Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 1)

“They thought we were the entertainment, but we handled it. That’s all you need to know.”

His vision darkened. “Give me their names.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you, Batman? Are you going to beat them up on a dark night? I told you, we handled it.”

“But what if you hadn’t been able to?” The thought of what could have happened sent rivulets of ice down his spine. “You never should have put yourself in that position.”

“What position? We were doing a job. Trying to start our business. You want me to take female-only clients? Sit at home all day in case something bad happens?” Her tone told him that she was close to the edge and he took a deep breath. He’d pushed all her hot buttons and he tried hard not to do that.

“Now you’re the one who is overreacting. I’m not trying to protect you. All I’m saying is—”

“That you want to wade in there and take over. Defend me. That’s being overprotective.”

He rubbed his fingers over his forehead. No wonder Matt always got it wrong. It was like walking on eggshells in heavy boots. “Is that so wrong?”

“Yes.” Her eyes were fierce. “Don’t do that, Jake. Don’t look at me as if you’re ready to lock the door from the outside and never let me out. You’re the one person who doesn’t do that.”

He forced himself to relax. “You called Security?”

“No need. We had Frankie.” The corner of her mouth flickered into a faint smile. “The human weapon.”

“Frankie?”

“They’d already been drinking when we arrived and we knew right from the moment we walked through the door there was going to be trouble. We probably should have left then and cut our losses but we were so desperate for business we all agreed we’d keep going and hope it worked out.”

A film of sweat chilled his brow. “Paige—” he spoke through his teeth “—fast-forward to the part where Frankie turned into a superhero.”

“Eva was doing her usual thing where she speaks without thinking. She was aiming for good customer service and asked what would make their evening special.”

Jake swore under his breath. “Someone needs to talk to her.”

“Frankie already did. Anyway, predictably one of the guys said ‘you and me, horizontal, baby.’ He stuck his hand under her skirt. The next moment Frankie had thrown him and was standing with her stiletto jabbed in his abs.” She started to laugh. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. They certainly won’t be recommending us.”

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, either.” Jake gripped the corner of his desk. “If Frankie wasn’t a black belt with a bad attitude—”

“We would have handled it a different way, and Frankie has a perfect attitude. She’s the total opposite of Eva. Eva trusts everyone. Frankie trusts no one. Eva thinks the world is full of sunshine. Frankie sees black storm clouds everywhere. But the best thing is that she’s so slight, everyone misjudges her. There are no hints that she can knock you unconscious with one kick so she always catches people off guard.”

Jake started to breathe again. “From now on you deal with companies, not individuals. Go through formal channels.”

“Companies haven’t exactly been queuing outside our door. You have no idea how many calls I’ve made.” The laughter had gone and now she looked tired and dejected, as if all the spirit had been sucked out of her. “That’s why I’m here. This is me, crawling to you for help. Savor the moment.”

He’d never savored anything less. “It isn’t a weakness to ask for help, Paige. It’s sound business practice.”

“Couch it anyway you like, but it comes down to the fact I couldn’t do it by myself.”

“That’s crap.” He stood up and walked around his desk. “I know you hate being smothered and protected—”

“Yes, I do. And you don’t usually do it. You’re a pain in the butt—” she sent him a look “—but even when you’re being a pain in the butt and goading me, part of me likes the fact you don’t hold back.”

She had no idea what he was holding back.

“The skill of building a business is to recognize what you lack and employ people who can fill that gap. And that requires frank, honest self-appraisal.”

“I can’t afford to employ anyone right now. We have no business.”

“What do you want from me? Why are you here?”

“Because Frankie threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t talk to you,” she said, “and she’s too good at that to ignore the threat. But mostly I’m here because I feel responsible. Eva and Frankie did this for me. They could have looked for jobs, but I persuaded them this was a good idea. And now we have no business and we’re making no money and I can’t sleep and—it’s horrible. I don’t know how you do it.”