All the men took a seat around the table and settled in. Chase made a point not to sit next to Jax. There was enough space at the table for them all to have room, and he made the most of it. He looked around the club, glancing at the women who were behind the counter and the waitresses who were wandering around the floor, checking on tables and delivering food and drinks. There was a relaxed ambiance in the club despite the upbeat music with a loud bass.
“Good evening, gentlemen! What can I get started for you?” A woman asked as she walked over. When Chase looked over at her, he saw that she had her paper and pen in hand. She greeted them all with a warm smile and her voice cascaded like molten lava over Chase’s mind. He immediately had a primal reaction to her, not unlike the way he zeroed in on many other women on his wild nights out. Chase raised his eyes to observe “the mother of seduction.” He noticed with a small thrill how she looked quickly around the table, making eye contact with each of them before holding his gaze for a moment longer than the rest. It seemed Chase would win the bet after all, he thought cockily.
If her beauty wasn’t telling on its own, Chase would have guessed she was the girl Jax was talking about from the way he was looking at her. And Jax was right. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word, and Chase couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had long, blonde hair she pulled up into a high bun on top of her head, full breasts, and a curvaceous figure. She was captivating, and he was struck by her natural yet distinctive beauty.
Never in his life had he been so attracted to someone the first time he laid eyes on her, and he couldn’t help but stare. He could see by the smile she gave him that she was aware of his attraction to her, but she wasn’t going to do anything about it—at least, not yet. He’d seen them in action before. The hostesses and servers in the clubs would take care of the needs of the table first, but they would always come back, giving him special attention. There was no doubt in his mind she would find a way to give him her number at the end of the night.
Of course, with the bet lingering in the back of his mind, Chase knew that he might have to be the one to make the first move. He got the distinct feeling that this wasn’t like the women he usually encountered, women who all but threw themselves at him with zero shame. Perhaps she was the kind of woman who would rather have him pursue her than the other way around. It would be out of character for him, but at the same time, he had never dealt with this woman before, and he didn’t know what she was like compared to the rest.
“What would you recommend?” Jax asked her, giving her a flirtatious look. She looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“What are you in the mood for? I can offer some of our sparkling wines—they’re one of our specials for the night. We’ve got some special imported tequila this week as well. You can take a look at our menu for some side items, but of course I can bring you just about anything you want.” Penny smiled, gesturing at the fancy menu on the table, and Jax gave her another flirtatious look.
“How about a side of you, then?” he asked, and she gave him a look to prove she was not impressed with his attempts at flirting.
“I think we should go with a nice French wine, actually. A bottle of Domaine Faiveley Musigny Grand Cru, please,” Chase spoke up. He saw how much Jax was fucking up his attempt to make a move on this girl, and he knew it was his moment to act. If he were to step in now, he could look better than any of the other men at the table, convince her to come home with him, and win the bet. It would be easy.
“Yes, we’ll start with that and then we can think about what we’re doing next,” Jax added. He was looking over the drink menu as he spoke, and Penny went to get the bottle. Chase watched as she walked over and grabbed the glasses, unable to take his eyes off her. She was strangely aloof, but he had to give it to her—she was being completely professional, not losing composure. He was itching to get her closer, both literally and figuratively, but he wasn’t getting the impression she was interested in any of them, let alone him.
This was turning out to be a challenge. He had to turn on the charm even more.
“Thank you,” Chase said once she returned with the glasses and bottle.
“You’re welcome,” she said, barely looking at him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
As she finished handing out the glasses, he knew he had to say something more. She wasn’t biting at all. “I insist that you try this with me. If it’s not the best bottle of wine that you’ve ever had, I’ll buy you an entire case of whatever your favorite is,” Chase told her. A few of the guys around him that weren’t busy drinking whistled.
Penny looked at him with raised eyebrows once more. It was clear by the look on her face she knew what he was doing—what all of them were doing—but appeared to be unfazed.
Chase didn’t know why she didn’t just take the bait, but she clearly wasn’t interested in doing that. She looked at the bottle, then at the glasses, and gave a light shrug before taking his own glass and taking a small sip for herself.
“Oh, come now, you’ve got to have more than that! That’s hardly more than a taste,” Chase said when she sipped it. She smiled at him but shook her head.
“We aren’t supposed to be drinking on the job. I could get fired for that,” she said with a smile. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, then he glanced toward the bar.
“If anyone tries to fire you for that, I’ll take the blame. What do you think of it?” he asked, trying to change the subject. She looked at the glass in her hand and shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s good, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t call it the best wine that I’ve ever had, but it’s good,” she said casually.
“What? That’s not the best? Then what is?” Chase asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. “Please do me the honor of getting a bottle of your best wine. I am dying to try it.”
Within a few minutes, Penny was back with the bottle in her hand, as well as a few fresh glasses. The men had already drained the bottle of wine, and Jax was getting ready to order more drinks for everyone. Chase could see that each attempt he made to impress the waitress wasn’t going as well as he planned, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Though he wasn’t having much more luck with her, he was at least getting her to engage with him, even if it was purely about wine. It didn’t even seem like she was flirting with him, she was simply doing her job—no more, no less. Each time she came back, his request for her number was on the tip of his tongue, but he only had one chance to ask and didn’t want to fuck it up. He couldn’t fuck it up. He knew he was going to have to wait for just the right moment.
She poured the wine into the glasses and handed one to him. “I know it’s not the most expensive, nothing like your three-thousand-dollar wine, but if you ask me, it’s a lot better than what you have in that bottle there.”
Chase lifted the liquid to his lips and his eyes brightened. In a slow, disbelieving shake of his head he set it down on the table and looked at her with utter admiration in his eyes. “You know, I hate to say this but I think you’re right. You do know your wine. I’m impressed.” He tipped his head at her with a crooked grin.
A bright smile flashed across Penny’s face, and Chase felt the blood rushing to his manhood. If it were possible for her to be more beautiful than she already was, that was when it happened. With nothing but her gorgeous body and the bet in his mind, he knew he was going to have to find a way to get her number. Unexpectedly, a thought popped into his mind, and he smiled once more. “Well, then, I owe you a case of this wonderful stuff. Where should I have it sent to? I’ll need your address, and I’d like your number to make sure you get it.”
The waitress was taking another drink order from Jax, and she smiled over her shoulder when he offered to follow through with the deal. “That’s very kind of you, but you can just have it sent here. Have it set aside for Penny.”
She gathered the dirty glasses and empty bottles, then headed back toward the bar. Chase sighed. It was as bold as he dared go in f
ront of his friends to get her number and risk getting shot down. It definitely wasn’t his style to grovel for a woman’s number, as beautiful as she was.
He could already sense he would be leaving alone that night, but it wasn’t losing the money that was driving him crazy. It was not being able to get a hold of this mesmerizing woman.
He had to figure out a way to get to know her better. Even if he didn’t get her number tonight, he’d find a way to see her again and make her his.
Chapter 6
“How’s it going in there?” Angie asked as Penny passed through the bar once more. She was mixing some drinks herself, but Angie was doing most of the work and putting the drinks on trays for her to take out to the men.
“Overall, it’s going pretty well, and don’t tell Candy this, but I think two of them are trying to pick me up. It seems to me like a competition of some sort. One of them is being very obvious about it, but the other one hasn’t been annoying or sleazy. I don’t know what to make of it.” She spoke in a hushed tone, and Angie looked at her with questioning eyes.
“What do you mean?” she asked, and Penny shrugged.
“I mean, Chase Ellis told me he wants to buy a case of wine for me, since I didn’t like what he ordered. He then asked for my address to send the wine to and my cell number, so he could make sure it arrived.” Penny shook her head, almost snorting with an amusement.
“You like him, don’t you?” Angie asked with a knowing look. Penny looked at her, clearly surprised, and the smile vanished from her face.
“What are you talking about? I do not!” she snapped back. Angie laughed and held up her hands, calming her friend down.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything to Candy about it, but it’s clear by the way you’re being defensive about it!” she teased once more, and Penny shook her head, this time with more force than before.
“I don’t like him! I’m telling you, I don’t! I’m hoping to get a good tip out of this whole thing, but that’s it!” She crossed her arms and looked at Angie with defiance in her eyes, and Angie laughed once more.
“There’s nothing wrong with thinking some of the clients are hot. Chase Ellis is a real catch. Alright, alright!” She let the subject drop when she saw the way Penny was looking at her. She handed her the drinks and nodded toward the dining area. “You’d better get these out there before they complain that you’re taking too long. You’re on a roll so far, best not screw it up now.”
Penny gave her friend another look as she picked up the tray and headed back out into the dining room. It was quickly growing crowded, but her years of experience had taught her how to maneuver through the tables and patrons with ease, and she didn’t so much as slosh the drinks as she made it back to the table with a smile.
“We were worried you’d gotten lost,” Jax said with a slightly slurred tone to his voice. It was clear he was getting a little too drunk, but no one at the table was going to cut him off. They allowed each other to make their own decisions, and no one was going to tell him that he had had too much. It was his responsibility to take care of himself. Though the policy was to stop serving drinks at a certain point, Penny had seen worse and figured the guys would say something eventually when he got too sloppy.
“No, I had to wait to get into the bar to mix up some of these drinks. Sorry about the wait,” she said as she began setting them down on the table in front of the men.
“Hopefully you didn’t get them too mixed up,” Jax slurred. He put his hand over her arm and she looked at him. There was a smile on her face, but it was clear by the look in her eyes she wanted him to let go.
“No, that’s not quite what I meant, and I’m going to have to ask you to let go of me. I’ve got other tables I need to get to.” She smiled once more, but her tone was carefully controlled, indicating that he was perilously close to crossing a line with her.
“But we’re at the VIP table, come on, you’ve got to give it to us, we’re special,” he said loudly with sweeping hand gestures this time. She tried to pull away once more, but he held onto her firmly, pulling her closer.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to let go!” she snapped, this time pulling back hard.
Jax tried to move in to kiss her, but Penny stumbled back, avoiding his mouth that reeked of whiskey and wine. Jax’s hand was still gripped on her arm, and he swayed too close to her, but she felt her back hit something solid. Looking up, she saw that Chase was standing directly behind her, his frame practically enveloping her body. She was about to yell for the bouncers, but seeing Chase behind her, she paused uncertainly. Was he going to tell her to stop causing a scene? Would he get Jax off her? Would he just join in? After what seemed like forever but was only a few seconds, Chase cleared his voice.
“Let her go. She’s got to get back to work and your sloppy ass is going to get us kicked out of here,” he drawled. He gave Jax a look that Penny couldn’t quite read, but felt intimidated by it regardless. Jax looked from one face to the other.
“Oh, come on, you guys. I was just teasing her. No harm done,” he said as he released her arm. Penny rubbed the spot where he had been holding her. He hadn’t hurt her, but she didn’t like having the feeling of his clammy hands on her when she made it clear she wanted him to let go. She looked over at Chase, and her expression spoke volumes of her gratitude.
He gave her a small smile, running his hand through his hair, and she quickly turned and gathered the empty glasses that had once again accumulated on the table. She didn’t want to talk about it, and she didn’t want to spend any more time with these men than she had to. Even though these things tended to happen on the job, it didn’t make it less frightening. She was disturbed by what had just happened with Jax, and she wanted them to finish up and leave.
“Would you mind bringing a round of waters?” Chase asked, and she nodded. She was relieved that he was asking for water rather than more alcohol, and she hoped that it was an indication they would be leaving soon. Of course, she got caught up once more with the other tables, and it was a few minutes before she was able to bring the water back to the VIP table.
“I apologize for the delay. I was trying to get through the other orders, but they weren’t entirely sure what they wanted. I hope you didn’t mind the wait,” she said with a smile as she set the waters down in front of everyone. Jax was falling asleep in his chair and James assured her it was alright. But it was Chase who really made sure she knew she had done a great job.
“I think we’re ready for the check, please. Would you mind putting it all on one tab? And don’t forget to include the case of wine for yourself.” He gave her a charming smile, which she cursed herself for blushing over.
Penny was surprised at how much the men had spent on their drinks. Though she was keeping count of how much they were drinking, she didn’t calculate it in her head until they were finished, and the amount was staggering.
She handed the bill to Chase, then thanked the men for coming in that evening. “I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your night.”
“Thank you, you as well,” Chase said as he filled out the receipt. She walked away, eager to get back to the table and clean it up when they were gone. Penny didn’t like to have dirty tables when she was waiting, though it didn’t bother Angie or Candy as much as it bothered her.
She gathered the tray and walked back out, clearing the used glasses and remains of champagne from the table and heading back to the bar. She grabbed the receipt, but it wasn’t until she was at the register that she saw the tip Chase had left her. Though the check had been a lot higher than she thought it was going to be, he had still left her a staggeringly large tip.
If she kept making tips like that, she would be out of the nightclub even sooner than she thought. She slid the receipt into the drawer of the register and walked away with a wide smile on her face.
“Feel free to take one of the bottles of wine with you when you go home tonight. You too, Candy,” Penny said with a grin
as she tucked a bottle under her arm. She wanted to share the case Chase had bought for her with her friends, and she enjoyed seeing their faces brighten when she told them what had happened. She had already told Doug what happened, and she was on her way out the door when he called her back all of a sudden.
“Yes?” she asked when she poked her head into his office.
“Did you see the size of the tip the Alabaster Club left you?” he asked. She nodded.
“Yes, sir. I was pretty surprised with that one,” she said, lips parting in a huge smile. He looked at her with bewilderment in his eyes, then he drew in a breath and let it out nosily.
“I have to say, you’ve got a gift with the high rollers. I don’t know if it’s your tits and ass or if it’s the way you treat them, but I’ve got a question for you.” He folded his hands in front of him and looked at her with perplexity.
She always felt uncomfortable when he commented on her body, but in her years of working at the nightclub she had learnt to take it in stride since it was something that happened so often.
“What is it?” she queried.
“We are going to be having a Middle Eastern prince in here next week, and I want you to tend to the table. I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is, you’re doing it right, and I don’t want to risk losing his business.” Doug smiled and she felt her heart skip a beat. The fact of the matter was that she didn’t know what she was doing to get on the good side of the clients, either, but it was clearly working. She took care of the way she looked; she spoke with respect and had a lot of patience with the clients. She honestly just tried to be herself, but she did admit she emphasized her assets and charm to keep the clients happy.
“Alright, I can do that,” she said with a smile. A broad smile spread across his face and he gave her a nod.
“Excellent. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, then,” he said as he turned his attention back to the computer.
“Goodnight,” she said as she turned and walked out the door. She felt a sense of giddiness. She couldn’t believe she was the one who had been assigned to tend to royalty. He would be the most important patron yet! More good things were happening in that one night than had happened in the whole week. She marveled at the tip she had gotten that night, and for some odd reason, she couldn’t get Chase out of her mind.
Ruthless_A Billionaire Secret Baby Romance Page 3