Page 42 of Virtue & Vengeance

“I’m sure you don’t,” she hissed and walked away.

The rest of the night I ignored the smirks and whispers from every employee I passed. The accusation spread through the workers like a wildfire fueled with vodka.

It was too much.

I finished the shift as quickly and quietly as possible before leaving for the night.

The second I opened the door for Zander that night, I let him know precisely how my second shift at work had gone.

“People at work think we’re having sex!” I exploded before he even had a chance to shut the door.

He turned and lifted a brow at my words before saying, “Well, technically.”

I growled at his words before tossing the remote at his head.

He ducked, and it exploded against the door sending batteries flying across the entry space.

“No! Not technically.”

“Did you just throw a remote at my head?” he asked with a grin.

“I did, and I’m pissed that you ducked!”

“You do realize you’re the only person in Vegas with enough balls to do such a thing?”

I threw my hands up in the air in aggravation. “And?”

“And it’s fucking hot.”

“You want to know what’s not hot, Zander? People whispering behind my back. Or other waitresses telling me I won’t lose my job if I screw up because I’m fucking the boss. Or better yet, having to work a full shift with everyone ignoring me. Please tell me where people got this idea?”

His jaws flinched, and I could tell my words made him angry.

I knew half of this was my fault. I looked at Zander when I saw him at work. I needed to stop doing that. Also, he singled me out a lot. That was probably obvious to people, as well.

It also didn’t help that he had food delivered to Kennedy’s condo late at night. All of these things needed to stop as soon as possible.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

“No. That would just make things worse.” I sighed and readjusted my messy bun before collapsing onto the couch.

Then he shocked me when he asked, “Then what would you like me to do?”

I wanted him to hold me.

I wanted him to make it all better and take away all the stress in my life.

He could do that. He had the power and the money to do so, but that’s not what came out of my mouth when I opened it. Instead, I said the opposite of what I wanted.

“Please just leave.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

It wasn’t, but it was what I needed right now. “Yes.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t argue.

Instead, he turned on his heel, stepped through the door, and closed it behind him.

---