Midnight Ballerina

by Cori Williams

  “I don’t really know which is why I haven’t said anything. I like my job, I like working here. It’s really a good place. Some of the other clubs out there are just horrible. So, if Miller does know it’s going on, I really don’t want to get fired for causing any trouble. I know that sounds wrong, but I need to support my daughter.”

  “That’s understandable. And I need the money, but not that bad. Either way, I’m going to talk to Miller about it now, if he’s here.”

  “Well, good luck.”

  I groaned as I stood up. Randy was the last person I wanted to see. Maybe after I saw Miller I wouldn’t even have to deal with him.

  I honed in on my secret spy skills as I left the makeup room and headed in to the club so I could make my way over to Miller’s office. Somehow I got lucky and Randy was actually doing the job he was paid to do, helping Bianca with a table near the stage so he didn’t even turn my way. But then I started thinking about what they were probably doing. Maybe Randy was setting up Bianca for her next “gig.” The thought made me sick to my stomach. I was all for people doing what they wanted. Whatever life choices you decided to make, then go for it. But what they were doing was illegal. I had to do something, especially if Miller wasn’t aware of the situation. Something like that could cost him his business or get him in a whole lot of trouble.

  I made it across the floor and into the hallway without anyone spotting me, and I sighed in relief when I saw Miller’s light on and his door open. I poked my head in and almost wished that I hadn’t. Miller was there but he wasn’t alone and my heart sank at the sight.

  The blonde from the restaurant was there, sitting on his desk with her long, perfect legs draped over each other, her hand placed on the desk just inches from Miller where he was sitting in his chair. They looked pretty deep in conversation, so I was thankful that Miller didn’t see me and I pulled my head out of his view, but immediately heard his voice.

  “Monroe?”

  Of course I couldn’t get away without being seen. I felt stupid. I’d been crushing hard on Miller the past couple of weeks, I’m sure he knew it, too, and all along he had a girlfriend. I figured because he never mentioned having one that I had seen him on a one-time date or something.

  Might as well get this over with then. I poked my head back around the door and he motioned for me to come in. Perfect.

  “Hey.” I waved wildly, feeling like a complete idiot before tucking my hands behind my back before they did something else stupid. The blonde, Miller’s girlfriend or whoever she was, had swung her legs around to the other side of the desk and was now once again inches away from Miller, where he had moved to stand in front of his desk.

  “This is Tara. Tara, this is Monroe.” That was it. No explanation of who Tara was or anything. Typical guy, I swear.

  I was about to stick my hand out to Tara, but then I thought better of it. I could see the wheels turning in her head, that fake smile pasted on her face covering up what she was really thinking. She assumed I was a stripper here, probably judging by what I had on, and thought I was trash.

  “So nice to meet you…Monroe.” Her nose crinkled slightly and I knew that I was completely right. I hated when people judged others so quickly when they first met them. But I guess, I wasn’t really a big fan of hers either since she kept popping up around Miller. Actually, it made me feel pretty territorial though I had no idea what their actual relationship was. They could’ve been dating for years for all I knew.

  “Did you need something, Monroe? Tara and I were getting ready to head out.”

  Great.

  It wasn’t like I wanted to bring up what had happened in front of Tara. It was bad enough having to tell Miller what I witnessed between Bianca and her VIP customer. I didn’t know what Miller’s reaction would be when I told him, and I most certainly wasn’t going to find out in front of her.

  “Um…no. We can talk about it later. You two have fun.” I tried not to sound sarcastic when I added that last part. It took everything in me and I don’t think Miller caught on, but Tara did.

  “Oh, we are definitely going to have some fun,” she responded with a giggle and pushed Miller lightly on the shoulder, and he at least had the decency to look uncomfortable before he waved at me.

  “I’ll catch up with you later, Monroe.”

  And then I made my way straight back out of his office, envisioning all of the different ways they were going to have “fun” tonight, and my heart plummeted straight into my toes.

  IT HAD BEEN another long day at Buchanan Builders, but I cut it short to come into the club, mostly to see Monroe. And now, I watched her walk out of my office, her head hung low, and I hated seeing her like that. She was an independent girl but sometimes she lacked a little bit of confidence. I would’ve given anything to see her just tell Tara where to shove the attitude she had sent her way.

  “What kind of fun are we going to have?” I asked Tara as soon as Monroe disappeared around the corner.

  “Oh well, you know….” She trailed off, giggling nervously, and I groaned, not looking forward to having to spend any more time with her. She seemed to be getting on my nerves even more lately, especially since she popped up tonight when I planned on pulling Monroe off the floor to “clean” my office some more. I wasn’t sure exactly what she had left to do in here, but I could find something so I could spend some time with her.

  She cleared her throat before picking up the lone picture frame that was on my desk. “Why in the hell do you keep this around here?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, snatching it out of her hands and placing it back in its spot. That picture reminded me every day why I opened Pure in the first place. Tara muttered something but I ignored it, trying to keep my temper at bay because she was pushing every button tonight.

  “Let’s go.” I flicked off the lights and Tara followed after me, down the hallway to head out the back door. I was going to have a talk with Mamaw later. I knew that was why Tara was there. She gave some shit excuse about needing my help at the diner with something, sending Tara to get me because she couldn’t get a hold of me on my phone.

  There wasn’t one missed call.

  That old woman was trying awfully hard, I would give her that.

  “Miller, what is your problem?” Tara asked, huffing after I got in the truck and slammed the door. Tara had been conveniently dropped off at the club by a friend, so I was stuck with her.

  I was irritated as hell. Normally, I didn’t mind helping Mamaw whenever she needed me, but this time I doubted it was anything serious. Mainly it was pissing me off because I wanted to see Monroe, and she didn’t look very happy when she came into my office either. Probably because Tara was there. We had been flirting back and forth recently and anyone could feel the sexual tension between the two of us. I just needed to decide if I should act on it, and considering we’d be working in close proximity of each other after the weekend, making a choice was inevitable.

  “Nothing.” I clamped my lips shut before I said something that I would regret. Tara was like a daughter to Mamaw, a good one, one that Mamaw deserved and I wasn’t going to mess that up by being a dick to her.

  “Mmhmm,” she muttered. “Wait! Do you have a thing for that stripper that came into your office?” She shrieked the whole last sentence and I rubbed my right ear before gripping the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles were white.

  “Monroe is not a stripper,” I bit out.

  “Well, she works there, apparently, so close enough.”

  “Whatever, Tara. Mind your own business and shut your mouth about her.”

  “Miller!” I looked over, rolling my eyes at her shocked expression, one hand pressed to her chest as if I had offended her. She was probably going to tattle to Mamaw as soon as we got to the diner, but I really didn’t give a shit. I was a grown man and even though I loved Mamaw to death, she needed to get the idea of me and Tara married with a handful of babies out of her head. We’d gone on not even a
handful of dates and that was it.

  We pulled up to the diner and Tara bolted out of the truck before I even had it pulled to a complete stop. I didn’t know if she was being a drama queen or what, but I needed to stop caring. Maybe I had led her on or something in the beginning, but things weren’t going any further with her. They never would.

  I helped Mamaw with something ridiculous that took five minutes—I don’t even remember what it was, opening a pickle jar or something easy like that—and left Tara there. I think for a second she was going to try to come home with me, but I squashed that idea and also made a point to tell Mamaw that we were going to have a talk later. I had a feeling that Thanksgiving was going to be a little awkward since Tara would be there.

  Instead of going home, I drove back to Pure. Last night, I missed my Monroe fix, tonight, nothing was stopping me. I figured she’d be flying out to spend the holiday with her family and I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of not seeing her until Monday.

  I needed to stop acting like a girl, trying to sneak in time with her, and ask her out. I didn’t do that with employees. Ever. Especially with the line of business that I worked in, given my history, but Monroe wasn’t like the other girls. I could tell.

  “Hey, boss.” Randy stood up quickly, practically knocking his chair over before closing the gap between us and sticking out a hand for me to shake. “You’re back? I must be doing a bad job because it seems like you’re here an awful lot lately.” He chuckled and I pulled my hand away, wiping the sweatiness from his hand off.

  “Well, I own the place. I can show up anytime I like. Do I need to keep a closer eye on you or something?” He bounced back and forth on his feet, and I did not like how nervous he looked. Something was going on with Randy and I needed to figure it out.

  “What? Course not. I’m just messing with you, Mr. Buchanan.”

  I stared at him for a full minute before he cracked and looked away, making up some kind of excuse about needing to check the back dock for a late liquor shipment that was supposed to be coming in. My phone rang, distracting me from Randy, and I put him on the back burner. Maybe I needed to be here more often than I already was lately, but between starting my day off at five in the morning, running over to the diner whenever Mamaw needed anything, and then coming here, I was starting to get a little drained. I wouldn’t ever actually admit that out loud, though.

  After my phone call, I got lost in work. There was a bit of a problem with the hotel deal that I just cemented, but really, it was just a few kinks here and there, and I knew we would work them out easily.

  I didn’t realize how much time had passed until I closed my laptop and saw that almost an hour had gone by. That was an hour that I didn’t spend with Monroe and it pissed me off, but it also made me wonder what in the hell I was doing.

  I obviously didn’t have time for a relationship. Why was I even thinking about one with Monroe? I worked all the time and was barely ever home, mainly just to sleep and then head out the next morning, right back to work. I wouldn’t be able to give Monroe the attention and time she deserved. In the long run, she would end up getting hurt and I didn’t want to be the one to do that.

  I needed to leave before I saw her again. I had a few days to figure out what to do about the situation I’d put myself in by hiring her at the construction company.

  I needed to distance myself from her, but of course, I’d made that impossible.

  AFTER MILLER AND his blonde bombshell left, I decided to still finish out my shift since it was my last night. I planned on talking to Miller about Randy and that whole situation on Monday. Hopefully, he was innocent and wouldn’t flip out that I brought it up and fire me on the spot. I guess it wouldn’t be too horrible if that happened, if I removed money completely from the situation. Miller wasn’t interested in me, at all. He used me to clean his office for whatever reason and occasionally talked with me, probably because he felt bad for me or something. What I thought was possibly flirting or some kind of connection between us was simply my imagination.

  He had Tara. Miss Beauty Queen perfect everything. Legs a mile long, waist barely visible, and long, flowing hair that looked like it was professionally styled—both times I’d seen her, not a strand out of place. Blindingly white teeth, a cute southern accent that I was more than a little jealous of, and to top it all off, a set of boobs that put my barely C cups to shame.

  Gah…I really needed to stop torturing myself.

  My ringing phone interrupted my thoughts, which was probably a good thing, and since I wasn’t on the clock yet, I ducked outside and answered it.

  “Hey, Amelia.”

  “Oh, wow. Is this the Monroe Hartley? I’m not really sure because I haven’t heard her voice in so long. I was beginning to think that she fell off the face of the Earth or something.”

  “Haha, you’re so funny. I’ve been busy!”

  “Too busy for your best friend?” She sighed dramatically. “I see how it is.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been MIA lately, but I swear we’re hanging out soon. I took a couple of days off of work, remember?” Somehow, I had made it this far without Amelia finding out where I was really working. And after this, I wouldn’t have to lie about it anymore.

  “Well, fine. I guess I can handle that. You know how you could really make it up to me though, and it would be like the best thing ever?” She paused and I braced myself, knowing Amelia and her ideas.

  “How’s that?”

  “You could come to a party with me tonight. Franklin has this thing and it’s going to be so boring because he has to socialize and I just don’t feel like doing that. It would be so much better if you were there. Pretty, pretty please.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Don’t worry, that asshole won’t be getting anywhere near you.” I stiffened when she mentioned that asshole, the memory of Carleton rushing straight to the front of my mind.

  “I’m already at work right now, Amelia.” Even if I had the night off, I still wouldn’t go. I didn’t want to know what my reaction would be if I did happen to see Carleton. I know Amelia would stick by my side the whole night, but guys like Carleton were smart. They could find a way if they really tried. Guys like him liked the chase, however sick and twisted that was. I didn’t want to put myself into that situation.

  “Of course you are,” she replied sadly. “Maybe I just won’t go anyway, things with Franklin aren’t going that great.”

  “Really?” I asked, surprised that they weren’t. I had only met him the one time, but the way they had acted together, it was like no one else existed. They were all over each other. Constantly.

  “Yeah, well, he won’t stop being friends with Carleton, so I think he might be a little bit of a douchebag.”

  “Amelia.” I loved that she didn’t want her boyfriend to be friends with Carleton, but at the same time, they were friends before anything happened and if Franklin wanted to stay friends with him, that was his choice. It kind of did say a lot about his character, though. I definitely wouldn’t be friends with someone like that.

  “What? It’s the truth.”

  “Okay, well you do whatever you want. Don’t worry about my feelings, okay? I’m good with whatever you do. Are you still planning on stopping by tomorrow night when you get back into town?”

  “Of course. The quicker I get back, the better. It will be the most boring dinner ever with my parents’ stuffy friends. I wish we could just have a normal Thanksgiving, like the ones your family has. Are you sure you don’t want to drive home?”

  “No,” I replied sadly, hating the fact that I was going to miss out on some family time. When all of us got together, it was usually a blast, even though my sister and brother got on my nerves ninety percent of the time. “I’ll make it back for Christmas though. Maybe you should come with me. We can make a road trip out of it and you won’t have to deal with your mom. It would be so much fun.”

  “I don’t know. Missing Christmas? My mama would
probably have a coronary if she couldn’t parade me around in front of all of her fancy friends.” She paused and started giggling. “On second thought, that sounds like a perfect idea.”

  “Okay, we’ll talk about the details soon, but I have to let you go.”

  “Have fun!”

  Fun was probably the last thing I would be having, but at least I had the end of the night to look forward to.

  I decided to throw my hair up into a high ponytail and grabbed my bag, heading to the changing room. If I didn’t have to see or wear another pair of heels in my life, I would be one happy girl. I guess that would be another perk of not working at Pure. I wasn’t sure what Miller expected me to wear at his office, but I didn’t want to get too ahead of myself since Monday might be my only day. I really hoped that it wouldn’t have to come to that because I’m sure I would have a problem finding somewhere else to work where I could make that much money.

  And find some eye candy like Miller.

  It wasn’t like that was the only reason I had been so infatuated with him, or whatever you wanted to call it. Really, the list when it came to him went on and on…and on.

  Stop torturing yourself, Monroe.

  I groaned as soon as I walked back into the primping area and saw Randy standing there, both hands placed on his hips and one foot tapping away. “There you are, doll. I needed to talk to you about something. Didn’t Vanessa let you know?”

  “Oh, she did. Sorry about that, I planned to come find you after I got ready.” Really, I had planned to avoid him as long as possible. I didn’t know what he wanted to talk to me about and I really didn’t want to find out. The guy creeped me out since I was fairly certain he was basically a pimp. I wanted to steer clear of him and hopefully never see him again after tonight.

  Randy stared at me for a brief second and I wasn’t sure if he completely bought my lie, but really, I didn’t care. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about tonight, actually. I just figured I would give you more of a heads up, but I guess you’re just going to jump into things instead. Vanessa says your practices have been going well and you should be ready for the stage. Tonight’s one of the busiest nights of the year, so I need you up there.”