Page 54 of Shame

He leans in, pressing his warm lips to my forehead before walking past me and going through the door that leads to the dining room. I follow after him, frozen in place as I watch him grab a bus bin, tucking it to his side with one hand and put dishes into it with the other. He smiles at customers and does all the polite things. It’s… absurd.

“Hey, you can ogle that sexy hunk of man meat later. Right now, I need help.” Fia nudges me gently with her arm, and I can’t help but smile.

Over the next hour, more bikers show up. People I’ve never seen before. All big guys in vests smiling at customers, cleaning tables, washing dishes, and taking out trash. The lot is full of bikes, and the office is taken over by a few guys looking through the books. This is all really insane, but my god… I think Kaison just saved my ass.

Chapter Seventeen

Kaison

After writing on a piece of printer paper with a sharpie that Daisy’s is closing early tonight, I tape it to the door and head to the kitchen, where Noah is scrubbing the walls to get rid of the built-up grease. Norman did not make cleaning this place a priority, and the staff here do what they can with what time they’re here. All the others guys left already, and I’m still laughing about the looks on the customer’s faces when they saw all of us moving around and cleaning up.

Fia and Cora are refilling the napkins and condiments at the tables. I told them I was going to close early tonight, and they both looked like they’d seen a ghost. Maybe Cora didn’t think I was serious when I said this diner belonged to the club, but she should get it now.

I clap my hands together and say, “What do we have to do to get this place closed for the night?”

“Uh, you’re serious?” Fia asks skeptically.

“Hell yeah, I am.”

“As much as I appreciate you taking charge and stuff, I really can’t afford to lose hours,” Fia says carefully.

I wave a hand. “You’ll still be paid for your regular time.”

She makes a choked sound. “You’re kidding?”

“Not kidding.” I shake my head once.

“Damn, girl, you are one lucky duck,” she mutters to Cora before turning on her heel and disappearing into the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Cora says softly.

“Yes, I did. He’s been a problem for a long time. Knew it before I knew you.”

She nods in agreement, chewing on her bottom lip.

“I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be,” I say. “Just know I didn’t do this as an apology; I would have done it anyway. I know you have to be home, but can you stay with me for like twenty minutes so we can talk? I’d feel much better if you heard me out, even if you choose to never talk to me again.”

Her bright gaze holds mine, and I think she’s going to tell me to fuck off. I can’t imagine those words leaving her mouth, but maybe she’d say it in her own way, all polite-like. Finally, she nods but says nothing as she goes behind the counter to stock the takeout stuff.

“You can sweep and mop,” she says suddenly, looking up at me. “And clean the bathrooms.” She smiles when she says that. I feel like it’s a punishment, but it’s one I will gladly take if it means she’ll forgive me. She can punish me all she wants to, andI’ll keep coming back. This girl has some kind of hold on me that I can’t explain, nor do I care to. I fucking love it.

Cleaning the bathrooms and sweeping and mopping the floors takes me about forty-five minutes. Everything else is done when I finish up. Fia and Christian are already gone. It’s just Cora sitting in one of the booths, scrolling through her phone.

“Took you long enough,” she comments when I stop by the table.

I wipe my forehead with my hand. “Can’t remember the last time I cleaned a fucking toilet.”

She frowns. “Do you have a maid at home?”

“Actually, yeah. Kinda. Don’t know who she is though. Never seen her before.” My words have her even more confused, and it makes me laugh. “My brother got tired of coming to my house and seeing it a mess, so he hired someone to clean it for me. She goes by when I’m not there.”

“It’s not weird having someone you don’t know in your house when you aren’t there?”

I shrug, sitting across from her. “At first, but now I forget she goes by. I don’t spend a lot of time at my house, so I don’t make a mess. I only really remember she goes there when I do make a big mess and come home, and it’s cleaned up.”

She nods in understanding. “What did you want to talk about?”

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I need a damn shower.

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