Page 27 of A Little Harmless Pleasure

Her mother’s eyes widened and then narrowed before she stood. “This is your last chance at rebuilding any kind of relationship with your father.”

“What about you?”

“I agree with your father. You have to do what is right for the family.”

The hope Cynthia had had earlier was now shriveled and dead. What the hell had she been thinking, that her mother would actually come to her because she cared about her daughter? Rising to her feet, she faced her mother squarely.

The burning ball of pain in her stomach she had not had since moving out of her parents’ house returned. She pressed her hand against her tummy, hoping her ulcer was not resurfacing. “If the relationship comes with the prerequisite that I hand overmymoney, I think I can do without those ties.”

“If that is what you want.”

“It’s not what I want, it’s what I have been stuck with for too long. If you all want a regular relationship, then contact my lawyer, other than that, leave me the hell alone.”

She shook her head at Cynthia. “You’ve lost any kind of manners and class I taught you. Your father was right. Youareuseless.”

The need to curl up in a ball and cry almost overwhelmed her, but she pushed it back, knowing that later she would have the time for that. “I’m not the one who had to beg her daughter for money.” Her mother opened her mouth to shoot back, but Cynthia had had enough. “Just go. I don’t need any more dramatic statements from you. Be sure to tell Father that from now on, not to send you to do the dirty work. Tell him to be a man and do it himself.”

With a look of contempt, her mother turned on her heel and left. Cynthia held on until she heard the door click shut and the car pull out of the driveway. Then she sat back down at the table, rested her head on her arms and wept.

Chris cursed under his breath when he dropped the saltshaker he was filling, and it spewed salt all over the table. Sighing, he began to clean up the mess and tried to get his emotions settled. It had been a bitch of a week. Three of his waitstaff were sick—flu—and he was sure others would follow soon enough. On top of that, his manager had broken her ankle and was out for the rest of the week, doctor’s orders. So, he was covering shifts, doing extra work, when he really wanted to be on the phone with Cynthia.

Pathetic. Every day he counted the hours until he spoke to her, and today it had been pushed back thanks to the workload. If he could avoid his family’s calls, he would be finished. But his brother had called twice and his mother three times, and if he’d ignored those calls, they would’ve called over and over until he answered.

“Chris?”

He turned and found Lee, one of his hostesses, standing a little too close. Since his manager, Maylea, had hired her, Lee, a petite redhead, had made no secret of the fact that she wanted to fuck him. Chris never fucked the help, it only led to disaster. But truth was, he wasn’t interested—in anyone. Other than Cynthia. He didn’t need to deal with the woman the waitstaff had named “the Barracuda”.

“What do you need?” He stepped around the table with the pretense of cleaning up more salt.

“Kaile called. He can’t work. Another case of the flu.”

He exhaled. “Do we have anyone to work in his place?”

“I called Denise. She said she can make it, but she’ll be thirty minutes late. She’s waiting for a sitter.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Lee.”

She began to turn around, but then paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Since we’re both working late, maybe we should get a drink after we close up.”

For a second, he studied her—well rounded, with beautiful green eyes, a full, pouty mouth, a pair of breasts that had to have been bought and paid for—and felt…nothing.

“You know I don’t date the staff.”

She frowned. “I don’t know why you have to be such a saint.” With that she marched away, her full ass swinging with each step.

“I’d watch out for angry women, Chris.”

He glanced over and found his friend Evan Chambers smiling at him. “Hey, whatcha doing here so early?”

“Finished my meeting early.”

Evan was a couple years younger than Chris. He’d started with nothing, just like Chris, working construction. Now he owned one of the most successful construction companies in Hawaii. With his gray eyes and golden-brown hair, Evan had captured and bedded more than one of Chris’s employees.

“We’re short of staff, so be warned, I might put you to work.”

Evan smiled, then glanced over at Lee, who was talking to one of the waitresses. “If you put me to work on that one, I’ll do just fine. Don’t you just want to bend her over and fuck that ass?”

“Evan, I can’t talk about staff that way. You know that. Did you need something?”

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