Page 28 of Tempt Me

Chapter 11

Maxfelthispocketsforhisphone,and found theywereempty.Hemusthaveleftthegoddamn thing in his office. Itwasnearlyfiveo’clockand almost all ofthestaff rosteredonfor the opening werethere…almostallof them. Jen Jacobswasmissing,and hewasjustaboutreadytofire her assif shedidn’tturn up in thenextfiveminuteswitha validexcuse.

Fiveminuteswentbywithoutsomuch asher blonde hair in sight.

Everyoneelsehadmanaged tomakeitthere,and theywereall working their asses off justashe expected. Heknew Jen wasgoing tobethefucking thorn in hisside. Thisstuntwasjustanother markagainsther name.

Hescanned thebar,findingall ofthewaitressescarefullyavoiding his gaze. He had them polishing theglasswareagain,and thebartendersweretaking inventory…again.Theclubofficially opened atsix,and nervous,excited energywasfillingtheroom.MaxstrodetowardsJeremy,who wasstocking oneofthelastemptyfridges.

“Howarewedoing? Areweall set?”heasked.

Theguylooked up fromhiswork,sliding thepencil he’d beenmarking theinventoryoff with behind hisear.“We’regood.Wegotanextra boxof Bombayfromthesupplier. I’vestuckitin storage,but otherthan that, we’resquareand righton track.”

Maxnodded,glad tohear something wasgoing right.“Areallyour guyshere?”

“Yeah,theyall arrivedontime.Yours?”

Maxground histeeth.“Jacobsis missing.”

“Jen?”Jeremyasked,looking surprised. “I ran intoher atthe gymthismorning.Shesaid shewas looking forward tocomingin today.”

Max’sbrowarched.“You sawher atthegym? Forgiveme,butshe doesn’tlooklikethekindof girl whowould hitthe gymvery often.”

Jeremysmiled.“She’snot.Shecametocheck meout.”

Somehow,thatdid notsurprise him. “Have you heard fromher?Imean,I assume you’vealready given heryour number.”

“You knowmetoowell,”hereplied. Heslid his phonefromhis pocketand looked atthescreen.

“Nothingyet.”

“She’sgotone morefucking minutetoshowup. If she doesn’t,she’sfired and I’mcalling inone of the other girls.”

Jeremyshrugged.“Thisisyour show,boss.”

Maxstalkedaway,headingtothefrontdoortolookoutside. Justashesteppedoutintothelate afternoon heat,hiseyeszeroed inon averyfamiliar figure.

“Gigi?”heasked,watchingher cometoan abruptstop. Her eyesstarted athisfacethen slowly madetheirwaydownhis body. Hewas wearing a fitted blackbutton down with ablacktieand a pair of blackslacks. Hereyeslingered on hishipsand hecouldn’thelp butsmirk.“Gianna?” heaskedagain,hisvoicestern.

Her eyesdarted up and a blush fanned acrossher lovelycheeks.“Sorry. Yes. Hi,”shereplied.

“Whatare you doing here?”Heushered her intotheclub. Ittookhis eyesa few moments toreadjustfromthe brightsunlighthisretinashad been bathing in nottwosecondsago. Gigiwas looking around,taking in thedécor.

“This isnice,”shesaid absently.

“Gigi,whatare you doing here?”herepeated.

“Oh. I tried callingyou,and I leftabunch ofmessages.”

“I leftmyphonein theoffice. I wasabouttogoand getit. Whywere you calling?”

“It’saboutJen. She’sreallysick. I came homeaftermeeting you and shewasvomiting violently. She managedtosleep forawhile,butshestartedvomiting again assoon asshewokeup. Sufficeit tosay,shewon’t beabletomakeitintonight. Iknowshewaslooking forward toit.”

“Thanksfor coming down totellme.”

Shesmiled athim,andMax’sicyexteriormelted justa little.“Did you find a sitter?”

“A sitter?”

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