Kelsey walked in those skinny heels like she’d been doing it her entire life. “Are you here about the manager position?”
Paige stood up and smiled. “Hello, yes. My name is Paige Gauthier. I’m here to drop off a resume.”
Just then in her peripheral vision, Paige caught sight of someone else coming down the stairs towards them. It was a man and again from his description, she assumed that it was Caine, Kelsey’s older brother.
“Well hello there,” Caine said, all but pushing his sister out of the way. He held out a beefy hand and said, “I’m Caine Kramer...and you are?”
Caine was the male version of his sister. He was at least six foot, maybe six one with the same thick dark hair as Kelsey’s, only his was cut short. His eyes were as big as hers and they both had smooth olive skin that contrasted with their pretty blue eyes. Caine was wearing a two button black Armani suit over a white shirt and charcoal gray tie. Its sleek lines fit him so well that Paige assumed it had been tailor made just for him.
“Paige Gauthier. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Paige glanced at Kelsey. She was giving her brother a smoldering look. “Paige is here to apply for the manager’s position.”
Caine let his eyes rake slowly across Paige’s body. She could almost feel the heat from them. “Are you up for an interview, Paige?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Now?” Kelsey asked her brother.
“What’s wrong with now, as long as Paige is ready?”
Kelsey looked back at Paige and with a toothy white smile that looked forced she said, “I hope you’ll excuse my brother’s impatience. We’ve been without a manager now for a few weeks. If you’re not prepared today, I’d be happy to set you up with an appointment.”
“Now is fine with me,” Paige said with a smile.
“Perfect,” Caine said holding out his arm. “Let me show you to the office.” Paige tentatively placed her hand on the inside of Caine’s arm. Kelsey rolled her eyes and Caine led them up the stairs. The hallway was decorated with plush beige carpeting and the walls were covered in a paisley print tan and brown, velvet flocked wallpaper. She was led into a spacious office with a large cherry wood desk. “Have a seat Paige,” Caine told her. She sat down in one of the dark green wing-backed chairs and Caine took the other next to her. Their knees were almost touching and she wanted desperately to pull hers away. She willed herself not to. Kelsey went behind the desk to sit down.
Paige handed Kelsey her resume and while Kelsey looked it over Caine said, “So, are you new to New York Paige?”
She silently quelled the nerves in her stomach and said, “No, I’m a New Yorker, born and bred.”
“Nice,” Caine said with another lustful look. Paige was beginning to feel like she was sitting naked in front of him.
Kelsey glanced at her brother again almost disdainfully and then back at Paige. “Your resume is impressive. Tell us a little more about yourself.”
Paige told them about Paige Gauthier. She is single and no children who has a degree in human resource management with a minor in accounting from NYU. Tommy had provided all the needed documents if they were to request them. Paige knew already that Kelsey was an accountant. She did all the books for her father...and according to one last tidbit of information Tommy had given her before she left...there were multiple books for each one of his endeavors. Somehow Greg stumbled up on some usb drives but he wasn’t able to get copies of them at that time. He did however manage to land a copy of a key that he and Tommy believed belonged to a safe deposit box. Greg told Tommy a few days before he died that he was pretty sure there was enough evidence on those drives to not only bring down Lucas Kramer and close down his operations...but they somehow implicated Jackson Paine’s organization as well. The trick for Paige would be figuring out where that box was at and getting to it without getting caught.
Kelsey did most of the interviewing. Paige’s nerves slowly gave way to confidence as she had a satisfactory answer to each one of their questions. Kelsey and Caine seemed to be impressed with her answers. Caine wasn’t trying to make it a secret that he was impressed with her in more ways than her managerial skills. Paige was disgusted and intrigued at the same time. She was disgusted because no matter how good looking and sexy this man was, he was a ruthless killer and very likely the one who murdered her brother. She was intrigued because she wondered how his obvious attraction to her could benefit her cause. If she got this job she was going to have to evaluate just how far she was willing to go to bring this family down.
Paige walked out of the nightclub and sucked in a lungful of the humid, early summer air. Instead of flagging down a taxi, she started walking. She was thinking about Greg...postponing the trip to his apartment. She knew she had to do it. She had to go through it with a fine tooth comb and try and figure out what her brother had hidden there...that was worth dying for.
She passed a poster on one of the bus stops for a movie starring Pauly Shore. Paul Hunt was the name her brother had used when he went undercover according to Tommy. His alter ego was a low-life drug dealer who was willing to do anything to get ahead. That anything included murder...which of course Greg would have never actually gone through with. The hopes had been to become trusted enough so that when someone was pegged for murder, Paul Hunt would be the guy they sent. That worked for both the intended “victim” and the police. The “victim” actually lives, secretly and the police usually ended up with a witness out of the deal.
The more Paige found out about how Greg lived, the better she understood why he would never really tell her what he was doing. He still talked to her a lot about Jackson and how badly he wanted to bring down the Paine organization. Greg’s need to do that bordered on obsession. He had started with the Kramer’s because he believed that would be his gateway to Jackson. Ultimately, in Paige’s mind, Jackson was as responsible as anyone else for Greg’s death.
She wondered around Manhattan for a while, letting these thoughts ricochet around in her head. She finally realized that the day was getting away from her and she hailed a cab. She went back to her hotel room first and picked up her suitcase and checked out. Then she took another taxi to Queens where Greg’s apartment was. She made her way to the manager’s office and found a middle-aged red haired lady with deep blue eyes sitting behind the desk.
Paige smiled and said, “Hi, my name is Paige Gauthier. I was Paul Hunt’s sister.”
The woman’s smiling face suddenly fell. “Oh honey. I’m so sorry. He didn’t have any kin listed on his rental agreement so I wasn’t sure who to call and offer my condolences.”
Paige forced another smile and said, “It’s okay. He was trying hard to do things the right way and on his own, so he’d kind of cut himself off from his family. I missed him a lot then...and even more now.”
“You poor thing. Now that I look more closely, I can see the family resemblance. Paul was a good looking kid before...”
“Before he started using drugs.”
“I’m sorry again. Seems like I can’t keep from stepping in it today. I didn’t know he was using drugs. He just didn’t seem like the type to me. He was such a sweet boy...but then things started changing. Every time I saw him over the past few months, he was a little bit skinnier and he was nervous all the time and he just wasn’t taking care of himself. I’m sorry. I should have known.”
“It wasn’t your responsibility,” Paige said, “But thank you. I am actually here to ask you for a favor.”
“What’s that honey?”
“I’m new to New York. I would very much like to go through my brother’s things and keep some things to remind me of him. I also need a place to stay. I was wondering if I could rent his apartment just for the month of June, until I can find something else.”
“Oh honey it hasn’t been cleaned yet. The tape is still up. The police just told me I could have it back a few days ago and I haven’t had time...”
“It’s really okay. I’ll be packing
his things up anyways. I wouldn’t mind cleaning it while I do that.”
“Are you sure honey? It won’t be too hard?”
Paige gave her a sad smile and said, “It’s going to be hard no matter what.” That was honest. She wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
“Okay then,” the woman said, “I’m Faith by the way.”
“Nice to meet you Faith. Thank you for this.”
Paige filled out the paperwork that Faith asked her to fill out and paid her the rent for the month of June. Faith wouldn’t take the deposit since Paige was going to be cleaning the apartment out. When they finished, Paige slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way up the stairs. She saw the crime scene tape before she reached the landing. She stood there at the top of the stairs and looked at the door for a long time before propelling herself slowly forward. When she got there, she put the key Faith gave her in the door and pushed it open. She stood there again looking inside at the bare walls and minimal furniture. Greg told her before that there were no personal items out because of his work being undercover. It made her sadder to think about him dying in such an impersonal place. With tears already in her eyes, she finally worked up the nerve to break the tape that still blocked the door. When she finally stepped in and closed the door behind her, the first thing she saw was the man-shaped chalk drawing on the floor. She dropped her bag and dropped to her knees. Curling up near the spot in a fetal position, she lay there and cried for her brother. “I love you, Greg. I promise you...your death will not be in vain.”
Chapter 8
Less than a week later, Paige had her first night on the job as manager of the 500 club. Kelsey showed her around the bottom floor and into an office near the back which Kelsey told her would be hers.
“Are you here a lot Kelsey?” Paige asked her.
“I’d rather not be,” she said. “My father owns a corporation that I do the accounts for as well. I’ve been here a lot just because we haven’t had a manager lately.”
“Well then, I will do a good job so you can get back to your own work.”
Kelsey smiled, “Good. Thanks. I’m going to have you work with Nick, the bartender the rest of the night. I’d like to have you get used to the whole club and how it all runs.”
“Sure, that sounds great,” Paige said.
Kelsey took her out and introduced her to the bartender she had seen the day she came in to apply for the job. He was probably around Paige’s age with blonde hair; blue eyes and a baby face that made him look about twelve. His body was a different story, however. He wasn’t very tall, maybe five nine at the most, but his shoulders were broad and she could see through his t-shirt how hard his chest was. He was also covered from shoulder to wrist with tattoos. Paige wondered if she was the only one working here without them.
“Have you tended bar before?” Nick asked her after Kelsey left.
“Yeah, it was one of my first jobs,” she said. “But I’m a little rusty.”
“That’s okay. When we start getting busier later there will be three of us. We’ll all show you what we’re doing. We’re a pretty friendly group.”
“Sounds good, thanks.”
Paige worked with Nick for about an hour before the other two bartenders came in. While they were setting up, Nick left Paige in charge of their station while he went to use the restroom. She was facing the counter when she suddenly felt a hand on her ass. She turned around quickly and came face to face with Caine.
He grinned. “Hey there, how’s your first night going?”
Paige was somewhat in shock that he would be so aggressive and then act so nonchalant about it. “It’s...um...” He laughed. He was standing way too close. She could smell his breath which thankfully smelled like mint.
“That good huh?” He said with his face down close to hers. “If you need anything at all, you make sure you let me know, okay?”
Paige only nodded. She hadn’t been prepared for that. She watched as he stopped to say hello to the other male bartender, Robert and walk right past the female bartender Carrie like she wasn’t there and went upstairs.
Nick came back and asked, “How’d it go?”
“It was good...Caine came in.” Nick started to roll his eyes but seemed to catch himself.
“Oh yeah, what did he say?”
“Not much...”
“Did he hit on you?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“If you don’t want him messing with you, talk to Kelsey. He’s older and he’s bad ass and all that...but Kelsey’s the real final word around here and even Caine knows it.”
“Okay...thanks.” Paige put that in the back of her mind. She didn’t want him messing with her...but she didn’t want to alienate him either. She needed to get to know him and if she was down here while he was up there, that was not likely to happen. If she complained to Kelsey about him there would be very little chance she’d ever get close enough to him to find out if he killed her brother. With all of that in her head, she continued helping Nick pour drinks. Some of the patrons flirted with her, but for the most part they were pretty respectful. Caine on the other hand, acted like she was already his property. He came back two more times, both times letting his hands roam across her ass as he passed by.
Paige made a hard decision that night...it was one of the hardest that she’d ever made. She decided that she was going to let Caine touch her...and if he wanted to take it further than that, she would let him do that as well. Some women had sex for money. Some did it to get ahead in their jobs. She herself had never had sex with a guy for any other reason than that she really liked him and she really wanted to...but she decided that her cause was enough to change that. It was just sex and if it would put her in a better position to find out what happened to Greg, then she was going to do it. The next time Caine came past her and stopped to grab her ass, she arched her back into his touch. This time, instead of walking away, he grabbed her by the hand and said, “Nick! Paige is going to help me out in the back.”
The place was getting crowded and Nick didn’t even look up. He just waved his hand to acknowledge he heard him. Caine led her away from the bar and through a door in the back that Paige had never noticed. Here there was a long carpeted hallway and the noise of the club was completely absent. There were four doors and Caine opened one and pulled her inside. They were in what looked like a huge hotel suite. There was a gas fireplace along one wall with a couch and two chairs arranged in front of it. Through an alcove straight in front of them, Paige could see a large, king sized bed. Her stomach was suddenly clenched into tight knots. Am I really going to do this?
“You are so hot,” Caine told her. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. Paige willed herself not to throw up as she let her lips part and Caine shoved his tongue into her mouth. She tried to block out who she thought he was and concentrate only on what he looked like. She was able to relax somewhat as he kissed her and his hands roamed across the curves of her body. He had one of his big hands on her cheek to hold her in place and she suddenly realized she wasn’t kissing him back. With every ounce of will in her body, she leaned into it and let her tongue meld against his. She heard him moan as she did and pull her in even tighter against his massive hard chest. While still kissing her he moved that hand away from her cheek and fisted it up in her hair. He let his tongue weave in and out of hers for a while longer while he tugged on it. Finally pulling his face away from hers just half an inch he said, “You are so fucking gorgeous.”
His hands went to her blouse then and she consciously had to make herself not flinch as he began unbuttoning it. He had his forehead pressed into hers and he was looking down, watching as each new section of her smooth skin was revealed. When he got it about halfway unbuttoned and he could see the black lacy bra she was wearing he breathed out a “Fuck baby...”
He left her shirt hanging open and let one of his big hands cup her bra. He was breathing hard as he found her nipples through the lace fabric. Paige put a hand agai
nst his chest and held herself steady while this man..., who quite possibly killed her brother, twisted and pulled on her lace clad nipples. He reached back up and pushed a piece of hair out of her face. She had to admit that she was surprised at how gentle he was being. She’d expected him to slam her into a wall in back and take what he wanted. Instead, he was acting like they were on a date. He kissed her again, this time softly and then he moved back just a hair and shrugged out of his suit jacket. He just let it fall to the floor like it wasn’t worth more than some people make in a month. Paige’s hand was against the silk shirt underneath now as he loosened the tie and pulled that off next, letting it join the jacket on the floor.
Paige just watched as he unbuttoned his own shirt revealing a toned, muscular chest underneath. He was covered in tattoos that ran across his abdomen, underneath his pecs and across the tops of them. As he shrugged out of the shirt completely, the taut and tatted muscles in his arms flexed and rolled. Paige swallowed the lump in her throat and did what Caine expected her to do. She ran her fingers across his hard chest, letting them flutter across his abs while he kissed her again.
He took each side of her shirt in his hands and Paige dropped her hands and let him push it off. Then he reached around behind her and unhooked her bra. As soon as it was loose, her large, firm breasts spilled out.
“Fuck me!” He said as he took them into his hands and then seemed to almost dive down into them. He kissed around the nipples and then she felt his wet tongue circle first one and then the other. Paige moved her hands up and let them rub thorough his hair as he played. In spite of the fact that she was sickened by this man and what he stood for, her body was responding...betraying her. She could feel her panties getting wet as he moved his head over and began to actually nibble on her other breast with his teeth. This guy might be a ruthless killer, but he was no selfish lover. Maybe that was what women like her mother and Lucas Kramer’s wife saw in them. He sucked that nipple into his mouth suddenly and she let out a groan against her will. That brought his mouth back up to her and his body pressing hard against hers. She could feel his rock hard cock pressing into her, pushing hard against the inside of his pants. She asked herself again: Am I really going to do this?
House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 1) Page 4