Baiting Him (How to Catch an Alpha 2)
“Girlfriend?” she whispers, like it’s the only word she actually heard, making my jaw clench tight. “I didn’t know you have a girlfriend.”
Her hurt-filled tone pisses me off, and I know it’s time to take Luke’s advice and settle this shit once and for all. I lean forward in my chair, placing my hands on the top of my desk. “Yes, I have a girlfriend, and like I’ve told you before, Georgia, nothing is ever going to happen between you and me.”
“That wasn’t—”
“Don’t.” I hold up my hand, cutting her off, knowing she’s going to try to save face, because she’s embarrassed that I called her out. “If you can’t handle running my bar, being professional, and doing your job, tell me now. You can quit, or put in your two weeks’ notice, finish out your time, and find somewhere else to work.”
Her face pales, and her expression turns to one of stunned disbelief and pain, and I want to kick my own ass for not dealing with this situation sooner. Luke told me a long time ago that I needed to set her straight, but I figured if I didn’t give her any indication that I was even the slightest bit interested, she’d get over her crush and move on. Apparently, I was wrong.
“What’s it gonna be, Georgia? Because honest to God, we’re not having this conversation ever fuckin’ again.”
“I . . .” She swallows, looking over my shoulder and stating softly, “I like working here.”
“That’s good, because you’re an asset to this club,” I tell her truthfully. “Every employee respects you, you’re always here when you’re supposed to be, and besides Luke, you’re one of the few people I trust.” At my statement, her hopeful gaze comes back to me. “That being the case, I need to know you’ve heard what I’ve said.”
“I can be professional,” she agrees, and I lift my chin in approval before she lowers her eyes to the top of my desk.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss right now?”
“No.” She shakes her head as she gets up.
“All right. I’ve got some stuff to take care of here. Then I’ll come out to let you all know when I’m leaving to go check on the bars.”
“Okay.” She averts her eyes as she walks out of my office and closes the door.
“Fuck.” I pull my fingers through my hair, then grab my cell phone out of my pocket.
I dial Chrissie and listen as the phone rings. When her soft, sweet voice greets me with a sleepy “Hey,” my body relaxes. I talk to her for a good half hour while I go through my emails, and then I tell her I’ll see her in the morning when she starts to sound like she’s falling back to sleep.
After I get off the phone with her, I walk through the club, letting everyone who needs to know that I’m leaving. I spend the rest of the night between my two bars, and at the end of the night, I do drawer counts at all three of my businesses, then do a bank run. I make a deposit of all the cash that’s come in so I don’t have to keep it in the safe at the club. Exhausted after a long night, I head home, looking forward to the few hours I get to spend with my woman before she has to leave for work later in the morning.
An hour later, I use the key Chrissie gave me to let myself into her place, and LeFou greets me at the door, then follows me to her dark bedroom and into the bathroom. I strip out of my clothes, brush my teeth, and then shut off the light before I open the door so I don’t wake her, since she has a couple of hours before she actually has to get up. As soon as I slide under the blankets, she turns toward me, whispering, “Gus.”
I curl her into my side and whisper, “Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” and kiss the top of her head.
“I’m glad you’re home.” She presses her lips against my chest, and then her body relaxes into mine and her breath evens out, letting me know she’s already fallen back asleep.
I close my eyes and smooth my fingers down her arm, knowing I won’t be falling asleep anytime soon. Before her, I’d go to the gym or out on a run when I got home in order to work off any spare energy I had. But now, with her, I’m happy to just do this—hold her, feel her body against mine, and breathe in her scent until she finally wakes up. And I’m able to work out my energy in a much more satisfying way.
Suggestion 12
TELL YOUR MOM
CHRISSIE
With the Christmas tree lit just feet away and the sound of carols filling the house, I study my mom from my place at the island in her kitchen as she hums along to the music. If you asked me even a month ago how Christmas at my mom’s would look, this is not the scene I would have envisioned.