Page 30 of Undercover Desires

“That would be a bad idea, sweetheart. How about you try ‘thank you, Mr. Rivera’ instead?” I take her chin in my hand, trying to get her to talk and mouth, “Thank you.” She shoves me off her.

“I’m not thanking you,” she snaps, fury in her tone. “You just made a fool out of me, and for what? A bit of fun? Embarrass the new girl?”

“Ah, sweet girl, you still have so much to learn about this place. That wasn’t me trying to mess with you. Someone put your name on that list. If it wasn’t you, you’ve probably earned yourself an enemy or a fan. You could have been nominated by one of the patrons, who knows? Either way, I just saved your bacon.” I want to burst out laughing at the mention of bacon, but I have to remind myself that she can’t know I know who she is just yet. It’s better this way. So instead, I grin back ather like the crazy motherfucker I am, waiting for her to make the next move.

“Why?”

I wink at her. “I’m just that much of a good guy.”

She scowls in my direction. Right now, she hates me. What she doesn’t know is that the feeling is mutual, but she started this when she sided with Reader. I’m just playing along for shits and giggles now.

I stand up and come to perch on the arm of the couch right beside her. “Since opening bids started at fifteen grand tonight and private bids at twenty-five, I think I just bought myself a good deal.” I rub my hands together, a wicked grin on my face.

“Youhave to pay?” she asks in disbelief. “But this is your club.”

“I own it three ways with my brothers. Don’t want to rip them off now, do I? And a deal is a deal. You agreed to come in here with me, so I want my money’s worth, and you can have your money.” I let my eyes run down the length of her perfect body, itching to touch her. But that’s not what this is about. At least not yet, anyway.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Kobe,” she spits back, as if the thought is mortifying. She’s an excellent actress. Her body betrays her, though. When I first joined her at the bar tonight, I could see the way her eyes lit up at the sight of me, the subtle way she breathed me in. She’s fucking hot for me.

“It’s Mr. Rivera, and I didn’t ask you to,” I reply, tilting my head as I study her. “Do you have a problem taking instructions, sugarplum?”

“No,” she responds indignantly.

“Why is it you insist on calling me by my name? Is it difficult for you to address me as Mr. Rivera, like you’ve been asked?” I press.

“No, I just...” she stutters out, clearly flustered.

I cut her off. “You have problems with taking instructions,” I tell her like it’s obvious.

“I don’t,” she argues.

I run my hand over the stubble on my chin, contemplating how I want this to play out. I need her on our side, close enough to me that she will give us what we want, but it won’t be straightforward with her. She doesn’t trust easily and is suspicious of everyone around her. I want the control between us back; she needs to know who’s in charge. “What I want from you, Bella, is for you to say ‘yes’ when I ask you to do something for me. Can you handle that?”

“What do you want me to do for you?” she asks, clearly uncertain.

My lips turn up at the sides, my smile filled with malice. Oh, I like this idea. It’s one of the best ones I’ve ever had. “I haven’t decided yet. Let’s just say I own you for the next three months. If I want you to take care of anything around the club for me, you will. Or anywhere else, for that matter. You can be my pretty little yes girl.”

“I’m not signing a contract saying you own me for three months. Do I look stupid?” she retorts, a fresh wave of anger rolling over her.

I wrap an arm around her, stroking up her arm, my finger tracing slowly from her hand right up her neck. “Not at all. You look clever. But you agreed to come with me, and now that’s the stipulation of my arrangement.”

I reach across her, taking the paperwork from the coffee table, and she flinches. I study her for a second, wondering why. She’s not scared of me. No, this is more about her being scared of what she will do if I touch her again. She likes my hands on her silky, tanned skin. Instead, I take the paperwork and hand it to her, along with a pen. “If you can just sign next to your name, that would be perfection.” I tap the spot to make it easy for her.

She snatches the paperwork and scans over it. “You had this whole thing already drawn up. Do you expect me to believe you didn’t set this up so I would have to do what you wanted?” Her voice is filled with rage. She’s furious, and rightfully so. She just played right into my hands, and now I have her cornered. “I’m not signing it,” she demands.

I nod, understanding her dilemma. Giving over control to me would be hard for her. “I understand,” I say solemnly. “You’re putting me in a tough position, sweetheart. The girls out there love you; Xavier hasn’t been this excited about a staff member since… well, since ever. And the men have been lining up to get to know you. You’re good for business. It’ll be hard to have to terminate your bar contract, but if you can’t stick to your word, I will have to. Can’t keep girls around I don’t trust.” I pout, as if I’m sad about it. I would be, but there’s no way she’s leaving this job tonight, so I’m calling her bluff. She needs it to keep Reader happy and, from what Jett found out, her bank account, to hold on to dear Nanna’s house. She won’t walk.

Her eyes narrow in on me. “You would fire me if I didn’t agree to do what you say?” she asks, clearly disgusted.

“The choice is yours, peaches. Either you do as I say, or you need to look for a new job. It’s up to you.” I shrug, feigning indifference.

“You’re a fucking asshole, you know that, don’t you?” she seethes, her anger palpable, the pen in her hand shaking with the tremble of her fingers.

“I might have been told that a few times in my life.” I chuckle, knowing I’ve already won. She has no choice but to sign the papers and become my little slave. “Again, you should thank me. If you’d gotten on that stage and had someone else bid on you, you might be signing a submissive contract right now. I really saved you.” We both know she wouldn’t have been forced to do anything, that’s not how my club runs; at least not since we took over. Luckily for me, the threat of having her face up on the big screen or having to take center stage was enough to persuade her to take me up on my offer. She was probably thinking better the devil you know, but she has no idea who I really am.

“And that’s not what this is?” She studies me, watching my face for the answers she wants.

“Read the contract, it’s all there in black and white,” I tell her, wanting her to see it.

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