Page 5 of Tops
The guard dog stayed in the little room, grabbing ahold of the door and shutting himself in. The light from the office was suddenly gone, leaving us in the dark hallway that looked like a peaceful night sky. Tanner cleared his throat, and I turned back to Hannah. She seemed irritated.
“Hannah, I have to. I can’t just walk away after what I’ve seen.”
Her eyes softened slightly. “Just try not to get me fired,” she said before starting down the hallway toward Tanner.
I double-checked the phone, ensuring the screen hadn’t locked, before taking a steadying breath and heading down the hallway.
Tanner placed his hand on the smooth dark wall, shifting it to the side, bathing the hallway in light from the newly exposed room. Tanner and Hannah went inside, and I followed along hesitantly behind them. I let the door shut behind me after checking I could easily open it again from this side if needed.
“Your friend is very cautious,” Tanner said calmly, looking at Hannah.
“You should have seen her when we first met. She’s loosened up a bit since then,” Hannah laughed lightly.
“You realize I can hear you, right?” Annoyance rolled through me, slowly carrying away some of the fear. The sheer casual demeanor of them both pissed me off.
Tanner stopped mid-step, turning and facing me, his tone stern. “You hear, but don’t listen. The same way you saw without understanding.”
“I came here to make sure you know about the guy that mugged Hannah inyourparking lot, and when I get here, I see a woman thrown to the floor screaming as a man starts to force himself on her. The whole reason I stepped foot in this building is to ensure these girls you employ are protected, even if I must protect them from you.” My grip on his phone was tight enough to hurt, but I didn’t back down as I stared into his hard blue eyes. A silent battle of wills took place, and I refused to back down.
He broke first, his gaze sliding over to Hannah. “You were mugged?”
I watched Hannah’s posture change immediately. Her back straightened, and her shoulders pushed back.
“Earlier today. I stopped to double-check my night’s schedule and make sure I had the right outfit on.” Hannah opened the sides of her black plush robe to reveal the skimpiest red lace lingerie set she had shown me earlier. Her body was tight and fit. The lace just barely hid her breasts.
Tanner only gave the most casual of glances before making a non-committal grunt. “Why didn’t you ask Sven to escort you?”
“I wasn’t on shift,” Hannah shrugged.
“We will talk about this more after your shift ends,” Tanner said resolutely. Then his gaze shifted back to me, and I felt like a butterfly pinned to a drying board. “Let’s get this matter situated beforeIstart questioning my abilities to keep my employees safe,” he said. I felt the last part was more for himself than anyone else in the room.
“I’ll check the schedule, but I’ll bet it was Lucy and Oliver tonight. I can grab them both if their slot is finished,” Hannah said before heading through a door on the other side of the room.
I waited awkwardly, bringing Tanner’s phone back to my gaze to double-check the screen again. I could feel his eyes on me, the heat of his stare creeping down my neck. Courage to look up at him now that we were alone never came. Instead, my gaze remained on the image of the lonely road until I heard someone approaching.
One male and one female. The new arrivals were both dressed in black robes that matched Hannah’s. They looked like the people I had seen in the room, but I wasn’t entirely sure. The girl had dark smudges of eyeliner and mascara running down her cheeks, but her smile was warm and welcoming.
“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you like this, but at least it’s a meeting,” the girl said, coming over to hug me as I stood as still as a statue. The man remained by Hannah’s side, his arms folded across his chest, but his small smile helped him look less threatening. He gave me a little wave of his fingers when he noticed me looking at him.
The girl finally pulled back from the one-sided hug, her arms holding my shoulders lightly. She had stunning, messy golden blonde hair, ice-blue eyes, and soft peach lips. “I’m Lucy. Hannah has told us so much about you. I feel like we already know each other.” She smiled genuinely before turning back toward the man. “This is Oliver, my boyfriend. I understand you saw some of our performance in the loft and were concerned about me?”
I felt too many eyes on me as a hot prickling sensation seeped into my veins. “Yeah, it looked rather realistic,” I said back shyly. Trickles of doubt started to poke holes in my memory of what happened.
“Oh, good!” Lucy exclaimed as her grip on my shoulders tightened. “We’ve been working on the realism. Did you hear that, babe? She said it looked realistic.”
I watched Oliver grin as he looked at Lucy like she was the center of his world.
“Thank you for reassuring me,” I said as I brought my hands around Lucy’s back, pulling her in for what looked like a hug so I could whisper in her ear, “If you need help, say no problem. If you don’t need help, say you hope to see me soon.” I pulled back, watching her eyes as she processed my request.
“I hope to see you again soon, but unfortunately, I need to go. I’m scheduled for a cage dance for the next half hour.” Lucy gave me a reassuring nod of her head before pulling me in one more time for a hug.
This time, I squeezed her back.
She pulled away, heading over to the man who waggled his fingers, this time in goodbye. They left arm in arm through the other doorway. I was left alone with Hannah and Tanner while everyone silently looked to me for my verdict.
“I guess I can give this back now,” I sighed, holding the phone out flat against my palm toward Tanner. His finger brushed against mine as he grabbed it, sending a new wave of nervous energy down my spine. I had to resist the urge to shudder, but I couldn’t quite place my feelings toward him.
“Warn your friends better next time and meet me in my office once your shift ends. I want you to go through the security cameras with me,” Tanner said to Hannah.
