Page 17 of Vigilante
“J-Julia…I made a mistake.” He eyes me warily, my hands gripped even tighter in his cheap cotton shirt. “I’d like for you to come back. I was a little bit hasty and…yeah.”
“Fuck you, Ned. You’re an asshole!”
I smile at her foul language, clearly done with his shit.
“Look, I’m in a tight spot right now, and I’m…I’m sorry, okay,” he blinks profusely, and I nod once. Raising an eyebrow at him. “Oh, and take the week off…as an apology…f-full pay, of course.”
“I want a raise.”
“Julia, I can’t?—”
I shake him, bringing my face so close to his that I can practically smell his fear, and he panics.
“A-all right, we can talk about it when you’re back off your uh…break.”
The line goes dead, and I drag him the rest of the way over the counter. I stand him up straight, run my hands over his shoulders, and straighten his now-crumpled shirt.
“Let me tell you one thing, Ned, if Julia mentions any more bullshit to me about you touching her, flirting with her, or even being in the same room with her alone…” I lean in closer to his ear, speaking as low as possible, “I’ll burn your fucking shop down.”
Ned begins to nod profusely as I step back, his eyes wide and panic-stricken. I turn to the rest of the workers. “He touches any of the women here. Tell Julia and she will relay it back to me.”
Flashing them a decadent smile, I walk backward until my back hits the glass door, and I walk out onto the street.
Now it’s time to cheer up my girl.
CHAPTER 9
Julia
My eyes are swollenby the time I make it home. The tears have frozen onto my face, and my nose is bright red. The phone call from Ned throws me, and I wonder what could have changed his mind. I’m too stunned to ask questions, feeling all the raw emotions from the day lingering close to the surface.
When I arrive home, Max is standing outside my door holding four boxes of Domino’s pizza, leaning against the brick, one foot on the wall bent at the knee to hold him up. My heart surges at the sight of him. He came.
I can hear Tasha somewhere saying, “Not yet, he didn’t.” and I break into a smile.
But fuck, I look like shit with my wind-whipped hair and bright red nose. I try to tuck away some of the loose strands of hair but somehow make it worse by having a static effect of hair-to-glove attraction.
Max pushes off the building, setting the pizzas down, and rushes over to me. He takes my face in his cold hands and rubs my cheek with his thumb.
“Are you alright?”
I nod with a slight sniffle. “Yeah. I am now.”
His eyes light up, and his thumb trails to my bottom lip. “Let’s get you inside.”
I fumble with the keys in my gloved hand until frustration gives way, and I rip them off. He grabs the stack of pizzas. “What are those for? Are you a pizza delivery guy?”
I realize I have no idea what he does for work. Come to think of it, I don’t even know his last name. I should probably remedy that.
“Nah. I grabbed these on my way over but didn’t know what kind of toppings you liked, so I got a variety.”
The sweetness of the gesture isn’t lost on me. I’m pretty sure I just gave him the biggest heart eyes of my life. I fucking love pizza.
We enter the overly heated foyer, and I lead him up to my apartment past the peeling wallpaper and the eccentric first-floor neighbor whose cat décor has overtaken the landing. Her welcome mat reads, “A wild pussy lives here.” It makes me chuckle every time I see it.
I’m aware of his eyes on me. The intensity of his gaze is unmistakable.
I throw a quick look over my shoulder and confirm my suspicions. His eyes are directly on my ass. Smirking, I almost topple on the last step but catch myself before I go flying face first.
