Page 19 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

She confirmed his thoughts when she answered. ‘I was driven, I guess. I wanted to get my studies over with as quickly as possible so I could go out and work, earn some money.’ He suspected that part of her need had been to get out of her house; she’d mentioned it had been chaotic. Before he could ask her a follow-up question, she asked a question of her own. ‘And you? What kind of teenager were you?’

He debated whether to answer her but then shrugged. What harm could it do? It wasn’t as if he was going to tell her anything of consequence. At least, he hoped he wouldn’t.

He picked up his nearly empty beer bottle and pointed it at the leader of the group. ‘Do you see Mr Cool, the one with the ripped jeans, theAC/DCT-shirt and the designer trainers that retail at nearly three hundred pounds?’

The kid had his arm slung around a girl who wasn’t as drunk as the others and looked as if she’d had enough. He’d seen that look on Bri’s face often enough.

‘I bet he has a very expensive car outside, something like a Range Rover, or an Audi TT, or a limited-edition Golf GTI. Something pricey and fast and red-hot. He clicks his fingers and girls come running and, if they don’t, he shrugs off the rejection, calls them a waste of his time and moves on to the next in the line. If they do jump to do his bidding, he dumps them when he gets bored with them and, trust me, he has a very low threshold for boredom. He doesn’t get told “no” often, or ever. He’s out of control, and he knows it, but his pride won’t let him admit it.’

Ella turned back to look at him, her expression puzzled. ‘How do you know all that?’

‘Because I was him,’ Micah admitted. He shrugged and tried to smile. ‘You asked me what I was like when I was young. I was like that.’

Ella started to protest but she’d barely started her sentence when Micah saw the older of the two bartenders cross the room towards the youngsters, a nervous look on her face. Micah pulled a face and mentally told her to look tough or else the kids would eat her up and spit her out. The kids noticed her approach and their expressions turned belligerent. This wasn’t going to end well.

Micah looked around the room and silently cursed when he saw that everyone else was either eating or ignoring the situation. Mr Cool folded his arms and his male friends lined up behind him, a wall of arrogance and aggression. She was one person, not a knife-wielding group of thugs.

It was like sending in a poodle to deal with a pack of pit bulls. He stood and pushed up from the table. Time to get scary...

‘Give me five minutes,’ he told Ella. Slowly, hands in the pockets of his shorts, he meandered past the tables to the games area, coming to stand a few feet behind the bartender, who had no idea of his presence.

‘I think it’s time for you lot to go home,’ the bartender said, her voice quavering.

‘And how do you think you going to make us...?’ Mr Cool’s voice trailed off when he saw Micah and, yep, he paled just a bit. He was a big guy, far bigger than anyone in the room, and it was clear he knew that when he looked angry he could intimidate Satan himself.

‘We’ll quieten down,’ he stated, his eyes darting to Micah and back to the bartender.

Micah shook his head and the kid winced. Mr Cool looked around at his mates, pushed back his chest and lifted his lip in a sneer. ‘We might as well go, guys, this place is awful anyway. Never been so bored in my life.’

He pulled a set of keys from the back pocket of his too-tight jeans and tossed them up in the air. He fumbled his first catch, just made the second and Micah knew he wasn’t in a fit state to drive. None of them were.

Micah had been as full of arrogance and self-importance and had made a stupid, impulsive decision which had had far-reaching consequences. Life-changing, heart-breaking consequences. He still lived with the guilt and would for the rest of his life. If he could save another teenager from tragedy, he would, and he didn’t care if he had to some knock some heads together to do it. Not that this situation would come to that. None of these kids could meet his direct gaze so he knew nobody would throw a punch. If they did, well, they’d test his Krav Maga skills, honed over years of training.

After asking, he ascertained they were staying within walking distance of the pub and could easily walk home.

‘I’m not leaving my Rover here!’ Cool told him hotly. ‘Not a chance.’

Micah saw an empty wooden bowl on a shelf, grabbed it and held it out. ‘Car keys,now.’

One by one, sets of car keys dropped into the bowl and Micah engaged in a staring contest with Cool until he dropped his keys inside the bowl too. He glared at the bartender. ‘My car had better be safe when I come back for it or else!’

Micah ignored him and handed the bowl to the bartender. He brushed off her thanks and waited for the kids to leave before returning to Ella and rolling his eyes.

‘That was pretty hot, Le Roux,’ she said, her eyes holding admiration and more than a little lust. ‘I like how you got them to listen with just a scowl and one raised eyebrow.’

He smiled. ‘It’s one of Jabu’s favourite tricks. He never screamed or yelled, he just glared at me and lifted one eyebrow and I did whatever he asked, as quickly as I could.’

‘Who is Jabu?’

‘Butler, friend, the only father I ever really had,’ Micah said, wondering why words flew from his mouth when he was around her. He drained his beer and pushed his chair back so that it rested on its back legs, giving him a better view of the exit and the kids heading towards the road.

‘Why did you interfere?’ Ella asked him. ‘Most people wouldn’t, they’d let the staff deal with them.’

Micah gestured to the bartender. ‘She’s their age, and timid. Do you really think they were going to listen to her?’

Ella shook her head. ‘That’s not why I’m asking. Why didyouget involved?’

He knew she wasn’t going to drop the subject. The vision of Brianna popped into his head, lying in that hospital bed, and he tasted the acrid hospital disinfectant at the back of his throat. He remembered her still body and her eyes, so blue and so vacant, staring at nothing.

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