The fact that she hasn’t realized who I am is probably going to work in my favor. It’ll give me the time to observe her so that I don’t make the same mistake I made with the dimwit.
Plus, I have to admit, it’s kind of fun to play with her like this. I’m starting to think that she’s the most interesting person I’ve met in a long while, and in my business, that’s saying a whole hell of a lot.
I don’t typically have…a lot of fun.
Chapter 5
Did You Just Spank Me?
HUNTER
The past few days have been similar to the first one. Instead of spending time at my usual Table 21, I choose the same bar stool daily to interact with Megan.
She does a fantastic job of avoiding me, which tells me that the girl has some experience in avoiding unwanted attention. However, at the same time, she’s quite skilled at diffusing explosive situations. She just has a way of handling people, even drunk people.
By spending time like this, I’ve also confirmed to myself that handing over the reins to Steve was a mistake, considering the kind of crowd that frequents this club. He’s lazy, among other things. He hasn’t figured out yet that I’ve decided to watch the ongoings of the club because he’s barely ever on the ground floor. Megan is the one running everything once her shift starts. Yeah, I’m going to need to make some changes.
“Fucking weasel,” I murmur to myself three days later as I study the security cameras in my office and catch Steve slinking off with a purple-haired girl into his office.
So, that’s why he wanted Megan to stay so desperately because she does his job for him.
“Parker,” I pick up my phone. “Come to my office and bring Lars with you.”
When the two men enter, I give them a steady look. “I want a background check done on Steve. A thorough one. I also want to know whom he’s talking to, who he’s meeting, and what he usually does over the course of a day.”
Parker glances toward the cameras. “You thinking of firing him?”
“Something like that,” I say darkly.
“I also want one of you to do a background check on Megan. Look for the same things. Who her crowd is, where she comes from, what she does in her free time, and who she’s close to here in the club.”
While Lars doesn’t exactly react, Parker suddenly grins. “I can tell you what she’s good at. Excuses. You should’ve seen the way she tried to convince us she wasn’t whom we were looking for.”
Lars nods, grunting, “Vicious little thing. Threatened to bite me.”
Out of my entire security team, Parker and Lars have been with me for the longest. Parker was barely legal, and Lars didn’t talk much at first when they started, but they were both here long before I became Hunter Middleton, the billionaire, the philanthropist, and the business owner. The two of them could easily start a security company of their own but instead, choose to work exclusively for me.
“I want to know why she didn’t report Isaiah’s body and why she chose to lock the door and hide the key,” I tell them because it’s something that has been bothering me.
Isaiah’s murder was meant as a personal attack on me, and so it’s something that I’m still looking into until I get the answersI want. I’ve begun hearing rumors of a man going around calling himself The Executioner. I’m still searching for a connection between the two. I don’t believe the Caller Brothers have the balls to do something like this on their own.
“She doesn’t look like the type to cause trouble,” Parker says, shrugging. “More like she decided she didn’t want to get involved. But I can try to get close to her. She seems to like me a little bit.”
When Lars shoots him a questioning look, Parker grins. “Like me, tolerate me, whatever.”
I didn’t give it a moment's thought before, but now I study Parker with a side eye and wonder if Megan finds herself attracted to his type with his pretty boy looks. He’s closer to her age than I am.
“Don’t get too close to her,” I say in a warning tone, and Parker just winks at me.
“I’ll become her best friend,” he quips. “Poor girl looks like she won’t even trust a rock.”
I don’t see the humor in that comment, but I leave it alone... for now.
When they leave, I decide to step out for a smoke. I’m trying to shift to e-cigarettes, so I use the back entrance of the club to step outside.
Since it’s early March, it’s not quite hot yet, and there is still some frost in the air. It’s still shy of midnight, and I lean against the side of the wall, trying to get used to the disgusting synthetic aftertaste of the cigarette. There is still an unopened real pack in my coat pocket, but I try to resist temptation.
As my thoughts drift back to the pretty-looking bartender who eyes me as if she expects me to suddenly attack her at any second, my lips curve.