At that time, he was living in New Jersey and working at a warehouse, because even with a master’s degree in business management, it was the only job he could find that paid him enough to take care of his wife and daughter. I expected him to have to think about my offer, but he agreed to take the job immediately and packed up his family and moved here within a month. Now I don’t know how I would survive without him.
While the cell phone rings, I grab LeFou’s food from the pantry and scoop out a cup of his seriously expensive kibble into his bowl.
“Yo,” he says. “Everything okay with your girl?”
I called him as soon as Chrissie’s phone cut off while she was at the store. I told him what was going down and that I needed him to cover for me. I couldn’t be in two places at once, and Chrissie was my priority. As soon as he agreed, I got on my bike and drove like a man on a mission. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.
I was proven correct when I pulled up next to her car, where a man and woman were standing at her window. When I saw she was crying, a protective instinct I didn’t even know I had in me slipped into place. My only concern was making sure she was okay. It took me half a second to figure out the man was her father and the woman was his wife, and when I realized that, I got angry.
I didn’t care that her dad was visibly upset or that his wife was too. All I knew was Chrissie was crying, and they were the reason for her tears. When I told them to leave, I expected her father to put up a fight, but he didn’t. The only thing that caused me to believe he cared for his daughter even a little bit was the sadness in his eyes as he looked at her before he reached for his wife and guided her to their car.
“Did I lose you?”
At Luke’s question, I shake the thoughts from my head. “I’m here,” I mutter.
“Is Chrissie okay?”
“She’s sleeping. She’ll be okay, but I’m not leaving her tonight, so I need you to cover for me and do drawer counts at the club and bars after closing. I also left my bike at Tillie’s grocery store on Main and need someone to pick it up for me. Do you still have my spare key?”
“Yeah, I’ll send someone to drop Juan off. He knows how to ride a bike, so it’ll be all good.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem, but tomorrow you’ll need to come in and deal with this order bullshit. I’ve been on the phone all day with the supplier, and they’re adamant that we should’ve received a full shipment.”
“Fuck.” This afternoon, before everything went down with Chrissie, I got a call from Georgia informing me that over half the alcohol I ordered was missing, and most of it was top-shelf bottles of liquor. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.
“All right, man. Let me know if you need anything else from me tonight.”
“Will do.” He hangs up before I do, and I pull my phone from my ear. I call the club and listen to the phone ring.
One of the waitresses answers loudly over the music playing in the background. “Twilight, Hanna speaking.”
“Hey, Hanna, it’s Gus. Is Georgia around?”
“Yeah, hold on, I’ll get her for you.” The phone goes silent as I’m put on hold.
Georgia’s voice comes on the line. “Gus. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to let you know Luke’s gonna be in to handle the drawer counts at the club and bars tonight.”
“Are you sick? I can leave and bring you something, or just come over to keep you company.” She sounds breathless and hopeful.
“I’m not sick.”
“Oh.” I hear her disappointment loud and clear.
“Call if there are any issues. I’ll have my cell on.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, later.” I hang up.
After I’m done making calls, I wait for LeFou to finish eating, then take him out. Our walk is much shorter than it normally is, and as soon as he takes care of his business, I lead him back inside the building, anxious to return to the woman currently asleep in my bed.
I’ve never cared about a woman the way I do about her. From the moment I saw her inside the men’s bathroom at my club and she gave me her cute little smile and told me thank you, my instinct told me she was different. And after I cornered her at the bar and got a dose of her sassy mouth, and then again at her shop, I knew she was something special. That realization has only grown after spending the last few days with her.