by T Gephart
“Yes, both David and I are intrigued. I assume all is going well at Diablo, yes?”
She was cocky, knowing that when it came to our boss, she was higher up the pecking order. And while I appreciated we were all trying to prove our worth, I wasn’t going to submit either, Harvard Law degree or not.
“Lorena, I know you see our figures on the central portal. You know exactly how well we’re doing. I’ve exceeded the projections for the quarter, and we still have two months to go. Not an easy thing to accomplish in a city which has more than twenty thousand establishments just like mine.” I didn’t even pretend I hadn’t meant the last part. It might not be my name on Diablo’s title, but it didn’t make it any less mine. It was my turn to be cocky.
She laughed, knowing we could go toe-to-toe for hours if that’s what it took. But there was a twelve-hour time difference between Hong Kong and New York, which meant she was looking forward to ending her day rather than starting it.
“Yes, I’ve noticed. Which is why David wanted me to call. I’m assuming the topic of discussion was going to be a request for a pay increase, yes? Well, we thought we’d save you the trouble, I’ve already sent the authorization to payroll. An extra fifteen percent which can be further negotiated in twelve months. David sends his best.”
“Lorena, I want my meeting.” While I was thrilled to have been given the pay increase I rightfully deserved, I’d hoped to use it as leverage. Being dismissed with more cash hadn’t been the plan, and I wasn’t giving anyone other than David my pitch.
“Presley, come on. You know that fifteen percent is more than fair. Like I said, you can renegotiate in twelve months. You keep doing what you’re doing, and I have no doubt you’ll walk away a very rich woman. It’s a wonderful thing to be self-sufficient, to have that security a full bank account can give you. But don’t confuse greed and ambition, that would be a mistake.”
She didn’t need to spell it out, knowing that he’d taken a chance on me and loyalty was valued above all else. “It’s not about the money. There was something else I wanted to discuss.”
“Really?” Lorena’s usual impenetrable exterior showed a crack, the surprise evident. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, of course,” I lied for the second time.
The pause on the phone had me guessing Lorena knew it as well, but surprisingly she didn’t call me on it. “Fine, David is flying out to New York in a week. I’ll set up a meeting while he’s in town.”
“That will work, let me know the time. I know he’s not interested in seeing Diablo, so tell him if he wants to meet elsewhere, I won’t be offended,” I answered, wondering if he was coming into town, why he wouldn’t just stop by. But if given the choice, I was going to be pleased he trusted me so much instead of disappointed he didn’t see the club as a priority.
I heard the smile in Lorena’s voice, “You don’t think he’d want to inspect a business he’s sunk a few million into?”
“We both know I could level it into a parking garage and he wouldn’t care if I’m giving him the profit margin I am now.” I rolled my eyes, amused she thought I’d be so needy.
“He did always like you, Presley. I’m positive if you went and got an MBA, you’d be managing a lot more than a little club in New York.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, David himself hinting that if I was agreeable to more school and some serious mentoring, that I’d have a place higher up in the corporation. And if I hadn’t been so in love with the city and my job, it might have been appealing. But I’d already made my decision, and I was going another route. Let’s just hope he was as equally excited. “It’s not a little club, Lorena. Next time you visit, you should come see for yourself.”
“Maybe I will.” She chuckled. “Have a nice day, Presley.”
“Goodnight, Lorena.”
Still mostly wet, not managing to wrap the towel around me, I headed back to the bathroom to dry off. There was no point attempting anything else, my earlier thoughts of releasing some tension via an orgasm, left for another time. Instead I got dressed, put on my makeup and blew out my hair. No point wasting the head start, and if I was meeting with David next week, I was going to need every spare moment I had.
Jared
“SO WHAT HAPPENS with North when he has the baby?” Evans asked, looking up from his broom as he swept the bays.
Tibbs laughed, shaking his head as he checked the hose on the ladder. “Didn’t you have Sex Ed in high school, Rookie? Looks like Uncle Tibbs is gonna have to take you aside and tell you how that shit works.”
Evans rolled his eyes, looking to me for a bail out as I shrugged. “Dude, you walked into that one.”
“You know I mean, Quinn.” He flipped off Tibbs before turning his conversation back to me. “I meant is he going to be gone awhile? They going to replace him?”
Even with everything on my mind—Presley and my new extracurricular activities—I had a hunch where the conversation was heading. “Jesus, between Tibbs taking his deodorant and you gunning for his job, poor North doesn’t stand a chance. Steady on, Rookie, you’ll get your place at the table.”
“I’ve been here for over twelve months, guys. When are you going to stop calling me Rookie?”
“When we get a new one.” Tibbs offered honestly, chuckling with no apology. “And you technically aren’t out of your probie period, so I wouldn’t be making suggestions about replacing North.”
Evans was a good trainee, and as far as progress went, he’d made some massive strides. But you can’t just replace a guy like Riley North, and sure as hell not with a kid who was only recently been allowed to buy his own beer.
“Dude, seriously? I ain’t looking to replace him, I just want to show Cap, I can do more than what I’m doing. Maybe I’ll go chat with the chief, see if I can’t get him on my side.”
Honestly, I had to admire the guy. He had some balls because Mack usually intimidated the fuck out of the new kids. Not intentionally, but there was only so much intensity the man could dial down. “Maybe aim lower, and mention it to Cap first? Chief baked us cookies the other day and I’m hoping he might continue the trend. Last thing we need is you pissing him off and us missing out on that goodness.”
“Leighton’s right. Don’t fuck it up for all of us. Those cookies were almost as good as Rev’s wife’s.” Tibbs pointed a finger in warning at Evans.
Evans shoved the broom to the end of the bay. “Yeah, okay. I’ll go catch up with him now.”
Deciding it was none of my business, I let the kid go do whatever it was he was going to do. If my head wasn’t so clouded, I might have suggested he cooled it and let natural progression happen. Initiative was always encouraged, but the brass liked to see it rather than hear about it. Still, it wasn’t my funeral.
“I think you should call Presley.”
If I hadn’t already been thinking about her, the mention of her name would be enough.
“Tibbs, it’s not even noon. You know her rule. If it’s not life or limb, that’s a hard pass.” I tried to shrug it off casually like I wouldn’t fucking leap at the excuse. Couldn’t even pretend that I wasn’t thrilled I had a reason to call her and that hopefully she’d be forced to talk to me. Not that I could admit that without raising some serious eyebrows, which was why I attempted to play it cool.
Tibbs looked at his watch, our day having started a lot earlier than hers. “Just don’t forget. And try and make it sound like it’s your idea. She’ll be more receptive if she thinks it’s coming from you.”
Yeah, on that we disagree, buddy.
“I’m not lying to your sister, Tibbs. If she asks whose idea this was, your ass is totally going under the bus.” I didn’t even apologize, only willing to bend so much.
Between the two of them, I was between a rock and a hard place and that didn’t even take into consideration what was happening in my fucking pants. So I had no interest in being the moron-in-the-middle of their sibling fight, and the only reason I
agreed was because I didn’t totally disagree with Tibbs. She needed protection, especially until Lewis was wearing metal bracelets gifted to him courtesy of the city.
“Don’t lie, just . . .” he paused, trying to choose his words, “be creative.”
Oh, I was going to have to get creative, just not in a way he was going to like.
“I’ll call her, stop riding my ass.” I pointed to the doors. “Go make sure the rookie didn’t mess shit up with the chief.”
His eyes cut to the main part of the stationhouse, “On it,” leaving me in the bays by myself.
I was going to call her for sure, but I was going to have to find a way to keep it all business. And that was exactly where I was going to have to be creative.
Apartment fire.
Two engines responded to an apartment building not far from where we lived in Hell’s Kitchen. Some asshole had tried to cook burgers inside because he was cold, dragging in a grill that had no business being in the shoebox he was paying rent for. So many code violations and stupidity I couldn’t even understand it, thankful we were there just to put out the fire and not deal with the insurance claim.
“Tibbs, Leighton. Everyone out?” Cap called as he returned back to the truck. It was only four floors, with most of the residents having cleared out when they saw the smoke. But a “maybe” wasn’t good enough. The two of us were sent in to go door to door while the lines tackled the flames, making sure everyone who should be out was chilling at the front, catching the spectacle on their phones like the rest of the neighborhood.
“All clear, Cap.” I nodded, pulling off my mask and sucking in regular air.
Tibbs shivered, also losing the O2 assist from the SCBA. “Man, it was getting toasty in there. Lucky it was the top floor, gave everyone a chance to get out.”
Not sure how “lucky” anyone felt as the black smoke continued to pour out. Considering the dude responsible for the fire hadn’t bothered to see a problem with literally lighting a fire inside his home, we couldn’t be sure he didn’t have some other surprises lurking in there. Last thing we needed was a store of rubbing alcohol or worse, gasoline, being discovered by the flames.
Man, I hated stupid people.
North and Rev were on a line nearby, trying to contain it from one side, while Evans and Brown were on it from the front. And other than a few watery eyes and some anxiety, no one was going to need a ride to the hospital.
It was as good an outcome as we could hope for, able to save most of the structure and finally put the fire out. The water damage was going to be intense though, which meant everyone was going to be finding somewhere else to call home for a while.
“Tibbs, Leighton,” Rockefeller—the detective, not the famous kind—approached us. “You wrapped this one up nice and quickly.” He looked to the building which was black but no longer on fire.
“That’s what we do, Detective. We get tasked a job, we get it taken care of.” The edge in Tibbs’ voice unmistakable.
Rockefeller didn’t flinch, barely raising an eyebrow. “Tibbs, you of all people know I can’t and will not discuss ongoing investigations with a civilian. Not everything goes by your timeline. Having said that, is Presley okay? You want one of the guys to check in on her?”
I guess twenty some odd years on the force gave you the skills to handle a guy, the hostility from Tibbs easing out. “She’s fine. Maybe if someone can circle around during the time she’s at the club?”
“Consider it done. Now, I’m going to find Cap, see you guys later.” Rockefeller left, leaving us to finish packing up the engine and getting ready to leave.
“Speak of the devil. Hey, Tibbs, isn’t that your sister?” Evan’s tipped his head to the road, the woman in question striding up the street in possibly the sexiest skirt and jacket combo I’d ever seen.
I couldn’t even blink, my eyes wide-open absorbing every inch of her like it had been a month since I’d last gotten the chance. And what I was seeing, I was definitely liking. Dressed more conservative than she usually did for the club, she was all business, her sexy dark brown curls tamed into a ponytail that swung a little with each of her stilettoed steps.
“Yeah,” he checked his watch, noticing it was almost two. “Guess she must have a meeting out here.”
Not really able to miss two engines and a congregation of firemen in the middle of her path, it was no surprise when she stopped. “Guess it’s only fair I visit you at your work since you visit me at mine.” Her beautiful pink lips edged into a smile. “Everyone get out okay?”
I didn’t even care who she was addressing, convinced that smile had been for me. “Yep, everyone is fine.” Which was mostly true, unless you counted the weird tempo my pulse was keeping. “We’re just heading back.”
“Just think, if I’d gotten here any earlier, I’d have been able to see you all in action. North, how many women tried to hit on you while you were evacuating, be honest?” She turned to North who didn’t even have the decency to blush.
“Presley, you know I wouldn’t have even noticed if they’d tried,” the bastard laughed. “But I was on a line with Rev, your brother and Leighton were handling the door-to-door.”
Her eyes swung back to me, then moved to her brother who’d yet to speak. “Well then, guess the answer would be none.”
Tibbs—my friend and not the woman I’d slept with—rolled his eyes and flipped her off. “You live in that delusion, Pres. I can’t go one block without attention. Don’t be jealous that I’m the one in the family who got the looks.”
“Dude, have you even seen your sister,” Evans unwisely scoffed, saying what every single one of us was thinking but no one dared vocalize. “If there’s anyone with your last name that can’t go a block, it’s her. You’re gorgeous.” His eyes left no mistake about what he was thinking.
Oh, Rookie.
And to think he’d gone to all that trouble to talk to Chief this morning about his upcoming future. Pity all that promise was about to be undone by that big fucking mouth.
Before I could either punch the asshole for looking at Presley in a way I didn’t like, or yell at him for being disrespectful, she laughed. Her bright eyes lit up, enjoying the trouble a statement like that was going to cause, as she gently—seriously, could it get any worse—touched his arm. “Evans, you’re adorable.”
“He’s going to be dead in a minute,” Tibbs straightened, the glare he was throwing crystal clear. “Don’t get any ideas, Rookie.”
North slapped Tibbs on the back, getting his attention. “Relax, Tibbs. Evans was merely making an observation that Presley, is in fact, the better-looking Tibbs. Now as a married man, you know I have no skin in the game. But I have to say, I do agree with him.” He tipped his head to Presley and grinned. “Evans was correct, you’re gorgeous. And since that’s on record, he doesn’t need to say it anymore, do you, Champ?” The hand that had slapped Tibbs moved to Evans, his heavy palm landing hard on the rookie’s shoulder.
“Really?” Presley narrowed her eyes at North before moving to Tibbs. She didn’t spare me a sideways glance either, waiting to see if I had something to say. “Well, it’s been fun. I’ll leave you alone to grunt and slap each other around like Neanderthals. Bye.”
She turned, giving us a wave as she continued to wherever the hell she’d been heading in the first place. Tibbs elbowed me, trying to telepathically communicate whatever was pissing him off at that moment.
It should have been me instead of North setting Evans straight?
We need to beat him up anyway for even thinking it, let alone saying it?
Presley isn’t gorgeous?
Little Timmy was trapped in a well?
“What?” I coughed out, hoping his dodgy telepathy only went one way, and he couldn’t read my thoughts.
“Go tell her you’re calling her later. This is the perfect opening,” he huffed under his breath, making absolutely zero sense.
“She’s going somewhere,” I pointed, trying not to notice h
ow amazing her ass looked in that skirt as her hips swayed with each step.
“Yeah, and so are you. Go tell her and then let’s get back to the station. Go. I’ll deal with Evans.” He pointed at his sister who was stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light.
“Fuck you, Tibbs.” I shook my head, jogging up the street attempting to catch her before she got the green. I wasn’t even sure why I was pissed, wanting to get her alone ever since—well, since I woke up staring at my ceiling and unable to jerk off. So why I felt heat up my neck, I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Presley,” I called out, stopping her from joining the rest of the pedestrians on the other side. “Wait.”
“Wait for what?” She crossed her arms, her beautiful brown eyes moving to where her brother, North, and Evans were before letting them settle where I wanted them. “You draw the short straw? Come to tell me not to encourage Evans?”
“Fuck Evans.” It came out a little harder than I would have liked.
Her brow rose, as her lips twitched. “Maybe I will. He’s a little young, but they’re easier to train that way.”
I wasn’t positive it was a joke, the idea she’d even consider—
“Oh, Leighton.” She laughed. “Jesus, I was kidding. He’s what, twenty-one? He’s a child.”
Well, at least I wasn’t killing Evans, no way of knowing which way Tibbs was going to go.
“Look, can we talk later? I need to get back, shower, and then maybe when I get a minute I can call.” I hated I honestly didn’t know if she’d say yes. A woman, who in the past, I’d spent more time on the phone with than my own sisters, and I couldn’t be sure she’d pick up.
“You realize, he’s looking, right? So you should probably just pretend you said whatever it is you were made to say and go back.” Her arms unwrapped, one hand falling to her hip where it anchored.
Man, her curves were insane. I needed to stop looking.
