But no, she wanted me. Typical. The amount of moves I had to dodge from the overzealous woman should make me a martyr.
Either way, I’m just ready for this night to be over.
After the club empties, I head upstairs to my office. I sit at my desk trying my best to get my emotions together. As much as I tried not to pay attention to Shayne, I found my eyes always seeking her out. I watched her like she was my prey. I had to keep asking people to repeat themselves, because I just couldn’t focus on them. When we got onstage as the Trifecta, I couldn’t stop myself from watching her as I danced. When her mouth dropped open as I unbuttoned my shirt, I laid it on thicker than I ever have, getting the crowd into a bigger frenzy.
Breathe.
I can’t have her working here. Plain and simple. It’s too hard not to want to touch her. She’s taking my attention away from the club. And that’s unacceptable. This club is my future. It’s all me and my brothers have. It wouldn’t be right to have anything take my focus away from succeeding. I need to fire her, and having her spill a drink on the mayor gives me the perfect excuse to get her out of here. And out of my mind. Hell, I’ll even let her keep my jeans as a going away present.
Shayne’s at the bar, putting things away when I head downstairs. My best bartender Eddie and her talk and laugh as they clean the bar. They’re too engrossed in whatever they’re talking about to notice me. A pang of jealousy hits me, cementing the fact that I need to get her the fuck out of here.
“Hey, Damien,” Eddie says, wiping down the bar surface.
“Hey, Eddie you did a fantastic job tonight.”
“It wasn’t me. By the way, thanks for hiring Shayne. We would’ve been screwed if it wasn’t for her. She’s the fastest bartender I’ve ever seen.” The other three bartenders smile shaking their heads in agreement.
Shayne smiles at him, “You guys were good. I was just better.” She sends me a wink, making my cock jump in my pants at her playful gesture. The guys chuckle at her joke, but none of them argue with her, which lets me know what she’s saying is true. Or, they all want to fuck her.
And that thought right there pisses me the fuck off.
Jesus. What’s wrong with me?
I hide the pang of jealousy well, smiling for a second before stepping behind the bar with them.
The other bartenders leave, slapping my back, leaving Eddie and Shayne to finish cleaning and putting everything back in order. Ignoring Shayne proves harder than I thought. She’s talking to Eddie about customers she encountered tonight, and they’re comparing observations. She’s so laid back behind the bar it’s fascinating to watch.
Clara comes out from the back leaning on Ben. Her face is soft with a big smile. It looks like my little sister-in-law has had a tiny bit too much to drink.
“Damien that was so good.”
“All the guys are gone. The back is cleaned up and locked,” Ben says, holding onto Clara so she doesn’t sink to the floor.
Axel comes out from the VIP rooms with Emma. Emma has almost the same look as Clara. When I cock a brow at her, Emma starts to giggle. Jealousy hits me again, but this time it has nothing to do with my newest sexy bartender. No, it has everything to do with the fact that my brothers have found something I thought I didn’t want.
“It seems you two had fun tonight.”
“It was all Shayne’s fault,” Clara says, smiling with Emma.
“My fault? It’s not my fault that you two are lightweights.” Shayne shakes her head at them.
“Those lemondrops didn’t even taste like there was alcohol in them,” Emma adds as she drops down into a seat.
“I need food,” Clara says, plopping down next to Emma.
“Yes. You’re a genius. Food is exactly what we need.” Emma puts her head on Clara’s shoulder. “Axel, you have dad duty tomorrow with Felicity. I’m sleeping in. If you need help call Shayne since it’s her fault.”
Axel laughs as he pulls Emma up off the chair. “Come on lightweights, let’s get you some food. And Shayne, don’t worry I can deal with the monster without any help.”
“Eddie, Shayne, come on we’re buying. You two are the only ones that are still here. You deserve to be fed.” Ben puts his arm around Clara as they head toward the door.
“I’m out of here. I have a date.” Eddie washes his hands before grabbing his stuff.
“What about you, Shayne?” Clara asks, her body in an almost liquid state against Ben. “Never mind, you’re coming. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Shayne tries to ignore me, but she can’t. I can’t even begin to comprehend how much that fact turns me on.
“I think I’m just going to head home.” She glances at me, and then back at Clara so fast, if I wasn’t looking for it I would’ve missed it. Too bad I was looking for it.
“Nope, you got us in this situation. So, get your pretty ass moving.” Emma laughs.
“You can ride with me.” I don’t know why I just blurted out these words, but everyone kind of just stares at me.
“Um, I’ll just follow you guys. There’s no reason for me to ride with you.” She smiles and we all leave the club after locking up.
My brothers are too busy herding their soon-to-be wives to their SUVs to pay attention to the moment building between Shayne and me. I nod at her, and climb into my Range Rover and slam the door.
She doesn’t want to ride with me? Fine. I don’t need her in this SUV again, remembering what happened just last night.
We all pull into the parking lot of the late-night diner like a caravan of hungry patrons. Well, that’s exactly what we are.
I open the door for Shayne, and maneuver myself into a seat next to her, unable to stop smiling when I see her scowl. “How was your night?” I ask her.
“It was awful.”
I stare at her. Her scowl is replaced with a devious smile.
“How so?” My dick pushes against my zipper as I watch her smile widen. I have to stop myself from throwing her over my shoulder and fucking her senseless in the back of my SUV.
Again.
“Well, to be honest the bar was extremely disorganized. For someone so controlling, you have none when it comes to your bar. It was in a sad state. You should be grateful I decided to stay and get it set up the right way, or your opening night would’ve been a mess.”
I burst out laughing at how self-satisfied she appears. Axel and Ben stare at me as I attempt to get myself back to the stoic man they’re used to seeing. Ben’s the light-hearted fun one, and Axel is the brooding fixer, and I’m the businessman. I’m the one who keeps us all on track. I’m not the brother who throws his head back to laugh like a crazy man in the middle of a restaurant.
“Is that so?” I ask once I’ve gotten my laughter under control.
Before she can answer we’re interrupted by the waitress and we all take a moment to order our food. I watch Shayne as she plays with a sugar packet. Axel and Ben discuss the opening and how great it went.
I’m still wondering why Shayne thinks my bar is a mess.
“And you think you can fix it all?” I whisper close to Shayne’s ear.
We’re interrupted once more as the waitress returns with our drinks. Shayne grabs her straw and takes a long pull of her soda. When she’s done she smiles at me. “Yes, I think I can teach you a thing or two.”