Page 24 of Saving Me
“What! You can’t just quit and walk out of here,” he shouts. The color of his skin turns a nasty shade of red as a thick vein starts to appear on his forehead. I want to put him in his place so badly, but I let Lyla take the lead on this one. She needs to feel like she’s in control.
I watch her stand up straighter, and even though I know she’s nervous, she looks him straight in the eye, and her voice never wavers. “I should have done it a long time ago, but I needed the money more than I needed my pride. I put up with your glances that made my skin crawl and your little comments about my body that made me want to vomit way longer than I should have. You treat women with nothing but disrespect, and it disgusts me…you disgust me.”
I feel so damn proud of her in this moment. Her whiskeyeyes meet mine briefly before landing back on him. A sheen of sweat coats his face as his beady eyes stare hard at her.
“I knew I should never have hired you. You’re just like all the rest with a pretty face, thinking you can walk around here flaunting yourself,” he sneers. “You give me all the signs, knowing exactly what you are doing.”
I fist my hands at my sides, and my fingernails painfully dig into my palms. He’s really close to getting that smug look wiped off his face. “You’re a tease just like the rest of them,” he spits out seconds before I grab him by his throat and hold him against the wall.
I hear Lyla gasp, but all my attention is focused on the bastard in front of me. “You pushed me too far with that one. You need to apologize to Lyla. If not, you and I are going to have a nice little chat…alone, and I promise you won’t like what I have to say.”
His eyes bulge out of his head as his hands fight to release my hold. I’m giving him just enough air to squeeze by his flabby neck.
“You’re insane. You can’t just come into my bakery and assault me like this,” he wheezes out.
“Apologize. Now.” I squeeze harder, and he starts to gasp for air.
“I’m sorry,” he chokes out. I let go of him, and he doubles over, gulping for air.
“If I ever hear of you harassing another female, I have three other brothers who will gladly join me next time to pay you a visit.”
I look over at Lyla, and she’s staring wide-eyed at her boss. I reach my hand out and breathe a sigh of relief when she takes it. The last thing I want is to scare her, but I won’t have him talk about her that way. Someone needed to put him in his place and I’m glad I was the one to do it.
I pull her to the door with me, and neither of us gives him another glance. The sun hits us as soon as we step outside, and I take a deep breath to clear my head. He’s got me so worked up that I need a minute to calm myself.
I lead us to my truck and stop in front of it. “I don’t know where you’re parked, but I know we need to talk.” I want to run something by her, and I really hope she agrees to do it.
“I don’t have a vehicle. I’ve been taking the bus to work and Ubering if it’s too late for the buses to run.”
I try to block out the image of her riding the bus alone at night as I open the passenger side door for her. It’s just another reason why I need her to agree to this plan. She gets in, and I walk around the black extended-cab truck. MyInkedlogo is plastered along the door in white as I climb in.
“What isInked?” She asks as I start the truck and turn on the a/c for us.
“It’s my business. My brother, Travis, and I are tattoo artists. I run the shop in Blue Haven, and he runs the one in Crystal Isle.”
“You did all your tattoos?” She looks shocked and amazed as she glances down at my arm covered in my artwork.
“I designed it all and did most of it myself, but Travis inked the areas I needed help with. Why are you so surprised?” I smile.
“I just…I don’t know. They’re beautiful. I’m just impressed, I guess,” she laughs softly.
“I’m glad you like them. Do you have any tattoos?” I’ve been dying to know the answer to this question. If she does, they aren’t anywhere I’ve been able to get a glimpse of.
“No. As beautiful as yours are, I haven’t been able to splurge on one yet.”
“Well, when you are ready, I know a good guy that will giveyou a deep discount.” I grin at her and can’t help but feel some type of way about inking her skin with my work.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she gives a small laugh, and I feel the rest of my tension leave my body.
“I hope you do,” I hold her gaze, and the beautiful red shade creeps into her cheeks. “So, since you don’t have a car, how about I drive us back to my place, and we can go over your new job? I don’t have to be at work until four, so I have a couple of hours to show you around.”
“So you’re really going to keep playing along with this fake job?”
“It’s not fake, I swear.” I laugh when I see her cross her arms over her chest and raise her eyebrow. “Okay, truth?” She nods her head, and I run my hand through my hair. I want to be careful with how I word it because I need her to agree to this. I can’t explain, but it feels right, and I know it’s happening for a reason.
“I did come up with it on the spot, BUT,” I hold up my hand to stop her. “I really have been thinking about it. I work odd hours at my job. Most of my clients work full-time, so I get a lot of late-night inking done. I work around their schedules, so a lot of days, I’m either grabbing takeout on the way home or throwing something in the microwave. You would be the perfect person to hire. I already know you’re an amazing cook, and I’m pretty sure I could trust you in my house unless my radar is way off here, and you are some beautiful serial killer who is skillfully luring me in.” I raise my eyebrow at her, and she fights back a smile.
“I’m definitely not a serial killer.”
