Page 23 of Employing Patience

“I don’t know what half the shit I say means.”

Mack’s gaze drops to his lap. “So … this weekend?”

“Works for me.”

“And you’d really …” He gestures toward his crotch. “You know.”

“Sure.” I shrug. “It’s just sex.”

“Right. Yeah.”

“You good now?” I ask. “I’ve gotta go check on something.”

“Yeah. Totally. I’m fine.”

He’s not, but he will be. Mack and Davey are both great guys. I find it hard to believe neither of them has found someone of their own yet, but it’ll happen. Probably sooner than Mack is prepared for, so the quicker we can get him to move on, the better.

Joey still isn’t back, so I jump up and go in search of him. A quick glance over the banister shows he’s not downstairs, so I follow the short hall behind the bar down to the storeroom, where we keep a couple of the more popular items on hand up here.

And there, sitting back against the shelf, legs sprawled over the floor and chin tucked to his chest, is Joey.

Sound asleep.

About a thousand “what-in-the-fuckeries” cross my mind at an employee actually sleeping at work. I mean, sure, I do it. In the bed that I have here specifically for that purpose. But it’s only ever after I’ve been working so late there’s no point driving home and then driving back in the morning.

I clear my throat, and when that doesn’t work, I kick the idiot’s shoe. Joey snuffles and shifts, eyes slowly blinking open until they focus on my legs—then shoot upward.

“Art. Shit. I—”

“Fell asleep?”

He clears his throat, and his usual confident smile flickers to life. “Just a power nap.”

“On my time.”

“Ohhh, that sounded super Dommy of you. How will you punish me? Spanking? Flogging?”

“Suspension without pay …”

And even though I threaten him all the time with being fired, a hint of worry graces his expression before disappearing again. “Suspension games? Haven’t tried those before.”

Of course he’d go there. Joey is shameless, and I hate how much I like that about him. “I obviously don’t have enough Dominant energy if you think flirting with me is at all appropriate.”

“Tell me to stop, then.”

He’s got me there. The word stop is right on the tip of my tongue, but it won’t come out. “I think you should start by telling me why you’re sleeping when I’m paying you double time to be here.”

By avoiding Joey’s challenge though, I’ve obviously given him confidence. He pushes smoothly to his feet, way too close, and lifts his arms over his head to stretch them out. His T-shirt pulls up, but I refuse to glance down at the sight I know he’s revealed. Smooth stomach, barely there abs, and the lightest dusting of hair that disappears under his pants. I’ve seen that sight way too many times for my comfort. Instead, my eyes stay locked on his.

“You know how it is.” Joey winks. “The girlfriend’s been keeping me up all night. Sleep hasn’t been on the agenda for weeks. Thought I’d catch up a little before I head home to do it all again.”

A … girlfriend?

That one word is the slap across the face I need to snap me out of this shit. Every time the reminder comes up, every time I overhear that he’s straight, that he’s playing me, every time I see him leave the bar at all hours with his arm wrapped around yet another woman, I think that’ll be it. That’ll be the reminder I need to get over him.

It never lasts long.

So instead of huffing and leaving as fast as possible like I normally would, I lean right into Joey’s space. Right into the scent of his cheap spray deodorant and bergamot bodywash. “Looks like you need to work on your stamina.”

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