He didn’t try to mask his suspicions. “I thought you weren’t in need of another bartender. Or was it that we had enough applications? I can’t remember. Now you want me to call her and get her in here?”
“Yeah. It’s no big deal. If you don’t want to, it’s fine. I just think the club can use someone like her behind the bar.”
Cash shrugged. “Okay. I’ll give her a call. I’ll let you know when she can start.”
“Great! Let me know.”
Cash looked confused as I left, but he didn’t need to know anything more. This was between me and Kane.
And may the best man win.
BY THE time I made it home, my blood was still boiling. Who the fuck did Stefan March think he was? And what century did he live in? Slamming the door behind me, I stomped into my apartment, sure I’d barely escaped before that troglodyte moved to pat me on the ass, like I was some 1950s fucking secretary!
“Hey! What’s with all the noise?” Elliot yelled from the kitchen.
“I swear to God if I didn’t need the money…” I grumbled as I headed toward him standing in only a pair of boxer shorts in front of the stove.
Elliot turned toward me and smiled. “How did the interview go? Did you ace it?”
Leaning against the doorframe, I shrugged, still frustrated by my first meeting with my potential future boss. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out in a few days.”
“I’m making breakfast. Want some?” he said with a smile as bacon sizzled in the frying pan, filling the room with its pungent odor.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting burned by the grease?”
He turned back toward the stove and moved the bacon around with the spatula. “Nah. Anyway, it doesn’t hurt that much.”
“Have you ever been splashed with hot grease? It hurts like hell.”
“I have. Did a stint as a cook for a while before I met you. Grease is nothing compared to oil. Now that’s painful.”
“I don’t see the difference. A cook? So you had a job then? When was that?”
I knew I sounded like his mother right there. I didn’t want to be that way. It was just that Carrie’s words from earlier about Elliot and his lack of gainful employment still rang in my ears.
He turned around and shot me a glance that told me my questions surprised him. “Is something wrong, Shay?”
I shook my head and walked up behind him to wrap my arms around his naked waist. Pressing my cheek to his back, I said, “No. There’s nothing wrong. Just idle curiosity.”
Elliot turned in my hold and kissed the top of my head. “Ask me anything. I’m an open book. You know that, baby.”
Looking up into his hazel eyes, I saw the same gentle gaze as always. Nothing bothered him, not even my residual bitchiness from meeting Stefan March. “It’s okay. I know we aren’t all about answers.”
He moved the pan off the burner and turned the heat off. I stepped away to let him lift the bacon out of the grease, but he pulled me back against him, ignoring his breakfast. “Shay, you’re the one who doesn’t want that. I’ve been about all you since the moment I saw you on the beach that day. This thing between us is like it is because you want it this way. I’d be more than happy to answer anything you want to ask.”
“No, it’s okay. I like you being a mystery, El.”
The truth was I didn’t want to know all about him. If I did, I might want to send him packing right then and there. Or worse, I might want to stay with him forever, and that couldn’t happen. I had plans for my future, and unfortunately, they didn’t include him or any man, for that matter.
“Ah, mystery. That’s what we’re calling what I am?”
He bent down and kissed me gently, like he adored me. Tapping him on the nose, I smiled and backed away. “I have to head down to talk to Dr. Taduch. I’ll be back later, though, so we can grab a bite to eat before I head off to work.”
“Sounds great. As for me, I’m going to devour this pound of bacon.”
I left him standing there with his greasy breakfast, and although I knew it was wrong, a tiny part of me couldn’t help but judge him. While I spent my days buzzing around town trying to make money, he spent his time overdosing on the flesh of farm animals.
My phone rang as I slid behind the wheel of my barely running 2005 Taurus. Swiping the screen, I expected to hear Carrie’s voice but heard a man’s instead.
“Hello, Shay Callahan?”
“Yes?” The man’s voice flowed over me like silk and sounded vaguely familiar.
“It’s Cassian March. I spoke to my brother and he believes you’d be a valuable addition to the club.”
Unable to contain my happiness at the news that I’d gotten the bartender job at Club X, I squealed, “That’s great! When do you want me to start?”
“As soon as you fill out the required paperwork, you can start whenever Stefan needs you. Feel free to stop in anytime today. If I’m not around, you can speak to my assistant, Olivia, and she can help you.”
“Thanks so much, Cassian. I appreciate this.”
“I think you’ll like working with us, Shay. We look forward to seeing you.”
I thanked him again and ended the call, thrilled at the chance to begin making some real money for Copenhagen. As I drove toward school, I couldn’t help but wish Stefan March was as professional as Cassian March. How interesting that one brother could possess such wonderful manners while the other one acted like some frat boy on a quest to fuck as many co-eds as possible. I had no idea how old Stefan was, but even Elliot and his twenty years acted more maturely.
Dr. Taduch had been called away to a department meeting, but he’d left the information I needed to finalize my trip to Copenhagen. Since I had some extra time on my hands, I stopped by Carrie’s boutique to share my good news.
I found her standing behind the counter, her eyebrows knitted as she hunched over a spreadsheet. She looked like she desperately needed a break.
“Hey you! Guess who’s the newest bartender at Club X!”
She lifted her head to look at me and smiled broadly. “I knew you’d get it!”
“What’s with the sour puss face you were wearing when I walked in?”
She pushed aside the stack of papers and shook her head. “Same old accounting and inventory shit. I think one of my girls is stealing from me. God, I wish you were still working for me, Shay. Those were the good old days.”