Dallas could feel the interested stare of the man in front of them. The rain was increasing and the lineup wasn’t moving. What the hell was he doing here anyway?
Shelby was hardly a babe in the woods. For all he knew, she really was a petty criminal. He couldn’t exactly picture her selling a bazooka. But pirated software? Maybe a con artist? Hell, she had him eating out of the palm of her hand.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bouncer moving the length of the lineup. Once again, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bill. A big one this time.
He slipped it into the man’s palm. “Can you get us inside?”
The burly man, glanced down into his palm. “Follow me.”
Dallas grabbed Shelby’s hand, towing her along before she could ask any questions, keeping his eyes front as they cut the lineup at the door.
“Is there anyone you can’t bribe?” asked Shelby.
“Not so far,” said Dallas. Though it wasn’t part of his daily routine. This had to be the most expensive non-date he’d ever been on.
Warm air, an eclectic mix of perfumes and a blast of sound from the band met them in the crowded foyer.
“See Allison?” Shelby asked, coming up on her toes and tipping her chin.
Dallas tucked her in behind him, shouldering a path toward the dance floor. “Stay close,” he called back.
“Absolutely,” she shouted, tucking her fingertips into the waistband of his slacks.
His muscles contracted at the unconsciously sexual gesture. She was simply trying to keep from getting crushed by the crowd, he told himself. If she was trying to flirt, he had a feeling he’d know it.
To his immense relief, he quickly spotted Allison at a table near the dance floor. He headed straight toward it.
“Dallas?” Allison’s eyes went round.
Then she peeked around him. “Shelby?”
Shelby groaned and plunked herself down on a chair. She picked up Allison’s martini and took a healthy swallow. “I’ve just had the worst day of my life.”
Allison drew back, gazing at Shelby with interest as she tucked her long dark hair behind one ear. “Given your life, that’s saying something.”
Shelby nodded vigorously. “Oh, yeah. Even for my life, it was bad. But first things first. I need to freshen up. Can I borrow your purse?”
“Sure.” Allison handed her a small black bag that matched her sparkling dress.
Shelby got to her feet, taking the emerald dress from Dallas’s hands. “I’ll tell you all about it after I change.” Then she melted into the crowd.
Allison turned her attention to Dallas. “Do you know where Greg is?”
“Last time I saw him, he was at the office.”
Allison held out her hand. “Can I borrow your cell phone?”
“Of course.” Dallas fished it from his jacket pocket.
“He’s late,” she said, pressing the buttons on his phone.
A cocktail waitress appeared at Dallas’s side. “Get you a drink?”
“No—”
“Another martini,” said Allison, holding the phone to her ear. “Make it two. You want one, Dallas?”
Dallas started to shake his head.
“Make it three,” said Allison.
Dallas gave up and sat down. It had cost him fifty bucks to get in the door. He might as well have a drink before he left.
“Greg?” said Allison, raising her voice and covering her opposite ear. “Where are you?”
There was a pause.
“I’ve been at Balley’s for half an hour. Dallas and Shelby are here.”
She glanced at Dallas, shrugging her shoulders. “Beats me.”
Then she paused again, her expression growing irritated as the seconds ticked by.
“But we talked about…”
She shook her head. “No.”
Another pause. “No. Not if you want to live.”
Her frown deepened. “Greg.” She drew his name out on a groan of exasperation.
Dallas feigned an interest in the couples gyrating on the dance floor, swearing off fiancées then and there. If a guy had to put up with whining in exchange for getting his work done on a Friday night, Dallas wanted no part of it.
“Fine,” said Allison tersely.
Dallas zeroed in on the band. They were pretty good.
“Right,” she added.
He squinted trying to make out the name stylized on the bass drum.
“Later,” she finished.
Elipso…something.
She clicked the phone shut and handed it back to Dallas, catching his gaze with her wounded blue eyes.
Oh, crap. He didn’t want to ask.
He really didn’t want to ask.
Luckily, Shelby appeared through the crowd.
Thank goodness. No, wait. He sucked in a tight breath. Not thank goodness. This was bad, too.
The shimmering emerald dress molded to her curves like a lover, showing off rounded breasts, a flat stomach, cascading over her smooth hips to mid-thigh. There was no way in the world she was wearing underwear beneath it. The realization jacked up his heart rate.
She’d pulled her hair up into a tousled bun and put on just enough makeup to deepen the color of her eyes—jade-green as they reflected the dress. Her cheekbones stood out. Her lashes were thick and lush and dark, and her full lips were something out of a midnight fantasy.
At least a dozen heads swiveled to follow her progress across the polished floor. Dallas swallowed.
The waitress set the drinks down on the table—not a moment too soon. He handed the woman his credit card and took a swig of his martini.
Shelby wriggled her way into the seat between him and Allison. “That’s better,” she sighed, scooting a little closer to the small, glass table. She picked up her own martini and crossed one gorgeous leg over the other, seeming genuinely oblivious to the stares of the men all around her.
“So, tell me what happened,” said Allison, recovering quickly from her conversation with Greg.
Shelby sucked her olive off the toothpick.
Dallas shifted in his chair.
“I lost my purse and didn’t have taxi fare,” she said.
Talk about burying the lead. Dallas crunched down on his own olive.
“Well, it’s not exactly lost,” she continued. “But it’s locked up in the Game-O-Rama. I don’t know when I’m going to get it back.”
“Go tomorrow,” said Allison.
Shelby shook her head. “I also lost my job.”
Allison sat back. “Oh, no. What did you do?”
“Nothing. My boss got arrested.”
Dallas wondered when the heck she was going to get to the part where she got arrested. Then he wondered why Allison automatically assumed Shelby had done something to get fired. Then he started wondering about Shelby’s honesty all over again.
Had she lost jobs before? Maybe pilfered merchandise from her employer?
“So how’d you end up with Dallas?” asked Allison, nodding his way.
Shelby grinned. “He bailed me out of jail.”
“I didn’t bail you out of jail,” Dallas corrected. “You weren’t in jail.”
Shelby leaned forward, giving an almost illegal view of her cleavage. “They arrested me, too. Slapped the cuffs on and everything.” Then she leaned sideways and nudged his shoulder, giving him a secretive smile.
He tried to keep his gaze under control, really he did. But a quick glance downward confirmed his suspicions that she was sans brassiere and in terrific shape.
“Dallas was great,” she said, her words turning rapid-fire as she straightened away from him. “He made them let me go. Then he bribed, like, everyone in the world to get me here so I could drink with you.”
Allison slanted Dallas a suspicious look.
What? A guy couldn’t be a good Samaritan these days?
“I simply pointed out to the officers at the Haines Street lockup that their case against her was sha
ky,” he said.
“You bribed the cops?” asked Allison.
“I did not bribe the cops.” He took a swallow of his martini. “I bribed the dry cleaner.”
“And the bouncer,” said Shelby.
“I tipped the bouncer,” said Dallas.
“And here we are,” said Shelby, leaning back with a happy sigh, draping her arms across the back of her chair as though all was suddenly right with her world. “Where’s Greg?” she asked Allison.
Something flashed briefly in Allison’s eyes. “Working late.”
Which was where Dallas should be, instead of taking mental liberties with Shelby’s body. Which was where he was going to go, right now before he disgusted himself further. He downed the rest of his martini.
A man tapped Shelby on the shoulder, and Dallas fought an urge to smack the guy’s hand away.
“Like to dance?” the man asked her.
“Sure,” said Shelby, rising to her feet.
“Care for another?” asked the waitress.
“Sure,” said Dallas as his gaze rested on the smooth skin reveled by the plunging V at the back of her dress—his and fifty other gazes with even less noble intentions. He probably owed it to Greg and Allison to make sure Shelby survived the evening.
He’d work all day Saturday to make it up.
COFFEE MUG STEAMING on Allison’s Formica kitchen table on Saturday morning, Shelby drew a red felt pen circle around an ad for a balloon delivery agent. Heck, she was a responsible adult, cheerful, enthusiastic, a self-starter, and she was willing to wear costumes.
Allison appeared in the doorway, leaning sideways against the white-painted jamb while she covered a wide yawn with the palm of her hand. Her dark hair was disheveled, and her flannel nightgown drooped off one shoulder. Faint traces of her mascara were smudged beneath her squinting eyes.
“What the hell are you doing up so early?” she asked. Then she spotted the coffeepot and made a beeline.
“Looking for a new job,” Shelby answered. “You suppose a balloon delivery agent would have to wear fishnet stockings?”
Allison poured a steaming mug of Costa Rican blend. “Ahh,” she sighed, inhaling deeply, closing her eyes and cradling the mug as if it were a magic elixir. “I’d say yes.”
“To the fishnet stockings or the coffee?”
“Both.” She headed for the table. “Fishnets, French maid uniform, sexy nurse outfit, you name it. And you’d probably have to learn to sing Happy Birthday like Marilyn Monroe.”
“I could do a clown outfit. Deliver balloons to kids.” Shelby wasn’t so crazy about the erotic slant. She looked Allison up and down. “You look like hell, you know?”
“I was two martinis ahead of you. And I was pissed at Greg.” She slumped into one of the chairs. “It’s not my fault.”
“Of course it’s not.” Shelby circled another promising ad. This one for a café waitress. It was the breakfast shift. God, she hated the breakfast shift. “Your fiancé stood you up. The evening had to suck.”
“At least I didn’t get thrown in jail.”
“Now that is an excellent point.” Shelby circled an ad for a dental assistant. Not that she had any desire to stick her hands in strangers’s mouths. But they were willing to train the right person.
Allison took a careful sip of her coffee. “You know, I love having you around as a barometer.”
“Who wouldn’t?” asked Shelby, scanning for anything else that was promising. Not much to choose from. She sighed and dropped the felt pen. “Compared to me, even Joyce Vinton is a success story.”
“I heard she’s doing makeup parties in Boise now.”
“See what I mean? What was it we voted her in high school?”
“‘Most likely to be photographed with snakes.”’
Shelby shook her head, fighting a grin. “We were so crude.”
“That we were, Miss Most Likely To Marry Money More Than Once.”
“I’m still waiting for the first time.” Shelby scanned down the column of want ads one more time, just in case. “Think I’d make a good custodian?”
“Bad choice.”
“They get to work nights.”
“If you want to marry money, you need to hang around rich guys.”
“Neil was rich. Look where that got me.”
“Neil was a slimeball, and the Terra Suma lounge was a dive.”
“He pulled in thousands of dollars a night.”
“And blew it all on expensive liquor and horse racing.” Allison had had enough e-mails and phone calls from Shelby over the past year to know about Neil’s shortcomings.
“Well, that’s true enough.” Shelby had to agree.
“You need a job that puts you in contact with classy guys.”
“Balloon deliveries?”
Allison sat up straight and her eyes lit up. “I know.”
“What?”
“I can get you a job.”
Shelby shook her head. “You will not. You’ve done enough already.”
Shelby was determined to take control of her own life. And, she still had her pride. Of course, that was only because they hadn’t strip searched her yesterday.
Allison didn’t give up. “But, it’s a great—”
“No,” said Shelby with another firm shake of her head. “Whatever I do, whatever I decide, it’s going to be me this time, just me.”
Allison stood up and went for the phone. “Let me give Greg a quick call.”
Shelby jumped up from her chair. She scooted across the room and scooped the phone from Allison’s hand. “You’re not baby-sitting me anymore. Bad enough that you’re giving me a roof over my head.”
Allison grinned and cocked her head to one side. “Thought you said you were kicking in for rent.”
Shelby backed away, clutching the phone to her chest. “Of course I am.” She glanced down at the newspaper. “Just as soon as I get the balloon delivery job.”
Allison took a few steps forward. “That’ll be nothing but slimy men ogling your legs and pulling you into their laps. How’re you going to meet anybody decent?”
Shelby gave a little shudder. She’d fended off plenty of hands in her cocktail waitress job. She didn’t particularly look forward to it again. “Okay, I’ll take the job at the diner.”
Allison turned the paper so it was facing her and read the circled ads. Then she looked back up at Shelby, raising her eyebrows. “You? Get up at 5:00 a.m.? I don’t think so,” she scoffed.
“Then I’ll be a custodian. They work nights.”
Allison made a face. “Scrubbing urinals?”
Shelby felt her own expression crumple into one of distaste.
“After last night,” said Allison. “Greg owes me big time.”
“He owes you, not me.”
“Yeah, but he’s got nothing I want for me.” She paused. “Well, except for the obvious.”
Shelby smiled. “His heart. His soul. And everything he owns or ever will own?”
“Exactly. But those came with the ring. I need something more before I’m ready to forgive him. And I happen to know that they need a new receptionist at Turnball, Williams and Smith.”
Shelby shrank back and shook her head. “Uh-uh.” She was not about to let Allison exploit her fiancé to get her a job.
“Day shift,” said Alison. “Office opens at eight-thirty.”
Shelby steeled herself against the temptation. She was making it on her own. If nothing else, for the sake of her ego. She was twenty-five years old, and her life was bordering on pathetic.
“Air-conditioned in the summer, heated in the winter,” sang Allison.
“I’m doing this myself.”
“Classy clients. Rich, classy clients.”
“I have my pride.”
“Regular breaks, medical benefits and a pension plan.”
Shelby gritted her teeth. This was cruel and unusual temptation. With a job like that, she wouldn’t be pathetic. She might even be successf
ul.
“Coffee bar on the main floor,” said Allison.
Shelby felt herself weaken.
Obviously sensing victory, Allison held out her hand for the phone, wiggling her fingers. “Frappino’s. Mochaccinos every day of the week.”
That did it. Shelby groaned and handed over the phone. “Fine. Exploit away.”
Not that she expected Greg to say yes. He’d be crazy to hire her. She didn’t know the first thing about being a classy receptionist. But she’d sleep better at night if he turned her down, instead of her thumbing her nose at the job of a lifetime and then wondering forever what might have been.
Allison took the phone, waving it around for emphasis. “It’s not exploitation. It’s not even nepotism. Any job placement agency will tell you to use your contacts. And I’m your contact in Chicago. Use me.”
“Make sure you tell him I don’t know the first thing about being a receptionist.”
Allison grinned as she punched in a number and lifted the phone to her ear. “I won’t lie. Greg Smith, please.”
Shelby’s stomach tightened into a knot.
“Hey, how hard can it be?” asked Allison. “You answer a few phone calls, greet a few clients, file a few folders. You do know the alphabet, right?”
“I still sing it inside my head.”
Allison grinned, raking her messy dark hair across her scalp and shaking her head. “Greg?” she said into the phone.
“What?” she asked almost immediately.
She paused. “Because Shelby woke me up.”
Allison winked at Shelby. “Yes, she is very punctual.”
Shelby’s palms turned sweaty as, despite herself, she started to hope. A cushy job in a law office sounded so much better than delivering balloons in a French maid’s outfit or slinging hash at 5:00 a.m.
Some women just weren’t cut out for 5:00 a.m. Unless, of course, it had been a really great party.
“Of course I’m not mad,” Allison said into the phone. “Shelby did a fantastic job of entertaining me last night.” She gave a theatrical sigh. “Otherwise I would have been so lonely in the club all by myself.”
Shelby rolled her eyes.
Allison grinned unrepentantly as she listened to Greg’s response. “As a matter of fact, there is a way to thank her. She’s looking for a job as a receptionist.”
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