Page 5 of Boss Daddy
Tilly
“How’d you enjoy your first shift?” Elijah asks as I finish stacking glasses in the dishwasher after everyone else has taken off. It’s just him and me in the bar, and the boss in his office closing out for the night.
“I’ll let you know after I count my tips,” I say, chuckling as I pull the lever down and the dishwasher turns on.
“She wants the money. OK, I can relate. Saving for something?”
“College.” I pick up the disinfectant spray and a rag and get to work on the prep area.
“Noble cause. What about getting a student loan?”
“That’s kind of a given. But I still need money for housing, books, fees—you know, the stuff outside the loan’s reach. I just wish life wasn’t so damn expensive, you know? Every time I get ahead, something happens, and I’m back to square one.”
“So you’re here hoping the big tippers will get you to your goal? Sis, I hear you. But working this bar ain’t getting you what you need. You’re gonna have to get up on that bar and wiggle those curves you got.”
“What about what Noah said?”
Elijah waves his hand in the air dismissively. “Oh, don’t you worry about big ole boss daddy. I can handle him.”Daddy?
“Oh, he’s your dad?”
Elijah laughs. “Iwanthim to be my daddy, sweetheart. There’s a big difference.”
“Oh.” My eyes go wide again, and I feel so stupid letting my naivety slip. “I didn’t realize he was—”
“Gay?” Elijah laughs again, and I feel like I’ve said the wrong thing for the second time in a row. “He’s not. Straight as they come, sweetheart, but a boy can dream, right?” He waggles his brows at me. “Because boss daddy isfine.I defy any woman or man—gay or straight—to look at Noah Stanton and not feel a stirring down below.” He says the last part so dramatically that now I’m laughing too. “He is all kinds of yummy, my dear. He’s what we like to refer to as a silver fox—getting on in years, but so well kept he just gets more and more delicious like a good bottle of whiskey.”
“Is he even single?” I ask, lifting the lever on the dishwasher since it’s now finished its cycle. Steam burst out from the stainless steel door. “Can’t imagine a man so in demand could be alone for long.”
“Very. He was widowed when his boys were young. But they’re away at college now, so this place is his baby.”
“And you wish the real baby was you?” I ask, grinning as I lift the tray of glasses over to the stack.
“Now you’re catching on,” he says, flicking me lightly with a dishrag before he checks his watch. “Listen, I don’t have anywhere to be for another half hour. How about I give you some pointers on your dance moves, and we’ll see if we can talk Noah around?”
“Really? That would be mighty kind of you.”
“What are friends for?” He gives me a wink, then he heads to the sound system and switches onWagon Wheelby Darius Rucker. “This one isn’t too fast, so you can learn to stay in your space while we work on the steps.”
We both climb up on the bar, and he holds the rail above our heads and indicates I do the same. “Anytime you’re not feeling so sure-footed, you grab onto this thing. We don’t need any of y’all falling on your asses.”
He shows me some of the steps I saw the dancers doing during my shift, and I do my best to copy. When the track changes to something faster, we pick up the pace. I’m laughing and having a good time as my confidence builds, helped along by the fact Elijah is an excellent teacher. So I let go and loosen up a little, thinking that maybe I could actually do this without making a fool out of myself after all.
“That’s it, girl!” Elijah says as he jumps down to check on my form. He’s smiling up at me and clapping along with the beat. “I thought you said you couldn’t dance? You’re a natural.”
“I’ve never done this before. I had no idea,” I say, grinning from ear to ear. I let go of the rail and swing my hips a little more, really getting into it when suddenly the music cuts out. I spin around a little too fast out of surprise and end up overbalancing, shrieking as I fall back. Right into the arms of boss daddy himself.
“I thought I said no dancing,” he growls as he holds me steady in his arms.
“I...I’m sorry. We...we were—”
“It’s my fault, Noah,” Elijah says. “The tips are better for dancers, so I didn’t think it’d hurt to give her a chance once in a while.”
“Tips?” he repeats, looking down to where I’m still cradled in his powerful arms. Elijah is right, Noah is definitely all man, and definitely a silver fox. He’s salt and pepper gray on top with darker hair running through his sideburns and into his beard. His body is hard and strong, and despite what should be a weird situation, I feel really safe in his arms. Oh, and he smells great too.
“I’m saving for college,” I say, a little breathless and tingling from being so close to him.
His dark eyes stare into mine for a long moment. They seem soft like melting chocolate, and I’m lost in them, falling further and further with each passing second. It feels like I know him, like something deep inside me recognizes something deep inside of him. My skin tingles, and my insides aches.What is happening to me?I’ve never reacted to a man like this before.
Then as fast as it started, it stops. Noah’s eyes harden, and his brow knits tight as he releases me from his hold, my feet landing on the ground, distance put between us.
He clears his throat. “If she needs money, pay her more,” he grunts at Elijah before he turns around and storms away, slamming his office door behind him.
I jump. “What the hell just happened?” I ask, turning to Elijah as I realize I’m shaking.
Elijah frowns, looking from Noah’s closed door to me. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen him like this.”
