Oh, I forgot Emma teaches yoga during the day at the club.
“Do you want to come inside to take a shower?” Emma asks with her kind eyes.
I fall in love with her at that moment. She offered me a shower without asking any questions or signs of pity on her face.
“Thank you,” I say, fetching my backpack before following her into the club.
“You can use Damien’s shower. He’s not going to be in for another hour or so.”
“Thank you, Emma. I’ll take a shower and head right out. I have class soon.”
“No problem. Do you need anything?”
I stop before heading up the stairs to Damien’s office. My bottom lip is clasped in between my teeth as I stare at Emma. “Could you not tell Damien?”
Emma exhales before giving me a genuine smile. “I won’t say anything.”
I nod, and run up the stairs into Damien’s shower where I use his shampoo. Is it weird I miss him? Is it weird I want more of him? And, more than anything, I don’t want him to know I’ve been sleeping in his parking lot.
8
Damien
The smell of Shayne slams into me when I open my office door. I glance around expecting to find her lounging on my couch. I don’t see her, so I go further in to check the rest. A sense of unease creeps up my back as I walk into my bathroom to see my shower walls wet as if someone had just used it. Forgetting all about the work I need to get done, I sit down and pull up the security footage from last night.
“What the fuck?” There’s nobody to hear me, but the sound of my anger bounces off the office walls. My hand shakes as I grab my phone and punch in Emma’s number.
“Hey, Damien.” She sounds hesitant, confirming what I already know.
“Shayne slept in our parking lot last night.” It’s not a question but Emma answers anyway.
“Yes, she did.”
“And why didn’t you tell me?” I feel betrayed by my brother’s fiancée. Emma and Clara have become my family and having her lie to me hurts almost as much as Shayne not confiding in me.
“She asked me not to. Besides, I knew you would check the cameras when you saw your bathroom had been used. It’s why I had her use your office and not Clara’s. I like Shayne and I didn’t want to betray her when she asked me not to tell you, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t leave you clues.”
Some of my anger fades away. Emma knows I’m particular about my office, making her fully aware I would’ve noticed someone had been in it. It was her way of telling me without breaking her promise to Shayne. Loyal but cunning, my brother has his hands full.
“Alright.” I run my fingers through my hair. I’m frustrated with Shayne. Frustrated with myself for not figuring out how hard up she was for money. Frustrated she put herself in a dangerous situation by sleeping in a club parking lot with no one around to protect her.
“Go easy on her, Damien. I don’t think she’s used to having someone to lean on.” Emma’s advice echoes in my brain long after we hang up.
I pull up Shayne’s application, noting her address. It’s in a cheaper part of town, and I wonder if she’s probably safer sleeping in the parking lot here than where she lives. The anger I’d just gotten rid of flows back. I want to rescue her.
Nope, I mean I’m going to rescue her.
I can’t wait to see the fight in her eyes when I tell her she’s staying with me at my house. She’s never sleeping in her car or in an unsafe neighborhood again.
I’ll give her until tonight to see if she opens up to me. If not, we’re going to be playing it my way.
The whole night, I wait for Shayne to come confide in me. During our dance, I watch her, letting her know she’s all I see. I spend more time at the bar than normal, babysitting a whiskey as I watch her work. She doesn’t crack.
During her break, I catch her when she’s coming out of the bathroom. The dark circles under her eyes makes the Neanderthal inside me beat against my chest. She obviously needs a good night’s sleep and her stress to be reduced. She’s running herself ragged, but that all ends tonight. Yes, tonight I’m going to ensure she has a good night's sleep at my house, and I’m going to find out what’s stressing her out and get rid of that too.
“Hey, are you ok?”
She startles when I speak. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about stuff. I’m swamped with school and work. I was just going over some things I need to finish.”
“Why don’t you take off? I’ll pay you for the rest of the night. She opens her mouth to argue, but I keep going. “I’ll give you extra for the tips you’re missing.”
There, part one is done.
As soon as I say it, I know I’ve made a mistake. Shayne’s shoulders rise as her eyes narrow, shooting invisible lasers through me. “I’m fine. I don’t need your handouts, boss.” Her shoulder bangs into my arm as she storms past me.
The fire in her eyes shouldn’t turn me on, but my dick has a mind of its own. Her hips sway as she stomps away with anger. I have to bite back a groan at the sight. Fuck, she’s sexy when she’s pissed off.
Her eyes almost bug out of their socket when I slide her a hundred dollar bill as a tip. She attempts to slide it back, but I refuse.
“I’m not a whore you can pay off. I work for what I make.” There’s a fire in her eyes, and all of a sudden I feel like a dick for even trying to give her money.
I stuff the bill back into my pocket and retreat to my office. Clara’s in her office so I give a few taps on her door and step inside. “Hey, you drove with Ben today, right?”
Clara’s eyebrows rise as she gives me a mischievous smile. “I did. What do you have planned?”
“Emma told you?”
“She did. What are you going to do with Shayne? It’s not safe for her to sleep in her car.”
My shoulders bunch up. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, what do you have planned?”
“I need you to drive my Range Rover home. Ben can follow you and take you home once you drop off my car. Also, I need you to make it sound like I went home. I don’t want her to know I’m still here.”
Clara stares at me. “Ok. Good luck.”
I toss the keys at her and she catches them with a smile. “Thank you, Clara.”
“Hey, I really like her.” Clara smiles big and her eyes sparkle.
“Yeah, me too.”
I watch as Shayne’s car pulls into the parking lot right back into the spot she slept in yesterday. She pulls out her blanket, reclines her seat. She appears to fall asleep quickly, and I can tell she’s exhausted. I grind my teeth as I watch her sleep as if she’s at the Four Seasons and not in her fucking car. She could’ve told me. She has to know I would help her.
I decide to wait before going down to wake her up, needing to get my anger under control before confronting her. I bury myself with work, checking on Shayne as she sleeps. A flicker in the corner of my eye catches my attention.
Shayne jerks awake and reaches for her phone, which obviously has an alarm set. My eyes are glued to the screen as she rubs her eyes, and stretches her arms as much as she can in the tiny car. I’m almost out of my seat, but freeze when Shayne whips off her shirt and twists to dig around in her backseat.