“Put me down right now!” the woman yells, kicking her feet and hitting Zack in the back as she enters my office over his shoulder. Lowering her to the ground, he grunts as she pokes him in his chest and yells, “I’m not paying for your chiropractor bills, you giant, overgrown jerk.”
“Miss, can you please have a seat?” I ask, and her head turns toward me, her big honey-colored eyes catching me off guard. Seeing the look in her gaze does some shit to my chest that makes me uncomfortable. Pulling my eyes from hers, I sweep them down the length of her body.
I have no fucking idea how she got into the club wearing pajamas, but she did. The blue plaid bottoms that are about four sizes too big are dragging under her flip-flops. The thin, tight, white tank top she has on allows a glimpse of her breasts and dark nipples. I wouldn’t say she’s fat; she’s all curves, with large breasts and wide hips. Her long, dark hair is in a low ponytail, and her face is round and soft, almost innocent-looking. She’s beautiful in a way I’m not accustomed to.
“How did you get in here?” I ask when my eyes meet hers once more.
“I paid the guy at the front a hundred dollars to let me in,” she says, glaring at me and crossing her arms over her chest, accentuating her cleavage. Looking over the top of her head, my eyes meet Zack’s and he nods before stepping out of the office, closing the door behind him.
“Do you want to tell me why you’re here?” I ask, taking a seat and motioning for her to do the same across from me.
“My sister was here earlier tonight,” she says, reaching into the top of her tank top, pulling out a cellphone that must be twenty years old, flipping it open, and shoving it across the desk. Picking the phone up, the grainy image of a smiling woman who looks similar to the one across from me is on the screen. She’s much slimmer than her sister, so slim she looks ill.
“You told Zack she was drugged here and beat up. If you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t the police here instead of you?” I query, watching her face close down almost instantly. “If this is some kind of ploy to get money, it won’t work,” I tell her, pushing the cell phone back across the top of the desk.
“A ploy to get money? Do you mean like blackmail?” she growls, grabbing the phone and clasping it tightly in her hand.
“That’s exactly what I mean.” I nod, watching her stand.
“You’re a…you’re a real lint-licker, you know that?” She paces in front of my desk, lifting her hand and pulling out her hair tie, allowing her mane to cascade down her back and over her shoulders.
“Lint-licker,” I repeat, trying not to smile as I watch her.
“Lint-licker.” She nods then stops pacing and turns to look at me. “I don’t want money. The police won’t come, because my sister isn’t healthy. She has a drug problem, and they don’t care what happens to her. She’s just one more faceless druggie in a sea of fricking druggies. But I love her. She’s my sister, so I want to find the scum buckets who did what they did and turn them in myself,” she says, and my hackles instantly rise.
“You’re never coming back here again,” I snarl, standing and placing my hands on the top of my desk, leaning onto them.
“You can’t stop me.” She shrugs, and just like that, she turns her back on me and leaves my office before I can even comprehend what just happened. Following after her, I run downstairs through the crowded club. Once I reach the front entrance, I catch a glimpse of her right before she gets into a car the size of my desk and takes off down the street.
“Everything okay, Boss?” Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I glance at Zack and shake my head.
“She’s gonna be a problem,” I warn him, rubbing my chest as I head back inside.
*
“BOSS, SHE’S HERE again.” Glaring at Teo, who just stepped into my office, I turn to search through the large glass window that looks out over the club floor below. Spotting her sitting at the bar with a drink in front of her, I know it’s cranberry juice, the only thing she ever orders.
“Who the fuck let her in this time?” I ask turning around, watching Lane shrug and a smile with a twitch in his lips.
“Zack said he was going to ask Maggie if she wanted a job.” He smiles.
“Who the hell is Maggie?”
“The girl…that’s her name. Maggie.”
“You guys are on a first name basis now?” I ask, leaning back in my chair and tilting my head back, feeling a headache coming on.
“Well, she’s here everyday. It would be rude not to know her name.”
“This shit’s getting ridiculous,” I mutter to the ceiling. The damn woman has shown up every night over the last two weeks. She gets here when the club opens and stays ‘til closing. She no longer asks people if they know her sister, but she does inspect drinks, and talks to the women at the bar about making sure they are being safe. She is driving me fucking crazy.
“She’s kinda cute.” Lowering my head, I look at Teo and narrow my eyes, watching him raise his hands in front of him. “But she has a boyfriend,” he adds with a smile.
“Who?” I ask without thinking.
“Don’t know.” He shrugs, walking over to the window, looking down toward the bar.
“Well, the guy is obviously a piece of shit if he lets his woman out of the house every night to come to a club alone,” I mutter under my breath.