Page 23 of Crush

As I left the bathroom, my gazeclashedwith Max’s. He was leaning on the wall opposite the toilets with his arms crossed over his chest. Almost like he was posing for a photo shoot. His presence there caught me off guard. Was he waiting for me?

I stopped, straightening my dress. “Do you need help finding the gents?” I questioned with sarcasm.

A muscle in his jaw ticked as heshovedoff the wall and stalked towards me. “I want a word,” he husked.

“Another? You had plenty at the table,” I snorted, jarring my neck to look up at him as he came up close.

Heat fizzed along my skin as his hand closed around my upper arm. “What do you think you’re doing?” I rasped, attempting to tug myself loose, but his fingers tightened.

He flashed me a crooked grin at my attempt to free myself. “It will only take a second.”

“Let go of me, Max.”

“In a minute, calm down. You’re as highly strung as one of your father’s racehorses.”

Great, that’s it. Bring Daddy into it.

I had no option but to follow along as he marched me down the corridor, past the gent’s toilets and kitchens and then out of a fire door at the back of the restaurant.

It took me a minute to register what had happened. The chill of the evening air hit my cheeks as he steered me out into a yard. It was cluttered with boxes, large cans of cooking oil and bits of old catering equipment. Thankfully it wasn’t raining. I didn’t do rain.

Max then spun me around to face him.

I stepped back, the now-closed door into the restaurant pressing against my skin. It was glaringly obvious that round two was on the way as he stood there like a ticking time bomb.

He was larger than life, assessing my puzzled face, almost like he was looking for something. I was wearing heels but he stilltoweredover me. Max’s shoulders were massive in the checked shirt he wore. The very same type I had taken the piss out of when in fact he looked as manly as hell in them. The sleeves were rolled up and I could see the veins of his tattooed forearms, a sign of his strength.

“I need to get back, Rory will wonder where I am,” I pointed out, straightening my hair.

“No, he won’t. He’s on his phone again. Shows how interested he is in your company,” Max stated with a curl to his lips.

“It could have been important. His mum has been unwell.”

“What a pile of bollocks. A bloke who plays the mum card is laying it on thick, everyone knows that. He’s probably talking to another bird.”

“Bird? Are you for real?” I must admit, the man had received a ton of text messages during our main course. He hadn’t answered them, he just stated that his brother was sending him updates about his mum’s health. The mum card; was I reallythatgullible after everything I had been through in my past?

Yes.

“He’s a piece of shit, Amber,” he stated, a pulse beating in his jaw. It rankled me that he thought me stupid. I knew there was no one in the world funny or nicer (or as full of shit) as a guy trying to get his end away.

“Why employ him then?”

“Because he’s a damn good scaffolder but he isn’t boyfriend material. I told you he fucked around with one of the girls last year. When are you going to listen to me?”

“When are you going to say something worth listening to?” I volleyed back. There was a beat of silence before I rolled my eyes. “Look, can’t this wait until the morning?” I motioned between us, whilst shooting him an unimpressed glower.

“No, this is important,” he replied sternly. I could tell by the slight hint of liquor on his breath that he’d been drinking spirits. His usual business-like manner had also slipped, just like it had that previous day in my office. I recognised that the line between us was gradually becoming more blurred and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

I had no way out. This was happening whether I wanted it to or not. Tugging my bag further up my shoulder, I waited for him to say his piece but he just stared down at me with a strange expression. A thought suddenly occurred tome. He was way too pissed off. He was acting like a jealous boyfriend and I knewexactlywhatthatlooked like. I struck off that idea; he was annoyed because I’d made him look small in front of his men.

“I think there is more to this than me being here with Rory,” I put out there.

Max’s taunt body shadowed mine, but I didn’t feel alarmed. Thrilled with a hint of annoyance was more like it. I inhaled deeply, that masculine scent I was coming to know so well enveloping us. He was disgustingly sexy and I hated that my body reacted to him so viscerally.

“How so?”

“I think your problem lies with me. You appear to have taken your bat and ball home after the incident with the flooding plans.”

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