Get Blondie

by Cassidy, Carla

  The elevator arrived and she stepped out. Straight ahead of her the entrance to the club beckoned with bright lights, loud music and the sound of laughter.

  A burly young man stopped her at the door to collect the cover fee. “I’m here to see Jackson Tyler,” she said. “I’m supposed to start a waitress job in half an hour.”

  “Hang on.” He raised a hand and motioned toward a man standing nearby.

  As she waited, she peered inside the club. From this vantage point it looked typical. A DJ played on a stage and in front of the stage a lighted dance floor held two dozen or more gyrating figures.

  Across the back of the right side of the place a polished bar stretched seemingly endlessly. The bar stools in front of it were filled with men and women.

  Round tables and chairs filled the rest of the space and waitresses scurried back and forth between tables delivering drinks with friendly smiles. The uniforms they wore weren’t too bad, although a little low cut at the neckline for Cassie’s taste.

  She turned her attention to the squat, dark-haired man who approached her. “Jessica Sinclair?” She nodded and he stuck out a hand. “I’m Jackson Tyler.” He released her hand. “Come on into the back with me.”

  She followed him through the throng of tables and people to a door just left of the stage. They went down a long hallway with doors on the left and right to the end and into a large office where the music was barely discernible.

  He motioned her into the seat opposite the desk. “I’ve got some paperwork you need to fill out,” he said as he eased down behind the desk and opened a manila folder. “You know…tax stuff.” He slid a sheet of paper and a pen across the desk.

  It was the usual withholding information everyone filled out when taking a job. Cassie filled it out with Jessica’s name, address and social security number, then slid it back to Jackson.

  “You come with good references,” he said. “If you show up on time, work hard and have a good attitude, you and I will get along just fine.”

  “Sounds reasonable to me,” she replied.

  “Good, then I’ll just have one of the girls take you to the locker room, get you a couple of uniforms and orient you.” He pressed a button on an intercom and almost immediately a knock fell on the door.

  An attractive red-haired woman stepped into the office. She smiled first at Jackson, then at Cassie. “Cassie, this is Dana Williams, one of the best waitresses that’s ever worked for me. She’ll show you the ropes.” Cassie stood, knowing she was being dismissed.

  “Hi, Cassie, nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too.” Cassie followed her out of the office and back down the hallway to another door. They entered a small room with a bench and lockers and a rest room. “This is where we stow our personal items,” Dana said as she unlocked and opened what appeared to be a storage room door.

  She pulled out two uniforms on hangers. “Size eight?”

  Cassie nodded and took them from her. “Thanks.”

  “And here’s a lock for one of the lockers. The combination is on the tape on the bottom. Just memorize it then throw the tape away. I’ll just wait outside for you to get dressed.” She gave Cassie another friendly smile, then slipped out into the hall.

  It took Cassie only minutes to wiggle into the short black skirt and the deep scoop-necked white blouse. She was grateful she’d worn hose and flat black shoes. She also was glad that the uniform allowed her to wear the two knives she rarely went without…one in her bra and the smaller knife against her upper thigh.

  She’d just finished stowing the extra uniform and her purse in the locker when Dana stepped back into the room. “All set?”

  Cassie hesitated, then nodded and smiled. “Maybe just a little bit nervous,” she admitted, thinking it’s exactly what Jessica would say.

  Dana smiled reassuringly. “Trust me, you don’t have anything to be nervous about.” They walked back down the hall toward the main room. “One of the biggest problems is that sometimes the music gets so loud it’s hard to hear the drink orders. The other problem is that sometimes some of the men have a little too much to drink and decide they want more than what’s on your tray…if you get what I mean.”

  “I get it,” Cassie replied.

  “Usually it’s not a big deal, but if the guy gets too obnoxious, you can call for Sam or Jake. They’re the two bouncers and both of them are big as bulldozers. They don’t take any trouble from anyone.”

  “That’s good to know.” They reentered the main room where the DJ was playing an upbeat song that Cassie didn’t recognize.

  “The good news is the tips are great here. Just be friendly with everyone and you’ll do fine,” Dana reassured her.

  For the next fifteen minutes Dana explained how things worked and which tables would be Cassie’s for the night. She introduced Cassie to several of the other waitresses and the bartender, then cut Cassie loose to do her job.

  For the next hour Cassie served up drinks, bantered with customers and kept an eye out for Adam Mercer. By 10:00 p.m. there was still no sign of the wealthy antidrug guru but she was shocked to see Kane seated at one of her tables.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you said no backup.” She kept her features pleasantly schooled, as if he were just another customer to serve.

  “Just wanted to check this place out.” His gaze traveled the length of her. “I don’t like the uniforms.”

  She smiled. “Funny, I don’t remember asking your opinion. There’s a two-drink minimum. Is your favorite poison still scotch and soda?”

  “That will do.”

  “No sign of Mercer.”

  Kane checked his wristwatch. “It’s early. He’ll be here. He rarely misses a Saturday night.”

  She nodded and turned to get his drinks. As she waited for the bartender to fill her orders, she found herself watching Kane from across the room.

  He was clad in a pair of charcoal-gray dress slacks and a black and gray pin-striped shirt. With his dark hair and eyes, he looked successful, handsome and just a little bit dangerous. It was an irresistible combination and Cassie realized she wasn’t the only woman in the place eyeing Kane.

  Two young women at the bar whispered and pointed in Kane’s direction at the same time a tall blonde approached his table.

  Cassie was shocked by a sudden surge of jealousy that swept over her as Kane gestured for the woman to join him at his table. She turned back to face the bar, wondering where the emotion had come from.

  It was ridiculous. She wanted nothing to do with him other than working with him. He had every right to pursue any woman he wanted to and she had absolutely no right to be jealous.

  She grabbed her tray of drinks and delivered each of them to the tables where they belonged, then approached Kane’s table. “One scotch and soda. That will be five-fifty. You can pay me now or run a tab.” She smiled archly. “Perhaps you’d like to buy your lady friend a drink.”

  “Oh, no. I’m fine right now,” the blonde replied. Up close she was older than Cassie had first guessed. The woman laughed, a touch of quiet desperation in the sound. “I was just trying to get him to dance with me.”

  Cassie knew Kane never danced. “Good luck.” She looked back at Kane. “I’ll just run a tab for you, sir.”

  He nodded and she left the table. When she gazed back over about ten minutes later the woman was gone and Kane once again sat alone.

  For the next hour Cassie was too busy to think. She served drinks, bantered with customers and fought a growing sense of frustration as Mercer didn’t show up.

  She’d just taken a fifteen-minute break and when she returned to the floor, she saw that Mercer had arrived. Unfortunately he wasn’t seated in her section, but rather in the section next to hers.

  Adam Mercer was a handsome man with black hair shot through with silver strands and blue eyes that even in a photo appeared piercing. Impeccably dressed in a gray suit, it was easy to see that he was the king of his immediate su
rroundings.

  He shared the table with a man and a woman at his right and two men on his left. At either ends of the table were men who couldn’t be mistaken for anything but burly bodyguards.

  How was she supposed to capture his attention if she wasn’t even serving him? It would certainly look suspicious if she asked the waitress in that section to allow her to serve that particular table.

  She cast a look of frustration toward Kane, who returned her gaze without expression. She got back to work figuring that tonight was a loss. Tomorrow night, Sunday, the bar was closed. It would be Monday night before she’d have another chance to meet Mercer unless she could come up with something creative tonight.

  As she worked her tables, she kept an eye on Mercer at his table. They’d ordered a round of drinks and seemed to be having a good time chatting and laughing among themselves.

  Cassie continued to work her tables, but several times she felt Mercer’s gaze on her. Once their gazes locked. She smiled, then quickly looked away as she tried to figure out how to make personal contact with the striking man who was her quarry.

  Adam Mercer sat up straighter in his chair as he watched the waitress working the tables nearby. She was new. He’d never seen her before and Adam had been coming to Night Life long enough that he knew most of the waitresses by name.

  She was stunning with long, shapely legs and a lithe figure that looked both feminine and athletic. Adam had always had a weakness for blondes.

  As she served her customers, she had a pleasant, but distant expression on her face, as if she dreamed of bigger things than a waitress job in a nightclub. There was also a touch of cool disdain there as well.

  That intrigued Adam as much as anything…the fact that she looked so cool, so emotionally and intellectually removed from this place and this moment.

  Sherry, his ex-wife, had specialized in cool disdain. Her nickname in college had been Ice Queen. But it hadn’t taken Adam long to discover that beneath the ice was a passionate, sex-crazed wanton who’d only needed the respectability of marriage to get in touch with her wild side.

  Sherry was gone now. She’d divorced him almost two years before, after the death of their daughter by a drug overdose.

  The divorce hadn’t been particularly friendly, but he and Sherry still shared some business dealings and had reached an uneasy acceptance of one another. But after the divorce Adam had discovered that he was a man who didn’t like to be alone. He needed somebody beside him, sharing his dreams, sharing his visions.

  He intended to usher in a brave new world, a far better world than the one existing now. He’d like to have a special woman at his side, playing the role of Eve to his Adam.

  He’d thought he’d found his Eve with Nicole, another waitress who had worked here at the club. Nicole had been beautiful and sexy. Ultimately he’d been bitterly disillusioned. Nicole had proven herself disappointingly unimaginative and ordinary.

  Watching the new waitress, Adam felt the anticipation of possibility. It had been too long since he’d played the courting game. It was time to play again.

  By the time closing time came, Cassie’s feet were killing her and her frustration level had climbed to massive proportions.

  She got her personal items and spare uniform from her locker, then left by way of the elevator.

  A sense of failure weighed heavily on her shoulders. She had no idea what the time frame was of this particular job, but knew that with any assignment time was of the essence.

  Although her cover was as a waitress, her job wasn’t to serve drinks, but rather to get close to Adam Mercer. Tonight she’d been unsuccessful. Maybe the agency had overestimated Mercer’s desire for a new girlfriend. Maybe they had overestimated her attractiveness.

  She left the elevator and headed for the front door of the building. As she stepped outside she drew a deep breath of the warm night air. Even though it was humid, it was a welcome relief after the smoke-filled club.

  She tensed as a sleek black Lincoln pulled up to the curb in front of her. A man got out of the back seat and she recognized him as one of the two bodyguard-types she’d seen with Mercer.

  She backed up, wary because of the lateness of the hour and the deserted street. He seemed to sense her wariness and stopped in his tracks. His pale blue eyes raked over her and an Elvis sneer curled his upper lip. It looked better on the King. “My boss, Mr. Mercer, would like to take you out for a late dinner,” he said.

  A euphoric buzz sounded in her brain. So he had noticed her after all. Her mind raced. She knew her next move was vital. She’d read the files on Mercer, sensed what he liked and didn’t like in women.

  She took a calculated risk. “I don’t know your boss and I don’t have dinner with strangers.”

  Without waiting for any reply, she turned and headed toward the back lot where her car was parked. She listened for the sound of footsteps following her, but heard nothing but the slam of a car door and the car pulling away from the curb.

  She hoped she hadn’t just made a horrible mistake.

  It was three-thirty when Cassie got back into her apartment. She unlocked the door, opened it and jumped in surprise as she found Kane seated on the sofa.

  “Haven’t you ever heard about the concept of knocking on a front door then waiting for an invitation inside?” she asked.

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t invite me in. Besides, I don’t want anyone seeing me coming and going from this apartment. It’s vital we aren’t seen together.”

  Cassie looked at the window and noticed it was open. He’d scaled the side of the building to get inside.

  He watched as she threw her purse on the small kitchen table, then hung her two uniforms in the closet.

  She flopped down on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. “I’d forgotten the perils of waitressing,” she said and pulled one of her feet up to rub the pad. For a moment she rubbed as he remained silent. “Did you know this place has cockroaches the size of coconuts?” she asked when the silence had stretched too long. “I killed one just before I left for work tonight.”

  “Maybe it was the only one in the place,” he said.

  “Yeah, right,” she replied dryly. She pulled her other foot up then jumped as he grabbed it and began to knead the soreness away. She closed her eyes at the slightly painful pleasure.

  Every muscle in her body relaxed and she wanted his strong hands rubbing her legs, rubbing her back, touching her…she snapped her eyes open and pulled her foot from him.

  “I made contact.”

  “Tell me.” He leaned forward and his eyes held the hard glint of all business.

  “I was leaving the club when a big black Lincoln pulled up in front of me. One of Mercer’s goons got out and told me his boss would like to have a late dinner with me.”

  “So what are you doing sitting here with me?”

  “Playing a hunch,” she replied.

  Kane frowned, his dark gaze skeptical. “You turned him down?” She nodded. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  The question irritated her and she got up from the sofa to pace the floor in front of where he remained seated. “Are you questioning my judgment?”

  “No, it’s just that timing of all this is important. I thought you understood that you don’t have months to get close to Mercer. It seems like the wise thing to do would have been to accept the dinner invitation and get the ball rolling.”

  She sighed. “Kane, I read the dossier on him. Reading between the lines I’d say Mercer is a man who likes a bit of a challenge with his women. Call it women’s intuition. I think I did the right thing. I can’t have you questioning my every move. I thought I was trusted to use my own judgment.”

  “Whoa…take it easy.” He rose from the sofa and walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re overreacting to a simple question. When you overreact that means you’re tired.”

  The heat from his hands warmed her and memories of those hands stroking her intimately streaked thr
ough her mind. She was tired…bone weary. She had to be because for just a moment she’d wanted to fall into his arms. She was obviously deliriously tired. “You’re right. I’m tired and if you go away, I’ll go to bed.”

  He dropped one of his hands from her shoulder, but the fingers of his other hand trailed down her throat and traced the lines of her breastbones.

  The intimate touch seared through her, weakening her knees as the heat from his fingers seeped through her entire body.

  “I don’t like the uniform,” he murmured, his breath warm on her face. “I saw him looking at you.”

  “I thought that was the general idea,” she replied, her voice a mere whisper.

  He yanked his hand away as if the feel of her skin burned him, then stepped back, his dark eyes appearing angry. “It is,” he said curtly. “I’ll get out of here and let you get some sleep.” He walked over to the window, but paused as she called his name.

  Although she still felt the burn of his fingers on her skin and her heart still beat an accelerated beat from the contact, she needed him to do something for her. “Before you leave could you just do me one little favor? Could you take the cushions off the sofa and check?”

  He asked no questions, but moved to the sofa and began to take the cushions out of the frame. If she hadn’t seen the roach on the wall earlier, she’d have never asked him the favor.

  She didn’t have to explain to him. Kane was the only person on earth besides Max who knew about her irrational fear of bugs. She’d once climbed him like a pole in a cellar where the floor had been covered with water bugs. Definitely not one of her prouder moments.

  “All clear,” he said as he put the cushions back where they belonged. “You have a sheet or a blanket?”

  She walked over to the closet and pulled a sheet from the stack inside. She handed it to him and watched as he shook it out, then tucked it into the back of the sofa, leaving enough for her to cover up with.

  When he was finished he looked at her and for just a brief moment she thought she saw a flash of something close to tenderness in his eyes.