Thin Walls

by Lawson, Cassandra

  “I was spreading myself too thin,” I explained. “Since my partner wanted out, it seemed like a sign I should let this club go.”

  “Do you regret it?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied honestly. “My partner hadn’t been working as many hours in recent months, and I’d never planned to spend quite that much time here. The employees were great, but I was tired of getting hit on by married men who thought I should be more sympathetic to the fact that their wives didn’t understand them. On ladies’ night, I also saw the married women dancing with strange men and going home with them. It was making me bitter in a lot of ways.”

  “I can see how that would be the case,” Spencer agreed.

  The music grew loud, and the first dancer took the stage, ending our conversation. Instead, we got to work. By the end of the evening, I had a good idea what the new owner was trying to accomplish, but I stood by my opinion that they needed a change to make it work. As part of the remodeling, they’d set up a full kitchen and hired two cooks, but few people were ordering more than bar food.

  After settling into Spencer’s car, I tapped the steering wheel.

  “What’s on your mind, Ms. Whitier?” I could feel his eyes on me as I drove toward the bridge.

  “Ms. Whitier?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “Such a formal way to address a woman who went to a strip club with you.”

  “Shall I call you love again?”

  His voice glided along my skin like a caress, and I nearly shivered in response. I didn’t need any reminders of how I’d felt when he’d called me love earlier that night. I’m good at hiding my reactions behind smart ass remarks, so I didn’t have to worry he’d figure out how I felt. Maybe I was tired, or perhaps some masochistic part of me wanted to tease myself.

  “I’d rather if you didn’t call me love,” I admitted with a sigh. “It makes me forget the reasons we aren’t going to date now.”

  Several beats of silence passed before Spencer cleared his throat and replied. “Right. No calling you love. Not until after your contract is up and the situation with Suri is resolved.”

  “What does my contract have to do with anything?” It was a dumb question. I already knew what he was getting at by mentioning my contract.

  “It would be very unprofessional of me to try making you forget your reasons for not dating me while you’re working with me,” he explained.

  Chapter 18

  Spencer

  We both made small talk the rest of the way home. It had been one of the strangest evenings I’d ever had with a woman I wanted to date. I hadn’t spent much time in strip clubs except for a few college outings and Liam’s bachelor party. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate the appeal of a scantily clad woman so much as I preferred a more intimate setting where a woman I was dating danced for me alone. That preference led me to my biggest problem of the evening.

  We hadn’t been sitting around and watching the show like the other patrons, but I’d seen a lot of what was going on. How could I miss it? With each show, I’d imagined Mercy dancing for me. I have a great imagination, so I’d spent part of the evening trying to hide an erection from Mercy. Since I wasn’t the only guy there with a hard-on, I wasn’t embarrassed about others seeing it. I couldn’t decide which would be worse where Mercy was concerned—having her realize I was getting turned on from thinking about her or having her think I was getting turned on by the dancers.

  “I’ll walk you to your door,” I offered as she handed me my key fob.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she assured me, sounding nervous.

  “I know I don’t have to,” I replied before falling into step beside her and heading up the stairs to her condo.

  Mercy hesitated with her key in the lock.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, moving in closer to place my hand over the one holding her key.

  Mercy shuddered slightly before turning and gripping my hair to pull me closer for her kiss. After only a brief hesitation, I took control of the kiss. I pushed her back against the front door and pressed a palm to the door on either side of her head. My tongue teased and explored her sweet mouth as I savored her gasps of pleasure. Her soft moans vibrated against my lips as I kissed her like I was starving for her.

  It was a mistake. She technically worked for me—for the next month, at least. Her reason for wanting to avoid dating me hadn’t changed. I needed to let her go, but those arguments didn’t matter as I continued kissing her.

  Her hands glided up my back, and I cursed the fabric of my shirt that kept me from feeling them on my bare skin. I wanted to drag her into her condo and strip her naked so I could savor every perfect inch of her.

  “Spencer,” she whispered into my mouth when I eased up on my kiss.

  I didn’t know if she was begging me to continue kissing her or reminding me we should stop. I felt confident Mercy would let me take things further. Her uninhibited response made it clear how much she wanted me.

  “We should call it a night.” My lips were almost touching hers, and I still had her pinned to the front door. No matter how much I realized my actions were contrary to my words, I couldn’t seem to move away from her.

  Mercy didn’t move or speak at first, and I took pride in knowing my kiss had stunned her into silence. Finally, she let out a sigh that made me shudder as her warm breath caressed my lips. “You’re right.” Her hands moved to my chest, but rather than pushing me away, they stayed there. “I got carried away.”

  “We both got carried away,” I pointed out.

  “But you didn’t jump me,” she said with a smile.

  “I wanted to,” I confessed. “Does that make you feel better about your own actions, or are you now wondering if you should avoid me?”

  “A little of both,” she admitted as she gave my chest a gentle push so she could slide out from between me and the door. “I still think it’s a terrible idea to get involved with you now.”

  “Especially while we’re working together,” I added, more for myself than for her.

  “Yes, that makes it worse,” she agreed. “At the same time, I like you. That still surprises me considering how many times I’ve complained about you to my friends.”

  “It wasn’t me making noise,” I reminded her. “At least, it wasn’t most of the time.”

  She flashed me a sheepish smile. “Right. I keep saying I’m not going to bring that up again, but I can’t seem to help myself. I’m not trying to be insensitive.”

  “We’ve all had to deal with cheating exes,” I replied with a wry smile.

  She shook her head. “Not me. I’ve had some bad exes, but no cheaters. Why am I bringing that up?”

  I caught her hand and tugged her against my chest. Before she could react, I planted a quick kiss on her lips and then looked down at her with a grin. “You’re tired, and our situation is complex. How about if we discuss this later? I still want to date you.”

  “And I still insist we wait,” she replied with a sigh. “That sounds ridiculous after I jumped you just now.”

  “I’m glad you jumped me,” I admitted with my hands still on her lower back to hold her against me. “I don’t feel like I have the wrong idea. We both like each other, and we both want each other. Let’s see how this goes. Suri is a big concern for you, and I don’t blame you for being worried. When she broke in, I should have called the police. I’ve already let her know that if it happens again, I will have her arrested. I changed my locks and blocked her number.”

  “That’s an improvement,” Mercy agreed.

  “I changed my locks right after it happened,” I told her. “The rest came after some prodding from Mia.”

  “What’s the deal with you and Mia?” she asked.

  “I’m not now, nor have I ever, dated her.”

  Mercy laughed. “Yeah, I figured that out on my own. There’s no romantic vibe between you. I ask because she keeps telling me about all of your many fine qualities.”

  I groaned. “Damn Mia and
her meddling. She likes you. It’s funny since she didn’t even want me to hire you the first time I brought it up because she knew I wanted to date you.”

  “That makes sense,” Mercy replied. “It’s never a good idea to date an employee.”

  “True, but it’s more than that,” I admitted. “Suri was a contract employee when I started dating her. The entire team had to deal with the backlash when Suri began acting irrationally. They’d all prefer to avoid a repeat of that situation.”

  “I can see why after meeting Suri,” she stated.

  “Mia was concerned the same problems would happen with you,” I explained. “She thinks I’m a magnet for drama when it comes to relationships.”

  “Are you?” Mercy asked.

  “Not normally,” I replied. “Suri wiped out any memory my family and friends had of me dating normal women. Mia told me to marry you.”

  Mercy laughed. “That seems sudden. Mia doesn’t strike me as the impulsive type.”

  “She’s not,” I agreed. With all Mia had dealt with regarding her mom over the years, she was the furthest thing from impulsive. I often felt Mia spent too much time trying to plan out every aspect of her life and not enough time living in the now, even if I did understand her reasons.

  “I should go inside,” Mercy said.

  With great reluctance, I released her and took a step back. “Are you running from this conversation?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not running, but like Mia, I don’t often act impulsively. I need to think about everything before I give you an answer about dating. Maybe we should agree to wait until after my contract is up. That will also give me time to see if Suri is going to take the hint and leave you alone.”

  I nodded, pleased with the progress we’d made. “That sounds fair. I’ll pick you up at nine tomorrow.” The team already knew we’d be in late after our night checking out the club.

  “I’ll need to drive myself in tomorrow.” Her words made me frown and wonder if she was avoiding me. “That is unless you want to go see my brother’s show tomorrow night. He’s playing with a local band, Deluded Serenity.”

  “That sounds like fun,” I replied. “I’ll bring a change of clothes to work, and we can grab dinner on the way to the show.”

  She flashed me a brilliant smile before opening the door and stepping inside. “Goodnight, Spencer.”

  “Goodnight, Mercy,” I uttered as she shut the door.

  Chapter 19

  Mercy

  I wouldn’t say I regretted kissing Spencer, but it seemed like a foolish move. In my defense, he’d been tempting me with his smiles and his sexy voice all night. His hand had brushed against my arm several times, and he’d even placed it on my lower back to guide me through a throng of men near the end of the evening. Spencer was tempting me—not intentionally, but the result was still the same.

  After our kiss, it only made sense to give in to the inevitable. I certainly didn’t possess the willpower to stay away from Spencer. We were working together for the next few weeks. Even when my contract was up, we were neighbors. It’s not like I could avoid him. In truth, I didn’t want to avoid him. After having spent months thinking Spencer was a jerk, I’d discovered he was a nice guy—a very attractive nice guy.

  “You look deep in thought,” Mia remarked as she passed me in the hallway.

  “I need coffee,” I replied. “That’s where I’m heading now.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Mia stated. “Let me grab my purse.”

  “All right,” I agreed. “I’ll meet you by the elevators.”

  “Be there in a sec,” Mia called out as she hurried back to her office.

  I headed over to the elevator to wait for Mia. When I’d taken the job, I hadn’t been sure what to expect from Spencer’s team. In my time at The Frisky Beaver, I’d met plenty of people who looked down on me. They hadn’t seen me as a successful club owner. It had been even worse when I’d been a bartender. Back then, people had assumed I also danced or that I only worked there to hook-up with guys. I’ve never cared all that much what people think of me, so I didn’t spend a lot of time boohooing because some people didn’t respect me.

  Mia, Kayla, and Liam all treated me with respect, and they seemed impressed with what I’d accomplished. It didn’t hurt that I was killing it with my reports so far. I expected to have a full report on The Frisky Beaver to them on Monday, and then I’d start looking at the other clubs. Since I wasn’t as familiar with those, I might need to visit them as well—a thought that made me smile and shake my head.

  “What’s with that smile?” Mia asked as she approached me in the lobby.

  “I was thinking that I may need to go to more strip clubs with Spencer,” I explained.

  Mia giggled as we walked out of the building. “I never expected to have this conversation regarding work. If you get tired of going with Spencer, I can always go with you. Kayla would probably volunteer, too.”

  I grinned. “This is why I like you both. When Spencer offered me this contract, I figured at least one of you would turn your nose up at me.”

  “Nah,” Mia replied. “We’re grateful for the help. It will mean we can finish this project early.”

  “Does that mean you can take some time off?” I asked.

  “It looks like I’ll have some time off since we’re already on track to finish our other projects ahead of schedule,” she replied. “This time of year, we always have a lull in work. Few companies want efficiency evaluations so close to the holidays.”

  “What are you going to do with your time off?” I asked.

  “Visit my mother,” Mia replied with a sigh. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  She shrugged. “Thankfully, no one else in my family makes me feel like I need to parent them. Let’s talk about something else,” she suggested as we got in line at the small coffee shop across the street from the office.

  “You’ve known Spencer since you were kids, right?” I asked. I could pretend I was just making casual conversation, but I don’t like lying to myself.

  “Since I was eight and he was ten,” she replied. “Our dads are good friends, and they started this business before Spencer’s family moved to New York. He was annoyed about moving to the US, so he acted like a total brat for the first year I knew him.”

  “I guess it was hard leaving his friends behind,” I remarked before ordering my coffee and a blueberry scone.

  Mia ordered hers, and we stepped to the side to wait.

  “What exactly is going on between you and Spencer?” she asked.

  “For now, we’re just working together,” I replied, and it was mostly the truth. “Something more might develop later, but it would be completely unprofessional when he’s essentially my boss.”

  “I don’t see Spencer as your boss,” Mia remarked.

  “Could that be because you want me to get involved with Spencer?” I asked.

  “There is that,” Mia agreed with a laugh. “It would be nice if Spence dated someone I like. He’s my best friend, so I’d like to be able to go on a double date with him without wanting to stick burning Q-Tips in my ears to drown out the sound of his date.”

  A startled bark of laughter was my response.

  “You only laugh because you haven’t been forced to listen to some of them,” she insisted.

  “They can’t be that bad,” I argued.

  “Mia!”

  Mia’s back was to the door, so the woman calling her name couldn’t see Mia roll her eyes. Her voice sounded familiar, but I didn’t immediately recognize her. Suri looked different dressed in a short red skirt and a black blouse with the top three buttons undone.

  When Suri’s eyes landed on me, they narrowed, and her smile changed to a sneer. “What are you doing here?”

  “Ordering coffee,” I replied, stepping away to grab mine and Mia’s orders. I hoped that Mia would get rid of Suri before I returned, though I didn’t honestly expe
ct that she’d be able to.

  “Why are you hanging out with that trashy little bimbo?” Suri asked Mia with a disgusted twist of her lips.

  “Mia likes bimbos,” I replied as I handed Mia her coffee.

  Mia laughed in response. “How about if we take our coffee back to the office?”

  “Back to the office?” Suri demanded. “Spencer hired this woman?”

  “I hired her,” Mia lied. “This has nothing to do with Spencer. You have nothing to do with Spencer. It’s time to move on. Stop showing up around here. Stop harassing Spencer. And for God’s sake, stop breaking into his place. Next time, he’ll have you arrested.”

  The first expression to pass over Suri’s face was hurt. Anger soon followed. “I have a key, so I don’t need to break into Spencer’s place. If he didn’t want me there, he wouldn’t have given me a key. How do you even know Spencer’s slutty neighbor?”

  Suri’s presence reminded me of why I shouldn’t get involved with Spencer, which annoyed me. I didn’t want to deal with this variety of crazy, and I was biting my tongue to keep from saying something to make it worse.

  “I was right about you and Spencer, wasn’t I?” Suri asked Mia. “All the while, you were pretending to be my friend, but you were secretly trying to steal my man from me, weren’t you? I don’t know why I didn’t see what a backstabbing whore you are to begin with.”

  “That’s enough!” I snapped. “You need help, Suri. Spencer isn’t your man. He isn’t going to get back together with you. He changed the locks on his door because he doesn’t want you there. It has nothing to do with Mia or with me. It is because he doesn’t want to date you anymore.”

  I almost felt bad when I saw the tears form in Suri’s eyes.

  She sniffled and said, “You’re jealous, and you want Spencer for yourself. I might hate you for being such a backstabbing whore, but I respect what you’re trying to do.”

  It took me a minute to respond. Since she was insulting me more amicably, I didn’t want to destroy the mood and end up with her yelling. Mia also looked flabbergasted. “I’m really not telling you this to try to win Spencer over,” I assured her. “You’re a beautiful woman, and you’ll find someone who will appreciate your passionate nature.” That sounded better than saying she’d find a guy with a thing for psycho chicks. “Spencer isn’t right for you.”