Tempted

“Everything’s fine, but you won’t be on the floor tonight. I’m removing you.”

“What?” she squeals, not giving me time to explain. “What did I do? Is this about last night? I’m so sorry, Drew.”

Her face has transformed into panic. It radiates off her, and I feel like an ass for breaking the news in such a way. It’s evident she thinks she’s fired.

Standing, I walk to the front of my desk and lean against it.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re not fired, Bailey. I have a proposal for you.”

Confusion takes over as her eyebrows drop low and her lips smash in a straight line. “What . . . kind of a proposal?”

I roll my eyes at the way she says it. If I had to guess, she thinks I’m calling in that quid pro quo she accused me of the other night.

“A work proposal, Bailey. Nothing more.”

Her shoulders lower a bit as she relaxes, allowing me to continue. The action brings my attention to her neck. I imagine running kisses up the slender curve. My hands would curl around her hips, pulling her close so that we are chest to chest.

As I peruse her body, I can hear her intake of breath. I know she’s affected by me.

My eyes finally meet hers. Her eyes . . . The color of blue is intoxicating, holding secrets I want to uncover. I want to know everything about this girl. With just a quick glance, they tell me everything, yet nothing at all.

By the way she shifts from one leg to the other, I’ve made her uncomfortable. She continues to wring her hands, and she clears her throat as if to wipe away the past few minutes. I should probably stay away from her, knowing her past, but I’m losing my internal fight.

Right now, though, I need to get back on track.

I clear my throat. “Do you have any experience in accounting?”

She looks at me skeptically. “No, I can’t say that I do.”

“Excellent,” I say, not really worried if she even finished the first grade. I’ll teach her anything she needs to learn. “I’m going to promote you to my assistant. We’ll start your training tomorrow afternoon.”

“What? But I just started bottle service. Surely, someone else is more qualified to be your assistant.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of it?”

“No, it’s just . . . Well, I’m new, and I can’t imagine how I’ve managed to earn a promotion and a raise in the short amount of time I’ve been here. This won’t go over well with the other employees, and I’m not looking to make enemies.”

“Let me worry about that stuff, Bailey. I own Silver, and I make the decisions. You’ll start tomorrow. I’ll text you the time and location later.” I stand and walk toward her. I’m close enough to inhale her scent. It’s something fruity. I like it.

“Tomorrow,” I say before turning to open the door for her to exit.

Bailey stands statue-like, hardly breathing. “But—”

“Tomorrow,” I repeat. “Go home and get some rest.”

After what feels like ten minutes, she nods, understanding that there’s nothing more to discuss. She strides through the door. At the top of the stairs, she turns back once more, gives me a hard stare, and then disappears out of my sight.

I’m not sure what the hell this girl is doing to me, but helping her has become my new crazy obsession. Followed by the desire to kiss her. She consumes my thoughts and keeps me up at night. I’m falling apart at the hands of a girl whose presence alone could ruin me.

Yet I can’t find it in me to care.

14

Bailey

I walk out of the office shaking, my legs wobbling beneath me. What the hell was that? I’m not even sure what just happened. I went into the office as a bottle service waitress and left as an assistant.

Drew’s assistant.

What the hell am I assisting with? I guess I’ll find out. The thought sends a chill down my spine. Taking a deep breath, I grab the railing and cling to it for dear life. When I hit the bottom, I stride toward Carter.

“What did boss man want?” He smirks at me, not even bothering to hide his inquisition with false pretense. He just keeps wiping the glass in his hand without a care in the world.

“I-I don’t really know,” I say as I bite my lip.

Carter drops the rag in his hand, then places the glass on the bar before he turns to me. His eyebrow rises as he eyes me curiously. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“It was kind of confusing. I thought he was going to fire me for last night, but then he asked if I knew accounting.”

“What’s so confusing about that?”

My thoughts go back to the other night and how he said I was promoted because the customers love me. So why take me off the floor if not because of the screaming match with Harper?