Page 6 of Boss Daddy

Test over.

In a flash I’m on my feet, my hand snapping around his wrist before he can make contact. The rage I kept buried roars to the surface, a tidal wave threatening to crash.

My voice drops, low and deadly. “You’re done, Jerry. Get out.”

He blinks, trying to process the shift in atmosphere. I squeeze his wrist just enough to make him wince.

“What?” he asks. “I… I wasn’t going todoanything, Sam!”

“I’m not repeating myself. Leave. And don’t come back until you learn some respect. You’re banned for the weekend—at least.”

He mutters something incoherent then backs away, stumbling toward the door. I watch until he’s gone, the tension in my shoulders refusing to ease.

When I turn back, Erin is watching me, her eyes unreadable. For a second, it’s quiet. Just the two of us in this charged silence.

“That wasn’t necessary,” she says, her voice soft.

I step closer, my eyes locked on hers. “It was.”

She searches my face, her gaze flickering over my jaw and my mouth. Her lips part slightly, and it takes everything I have not to close the distance, to taste that defiance.

I move back just enough to give her space though every instinct in my body screams to stay close.

She studies me, those green eyes sharp and guarded. “Seriously, you didn’t have to do that,” she says again, but there’s a small crack in her armor, a hairline fracture, like she doesn’t know what to do with someone stepping in for her.

“Yes, I did. I don’t let that kind of shit slide in my club.”

Her gaze flickers and she crosses her arms in a defensive gesture. “Guess I’m not used to basic manners,” she chuckles.

My gut twists. I wonder how many times she’s had to fend off guys like Jerry on her own, when no one stepped in to help.

“Well, get used to it. I don’t tolerate disrespect. Ever. If you become part of the staff—and that’s still an if—you can expect a certain level of respect, both from the customers and your coworkers.”

Her lips part slightly and her breath quickens. She doesn’t drop her gaze, doesn’t back down. If anything, the challenge in her eyes sharpens, and it’s like a shot of adrenaline straight to my bloodstream.

She shifts slightly, and my eyes catch the way her jeans hug her hips. She clears her throat, pulling me back up to meet her gaze.

“Do I have the job?” she asks.

I laugh. “I haven't decided yet. I’d say we covered the ‘how to handle a drunk and disorderly customer’ part of the interview. Now it’s time to see if you can actually make something.”

She smirks. Damn, that smile’s already doing things to me.

“How about I step behind the bar, show you what I can do?”

Chapter 3

Erin

My heart’s pounding like a drum.

Samuel Holt’s eyes are too intense, too knowing. The way he looks at me should cause me to bolt for the door, but I stay put, like I’ve got something to prove.

Maybe I do.

His gaze is nothing like Misha’s. There’s nothing slimy about it, no sense of a trap waiting to snap shut. It’s sharp and focused, but instead of making me feel stripped bare, I feel steady and confident. Like he’s a wall I can lean on, if I dare to.

He smiles, a slow curve of his lips that lights a fire low in my belly and sends heat skittering up my spine, causing my pussy to clench.

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