He was having a blast, but the joke’s on him. Now that I was back on firm ground I was about to prove him wrong. Won’t he feel like an ass when all of this came to nothing?
We got to the club a half an hour before call time for the evening staff. Instead of going straight to my office I headed to the dining room to find the manager.
“Good evening sir.”
“How’s the new girl working out?”
“Who Belle…?” What the fuck?
“Her name is Annabelle.” I glared at him like I wanted to eat his liver and both kidneys for dinner.
“Um, uh, yes sir, sorry. Annabelle’s been working out very well sir. She’s a hard worker and she learns really fast. We haven’t had any real issues with her but she’s only been on staff a few days.”
“Thanks.” I walked away a little more annoyed than was called for at his use of a pet name for her. Where the hell does he get off? My face was tight.
Back in my office I pulled up her schedule, which I should’ve done before approaching him. The last thing I needed was wagging tongues, but it was already done.
She was on Monday through Thursday four until midnight. What was she doing with her weekends? The things that popped into my head doesn’t bear thinking about.
Hadn’t I told her that weekends were the busiest times here? I calmed myself down once I remembered that the staff members who were here the longest were given priority when it came to the better shifts.
I played around with the idea of changing it in her favor but then thought better of it. That was one sure way to cause drama. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to the others who’d been waiting for a weekend spot to open up.
I sat at my desk killing time and fighting the urge to do more than sit and wait. Alone with my thoughts, all the same old questions came rushing back.
No one knew better than myself that I was acting out of character. The closer it got to the time for her to come through the door, the more anxious I became.
I was back to checking my watch and cursing under my breath. No wonder Tony thinks that I’ve fallen for her. I felt like a complete ass sitting there twiddling my thumbs, counting down the minutes until she got here.
Even so, I couldn’t resist checking the security monitor for her arrival every few seconds. I breathed a sigh of relief when she came through the door ten minutes later, that same ugly jacket dwarfing her small frame.
She looked much younger, with her hair piled on top of her head; her slender neck bare. And I realized for the first time that she didn’t wear makeup.
There was no lipstick, and from the fresh look of her face when I zoomed in I could tell she wasn’t wearing anything there either. In fact she wore no enhancements at all, not even earrings.
Compared to the others here she should’ve paled into the background. Instead her fresh natural beauty drew the eye. Why is she so fucking appealing? Why does everything about her tug at me until I can’t think straight?
I practically ate her up with my eyes, glad that I was finally back here where she is. That I could walk through the door and look at her all I wanted to without a screen and a few thousand miles between us.
I was caught by the way she reacted when she saw Tony at his usual spot by the bar. She stopped just inside the door and stared at him, almost as if she was surprised to see him there.
And when her eyes went immediately to my closed office door, I got that little blip in my gut. Was she looking for me? Was that a flash of excitement in her eyes? Can you be any more fucking pathetic?
What the fuck is wrong with you? How long has it been since I got laid? Perhaps that’s my problem. But if that’s the case how come none of the other females here or in Miami had caught my interest?
There’s never a shortage of women waiting for my call, but I hadn’t even thought of anyone else since we met. The truth is, the thought of taking anyone else to my bed is starting to feel wrong, almost like a betrayal.
The shit made no sense, even if I was interested in her. That’s never stopped me before. It wasn’t that unusual for me to play the field, juggling more than one bedmate at the same time.
That was another thing that was confusing the hell outta me. Her air of innocence would usually be a natural repellant. I never get tangled up with anyone who doesn’t play the game. If they don’t know the rules, I don’t engage.