Page 8 of Rebel

I didn’t know what to say to all that, so I decided to channel some Zoe attitude. “That was a lot of words. You must not have drunk nearly enough tonight.”

Benny looked at me like I had two heads and pointed out politely, “Yeah, I’ve been working the bar. They don’t let us drunk pour here.”

Feeling all kinds of awkward now that Zoe was gone, I stuck out my hand for him to shake, “Well, it was really nice meeting you, Benny. I’m gonna take off now.”

He reached out and gave my hand a firm pump before jerking his chin off to the side and saying, “The door’s that way, ma’am.”

Can someone be polite and rude at the same time? If they could, then that’s exactly what this man was doing. Sure he was hot, but I’d clearly hurt his feelings by turning him down. I turned on my heels and fast-walked out the front door beforegetting into my vehicle. Rubbing my hand over face, I wondered why I even bothered to try socializing. I felt like a duck out of water in the Dark Slayer’s clubhouse. Regardless of how well Zoe and Alison fitted in, I sure as hell didn’t. I started my engine and headed home, noticing the time on my vehicle’s clock was nearing midnight. If I was lucky, I’d grab five hours of sleep before I had to be back in the office.

Chapter 4

Rebel

When my shift ended last night, I went for a ride on my bike instead of trying to hook up with one of the club girls. Something about getting rejected by Zoe’s awkward friend stung my pride. I’m a righteous man. I work hard, try to do the right thing, and I’m as ripped as any guy in our club. I saw the way her eyes crawled over my body, as though she liked what she saw, so I wondered what I’d done to put her off.

Maybe it was something I said. I wasn’t used to getting judged and found so lacking that a woman wasn’t even willing to have a one-night stand with me. Maybe I’d been hanging around the wrong kind of woman, and she was just a nice woman who didn’t do one-nighters.

Anyway, today was another day. It was Sunday. I didn’t usually set appointments for myself on Sundays because I prospected for the Slayers on the weekend. Today, Forge put me in charge of the grill. We prospects grilled breakfast and dinner seven days a week for whatever brothers were in the clubhouse. I’d stayed the night and got up early this morning and started prepping for breakfast.

I started the coffee, put meat on the grill, and was working on eggs when Storm and Zoe came strolling out of the clubhouse. Zoe immediately went for coffee, but Storm walked over to me. “Zoe’s been looking for her friend. Do you know what happened to her?”

“Yeah, she decided not to stay after all. She said she had work to do today. Don’t worry, she was safe to drive.”

Zoe came over, handed Storm a coffee and took a sip of hers. By the expression on her face, it was clear that it burned her mouth a little. Storm told her, “Benny said your friend left last night because she had work today. Does that ring a bell?”

Zoe frowned, “Yeah, she’s just taken over Livingstone Electrical. Her father got too sick to work and the man he left in charge has been stealing from the company and running it into the ground. She’s gonna fire most of her employees tomorrow and then she’s gonna be shit out of luck if she can’t find replacements.”

Storm’s head swiveled around to stare at me. “Wow, how unfortunate is it that Zoe’s pretty friend is desperate for a good electrician and you’re desperate for someone to take over your office duties. Seems like the two of you are match made in heaven.”

Anxiety twisted in my gut at the thought of being rejected by this woman for a second time. “I don’t know, Prez. She didn’t seem to take a liking to me last night. And I’m not sure I want to work with a woman who rejected me without giving me a chance.”

Zoe snorted a laugh, “You invited her to go to a sex club with you the second you met her. You ought to know that no friend of mine is likely to take a strange man up on an offer like that right out of the gate.”

I brought one hand up to scratch the back of my neck as I thought over her words. “Yeah, I can see where you’re comin’from with that one. The bottom line is I blew it with her, so I don’t see her wanting to work with me.”

Zoe rolled her eyes and strolled off with her coffee. Storm just looked at me in that disparaging way he sometimes did that made me feel dense. “It’s too early in the morning to deal with your shit, Benny. I’m gonna drink my coffee, eat my breakfast, and spend time with my wife but rest assured, I’m sure as hell going to circle back around later to talk to you about this situation.”

“Sure thing, Prez,” I grumbled as I filled a huge plate of food for him and Zoe to share.

I considered the idea of striking a deal with the lady that didn’t even see fit to tell me her name. It did not seem likely that she’d be interested in working with me or allowing me to work for her.

Memories of my last visit with my grandmother rose in my mind. She was frail and using a walker to get around. The caregiver I hired to take care of her was chasing her around with a protein shake, trying to get her to drink it. I ended up putting it in the blender with a scoop of ice cream and watched her gobble it up. My gran had always loved ice cream so mixing with her Ensure seemed like a no-brainer to me. I really needed to find her a decent caregiver, someone who’d actually think to do that kind of thing.

But decent caregivers cost money. I leaned back against the building, coming to the realization that I really didn’t have a choice. Maybe I would have to figure out a way to work for that woman. When push came to shove, I sure as fuck was not going to put my pride before earning the money I needed to make sure the woman who helped my momma raise me had whatshe needed in her old age. I decided that by the time Storm circled back around to me, I was going to agree to whatever he suggested. What choice did I really have?

As the morning wore on, I began to see the logic in Storm’s suggestion. Trying to look at the situation optimistically, this might be exactly the opportunity I’d been looking for, one where I could work all the hours under the sun, get caught up with all my bills, and start banking the money I was gonna need to take care of my grandmother as her condition deteriorated. Nursing homes cost big bucks, and I had to make sure I was prepared for that eventuality.

By the time Storm called me to his office, I was ready to step up and make a deal. What I wasn’t expecting was to find the woman from last night sitting in front of his desk in a nice comfy chair. I slowed my steps, suddenly cautious for no real reason at all.

Glancing at her again, I noticed she was wearing a nice pantsuit like Zoe was prone to wear. Her long legs were crossed, and she was wearing pumps with spiked heels. Damn, my cock for noticing those heels. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a low bun at the nape of her neck giving sexy librarian vibes. She was wearing gold earrings and had her nails polished to match her suit. Fuck, I needed to stop staring at this woman before my cock exploded.

“Come in and have a seat, Benny.” Storm’s voice was nothing short of exasperated.

I walked in and took the seat beside her.

“I’m Lacey Livingstone,” she said as she extended her hand. “I realize I didn’t tell you my name last night.”

“Nice to meet you again, Lacey,” I said as I shook her hand.

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