Fidgeting, I flicked my thumb on the corner of a sheet of paper overlapping the desk edge. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure if you had a place for me to keep it.”
“There are cubbies in the storage room for employees to use.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“You can go get it.” He jutted his chin toward the door.
“Trying to get rid of me already?” I asked with a smile that I hoped came off more playful and innocent and less like I was dying inside.
“We need to do your paperwork.”
“Right.”
He stared at me, one brow elevating when the seconds lingered and I didn’t make a move to leave.
“Right,” I repeated, running my damp palms over my thighs as I stood. Stopping short in the doorway, I spun to face him once again, needing to clear the air if we were going to work together, only to find him focused on where my ass had been.
It was my brow lifting this time when his eyes shot upward. If he’d been caught off guard, he didn’t show it. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his thick, muscular arms. “Yes, Ms. Logan? Or is it Mrs. Knox now?” Agitation fluttered across his face before his chiseled jaw hardened with indifference.
I shot him an annoyed glare, mimicking with the crossing of my own arms. “Logan. I didn’t change my name.” I wasn’t going into the details of why I hadn’t. “And before we make this official, are you going to continue to hold on to whatever grudge you have against me? Because if so, I’m not sure this will work out.”
He considered my words and then sat forward, heaving a weary breath. “No.”
“No, you aren’t holding a grudge?” I taunted, refusing to make another move to leave.
For a moment, the only sound in the office was the faint sound of the music playing in the bar. He shook his head, traces of humor in his eyes as he repressed a smile. “Get your things, Con. The rush is about to start.”
Tucking my smiling lips between my teeth, knowing that was the best I would get, I replied, “Sure thing, boss.”
“So how long have you been working for Tim?” I asked Melanie as we stood at the end of the bar waiting for him to make our drink orders. The place was packed, bodies crammed against every spare inch of the counter’s edge and hoards more waiting behind them for their turn to order drinks. There was little breathing room, and the dance floor and tables throughout weren’t much better.
“Almost nine years. Started a few years after he officially took over the bar from his dad,” she spoke over the rambunctious atmosphere.
“Wow. That long. And you like working for him?”
She side-eyed me, her professionally plucked brows reaching high.
I flushed at my outburst. “Sorry… I just meant that’s a really long time.”
“Not a lot of options around here, ya know? It pays enough to put a roof over me and my baby’s head. The hours work great, so I don’t have to pay childcare during the day. My mom is off work in time from her job to keep her during my night shifts. Besides, he’s one of the best guys to work for. He took a chance on me, was there for me, when most people in my life had turned their backs.”
That sounded more like the Tim I remembered and less like the one I’d been condemned to deal with since my return. I glanced Tim’s direction, silently persuading him to look my way. For most of the night, my eyes had searched him out, watching him as he worked. I ignored the flutter I felt every time his eyes would catch mine, ignored the electricity I swore crackled between us. It was addictive. It was becoming harder and harder to resist the need to feel it again and again.
My eyes continued to rove over him. The hard plains of his chest filled out the black Henley perfectly. The sleeves were pushed high on his biceps, revealing tattoos I was curious about and wanted to see bared. Jeans hung low on his hips, and the black Doc Martens completed his effortless, yet sexy look. His smoldering grin as he spoke and mixed drinks was hypnotic, like watching flames dance in the wind.
Melanie turned to face me, her eyes probing, her lips twisting in thought.
“What?” I asked, feeling like I was suddenly under investigation.
“I’m just curious what your story is. It’s not like I don’t know who you are. Or like I haven’t noticed the looks being exchanged between you and Tim all night. Makes me wonder if you’re the reason we suddenly have a required uniform.”
“Wait—what?” My eyes darted to her, unsure which part I was more confused and curious about. What did she know about me? What looks had she seen? Sudden uniform?
A knowing smile carved onto her smooth, pretty face. But before either of us could say more, Tim interrupted.
“Order up, ladies.” He placed the drinks we’d been waiting for in front of us.
Melanie gathered one order on her tray, while I slowly collected the other, processing what she’d said.
After the first couple hours of working together, she had me take on a few tables of my own, since it was so busy and I’d easily learned the POS system. She continued to train me as we worked, but mostly we’d done our own thing all night.
Melanie rushed off, navigating the crowd with ease and proficiency, while I stared at Tim’s back as he walked away, moving on to the next person hollering an order at him. As if he’d felt the fury radiating off me, his eyes slid down the bar, giving me a sidelong stare while he listened to them tick off their drink order.
Words didn’t need to be exchanged for him to catch the anger and hurt. He’d played me. I’d spent years falling for Bobby’s games and manipulation, something I’d always regret, and I hadn’t moved home to be treated the same way. The fact it was Tim that had done it, only hurt more.
“One sec, man,” Tim said, excusing himself and heading my direction again.
Not trusting myself to not break down right there, I spun, leaving him and my tray of drinks behind. I shoved through the crowd toward the hallway I knew led to the restrooms and a back exit. Heads turned, following my hasty retreat. I ignored them, trying to hold in the angry tears threatening. As I pushed the panic bar, forcefully shoving the door open, a hand caught my wrist. Jerking my head around, I glared at the person holding me.
“Let go,” I demanded.
“What’s wrong?” Tim asked, his eyes searching my face, a frown pinching between his thick brows.
“I said let go.”
His hand fell from my wrist, but he didn’t make any other move to leave. That was fine. I was happy to. I slammed through the door. The cool, night air collided with my adrenaline-heated body, causing a prickling rush across my exposed skin.
“Conley.”
“Go away, Tim.” I continued to stomp over the gravel toward the grassy open field behind the building. The clear, expansive Texas sky was speckled with a million bright stars. The view was breathtaking, and for a moment helped to calm me.
“No. Not until you tell me what the hell is going on. Did someone say or do something? Did they hurt you?”
“Yeah,” I scoffed, stopping to spin and face him with my arms crossed.
His dominant stride halted at my one-word answer. He stiffened, the muscle in his jaw tightening. “Who?” he nearly growled.
I wanted to hurl myself at him and pound on his chest. The visceral thought had me even more of an emotional mess. I didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. It cut more than it should have. Catching Bobby cheating wouldn’t have even spurred an ounce of the betrayal I was feeling over a simple lie from Tim. I couldn’t process why that was, especially with him standing in front of me, looking at me the way he was—like he cared. I couldn’t understand why it hurt. I’d assumed he’d been lying about the shirts anyway, so what was I freaking out about?
“Tell me, Con,” he demanded, when I hadn’t answered him, breaking me out of my thoughts.
The back door opened before I could respond. Melanie popped her head out. Her eyes volleyed between us, her face apologetic when she finally spoke, “I just wanted to make sure everything was o
kay.”
“Everything’s fine,” I said as I plastered on a smile, knowing I’d made a scene when I shouldn’t have. The entire thing was ridiculous. I was being ridiculous. I was angrier with myself than I was with Tim. “I got a little dizzy there for a second. I think I just needed some fresh air.” It was a partial truth.
“Conley,” Tim quietly pleaded.
I ignored him, walking past him to go back inside with Melanie.
“Are you sure you’re good, girl?” Melanie asked as we walked back down the hall past the restrooms. “I’m sorry if I upset you with what I said earlier.”
“Yeah, I’m good. And you didn’t. I had a feeling he’d made up this whole dress code thing.”
“If it makes a difference, I don’t think he did it to be cruel… My guess is he had his reasons, mostly hormonal ones.” She wagged her eyebrows.
“There’s nothing going on between us,” I said quickly.
“Whatever you say, girl. I wouldn’t blame you if there was.” She laughed, walking away.
By the time I’d made it back to my tray of drinks, Tim had caught up to me.
“We aren’t done talking about this.” The deep rasp of his voice spoke low in my ear as he slipped back behind the bar.
I didn’t bother arguing, because he was right. I had plenty more to say, and for once, I was going to be heard. Not only that, I was going to get even.
After dropping off the drinks and apologizing to my table, I searched the crowd for Alex.
“Hey,” I said as I approached where he was clearing an empty table of beer bottles and glasses.
Looking up at me, he smiled. “Hey, new girl. What’s up?” he asked while continuing to toss all the empties in his plastic bin.
“I need a favor.”
“For you, gorgeous, anything.”
“Can you tell me where Tim keeps the shirts? I need a new one, this one is a little big and the sleeves won’t stay up.”
“Sure.” He pulled a rag from his back pocket and began wiping off the table. “Storage room, third row of racks, top shelf on the left side. The box should be marked.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Anytime.” He glanced my way and gave me another flirty smile as he continued to clean the surface.
I made to leave and then stopped. “One more thing. Do you know where I can find some scissors?”
His brow arched slightly before he answered. “Try the boss man’s office. But I wouldn’t go digging around in there without asking him first. The man is cool until you start poking around his personal space or asking personal questions.”
I laughed, “Thanks for the tip. I owe you.” I turned and headed for the storage room on a mission for sweet revenge.
Releasing my hair from the ponytail holder, I flipped it over my head, shaking it out and fluffing it up, before snapping my head back up.
“Here goes nothing,” I breathed out before opening the door to walk out of the storage room. There wouldn’t be a need to plaster on a smile this time when I faced Tim. The look on his face when he saw the alterations I’d made to my new small-sized shirt would be enough to make me smile. If he wanted to play games, then I’d play.
The moment I stepped out of the room, a few male heads sitting at the bar snapped to attention. Their eyes and smiles grew wide, appreciating the view. The new shirt fit like a second skin with the Dudley’s name stretched tight across my chest. Every inch of skin under my breasts was exposed down to the waistband of my low-cut jeans. I’d trimmed the shirt to create a tight-fitting cropped top tank, removing not only the bottom half and the sleeves, but also the collar. It now had a deep v-cut, showing some of my cleavage. I might as well have been wearing a bra or bikini top.
The line of men’s heads at the bar were like falling dominoes as one by one their eyes homed in on me. Tim’s, unfortunately, were still focused on the drinks he was making for his buddies, Wes and Roger, who had just arrived and were seated across from him near the end of the bar. It wasn’t until I was walking their direction and Roger caught sight of me, doing a double take, that Tim looked my way.
He acted unaffected as he took me in, but there was a flare of response and an alertness in his eyes, as if he were waiting for my next move in this little game he’d started. The smile on his face had been completely transformed, his lips shaping into a grim line as I closed in on him and his friends.
“Shit,” Wes muttered, averting his eyes downward. “This ain’t gonna be good.”
“Ho-ly… Fuck me,” Roger said under his breath as he gawked, tracking me the entire way to where I’d conveniently left my tray at the end of the bar. Despite my current mood, I was actually happy to see Roger. I hadn’t seen him in years. He and Wes had been best buds since grade school, and I was glad to see they still were. Tim couldn’t have picked two better guys to be friends with.
“Hey, Roger,” I said as I picked up my tray and tucked it under my arm. “Long time, no see.” I gave him a flirty smile.
Roger cleared his throat. “Conley. Good to see you. How’ve you been?”
“Can’t complain. What about you? I hear you’re working with your dad as a deputy sheriff.”
“Guilty as charged.” He put his hands up, grinning at his own corny joke.
“Please, never say or do that again,” Wes said with a light shake of his head.
I laughed. “Oh, come on, Wes. I thought it was clever.”
Roger proudly nudged Wes’s arm with his elbow. “See? She thought it was clever.”
“Don’t encourage him. He’ll start thinking he’s the funny one in the group,” Wes said.
“Maybe I am the funny one.”
“No. That’s me. I’m the funny, charming one. Tim is the quiet, serious one. And you’re the awkward, responsible one.”
“Screw you. I’m still the best looking one. Right, Conley?”
I laughed at the two of them. There was no way I was weighing in on that.
“Conley, I need to speak with you,” Tim demanded, void of all humor and ignoring his friends completely.
Snaring him with my glare, I replied, “No can do, boss. I need to check on my tables.”
I sauntered off, not giving him a chance to respond. I’d already taken a risk with my wardrobe change, and I knew defying him would likely guarantee my termination. But at this point, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to keep the job.
6
Tim
Roger let out a long, slow whistle as Conley walked away.
“I hate to say I told you so…but I told you so,” Wes said.
“Shut up,” I grumbled. I continued to watch her every move as she sashayed across the concrete floor, turning heads.
“Told him what?” Devin asked, popping up out of nowhere. Or maybe I just hadn’t notice her walk into the bar, since my eyes were still glued to a flirty Conley and her hand on Dan’s shoulder. It didn’t matter that I liked the man. I knew he was a respectful guy, one of the hardest-working superintendents at Tucker’s construction company. The only thing that mattered was, Conley was touching him, and he seemed to enjoy it. “And why is everyone wearing Dudley shirts?” Devin said, glancing around the room.
“That right there is exactly what I told him would backfire and blow up in his face,” Wes said, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her cheek after she’d hoisted herself onto the empty stool next to him. “How was work?” he asked.
“Mrs. Hemsworth came in again…” she sighed heavily.
Mrs. Hemsworth was a regular at the vet clinic. I didn’t realize there was such a thing, but apparently she frequented the vet like some people in town frequented this bar. From everything Devin had said, not one time had any of her concerns for her pets actually been medical issues. Part of me wondered if she was just old and lonely or senile. Maybe a little of both.
“What was it this time?”
“She was positive her new cat had lung cancer because it kept making funny sounds. Turns out, i
t was just a nasty fur ball. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about work or I might finally lose my mind and quit. I want to hear about the shirts and why it’s now blown up in Tim’s face.”
“One word: Conley,” Wes answered.
“Ah.” She nodded slowly. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with his non-existent feelings for her?”
“Wait… What feelings?” Roger asked, leaning forward to look around Wes at Devin.
Finally pulling my eyes from Conley, I gave Devin a warning look. She grinned up at me, unperturbed. Devin shrugged in response to Roger’s question. And I silently thanked her.
“The ones he has for Conley,” Wes piped up when Devin hadn’t. He smirked over the top of his beer as he lifted it for a drink.
Asshole.
“Hold up. Ain’t she with Bobby?” Roger’s eyes shot to me.
“Yes, which is exactly why I don’t have feelings for her.”
“Bullshit,” Wes said through a fake cough.
Ignoring him and Roger, I asked Devin, “Tequila?”
“Actually, can I just get water?” Roger and Wes both turned their heads, giving her questioning looks. “What? I need to go into the office in the morning,” she claimed. Something told me that wasn’t the total truth about why she wasn’t drinking, but it was none of my business.
“No problem.” I turned to grab a pint glass and filled it with some ice water before passing it off to her. Thankfully, the bar was packed, and I could use it as an excuse to dodge my friend’s giving me more hell about Conley.
Just the thought of her had me searching her out again as I listened to another drink order. Her head tilted back and her shirt rode a little higher as she laughed with Dan. The sight had me so distracted I missed the entire order the guy had just rambled off. Forcing myself to look away and focus on the job, I looked at the man and pointed at the loud speakers above, using them as an excuse. “Sorry, man. What was that?”
This time, I caught every word and went to work.
Tempting Tim: A Small Town Friends to Lovers Romance (Billingsley Book 4) Page 6