it like we do.”
Lola left my office placated by my vague lie, but I couldn’t help but be bothered by what she said about Shay. Were Lola and I really that much alike and so different from her? Was that why Shay seemed to be able to brush me off so easily after a night of great sex?
The idea that I’d finally meet a woman I couldn’t have had always been impossible to me. Now it seemed entirely likely that Shay Callahan was that woman.
* * *
EVEN THOUGH I’d given Carrie my solemn promise that I’d put any thoughts of going further with my plan to play Stefan March completely out of my mind, I couldn’t stop myself. Part of me had some strange need to prove to him that he’d finally met a woman in this world who could stop him in his tracks and make him want to give up his player ways. Another part, though, craved being with him again. I had to admit that part confused me. I didn’t know how, but Stefan had wormed his way into my thoughts to the point that I liked being around him, and sleeping with him had only intensified those feelings.
That both parts were entirely incompatible wasn’t lost on me either. Sometimes when he was nearby, I had to remind myself that all of this was just a game because he’d do something cute or look at me with those deep brown eyes and all I could think of was when we’d be alone again.
Hiding the fact that the man had a serious effect on me became a full time job. I didn’t want him to know how I felt, but keeping it from Lola and the rest of the Club X staff was just as important. I didn’t need to create some huge issue at my job and leave hurt feelings all over the place.
My skill at concealing my desire for Stefan wasn’t very impressive, if Lola’s sideways glances and repeated questions were any indication. At first, I just brushed her off with an eye roll or noncommittal shrug when she noticed me staring across the room at him. When she began asking what I thought of Stefan, I’d initially found it pretty easy to rage on about his male chauvinist pig tendencies. I wasn’t lying. Between his borderline sexual harassment of every single female who worked under him and the fact that I knew he’d slept with more than a few of my coworkers, sneering at the thought that he was anything more than just a player was almost second nature to me.
But then he showed up at my apartment to ask me to return to the job after that Mika mess, full of apologies and willing to give Lola her rightful place among the staff, and it began to be harder to see him in such an entirely negative light. He’d turned into someone I could like and respect, at least a little, and once those feelings weaved their way into my brain, lying to Lola grew harder and harder.
Not that she wasn’t lying to me too. I had no doubt that she and Stefan had something between them, whether it was in the past or still going on. That was probably why she was so curious about my feelings about him.
I walked into the club with all of this on my mind and wondering what kind of reception I’d get from Stefan after leaving him high and dry the night before. Most men would be complete and utter bastards after being teased and dropped like that, so I prepared myself for an even angrier version of the Stefan I’d met that first day. How I’d explain his sudden change toward me to Lola when she was standing right beside me I had no idea.
I found her behind the front bar getting ready for the club to open and steeled my expression to hide what I expected to come from our boss. She greeted me with her usual sweet smile, and I noticed her outfit looked even tinier than usual.
“Hey, Shay! How’s it going?” she chirped.
“Pretty good. What’s new with you?”
For a moment, a strange look crossed her face but then it was gone and she was back to her usual happy self. “Not much. Just getting ready for the night. I’m thinking Stefan will have the two of us up here again, like usual. It should be a good crowd tonight, so we’ll make a killing.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Bring on the money!” I said with a chuckle.
Lola nodded. “How long do you plan on staying, Shay? I know you said you were going somewhere, but when?”
Only once before had she expressed any interest in anything about me other than my work with her, so instantly my suspicions were raised. Something in her eyes told me this newfound curiosity about my life outside of Club X had more to do with Stefan than truly wanting to know more about me.
“I’ll be here until the end of the semester, so once the new year rolls around, I’ll be gone.”
“That’s only a few months,” she said in a faraway voice like she was thinking about something other than how long we had to work together.
“Yep. You only get a couple months more of me and then I’m Copenhagen bound.”
Lola was quiet for a few minutes while we busied ourselves behind the bar until she asked, “Does Stefan know?”
“That I’m only here until the end of the year?”
“Yeah.”
I remembered back to my interview with Cassian and Kane. I’d definitely informed them of my leaving in January, but since Stefan hadn’t showed up that day, he’d never heard from me what my plans were. I had to assume, though, that one of his brothers had told him.
“I’ve never said anything about it to him, but I’m sure he knows. I made sure to mention it when I interviewed for the job.”
Lola smiled fakely and nodded again. “Oh. Well, I’m sure he knows, but maybe you should mention it to him, just in case. I’d hate to see the club suffer because he didn’t hire someone to replace you.”
I couldn’t put my
finger on it, but something about her tone of voice made me think she was counting down the days until I was no longer around. A stab of hurt hit me at the thought that Lola had turned from someone I’d considered a friend to just another coworker like Mika.
“I guess,” I said, feeling slightly shell shocked at her behavior toward me.
We went back to getting the bar ready, and I tried to make myself feel better by remembering that if it weren’t for work, someone like Lola and I would never have even spoken to one another. We had nothing but the club in common.
It didn’t make her change toward me any easier to take.
Silently, I resigned myself to feeling defensive and let the walls I often kept around me rise until I could think it all didn’t hurt. From behind me, I heard Lola finally say, “I think Stefan will miss having you around, Shay.”
I turned to look at her, unsure of where she was going with all of this but pretty fed up with her sneaky attempt to find out if I was competition for him. “I’m sure he will, Lola. We work well together, he likes to put the two of us here on the front bar because he never has to worry, and the few times he and I have spoken alone, he seems to have enjoyed himself.”
Her eyes opened wide in surprise at my comment about us being alone. “I didn’t realize you two were close like that. You know, to have spoken alone. You don’t really have anything in common.”
I couldn’t help but smile. She was fishing to find out if Stefan and I had slept together. Maybe I should have played her game and led her to believe there was some big thing between us, but at that moment I was too hurt by her treating me like I was Mika to play along.
“We aren’t. He’s my boss and I’m his employee. That’s it.”
She looked like she wanted to pump me for more information about how close Stefan and I were, but I was done. Turning on my heels, I walked out from behind the bar and headed for the ladies’ room to be alone.
Before I could get there, though, Stefan caught me. Grabbing my arm, he stopped me and flashed me a smile. “Hey, what’s up?”
Suddenly, a flash of anger spiked inside me. First Mika and now Lola had given me a hard time because of this guy. And I hadn’t even gotten much but a night of great sex for my trouble. “I want to be up on the fourth floor tonight. I need a break from the front bar.”
A look of surprise settled into Stefan’s features, and then as if what I’d said triggered something in him, his face darkened. “Why? What’s up there that you want?”
Was everyone in this place crazy? What the hell did he mean what did I want up there? “Money? You said yourself that the fourth floor bar often does as well as the front bar.”
“Is that it?”
I stared at him in confusion and shook my head. “What’s with you? I just want to be away from the front bar, okay? You know I can handle it. Lola told me it’s definitely a one-person job.”
“Is there some problem with Lola? If so, I can send her upstairs again,” he offered, as if he was worried about me. Maybe he wanted me to experience job satisfaction. I couldn’t tell what the hell was up with him or Lola.
“No. I really want to be upstairs tonight.”
“I don’t know, Shay. I like having you down here at the front bar. It’s good for business.”
I didn’t want to spend my night fielding sly questions from Lola about him. Now that I didn’t see her as a friend, I wanted to be as far away as possible from her. “Stefan, I’m asking you as an employee who’s always done what you asked. Please let me man the fourth floor bar tonight. It would mean a lot if you’d be cool about this.”
I wasn’t sure what part of what I said convinced him, but any qualms he had about me heading up to the fourth floor seemed to vanish. “Okay, Shay. You got the fourth floor. I’ll find someone else for the front bar with Lola. Any suggestions?”
Shaking my head, I moved toward the ladies’ room. “Nope. Whoever you choose.”
I didn’t stick around for the bartenders’ meeting since I knew where I was stationed for the night, so after I’d hid out in a bathroom stall for a half hour telling myself I was stupid for feeling bad about Lola turning on me, I quietly headed up to the fourth floor bar to get it ready for the night. Since Stefan hadn’t assigned anyone before I asked, the area had to be prepped from top to bottom, but at least that would keep my mind occupied instead of having it wander to why suddenly the only real friend I had in the bar had turned me into her competition.
Unlike the bars on the main floor, the fourth floor bar was dark and secluded. Located at the far end of the floor away from the stairs, it was technically above where the front bar was located down on the first floor but it couldn’t have been more different. Nestled in a corner just past the fantasy rooms, it was dimly lit and without any reflective surfaces on the wall behind it. No mirror, no glass at all. I imagined that had something to do with the purpose of this floor.
Who wanted to stare at themselves while they grabbed a drink after getting freaky in a fantasy room?
I got to work in my new secluded area and became so involved with making sure it was ready when members arrived that I didn’t notice Kane leaning against the bar as I crouched down to clean a sticky spot on the floor.
“Hey, what are you doing up here? Stefan exile you for something?” he asked in that husky voice so unique to him.
Looking up, I smiled and stood to my full height. “No, I asked to be put up here tonight. I needed a break from downstairs and heard this bar was as good as the front bar.”
Kane leaned his body forward and rested his forearms on the top of the bar. “That’s what I hear too. You should do well tonight. Tuesdays are pretty busy, and every room on this floor is booked all night.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m all about the money for the short time I’m here.”
His crystal blue eyes flashed a look of recognition. “That’s right. We only have you for a few months more before you leave us. I’m sure Stefan will miss you. I know he relies on you and Lola to take care of things downstairs.”
“He’ll be fine without me, I’m sure. I bet bartenders come and go here, so he’ll just replace me with someone else.”
Kane’s usually serious expression softened, and a slow grin spread across his lips. “He does go through them pretty fast, I admit, but it’s rare when he gets one of your caliber.”
I couldn’t decide if I should interpret his words to refer to me as a bartender or me as a woman. Kane likely didn’t know his brother and I had slept together—or maybe he did. The vision of Stefan bragging about his latest conquest the morning after having sex with me marched through my mind, and it didn’t take much to convince me that it had happened very much like that.
“Yeah, well, I’m sure I’ll be forgotten as soon as I leave, Kane.”
He stared directly into my eyes for a long moment and then in low voice said, “Then he’s a bigger fool than I thought he was.” I stood there surprised by Kane’s words, and as if my reaction made him uncomfortable, he leaned back away from me and added, “But that wouldn’t surprise me. Stefan’s always had a streak of stupid in him.”
Now it was my turn to feel uncomfortable. Kane had never unnerved me before, but as we stood there in the dim light and not more than a foot away from one another, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of power coming from him that I’d never recognized before. Maybe it was his size or maybe it was his deep voice, but something made me feel small next to him at that moment.
A nervous giggle escaped from my throat as I tried to understand what I was feeling. “Well, you know what they say. There’s always one in the family.”
“And we have Stefan,” he said with a laugh. A few members began filtering in from the stairs and in a second Kane changed back to that friendly guy he always was with me. “I’m just up one floor if you need anything, Shay. Don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thanks, Kane. I might since this is my first real experience with your part of the club.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. There’s always security on each floor, but I’ll put Jason here tonight. Members don’t even think about messing with him.”
“That’s nice of you. Thanks! I’m sure I’ll be fine then.”
He backed away down the hall, the whole time wearing a sly smile. “Come up and see me. We can talk more about my stupid younger brother or other more interesting topics.”
I didn’t know if I’d take him up on his offer, but I had a feeling hanging out with Kane would be nothing like spending time with Stefan. As different as night and day, the two men intrigued me each in their own way. Whereas Stefan was all fun and good times, Kane always seemed to be reserved and mysterious, even when he was smiling and making jokes. The serious side of me found that so appealing. His younger brother might act like the consummate player, but Kane appeared almost disinterested in women. I didn’t think he had a girlfriend or liked men, but I’d never seen him spend any time even talking to women other than me. If I was a real player like Carrie claimed, I’d have gone after Kane. For as much as Stefan seemed to be the perpetual bachelor, his older brother might have been one of the most aloof men I’d ever encountered, and I had an inkling he was friendlier with me than most people. A player would set her sights on that prize.
I left my thoughts on the two available Club X brothers behind as a crowd of people began to form in front of my bar. For five hours I waited on members as they prepared to enter their fantasy rooms and after they’d left them, loving how different this area was from downstairs. It had a sexy feel the front bar lacked, and the members were even friendlier here. I couldn’t believe Lola hadn’t mentioned how much better this was and the money I made even rivaled the night of the private party when she and I had made a killing. She probably didn’t like it as much as the front bar because Stefan was nowhere to be found.
I’d never had any real interest in the fantasy part of Club X, but now that I stood right in the middle of it all, I couldn’t help but be curious. A few of the girls had talked about wanting to take advantage of this area of the club, but even making the money I did at private parties and here on the fourth floor I couldn’t afford a membership to my workplace or what I imagined a fantasy room cost.