Carter Reed (Carter Reed 1)

It was at that moment a guy came in and approached Noah. He oozed sleaze. He was dressed in a business suit. Everything was flashy about him. His hair was gelled into spikes. His teeth were perfectly white. This was the slicked-back type of guy I thought my boss would’ve been. The two shook hands and clasped each other on the shoulder. It wasn’t long until Noah motioned Theresa over. The three of them talked for a few more minutes as drinks were brought in by two servers. Then, as I watched, Theresa laid her hand on the guy’s arm and motioned for him to bend down. She whispered something in his ear, smiling at Noah the whole time, whose frown had reappeared. Then they were laughing again.

For some reason I wanted to melt into the background. I must’ve inched backwards without realizing it because a hand touched my elbow in a discreet manner. I jumped, turning to see Mike behind me. He gave me a small nod. “Ma’am.”

I sighed, “Mike, you can use my name by now.”

He gestured towards Theresa. “Your friend might be jealous, ma’am.”

I grinned, but he was right. She wouldn’t be jealous, but she’d be curious. He had heard her thoughts on Carter. All of the guards had heard.

“Emma, come over here.”

Everything inside of me clenched, but I couldn’t ignore Theresa. For some reason, I didn’t want to be anywhere close to the other man. However, as she crossed and grabbed my arm, she dragged me over to them and squeezed my shoulders. “This is my friend, Emma. Emma, this is Scott. He’s the night manager at Octave.”

A seductive smirk appeared as he held his hand out for me. “Emma, it’s very nice to meet you.”

Noah snorted in the background.

With my skin itching, I shook his hand but released it as quickly as possible. I tried to smile so he wouldn’t know how uncomfortable I was, but I couldn’t stop the dark chill th

at went down my back. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mister.”

“Emma!”

What? I glanced at Theresa. Her mouth hung open as her eyes had widened. What?

“Mister?” Scott grimaced but still grinned at me. “I haven’t been called that by anyone except my niece’s little friends. They call me Mr. Scott. Please, call me just Scott.”

I nodded but moved back a step.

Noah chose that moment to pinch Theresa’s side. She rounded on him, but he ducked her arm as he chuckled and moved at the same time. As he settled in front of me, blocking me from Scott, I knew the entire thing had been on purpose.

I was grateful.

He wrapped an arm around Theresa’s waist as he touched his drink to Scott’s. “So, I hear my little sister is working for you. How’d that happen?”

“Oh, uh.” Then Scott laughed, tipping his head back. “She came in here and asked for an interview. How could I deny the little sister of The Great Noah Tomlinson? She’s a good worker, Noah. You should be proud of her.”

Noah’s shoulder stiffened. “It’s her first night.”

“She’s been doing great so far. I’m sure she’ll be one of the best girls within a few months. She could move all the way up to bartending the privates pretty soon.”

“As long as she sticks to the bartending services, Scott.” A dark warning was in his tone.

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” A sick laugh left him. “What else did you think I meant? You don’t think I’d do that to your little sister, do you?”

“Does Carter know Brianna is working here?”

“Why would The Big Man know? That’s my job.” An uptight tension settled over the group. Scott’s tone turned sour. “I do the hiring and firing.” He paused for a beat. “You don’t want me to fire your little sis on her first night, do you, Noah? Theresa said you were here to check on her and make sure she was doing a good job. I’m getting the opposite feeling here. I know Brianna would be upset.”

During the exchange, I had floated back to where I felt comfortable. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but I relaxed when I felt Mike beside me.

Theresa gave both men a strained smile. “Come on, guys. I’m feeling thirsty. Scott, could you order some wine for us? I promised Emma that we’d have wine tonight.”

“Already did.” Scott never blinked. “It’s on the tray behind you.”

The two didn’t look away as they stared at each other.

I couldn’t take anymore and turned to Mike. “I don’t want him here.”