One Last Call

by Susan Behon

  “Yeah?”

  “You did it again.” Smiles could be deceiving. On second glance, it was more a baring of teeth.

  “What did I do?” Josh was positive Keith wasn’t clueless. In goading Chris, he’d inadvertently upset Fiona.

  “We’ll discuss it later.” Sabrina scooted out of her chair until she was standing eye to eye with her husband.

  “Promise?” Keith was a masochist too. He kissed her rounded belly and murmured, “Tell Fee I’m sorry.”

  After Sabrina left to find her sister, Chris slouched in his chair and stared into his vodka cranberry cocktail. If it were any other man drinking it, Josh would think it girly.

  “When are you going to talk to her about it, Chris?”

  It? Keith was terrible at whispering.

  Chris set his glass on the table with a thunk and rubbed at his forehead. “Mind your own goddamn business, Keith.”

  Everyone at the table was listening to the interaction, eager for more information.

  Keith glared at his friend. “Chris, do something.”

  “All right.” Chris slugged back the rest of his drink and left the table. “I’m getting some air. Be back in a few.”

  “That’s not what I meant, asshole.”

  Chris strode past him. “I know.”

  Chapter 12

  THIS was bad. It was beyond bad. If they couldn’t get the karaoke equipment working, she was going to have a bar full of pissed-off would-be singers.

  “Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?”

  Grant shook his head. “The problem is that it won’t turn on in the first place.”

  “Is it plugged in?”

  “Yeah. Don’t you think I checked that?”

  “Did you?”

  “I’ll check again.” Grant stared at the wall where the equipment was obviously plugged in. “Uh, that would be a yes.”

  A stack of song requests slips were already piling up. “Scooch over and let me take a look at it.” Sarah checked the laptop and all the connections. The laptop worked because of its battery. At least that was something positive. She got on her knees and checked the cords and cables tangling under the table. “Oh, shit.”

  “What is it?” Grant crouched down so he could see her.

  “Everything’s been cut.”

  “What?” He got on his hands and knees to get a look at the electrical cords.

  “See, the cords are sliced right where they touch the floor.” The snipped ends were rolled under by the pile of lines. Everything was plugged in, but the cords didn’t connect to the speakers or video monitor. Sarah felt her lips tingle with her oncoming panic attack. Her cheeks were going numb. “There’s no way to get power to anything. This stuff is useless. It’s ruined.”

  “No, it’s not.” Josh was in front of her when she crawled out from under the table. He sounded so confident that Sarah almost believed him.

  “What do you mean? The wiring has been cut. No power, no music.”

  Josh set a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He gave a little squeeze. “Let me find Chris. I think there’s somethin’ we can do.”

  Sarah ran her hands up the front of his T-shirt and stopped at his pecs. She could feel the definition of his muscles through the crisp-smelling cotton. Probably a bad time to feel him up, but it sure as hell made her feel better. “If you fix this, I’ll give you a big juicy kiss.”

  Josh’s hands immediately landed on her hips, and he hauled Sarah up against him.

  “Hey, I didn’t know that was an option! I can try to fix it if you give me a minute.” Grant didn’t know anything about electronics except for how to click the play button.

  “Not a chance, Junior.” Josh stared over her head at her amateur DJ.

  “It’s Grant.” The boy shifted to his feet and jerked his head to get the hair out of his eyes.

  “Right. Still no chance. I got this one.” Josh stared at Sarah’s lips when she tilted her head back to see his face. The panic tingles were replaced by something better. To her, he murmured, “Remember that promise, darlin’. I’ll be collectin’.” Josh ambled away, headed for the exit, presumably to find Chris.

  Sarah admired the view, watching that sexy stride until the door closed behind him. With Josh gone, she was left staring at her ruined equipment. “This can’t be happening.”

  Something of this caliber was deliberate and malicious. Who could have done it? She skimmed over the crowd, and with a jolt, got caught on the sight of a couple at a corner table. Richard and Brandi were sitting together looking cozy. Her long, smooth, ebony-black hair was draped over one shoulder to accommodate the arm Richard had wrapped around her. Seriously? What the hell were they doing here? They had a tacit agreement that this bar was off-limits to Richard and Brandi, together or separately.

  Brandi stared at her in bitchy hauteur which was ironic considering Brandi was the homewrecker and this was Sarah’s place. Richard’s girlfriend had a possessive hand tipped with blood red nails clutched around his arm. He appeared to be wearing the same thing he had on earlier in the day, with the exception of a few opened buttons and a now loosened mud-brown tie. Brandi had dolled up, and her slinky silver halter top left little to the imagination. Not that Sarah wanted to imagine anything on her. She’d seen enough of Brandi Belmont naked, up close and personal, to last her a lifetime. That day at the office was indelibly burned into Sarah’s brain. Eye bleach, anyone?

  Richard looked pale and on his way to a good drunk if his slack features were any indication. Was Brandi staking a claim by grabbing his arm or holding him upright? Either way, she could have him. Sarah made a mental note to tell Ally to cut him off.

  Sarah was surprised no one had come running to tell her Richard was here. Had he sent the creeper texts from inside the bar? That was more than a little disturbing. If they’d cut the power cables on the karaoke equipment, would they have the balls to sit around and watch the aftermath? Brandi, if she were willing to risk her manicure, maybe. Richard, not so much. Something like doing manual labor or cutting into electrical lines would be beneath him.

  Sarah would get around to kicking their asses out as soon as she dealt with the bigger issue of her karaoke system. If it couldn’t be fixed, she was going to be screwed out of a good deal of money, not to mention the wrath of the karaoke enthusiasts. She could live without Sonny’s rendition of “Piano Man,” but it made the man so happy to sing it, she’d feel awful denying him.

  “That your boyfriend or something?” Grant nodded toward the exit, his lips pressed together in a tight line.

  “Or something.” Sarah didn’t know what the heck to call him since everything was so new. Two days ago, he was someone to be avoided at all costs. Were they a couple now?

  “So, just a hookup?” He slid a knowing glance her way.

  “A what?”

  “You know.” Grant raised his eyebrows to emphasize his point.

  “Are you talking about sex?”

  He stared at her like she was clueless. “Well, yeah.”

  “In that case, none of your damned business.” She smiled to soften the set down. “Let’s see what we can do to untangle these cords for Josh and Chris.”

  Grant rolled his wide yet bony shoulders. “Sure. Whatevs.”

  “God, you too?”

  “Me too what?”

  “Forget it. Let’s get to work.”

  * * * *

  It didn’t take Josh long to find Chris. He was in the parking lot leaning against the bed of his company truck. His head was down, and he had his hands laced behind his neck. Whatever was wrong with him had to be pretty damn serious to put that miserable look on his face.

  Chris straightened when he heard the crunch of gravel under Josh’s boots. “Forget it. I’m not talking to you about it. Tell Keith he can…”

  “Hold up. That’s not why I’m here.”

  Chris speared his fingers through a mass of
wavy brown hair. “You’re not here to cheer me up, are you?”

  “No. You can relax, bud. This has nothin’ to do with your love life. I need you to help Sarah.”

  “Sarah?” He took a step away from his truck. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Someone snipped all the cords for her karaoke system.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “Nah. I’m not. Sarah’s panickin’ because the singin’ is supposed to start soon. Do you have your tools with you? Some needle-nose pliers and some electrical tape? I’m thinkin’ we can splice the wires as a temporary fix.”

  “That I can help you with.” Chris owned his own security business. This would be nothing compared to installing a security system. He pulled the toolbox out of the truck bed. “You done any splicing?”

  “Yeah, I figure if we both work on it, it will be done quicker, and Sarah can relax.”

  “So another one bites the dust, huh?”

  Josh didn’t bother hiding his grin. “I hope so. Besides, she promised me a kiss if I fixed the karaoke.” Josh couldn’t wait to collect.

  Chris started back toward the bar. “Oh yeah? What do I get?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether you get your head out of your ass and talk to Fee.”

  Chris did a double take. “Why the hell are you calling her Fee?”

  “Because that’s her name? Anyway, that’s what she told me to call her.” Josh smirked. “You’re actin’ awful jealous for someone who won’t give her the time of day.” He held the door so Chris could go by him. “You know, Keith’s right.”

  Chris rolled his eyes. “Do me a favor and never let him hear you say that.”

  “Yeah, it’s just…”

  “It’s just what? Do you know something I don’t?”

  Josh peered over Chris’s shoulder. “You might want to step up that conversation you’re supposed to have with her.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “There’s a dude with glasses and some fancy shirt sittin’ next to Fee. By the way she’s smilin’ at him, looks like she knows him.”

  Chris grumbled, “Son of a bitch! That’s Dr. Anthony.”

  Josh clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s Dr. Anthony? I heard about him.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “I hear lots of ladies wouldn’t mind bein’ Mrs. Dr. Anthony.”

  “Fee say that?”

  “Can’t rightly recall. Wouldn’t be surprised if she did. The ladies think he’s good lookin’. Heard he’s a real nice guy too. All that money wouldn’t hurt either, huh?” Josh might have laid it on a bit thick. Chris needed to be riled up, though.

  “Damned doctors. That’s all I need right now.” Chris took a swift glance at Fee and Dr. Anthony, then turned his back on them.

  “She’s a pretty woman, Chris. Sooner or later there was gonna be some competition.”

  “There is no competition.”

  “You keep tellin’ yourself that. Come on, let’s save the day.”

  Chris shook his head in denial. “Screw that. I’m not going over there.”

  “I meant, let’s fix the wires for Sarah.”

  Chris didn’t answer, probably embarrassed for giving himself away. In his determination to get over to the karaoke table as quickly as possible, Chris missed Fiona watching him. Yeah, looked like she thought a little competition would be good for him too.

  As soon as Sarah saw them coming, her eyes lit up. She saw Chris holding his tool box and stepped around Grant to talk to them. Her expression was so jubilant, Josh felt like he’d already saved the day and he hadn’t done anything yet.

  “So, you can really fix it?”

  Chris nodded, all business. “Shouldn’t be a problem, Sarah. Josh and I can get you up and running in a half hour, max.”

  “Oh thank you, thank you!” Sarah wrapped her arms around Chris’s waist and gave him a quick hug before stepping back. “Sorry, I’m excited that this can be fixed.”

  Chris glanced over at Josh and smirked. “Rumor has it, Sarah, that you’re giving out kisses?”

  “I am.”

  Over my dead body. Before he got good and pissed off, Sarah got up on her tiptoes and kissed Chris on the cheek. It was innocent, but Chris looked a little too damn proud of himself.

  “Hey now, where’s mine?” Josh was the one she’d made the promise to.

  Sarah sauntered up to Josh, wound her arms around his neck, and brushed her lips softly against his. She whispered in his ear, “We’ll get to the juicy part later.”

  Josh splayed his hand against her back to keep Sarah near enough to hear him. “I’m holdin’ you to that, sweetheart.”

  “You better.” Sarah in flirty mode scrambled his brains. He wanted to drag her off right now and get to the kissing. Wishful thinking since he still hadn’t fixed the electrical cords yet.

  She moved away from the table to give them room. “I’ve got some work to take care of in the back. Come get me when you’re done.” The little minx winked at him.

  Chris set the tool box on the floor. Grant still hadn’t moved out of the way. He had his ass resting against the table. “Hey, kid, we need to get in here for a few.”

  “My name is Grant.” Grant flipped his hair out of his eyes and tried to look tough by folding his not-quite-muscular-yet arms over his narrow chest. It didn’t work.

  Chris shot a glance at Josh and he’d shrugged. For some reason, the kid wasn’t moving. “Okay. Grant, we still need to get in here for a few. Mind stepping back so we can fix the cords?”

  The teen’s bravado didn’t last long. His shoulders slumped, and he mumbled, “Yeah, sure.” There was no cool way to get around them so he shoved off the table and left without another word.

  Chris opened his tool box and chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” Josh didn’t see the joke.

  “Looks like you got a little competition yourself, there, Logan.”

  * * * *

  Sarah was beyond relieved that the evening was saved. Josh and Chris could have drinks on the house for the rest of the night—food too if they hadn’t already eaten. Josh would get that kiss she promised him too. Now, there was something she was looking forward to.

  After a quick stop at the bar to tell Ally that Richard was cut off and that he needed to leave, she went back to her office. Sarah wasn’t hiding this time. She needed to find the number for the new server, what was her name? Julie? Sarah had liked her immediately. The woman didn’t have a lot of experience, yet she seemed eager to learn. Tomorrow could be her first day of training, if Sarah could only find the woman’s number so she could call her.

  She was standing in front of her desk flipping through the employment applications, getting sidetracked by invoices, and muttering to herself about getting more organized when she heard the office door click shut. Sarah was enveloped by a masculine arm wrapping around her waist from behind. She dropped the papers and was about to say Josh’s name when she smelled the overwhelming scent of bourbon. Sarah froze. The arm surrounding her wasn’t tan and muscular. It was pale and partially sleeved in a white dress shirt.

  “Richard?” No! “What the hell are you doing back here?”

  “Ah, you still know me by feel.” He nuzzled his face against her hair in a lover’s caress that felt wrong on too many levels to count.

  “Get your hands off me!” Sarah tried to spin around so she could push him away and he wrapped his arm around her tighter. Oh yuck. She felt his erection pressing against the back of her white denim shorts. Richard rocked his hips against hers. “Come on, Sarah. Doesn’t this feel good? I missed you.”

  “No. Get off me!” Sarah did her best to break his grip on her. It was no use. Pushing away from his forearm only pressed her backside more intimately against his groin. He had her hips pinned against the desk, so she couldn’t get any space between them.

 
Richard dragged his wet mouth along her neck. His slack lips felt like snails crawling across her skin. “Damn, you always smelled so good, Sharah.” Richards S’s were getting slurred.

  The boom of music starting and stopping meant Josh and Chris were getting the speaker system fixed. There was no guarantee anyone would hear her if she screamed. Richard’s other arm came up around her. He rubbed his hand in a greedy grope against the bare skin revealed by the scoop neck of her T-shirt. Sarah shuddered in revulsion.

  “Let me go, Richard. This isn’t funny.”

  “Did you get the roses I sent?” Richard asked that question so conversationally, they could have been chatting, sitting across the desk from each other instead of him shoving her into the furniture against her will.

  Bastard. “Yes, I got them. I threw them in the trash.” She dug her nails into his forearm, then reached back and tried to claw at his face.

  Richard constricted his grip until it was excruciating against her midsection. Sarah sucked in a breath of air, trying to keep her nausea at bay. Any minute now, she was going to vomit all over her messy paperwork.

  “You threw them away? Why?” The asshole whined like his feelings were hurt. “To make your boyfriend happy? I saw you with that redneck prick. Rubbing on him like a little slut. Were you trying to make me jealous?”

  Screw this. Sarah shouted out, “Help!” at the top of her lungs. She got the first part of the word out before Richard slammed a clammy palm against her mouth. The thumping bass of the music started up again, which would have drowned her out anyway.

  “Shhh.” Richard rubbed the ridge of his hard-on against her backside. From the quickening of the foul-smelling breaths puffing against her neck, Sarah realized that the struggle was arousing him even more. “We won’t tell him, will we?” It was getting more difficult to suck in air. Black spots danced before her eyes. Richard groaned his excitement. “This will be our little secret, Sarah. For old time’s sake.”

  Sarah tried to bite at his hand. It was no use. Richard had it pressed like a vise over her mouth.

  “I need you, Sarah. You don’t understand. We have to get back together.”