“You didn’t give me a chance to finish.” Ibby had to reach over to offer me the next mouthful. “When you started working, of course I noticed you. But there are a truckload of risks hooking up with someone who works for me.”
“Wow, is there a contract or release form I should have signed?”
“It’s not like that. I stopped hooking up with customers because I couldn’t face you the next night.”
“Really?” It still left a million women for him to hook up with.
“Then I felt guilty any time I even looked at a woman.”
“Really?” This time, my voice was softer. I wanted Ibby to convince me.
“I stopped hooking up with randoms or even trying to date other women months ago. When I realized that even thinking that way was cheating on the woman I really wanted.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me out? That night at CandyShop? You knew I wanted this.”
“I never wanted to give you less than you deserve. I’m not good at relationships. I didn’t want to let you down.”
“Keep talking like that and you’ll never disappoint me.”
“I’ve never called out a woman’s name before, never shared my mother’s cooking and never invited a woman to stay here.”
“With that, am I staying in my room or yours?”
“Sweetheart, you need sleep.”
“I slept all afternoon, where am I sleeping tonight?”
“I don’t care, as long as tomorrow morning, when I wake up, you’re in my arms.”
“Naked?”
“Clothing is definitely optional, but tonight I think you should at least try and get a good night’s sleep.”
“You had to remind me.” Relieved, I sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Why did they take me?”
“Don’t worry about it now. I need to go out for a couple of hours to check on the clubs. Pick whichever bed you want but get some sleep.”
No.
I wanted to go out, be seen on Ibby’s arm, and reengage with my social media fans. The online world had gone into meltdown over my kidnapping, rumors abounded, and I needed to either make a statement or be seen.
“No,” he read my thoughts, pulling me close to plant gentle kisses on each cheek. “Not tonight. Neither of us got any sleep last night, so I want you to take it easy. Let me tuck you in, go off to work for a couple of hours and then I’ll be back.”
“But what if they come after you?”
“They won’t.” Ibby said with such conviction, I wanted to know how he could be so sure, but he was already clearing our plates away and stacking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Ibby
“What do you think?”
Katie had turned me into someone even I didn’t recognize.
I couldn’t remember ever getting up to make breakfast for another person. Not even my beloved mother on Mother’s Day. But I’d done it for Katie.
Yes, I’d snuck out of bed and greeted a naked Katie with coffee and toast. Not caring about the crumbs which would be a pain to get out of the sheets, or that I’d had less than three hours sleep across almost three days.
I’d fed her pieces of toast, insisting she literally didn’t have to lift a finger if I was around to do it for her. We’d made love in the bed and fucked in the shower.
I didn’t need air to breath or sleep to function. Not when I had Katie looking up at me with those trusting and wicked eyes.
After insisting we needed clothes for my surprise, I’d resisted the urge to blindfold her for the trip. Firstly, it was too soon after her abduction. Secondly, well, we needed to have the talk about boundaries, hard limits and safe words.
We had time for all that, and after the last fifteen hours, not that I’d been counting, I suspected it wouldn’t be just Katie pushing boundaries.
“We’re here.”
“Describe it to me again, it’s so different from your other clubs.”
Even in yoga pants and oversized sweater, Katie glowed. Hair brushed up into a bouncing ponytail and face free from makeup, she looked like any beach babe sans the tan. The woman any man would be proud to wake up next to. And she’d woken in my bed.
Now, after dodging pallets of construction material I didn’t begin to identify, we’d arrived onsite. Yes, Lachlan had been here to check out my latest venture into insanity. Garrison and his goons had tried to make it their second home.
Katie was the first person I invited to show it off. I trusted her opinion and wanted her to be proud of me. Wanted her to see and buy into my vision.
“Look around at the location.” I pointed to the recently constructed skyscrapers. Towering over the older fifteen floor buildings. Breathing new life and energy into the city. “All these buildings, who is taking up residence?”
“Businesses on the lower floors, residential up high?”
“Yep. What do they need?”
“Food, nightlife?”
“Exactly. But most places can be one or the other. The same place you take a business meeting you’re not going to take your family on the weekend. But I’m paying rates or rent for twenty-four hour a day access, so why can’t my business be open the same?”
“But its different clientele. You can’t be everything to everyone.”
“What if I can?”
“How?”
“Modular furnishings that can transform from daytime restaurant with meeting facilities during the week to family restaurant on weekends.”
“What about nighttime?”
“That’s the challenge. My brief is for an hour transition time between daytime restaurant and nightclub and back again.”
“I still don’t know how it’s going to work?” Katie started as Ricardo came over.
“Boss, didn’t expect you today.”
“Ricardo, my project manager and foreman, meet Katie Elias. Katie is a social influencer and has great instincts for what works.”
“Good to meet you.” Ricardo treated Katie with the respect of a happily married man. Which meant I’d let him keep his balls and his job. Joking, not joking. “Let me show you around.”
Ricardo led us to a collection of spare hard hats. “We got the extra copper installed yesterday and the plasterer should be ready to start this afternoon.”
“What about the cabinetry?” I asked, knowing that the day and night style would become more apparent then. “Have you even ordered it yet?”
“Give us time to get the design right. We also need to get the flooring finished off. You want us to rush and that’s fine, but there is still a logical flow.”
“Sorry, it’s just important that we get this up and running asap. Take us through.” I’d tried to hide my impatience and not let my frustration engulf everyone around me but finding the balance between a quality job and getting out from Garrison’s control was getting harder to find.
“Miss Elias, if you’ll follow me.”
As Katie followed Ricardo around the site, her effect on the male workers turned me into a jealous peacock. Suddenly, anywhere she walked, there were guys flexing muscles, offering her a drink or a seat.
Yet, last night she’d been crying out my name. Yesterday, this sexy goddess had been rescued because I’d offered my balls on a platter to anyone who would help. She’d willingly become my woman, and despite years of fighting off any hint of commitment, I’d become her man.
Hell, I had to get this stuff sorted so mama could welcome her into our family.
Double damn.
I’d never even thought about a woman like that before. Wanting to admit there was a woman to mama, promising to bring her around for a Sunday lunch. Now, I wanted mama to welcome her into our family? My world had gone mad.
“Ibby? What do you think?” From her tone, Katie had asked me more than once.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“Miss Elias suggested we use lighting to set the mood and alter the style.” Ricardo seemed impressed. “Boss, it would be a hell of a lot cheaper than
different cabinetry and quicker for your staff to switch between the daytime restaurant and night-time club.”
“It could halve the amount of time you’d need to close between sessions and any furnishing changes could be cosmetic—cushions or cutlery.” Katie waved her hands around animatedly. While I’d been stuck in my own thoughts, Katie and Ricardo had bounced ideas together until they were speaking the same language. One that I had to catch up with, quickly. This could be the answer!
“Tell me more,” I handed them bottled water from a nearby esky, while Katie patiently walked me through what she and Ricardo had already decided. This beautiful, incredible woman could see past the construction mess to my vision. Not only that, she’d taken my vision and given us the keys to making it a financially viable reality.
I wanted to kiss the shit out of her. Drag her back to my place and continue this conversation in bed. Reward each idea with kisses, fucking, and even making love.
But, her safety relied on me keeping my cool, at least in public. It had been dangerous, and possibly stupid, enough bringing her here. Kissing her? I trusted Ricardo, but there were dozens of others who were enthralled with Katie. Who could notice? Who could talk about the playboy Ibrahim Mercia being tamed by a gorgeous blonde?
“Sounds good, definitely something we need to consider before ordering that carpentry.” I tried to keep my cool.
“How about we get a designer to come in? Maybe the one who redesigned Darius’ room for Tara?” Katie’s face shone with excitement. Damn, I could love the hell out of this woman.
“Carson, he came up with the new concept for all the premium rooms.”
“Right, what if we get him involved with using lighting to create the mood. Conversational ambience for the restaurant, light and family friendly for afternoon and then whatever you want the nightclub to be.”
“So, to be clear, I wouldn’t need different furniture?” The savings alone would be worth Carson’s design fee.
“Tabletops can be inter-changeable. I’m thinking wooden planks for weekends and plywood under tablecloths for the restaurant. You can probably hide a lot of the change under linen and with plates and cutlery. That way, all the changes are out the back rather than front of house.”
“You are brilliant.”
“She’s a keeper,” Ricardo joked an hour later after Katie had drawn up her ideas and arranged Carson to come out and inspect the premises. “How the hell did a guy like you end up with a woman like her?”
As much as I wanted to keep my feelings on the down low, Ricardo knew me. He knew I’d never invited a woman anywhere close to my business. For everyone else, I’d dump a bucketload of denials, but for my oldest friends, a simple answer, “I’ve got no idea.”
“Boss, that arrogant dude is back.” One of the laborers sauntered up. Talking to Ricardo but looking at me. As if I was the cause of the missing copper.
“Garrison?” Did I really need to ask?
“Probably, you want to handle it?”
I had to catch Katie, her knees collapsing as she gasped at the name, “No, no, nooooo.”
Fuck.
Thinking quickly, I needed help to protect Katie while I dealt with the prick once and for all. No, I immediately corrected myself. Protect Katie and then calmly deal with Garrison. Today wasn’t the time to smash his head into the nearest concrete pole. For the safety of all my staff, I needed to do this smart.
“Boss? How’d you wanna deal?”
Good, Ricardo would help.
“Is there a way out that she can’t be seen?” I asked, watching the front entrance for our uninvited guest. “I’ve got a guy out the side who can look after her if we can get her there unseen.”
“Mate, what the hell have you gotten us into?” Not that I blamed Ricardo for not wanting to get involved, but that ship had already sailed and right now I’d take his question as a comment, not needing a response.
“Grizz, it’s me—yeah, they just told me—no problems—thanks.”
“What’s happening?” Katie asked, head pressed against my back. I needed to keep her out of sight and any firing line.
“They aren’t allowed on site, safety regulations and all that. I’ll go and sort it out. Then we need to get you out of here.”
“But, Carson? I want to help.”
“Mate?” Ricardo interrupted. “If you go out the front, either stall or get rid of him. We’ll look after her here.”
“Ibby, I want to help,” my brave girl insisted. Did I say how much I wanted to kiss the shit out of her?
“Fine, but make it quick. Take all the photos you think he needs, go with Ricardo to the office and get copies of the specs. Then, no arguing. We are getting you out of town for a couple of days, okay?”
Who had I become? Firstly, a boss man says no arguing and then a love-struck schmuck who asks her whether it’s okay? My balls were never going to be my own again. Even if I got them extracted from Garrison’s vice, I’d end up gift wrapping them for Katie.
Luckily, based on last night and this morning, Katie knew exactly how to look after them.
“Katie, I need you out of town.” I whispered, pushing her towards Ricardo. “I need you to be safe while I sort things out. Please?”
“Yeah.” Her voice shook but her chin raised in false confidence. Fighting through her fear, not that she had a choice.
“Garrison, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Or at all?” He sneered, “I understand you lost one of your assets the other day.”
“One of my employees was abducted.” Bastard might be trying to bait me, but for Katie’s sake, I could keep my cool. “Luckily, the Kingsmen and Redbacks put out the word.”
“You’re lucky to have such good friends.” Garrison was full of old-world charm. No one listening could imagine the horrors this asshole could command with the same posh vowels.
“I was surprised,” I only hesitated a moment before continuing. “The safety of all my staff and contractors is my highest priority, well that and the safety of my customers. When I put out the word, offers of help came from the most surprising of sources.”
“Is that right?” The man’s eyes didn’t give away any secrets.
“But you didn’t call. That disappointed me.” Eyes firm, I waited for him to blink or swallow. Give me any sign of remorse or guilt. Even acknowledgement that I knew what he’d done. Nothing.
“Ibrahim, I’m shocked that you didn’t call me first.”
Still I waited. Not even a twitch to show Garrison had become uncomfortable by two MC clubs siding against him in the search.
Nothing.
“I reached out to people who owed me favors. I also received maybe a dozen calls from people offering their help, without calling it a favor.”
“And yet, you didn’t call me. I thought we were friends.”
“Garrison, your reputation precedes you. I didn’t have time to negotiate the price of your assistance if I had asked. But if you had offered your help, I would have appreciated the gesture, especially given the rough patch our friendship has gone through recently.”
I purposely raised my hands; palms open instead of the tight fists my anger demanded. Not the time to break bones.
“Ibrahim, I am saddened at how little you think of me. Of course, I should have been the first to offer my help, rather than feel insulted that you didn’t think to ask. I hope we can move on.”
“I’d like nothing else.” Garrison didn’t wait before shaking my extended hand. A sign? Probably not. But I’d bought time. “Is there anything else I can help you with before you go?”
“I was hoping for a tour.” Garrison smiled before releasing my hand.
“Unfortunately, we had a theft the other night and as a result of the vandalism, one of my contractors got injured.”
I shook my head with what I hoped would come across as genuine concern. “Poor guy. Obviously, I’m looking after the medical bills and his family, but I don’t want to put anyone
else at risk.”
Garrison glanced over at his bodyguard who gave the slightest shake of his head. I reveled in Garrison’s shock, he’d obviously commissioned the theft and nothing more. Perhaps someone was about to get a call about the unexpected vandalism. One less person I’d have to watch out for, and hopefully Garrison wouldn’t try anything on my site for a while.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”
“Copper is at a premium and all our uninstalled pipes were taken a couple of nights ago. When the bastards were here, they decided to have some fun and one of my contractors ended up electrocuted the next day. Luckily, it was only mild, but it was enough for us to have to restrict the site.”
“Ibrahim, I had no idea. Of course, you are a good man and must look after your workers.”
“I knew you’d understand. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go back inside and make sure we open on time, you know, protect your investment.”
“Have a good day, Ibrahim.”
While Ricardo kept Katie busy in his office, going over the specs, Grizz escorted Garrison and his crew from the site.
The normal building site bustle faded into white noise as I waited for Grizz to return. Pretending to inspect scaffolding when the truth was, I was standing guard in case Garrison returned.
“Street’s clear.” Grizz assured me. “All good here?”
“I think so. We need to get her out of town.”
“Yeah, my guys are getting pressure to know where both of the girls went.”
“Threats or questions?”
“Does it make a difference? If they know where the girls are, that’s a threat.”
“Yeah.”
Making our way through what would become the kitchen, I couldn’t help the excitement from watching my concept come alive. The lighting was a stroke of genius and my goal was no longer just about opening on time but making my world safe enough for Katie to be by my side on opening night.
“It’s just us,” I warned before opening the office door. Katie flew into my arms before I had a chance to close it and hide her reaction from Ricardo’s crew. “Shhh, he’s gone. You’re safe.”
“We’ve got the photos; your girl has a copy of the specs and we’ve already emailed a heap of stuff off to Carson. He’ll work directly with Katie to come up with the designs and Katie will loop back with me.”
Hard Bargain: a Billionaire Suspense Romance (City Sinners Book 3) Page 13
