Page 19 of Tease Me

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Evangeline satdown in her office chair and let out a deep breath. She sucked in another and let it out. She repeated the process for a good ten minutes, allowing her brain to process what had just happened.

Beau still made her pulse rate rise, but seeing him again, sharingthe same airas him again, had dragged up those crushing memories of when he'd broken her heart and left her to hemorrhage out. Hating him had been easier than dealing with the reason he'd gone, so even now, hate was the main emotion that was dredged up when she thought of him. Shehatedhim for abandoning her. She'd told him all about her family and the shitty early life she'd had, and he'd sworn he would never leave her like that.

But he had.

There was a knock and Max pushed open the door. Tucked under his arm was the tablet he used in his day-to-day running of the club. He studied her face, stepped inside the office and shut the door.

"What the fuck, Vee?"

Evangeline's mouth pulled into a slight smile. "Nice to see you too, Max."

He lowered himself into the chair opposite her desk, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "You've been crying."

She reached up to touch beneath her eyes, finding her cheeks wet. Mortified, she scrubbed all remaining evidence away and forced her emotions back into their box. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm fine."

He studied her for a while longer. "You're not fine, but you're a big girl, so I'll let it go."

Thank fuck. "What did you need me for?"

"I just had to run through the groups coming in tonight. We have some VIPs."

"Oh?" she murmured. Ever since the club opened, celebrities had been lining up to be seen there.

"Yeah, Hailey Hogan is coming in with her entourage to celebrate the release of her latest album."

Evangeline nodded. "Put her in the first VIP area."

Max tapped some information into the tablet in his lap. "We've also got that rapper One-Fifty in tonight. His ‘people,’" he air-quoted, "said he only liked to drink a certain brand of vodka, so I spent all day today sourcing a couple of cases."

"That's why you're my favorite manager," she said.

"I'm your only manager," he retorted dryly. He went back to studying her again but said nothing more. "I guess I'll get out of here and let you get the important jobs done." He stood up.

"Thanks, Max. I'll be out on the floor in a little while. I have to get some things sorted out."

"Sure, Vee."

After Max was gone, Evangeline woke up her computer and got busy with the most pressing paperwork. She didn't want to be stuck in the office for any longer than necessary tonight. She needed to keep herself busy, her mind active, so she didn't have time to think about Beau and his possible explanations. Short of him getting long-term amnesia, she didn't think there was anything he could possibly say to make her feel any differently about him.

She let the tide of drink orders and staffing take her over, sweeping away any other worries or concerns. By the time the bar was shut, she felt as if she'd run back-to-back marathons. The VIPs and their crews hadn't been the assholes she'd assumed they were going to be. In fact, that Hailey Hogan girl was actually rather sweet—Evangeline had had a chance to chat with her a couple of times and was surprised at her intelligence and wit.

She began dismissing her staff as soon as they'd finished cleaning their sections. All of them had picked up an abundance of tips from the VIPs and the packed club. Pretty soon, it was just her and Max. He was restocking the bar while she cleared up the bar area and filled up the dishwasher to clean out the last of the dirty glasses. Rich, her bouncer, was still standing guard by the door.

She looked up when she felt Max's eyes on her. Shoving some loose hair out of her face, she said, "What is it?"

"Can I ask you something?" His voice was tentative.

"Sure, Max. What is it?"

He looked down at his hands briefly. "We're friends, right? I mean..."

"Yeah, Max. We are friends. I may not be a very nice one, but I do consider you one of my friends."

He nodded. "Good. Because I really need to talk to someone and you were the only person I could think of."

She put down the dish towel and leaned her hip against the counter. "What is it? Is everything okay? Is Erin okay?"

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