Dirty Sexy Sinner (Dirty Sexy 4)

Could you come by Kincaid’s before meeting Samantha? There’s something I want to talk to you about.

She frowned as she finished reading the text. Clay sometimes came into the bar during the morning or early afternoon hours to check on things, but he’d never summoned her in the middle of the day, at least not without letting her know what, exactly, he wanted or needed. She wondered if she’d done something wrong, and tried not to read too much into his words.

She replied, Sure. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Tara grabbed her purse and headed out the door, and as soon as she arrived at Kincaid’s, she walked inside and headed straight for Clay’s office. He was sitting behind the desk doing something on the computer, and she knocked on the door to get his attention.

He glanced up, his unreadable features giving nothing away as he leaned back in his chair. “Come on in and sit down. This shouldn’t take long.”

Was that good or bad? She honestly couldn’t tell.

She settled into one of the seats in front of his desk. Now that she knew Jackson better, it was easy to see the differences, along with the similarities, in the twin brothers. They might have been separated at birth, but these two men possessed so many of the same qualities—loyalty and integrity being at the top of the list. Beyond their good looks, the inflections in their voices and the way they laughed were nearly identical, and they both frowned the same way when something was on their mind—very much like Clay’s current expression.

“How are things with you and Jackson?” he asked.

His even tone of voice gave her no indication of where this line of questioning was heading, so she figured she’d just be honest and see where it led. “Really good. It’s definitely hard working around our conflicting hours, but we’re finding ways to spend time together.” The evenings when she worked the late shift at the bar, Jackson accompanied her home to her place, and the nights she had off, she spent at his condo in the city. Not ideal, but they’d agreed that their flourishing relationship was worth the sacrifices they had to make to be with each other.

Clay nodded in understanding and rubbed his hand along his jaw. “I noticed you scheduled yourself off for this Saturday night.”

Her body stiffened defensively before she could catch herself. “I’m going to an anniversary gala with Jackson. Is that a problem?”

A hint of amusement kicked up the corners of Clay’s mouth, adding to her annoyance. “No. Not at all, so calm down.”

She glared at him, because he obviously knew how anxious she was about this impromptu meeting. “Then stop being a jerk and dragging this out, and tell me, why am I here?”

“I was getting there,” he said, and laughed. “I’ve made a decision about the bar that could work to your benefit. That is, if you’re interested in my offer.”

She shifted restlessly in her seat. “I’m listening.” So get on with it already!

He sat forward in his chair and folded his hands on his desk, his gaze suddenly all business. “I’ve decided to open Kincaid’s at eleven in the morning instead of four in the afternoon, to cater to a lunch crowd. Which means I’m going to need a day manager as well as a night manager, and I wanted to give you first choice of which shift you’d prefer. I figured your current schedule made it difficult for you to spend time with Jackson, so I’m hoping this might help you out.”

Her jaw opened, then closed as a slow, ecstatic smile spread across her face. “Are you serious?”

He arched a brow, sarcasm glimmering in his eyes. “About opening the bar for lunch? Or offering you the day shift?”

It wasn’t often that Clay was a smartass, but he was definitely enjoying himself a little too much. So she one-upped him. “Actually, are you serious about supporting a relationship between myself and Jackson?”

Clay had the decency to look contrite, considering how he and his brothers had treated Jackson when they’d first met him. But in the five weeks that Jackson had been a part of their lives, they’d come a long way in accepting their brother as part of their family.

“Look, I know Mason and Levi and I had some growing pains to go through when it came to Jackson,” Clay said sincerely. “But we’ve spent enough time with him to see that he really is an upstanding guy, so we approve of the two of you dating.”

She rolled her eyes derisively. “I’m so relieved that I have the Kincaid seal of approval.”

“You’re welcome.” He grinned like a scoundrel. “So, what will it be? Day or night shift?”

The choice was an easy one to make. “I would love the day shift manager position.”

“Consider it yours.” Clay looked equally pleased. “It’s going to take a few weeks to get everything in place before we make the change to include serving lunch. I’ll start the process of interviewing applicants for the night shift, but I’d like you to start work at eleven beginning next week so you can help me with everything to make it a smooth transition. We’ll need more bartenders and waitresses, and we can discuss menu options, as well.”

She couldn’t deny the excitement of doing something new and different and putting her business degree to good use. “Thank you, Clay.” She glanced at the time on her cell phone and stood up. “I hate to cut this short, but I need to get going so I’m not late meeting up with Samantha.”

“Go ahead and go. We’ll talk more about this later.”

Feeling like her life was finally falling into place, she turned around and headed for the door.

“Have fun dress shopping for the party with Jackson on Saturday.”

She spun around at the realization that Clay had been jerking her chain earlier about taking a weekend night off. Her gaze narrowed on her boss while he gave her a not-so-innocent look. “You knew all along why I scheduled myself off on Saturday.”