Page 11 of Captivated By Him

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

“No, this asshole is going to leave with our shipment if you don’t come right now,” he urges her, flashing me a quick look. “Sorry, Nicole.”

I wave him off. “No problem, Josh. No liquor, no sales.”

“Okay.” Nora follows him away but first shouts, “One o’clock. His office is at the end of the hall.” She hurries away.

I sink back into my chair and take a sip of my quickly cooling over-brewed coffee. Firing up my computer, I settle in to get some work done before I head to the big boss’s office.

* * *

The club is quiet this time of day. Other than business managers and shift managers, there’s no one here. It’s the perfect part of the day. Once we open the doors for customers, it gets loud. Even with the noise-canceling walls and doors, the vibrations from the DJ stand rattle my feet.

But for right now, I can work in peace. Even the construction has quieted down. Lunch break, I suppose.

While they’re all munching, I have a meeting to get to. This is the first time I’m meeting any of the owners of Katfish. Since I didn’t have to deal with them directly, I never bothered to ask Nora about them. She gave the impression one of them had an office here, but he didn’t get in the way of much even when he was around.

With my notebook and pen tucked beneath one arm, I knock on the closed office door at the end of the hall. My stomach grumbles a bit and I wish I’d bothered to eat something beforehand. Nothing makes a better impression with a new boss than your stomach chiming into the business meeting.

“Yeah? Come in.”

I twist the doorknob and push the door open. The office seems empty at first appearance, but then I see him. Standing in the far corner window. He has his back to me, looking between the blind slats at the construction people outside. His shoulders are broad beneath the suit jacket he’s wearing—tailor-made, I assume. I’ve never had the pleasure of having tailored clothing but the guys my father worked for had plenty of it.

“Uh, hi,” I say because he’s still staring out the window and hasn’t seemed to notice I’m there. “I’m supposed to have a meeting with you at one? About marketing for the new part of the club?”

He freezes. His entire body locks up for a second. Dropping his hand from the blinds, he eases himself around. Like he’s not sure he wants to see what’s behind him or not.

The second his profile comes into focus, my breath stops. An ache I haven’t felt in years takes over my entire chest. And as he finishes his turn, I come face to face with Jakub Staszek.

I almost drop my notebook.

“Nicole.” He speaks first, his voice raw. “What are you doing here?” he asks after a long beat. This time he sounds annoyed, frustrated. I remember how much I disliked that tone.

It’s been five years since I’ve laid eyes on Jakub. But every inch of him is still engrained in my memory.

I clear my throat and try to shake the clouds from my head. “Uh. Well, I work here. Nora told me to meet with you about some marketing stuff you wanted done?” I gesture to the opened door behind me, as though Nora were standing right behind me. She’s not. She’s tossed me into the lion’s den alone.

I shouldn’t blame her; she had no idea Jakub and I have history. Or how disappointing our history is.

Another sinking feeling takes over. I’m going to lose this job.

“You work here?” he repeats.

“Yes.” I nod. “Nora hired me a month ago. I handle the private parties, the VIP sections, that sort of thing.”

He hasn’t changed much in five years. His presence still takes up all the space. Nothing else is as important as him when he’s in the room. Or rather, there’s nothing else I could pay attention to when he was around.

His hair is a bit longer now, slicked back away from his face. He’s not as lean as he was before, but he isn’t all bulk either. It’s his eyes that keep my focus. The bright blueness of them. I’d never seen such a deep shade, and here they are again, staring at me from across the room. So easily, they can penetrate my thinking just by being pointed in my direction.

After more silence stretches between us, I close the door and take a few steps toward him.

“I didn’t know you owned this place.” I tell him. “I never bothered to check. If this is a problem, if it’s weird, I’ll get another job.” I don’t want to, though. I really don’t have time to get another job. I can’t use my credit cards or my debit cards. I need cash to survive, and without it I’m lost.

He recovers, moving his gaze from me. “No. That’s not necessary.” He waves a hand in the air, pushing the thought away. “Nora told me what a great job you were doing; she’d probably kill me if you left on my account.”

Jakub walks to his desk, gesturing to the seat on the opposite side. “When she said Nicole would be meeting with me, I didn’t think she meant you.”

I force a little laugh. “Why would you? It’s been five years.”

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