by K. M. Scott
Jesus. Why couldn’t I have been an only child?
I followed Kane out to the bar. “Hey, are you planning to just not talk to one of the owners of this place? I think you’re going to have to speak to me at some point. I mean, we are equal partners here.”
“What do you want?”
Rounding the corner of the bar, I pointed to the upper floors. “I want to know you’re going to hold up your end of the bet since she’s just days away from giving in.”
Kane grimaced and shook his head. “Assuming I believed that, there’s no way Cash is going to let you take over anything after you’ve shown your inability to manage much else than liquor orders and girls who pour drinks.”
“Is that all you two think I do here?” I asked in shock at how easily he diminished my part in the running of our club.
His brows knitted and he snorted in derision. “Yeah, you do something else, but fucking women isn’t exactly what I’d call managing anything.”
“Well, be that as it may, I’m going to win our bet, so be ready.”
Kane’s expression twisted into one of pure disgust. “You don’t get it, Stefan. Both of us are sick of your shit. It’s all well and good for us to make a fun bet, but you’re making our jobs harder. That bullshit’s not going to fly anymore, little brother.”
He stormed away, leaving me standing there before I could even defend myself. Making their jobs harder? What the fuck? Did my part of the club ever suffer? Fuck no! While he stood around upstairs with the dancers, who basically managed themselves, I worked my tail off down here to make sure the bar was the best in town. Who the fuck did he and Cash think they were? My part of this club made us money every night we were open, and unlike both of them, a big reason for that was how my staff was with the members. My staff, not theirs.
Behind me I heard footsteps and I turned to see John Sheridan standing there. God, he was disgusting. Dressed in a dingy white dress shirt and tan dress pants that looked like they’d never seen an iron, he reminded me of a used car salesman. Greasy chunks of brown hair hung in his eyes, and I could have sworn I smelled the old cigar smoke that clung to those gross clumps. Thankfully, he wasn’t there to see me.
“Hey, Sha…uh, I mean John. What’s up?” I asked as I tried to avoid focusing on his head.
“I’m here to talk to Cassian. Is he back there?”
I shook my head. “No, he just left for a meeting. Did he know you were coming?”
Shank screwed his expression into a comical grimace at my news. “Damn. No, I just hoped to catch him.”
“Kane’s upstairs, if you want him,” I offered, happy for the opportunity to make my half-brother’s day more miserable by a visit from Shank.
He seemed to consider the idea of making the trip up to the fifth floor but then shook his head. “Nah, that’s okay. I’ll just come back when Cassian’s here. When’s he coming back?”
What the fuck? Was I my brother’s goddamned keeper or his secretary?
“I don’t know. He said he had a three o’clock meeting. I’d guess he’ll be back tonight before we open. You can stop back then.”
And go the fuck away from me right now.
“Okay.” Shank turned to leave and then stopped, turning back to face me again. “Oh, by the way, I want to thank you for taking such good care of my little girl. She can’t say enough about how much she loves working here for you.”
“Your little girl?”
Holy fucking hell! Shank had reproduced? The horrifying image of what his daughter might look like raced through my mind, sending a shiver down my spine. Which of my bartenders could possibly be his kid? None of my workers looked like that. And then a terrifying thought tore through me. Had I slept with her?
“Yeah. Lorraine. I mean Lola. She loves working here. She can’t say enough about how good you are to her.” Clapping me on the shoulder, he smiled. “So thanks, Stefan. Anyone my daughter likes is all good in my book.”
I nodded and forced a smile as my brain tried to process the fact that the woman I’d been sleeping with came from this disgusting human. Was her mother some supermodel Shank kept hostage as a sex slave?
“Oh, Lola. Yeah, she’s great. She knows her way around the bar all right. The members love her.”
And until that moment, I’d been enjoying having sex with her.
He grinned and nodded at me. “I wasn’t sure about you, but Cassian’s always been a good guy so I knew my little girl would be in good hands here. Thanks for taking such good care of her.”
“Yeah, my pleasure,” I mumbled as he walked away, my brain still having a hard time wrapping itself around the idea of whose loins Lola had come from.
Shank headed out the door and I tore up the stairs to talk to Kane, who I suspected knew all along that Lola was Shank’s kid. I found him sitting in that shithole of an office looking like some black and white movie private eye. Jesus, how the hell was I related to this guy?
“When the fuck did you plan to tell me about Lola being Shank’s daughter?”
Kane looked up from his laptop and I saw that vicious smile of his and the twinkle he got in his eye when he’d done something to fuck me over. “Is she?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know. I told Cash about Lola right after I hired her, and I know he told you to check her out. What the fuck, Kane? You know I’ve been doing her. You didn’t think I should know she’s related to the guy we pay each month to keep us safe?”
“Would it have stopped you from sleeping with her?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow like he was judging me.
In truth, it wouldn’t have. Lola and I had gotten together the first week she worked behind the bar, and I liked fucking her. She was the perfect woman—hot, a great lay, and eager to please so she didn’t make any demands on me or my time. But it would have been nice to know she was Shank’s daughter all the same.
“No, but that’s not the point. And don’t sit there with that judgment face on. It’s none of your business who I sleep with, big brother.”
Kane huffed his disgust. “I don’t give a damn who you fuck until it becomes something we have to deal with because you’re too goddamn horny to choose your partners better. I’m sick of women suing us because you promise them something and then treat them like shit. So if I look like I’m judging you, it’s because I am. Grow the fuck up and learn to handle your affairs the right way, like a man, or stick with your hand.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck you, Kane. Maybe if you weren’t always alone, even though you’re surrounded by gorgeous women every night, you wouldn’t be so jealous.”
“It’s not jealousy, baby brother. See, this is why Cash and I get along so well and you’re the black sheep. We understand there was a time to fuck around and now it’s time to be men. You don’t seem to have gotten the memo. You’re twenty-seven years old, Stef. How long do you plan to do this gigolo thing doing every bartender you can? Doesn’t it get old after a while?”
“Does sleeping with hot women get old? Uh, no, Kane. No, it never does. What are you, a eunuch or something?”
Kane took a deep breath, like he always did when he was preparing to serve up some bullshit lecture. This time, though, he just shook his head and said, “No. I’m a man, not a boy, Stef. I know what I do here affects all of us. It isn’t just about what my cock wants anymore.”
“Well, good for you. I hope you’re happy with yourself,” I said in response, unable to think of anything better. I hated when he did the whole responsible brother thing. That was Cash’s role, or at least it always had been. Kane used to be fun, but ever since Olivia tamed Cash, it seemed like Kane was angling to be the next poor sucker to settle down. Not that there was a woman in his life, as far as I could tell.
“You know what screwing around with Shank’s daughter means, don’t you?”
Closing my eyes, I silently reminded myself not to make the mistake of coming up to this floor again until I was the ruler of this place. “No, Kane. I don’t know what
that means, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“It means you better not mess up with this one.”
My eyes flew open. “What does that mean? I’m not planning on marrying Lo, if that’s what you mean. This guy isn’t lining up for a life of misery. No, thanks.”
“Stefan, screwing around with Shank’s daughter isn’t like screwing around with some ordinary bartender. We need Shank to keep this place open. Cash is working on getting more help in that area, but until he does, Shank is someone we have to keep happy.”
“So, what? All of this falls on my head?”
“Welcome to adulthood, Stef. Responsibility sucks, doesn’t it?”
“Why is this all on me?”
“Because you’re the one who thought it was a good idea to get into Lola’s pants. You don’t see me or Cash screwing around with her, do you? This is on you.”
“Well, maybe someone should have told me who she was when he found out.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. I didn’t find out until after you started sleeping with her.”
“Yeah, I bet. How would you know when we first got together?”
Kane stared at me for a long moment and then rolled his eyes. “Do you think you’re fooling anyone down there? All I had to do was walk through one night and notice you not around and I knew what you were up to. A few minutes later, I saw her leave your office and knew.”
“Whatever. So what are you saying? I don’t have a choice as to what I want to do with her anymore? Now I have to sleep with her or what? Shank will ruin us?”
“You have to make sure she’s happy because if she’s not, her father might not be so willing to help us.”
The realization of what Kane was saying hit me like a fist to the face. Now I had to sleep with Lola. I had no choice. Suddenly, what had always been a good time felt like an obligation, a responsibility.
“Well, how the hell am I supposed to do that and still live like a single man should?”
My half-brother laughed right in my face, as if that question hadn’t been one hundred percent serious. “You’re not very slick, are you? Have you been exclusively sleeping with Lola all this time?”
“No, but now with all this riding on it, it sounds like I’ll have to. I can’t do that. It would be like living like a monk!”
“Stefan, monks don’t fuck women in their offices when they’re supposed to be working.”
“You know what I meant. And how the hell am I supposed to live up to my part of our bet if I can’t sleep with anyone but Lo?”
“You’ve got some strange priorities there, baby brother. I just told you that a lot of our safety here is riding on your keeping Shank’s daughter happy, and you’re worried about how you’re going to get into another woman’s pants.”
“The fact that who I sleep with means so much to this place is fucked up, Kane. Even you can agree with that. But our bet isn’t something I’m planning on just letting slide because you and Cash can’t find friends in high places.”
Kane stood from behind his desk and walked to right in front of me. “You got yourself into this. You get yourself out of it. Don’t forget that whatever happens with Shank’s daughter will affect all of us, though.”
“What about if you hung out with her? She’d probably like you well enough. I mean, you’re not me, but you could cozy up to Lola and then I could do my thing like always, including Shay.”
The look in Kane’s eyes told me he wasn’t on board with my plan. “Go back downstairs and do some work, Stef.”
“C’mon, it could work. Lo’s okay, and she’d probably go for it if I told her you were into her. You look like you could use a good time, and she’s definitely that. Even better, you could probably handle Shank, if push came to shove. You know, put that body of yours to good use on all counts. What do you say?”
“I say don’t screw this up or we’ll all suffer.”
And with that, Kane closed his office door in my face, leaving me to deal with this huge burden all by myself. As I walked down to the bar area, I couldn’t believe that once again everything in this damn place was put on my shoulders. While Cash spent his time at museum parties drinking champagne and schmoozing with the city’s upper crust and Kane trolled the upper floors surrounded by gorgeous women who basically did his job for him, except for the occasional asshole he and his henchmen had to deal with, I had to make this club the best in town. And now I had to act like some lovey dovey boyfriend to Lola to make sure the guy we paid protection to remained happy.
This was definitely going to put a crimp in my lifestyle.
* * *
BY SEVEN o’clock I was back at Club X and ready to make some good money and some good headway on playing Stefan March. The nightly bartender meeting hadn’t begun yet, so I found Lola standing near the back bar. A pretty girl with bleached blond hair, big blue Barbie doll eyes, and boobs I was sure had to be at least a big C cup, she knew her stuff behind the bar, and I could appreciate that. The club’s members appreciated the other things about her, I’d noticed.
She seemed to have a tremendous crush on Stefan, so I thought I should feel her out as to just how close they were. It was one thing to play a player, but I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and if she and he had something together, all plans to make Stefan finally see how much of a jackass he was would be off.
“Hi, Lola! You ready for another night at Club X?” I asked as I grabbed myself a glass of water.
“Hey, Shay! Another day, another dollar, right?”
I took a sip from my water and smiled. “I hope so. That’s what I’m all about here.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re saving money to go where?” she asked, her head tilted like she was truly interested in that part of my life.
“Copenhagen. I leave in late December, so I need to get as much money under my belt as I can.”
“Where is Copenhagen?”
This wasn’t the first time I’d been asked that. It seemed that no one in Tampa knew where Copenhagen was. Smiling, I answered, “Denmark. You know, where Hamlet lived?”
“Hamlet? Who’s that?” she asked with those big doe eyes staring at me in confusion.
“You know, Shakespeare? To be or not to be?” I saw in her blank expression she had no idea what I was talking about, so I just shook my head. “Just someone I knew. Denmark is in northern Europe.”
“Will it be cold there when you go?”
“Yeah, I think it will be. I guess some of that money I’m planning to make better go to winter coats and hats,” I joked.
Lola seemed distracted, and I followed her gaze to Stefan on the other side of the room talking to Mika, another of the bartenders. All I’d learned about her came from her snapping at me every night I’d worked. Cutthroat and worried I’d take her place behind the bar, if not under our boss, Mika had shown herself to be a first class bitch. But she had a knockout look with short black hair and model cheekbones, not to mention an ass that looked like you could bounce a quarter off it, so it wasn’t surprising that Stefan couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Do you think she’s pretty, Shay?” Lola mumbled as she continued to stare at him with the bitch.
“In a she-probably-eats-her-men-after-sleeping-with-them way, I guess.”
Lola turned toward me and giggled. “She probably does, doesn’t she? She doesn’t like me because Stefan likes me more than her. I heard her complain about him giving me the front bar the other night.”
“Mika doesn’t like me either, so don’t feel bad. And don’t feel bad about knowing your stuff behind the bar. You deserve to be at the front of the club.”
“You’re pretty good too, Shay, and you don’t hate me.”
I looked past her to see Stefan patting Mika on the ass. What a pig! Looking back at Lola, I smiled, hoping to make her feel better. “I don’t hate people who are better than I am. I learn from them. Mika hates people who are better than she is because she’s immature, like a teenage girl.”
Lola lowered her head just in time to miss Stefan’s sexual harassment of Mika. “She likes Stefan.”
Why, I couldn’t imagine, other than the fact that she was a bitch who deserved someone like him.
“Do you like Stefan, Lola?”
Turning around, she nodded slowly. “He’s the best boss I’ve ever had. Stefan’s much nicer than most people think he is. He gets a bad rap, but he just likes to play around is all.”
“I think you’re being too generous, Lola. What you call playing around most lawyers would call sexual harassment.”
She shook her head and frowned. “See, that’s what’s wrong with this world. Men like Stefan love women. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone.”
Lola’s gentle tone unnerved me and for a moment, I wanted to believe what she saw in our boss was true. Then I saw him practically feel up Kerry and then Kat just after he’d been touching Mika and knew my gut was right about him.
Stefan March was a sexually harassing, male chauvinist pig, pure and simple. That someone sweet like Lola saw anything in him was likely because she was too nice and had nothing to do with him deserving her kindness. But the question was, did she defend him because they were together or just because she was a sweet, if naïve, girl?
“Lola, are you and Stefan…you know…?”
For a moment, I thought I saw guilt in her eyes, but she shrugged and shook her head. “No. I just think that he gets attacked for being who he is. There’s nothing wrong with a man who appreciates women.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Stefan’s not the type of man to go with just one woman, you know? I mean, why should he? He’s young, hot, and wealthy. Why would he want to tie himself down to just one person?” she said wistfully, making me think she’d just lied to me.
“Gather up!” the man himself barked and I followed Lola to the center of the room to where the bartenders’ meeting was to begin.
Stefan seemed to be in rare form this night. Unlike on most nights, he didn’t wear a Club X t-shirt but instead wore a long sleeve Henley more like Kane would wear, but as always had a pair of jeans on that accentuated his muscular body. The guy knew how to show off his assets. There was something about him tonight, though—something that seemed even cockier than usual, if that was possible.
