“Ugh. I think it’s fair to say that he fluffed the interview before he even sat down on that seat,” I say, pointing to the chair on the other side of my desk.
“I’m so glad that you asked me to do the interviews with you. I needed a good laugh,” Lydia says, finally calming down a little.
“Glad to be of service.” I smile at her and am pleased to see that she seems more relaxed than she has been in a while. Lydia picks the list of names up off of the desk and starts to study it.
“So, what’s the name of the next potential candidate?” I ask her, leaning back in my chair and stifling a yawn. Lydia doesn’t get a chance to answer as my office door opens, and Susie walks in with the next interviewee trailing behind her. Recognition washes over me as Susie steps to one side and Bonnie makes her way to the vacant chair on the other side of my desk.
“Bonnie?” I screech, sitting bolt upright.
“Hey, Stace. It’s good to see you,” she says cheerfully.
“Oh my God, it’s been way too long since I last saw you,” I say as I stand up and walk around the desk to give her a hug.
“It has. What happened to you? You always used to come to Danish for coffee, but then you just stopped?” Bonnie asks me as I gesture for her to sit down.
I take my seat back behind my desk and give her an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. Things have just been a little hectic lately. I have been meaning to come and see you, but with running this place, I haven’t had much spare time.” It sounds like a lame excuse, but it is the truth. Things have been up and down for the last few months, but I don’t have time to go into detail about it all now.
“Well, it would be nice to catch up with you when things aren’t so crazy,” Bonnie says, smiling.
“That would be good,” I say as Bonnie and Lydia exchange hello’s and how are you’s. At the sight of Bonnie sat here, I suddenly feel hopeful. I know that Bonnie is a fantastic worker. She would be perfect for this place.
“So, shall we get on with the interview?” Lydia asks, placing the piece of paper in her hands down on the desk.
“Sure,” I reply and direct my attention back to Bonnie. “So, what happened with your job at Danish?”
“New owners happened. They weren’t very accommodating with the shift patterns, so I had to leave. I have been looking for something a little different. I saw the advert for bar staff a couple of days ago and, hey presto, here I am.”
“Well, do you know how to pour drinks, open bottles, and mix cocktails?” I ask her.
“Um, yes, I can open bottles. I have poured pints at a previous bar job, but the only cocktails I have ever made have been the ones that I have prepared at home before a night out.” She chews her lip nervously.
I look to Lydia who is sat there with a big grin on her face. She knows that I always got on well with Bonnie, and she knows what a hard worker Bonnie is from all of our times of going to Danish. I think Lydia already knows what I am about to do.
“That sounds good enough to me. Cocktails are easy to learn. You’re hired,” I tell her. Bonnie’s eyes go wide, and Lydia starts nodding in agreement with me.
“Really? But don’t you want to ask me anything else?” Bonnie says, clearly surprised by my offer of employment.
“Trust us, honey,” Lydia says, “You are like a breath of fresh air in here today.”
“It’s true. Before you walked in, I had lost all hope,” I say.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” Bonnie says.
“Just say that you accept the job,” I tell her.
“Yes. Yes, I accept.”
“Fab. Your training will start on Saturday night. Be here for six o’clock, and bring your relevant information, so that I can get you on the payroll as soon as possible,” I say, putting a great big tick next to her name on the list.
“Yes, of course. Thank you so much, girls. I’m so grateful.”
“No problem. The dress code is pretty casual. Just smart jeans or trousers, and a black or white top will be fine, and a pair of black shoes or boots,” I inform her.
“Okay,” Bonnie says, still looking shocked.
“Great,” I say standing up. Bonnie follows suit and I walk around the desk, so that I can walk her to the office door. “We’ll see you Saturday then.”
“You sure will. Thank you,” Bonnie says as she hugs me and then walks out to the main room where Susie will show her out.
I close the office door behind her and breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank God she walked in,” Lydia says, mimicking my thoughts.
“I know. She has certainly brightened up the day. Who have we got next?” I ask as I make my way back to my seat.
“Larry Darlington,” Lydia answers.
The office door opens, and Susie escorts a young man into the room. Susie makes a swift exit as the man takes a seat, and Lydia’s mouth drops open at the sight of Larry sitting before us. He has long pink dreadlocks, his T-shirt and jeans have rips everywhere, his face is covered in multiple piercings, and I can’t see a scrap of skin that doesn’t have a tattoo on it.
I turn to look at Lydia and she catches my eye. I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.
I think it is safe to say that our afternoon may just be more interesting than our morning.
Jake
I told Stacey that I would meet her at Lydia’s due to my meeting finishing late. It’s just gone seven by the time that I get to Lydia’s flat, and I feel bad that I am so late for dinner. I know that Stacey has been looking forward to tonight, but a part of me wishes I could just have her to myself. The last few nights she has been exhausted when she has come home from work, and we have barely had any time to ourselves. I understand that she wants to prove that she can run The Den, but I really hope that the interviews she conducted today were a success. I miss my girl.
As I knock on Lydia’s front door, I can hear laughter inside. I smile as I hear Stacey laughing. The door is swiftly opened by Paul.
“Hey, man,” he says. “Come save me from the women. They have been talking in code ever since they got back from work. Whoever they interviewed today has sure given them some comedy value.”
“I can hear them laughing from out here,” I say as I enter the flat and take off my jacket. I hang it up by the door and follow Paul into the lounge. Lydia and Stacey are sat on the sofa, Stacey with her back to me, and Lydia is wiping tears from her face.
“Hi, Jake,” Lydia says, prompting Stacey to turn around and look at me. I nod to Lydia, but my eyes are fixed on Stacey.
“Hi, babe,” she says. She stands up off of the sofa and comes over to give me a hug. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against me, inhaling her scent as I bury my nose in her hair. I place a kiss on the end of her nose and she smiles at me.
“Hi, yourself,” I reply as she steps out of my embrace and resumes her seat next to Lydia. She pats the sofa on the other side of her and I take that as my cue to sit down.
“Beer?” Paul asks me, and I nod my head in response. He disappears into the kitchen and I turn my attention to the ladies, who are still chuckling away.
“How did the interviews go today?” I ask and am greeted with another round of laughter from them. Paul comes back into the room with my beer and he takes a seat in the chair.
“See what I mean? I can’t get any sense out of them,” Paul says, sitting back in the chair and sipping his own beer.
“Oh, shush you,” Lydia says. “If you had seen what we have today, then you would be laughing just as much as us.”
“It’s true,” Stacey interrupts.
“Please tell me that you were able to hire someone?” I ask, needing her to tell me that she is going to lighten her workload.
“Actually, I hired two people.”
“Seriously?” I ask her.
“Yeah. I’m not quite sure how I managed to get two though as it was slim pickings all day long.” Stacey reaches forward and picks up her glass of win
e and takes a sip. I watch as the liquid wets her lips and I have to clench my teeth together, so that my cock doesn’t start to twitch at the mere sight.
A beeping starts going off in the kitchen, prompting Paul and Lydia to jump up at the same time.
“That’s dinner ready. Give me a few minutes to dish up,” Lydia says as she goes to exit the lounge. Paul follows her, ever the doting boyfriend. I can hear Lydia telling him that she is quite capable of dishing up the food by herself, but he doesn’t come back to the lounge, so I presume that he is choosing to ignore her.
“So, if you hired two more people to work behind the bar, and Lydia is taking over the paperwork side of things, does this mean that I get you to myself a bit more?” I ask Stacey, pulling her closer to me. She slides onto my lap and links her hands behind my neck.
“Maybe,” she teases as she lowers her lips to mine and kisses me. Her lips taste of the wine that she has been drinking, and she keeps the pressure minimal. She runs her tongue along my bottom lip and I have to remind myself that we are about to eat dinner with our friends.
“I can’t wait to bury myself in you tonight, Miss Paris.” She bites her bottom lip which makes me want to bite it for her. It is at this moment that Lydia calls out to us that we can go through to the kitchen. Stacey chuckles and jumps off of my lap, holding her hand out to me. I take her hand and stand up, groaning a little that we have been interrupted so quickly.
“All in good time, Waters. All in good time.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jake
I am led on the bed, flicking through the television channels, when Stacey walks out of the ensuite looking like a million fucking dollars. I have to physically stop myself from pouncing off the bed and ripping every piece of clothing from her body.
“See something that you like?” she asks me like the fucking minx that she is.
“Always,” I reply honestly.
My eyes roam over her, from head to toe, and I honestly think that this woman, somehow, manages to become more beautiful by the day. Before I can say anything else, the doorbell rings. Stacey squeals and makes a hasty exit from the bedroom. I make myself get off of the bed and go to the ensuite to get myself ready. I know that this is going to be Martin arriving, and as much as I like Martin, I know that he is going to be so dramatic about every detail of the house that I feel the need to hide for a little longer.
Stacey
I run down the stairs and reach the ground floor, flinging the front door open to be greeted by the sight of Martin in the most outrageous outfit that I think I have ever seen him wear. A purple satin shirt, complete with billowing cuffs, red skinny jeans and a pair of blue dress shoes adorn his body.
“Baby girl,” he says as he throws his arms around me and pulls me into a bear hug. When he steps back a few moments later, he looks me up and down and nods in approval. “Oh yes, I like it. Sexy black playsuit, check. Fuck me silver heels, check. Sexy, sleek hair, check. Dramatic make-up, check.” I laugh at him and usher him inside.
I give Eric a wave and beckon him over, but he politely declines and gets back into the driver’s seat of the limo. Jake organised Eric picking Martin up tonight in the limo, and I tried to object, but once Jake mentioned it to Martin there was no way that I was going to win that argument.
As I close the front door, Martin has already started walking down the hallway, so that he can start his inspection of the place.
“Oh my God. This house is like a mini mansion,” he exclaims as he enters the lounge.
“Don’t exaggerate, Martin.” I roll my eyes at him.
“I’m not. Seriously, why the hell haven’t I been invited here before now?” he asks as he collapses onto the sofa and sinks into the seat. “Wow. This sofa is like butter on your butt cheeks.” He closes his eyes and lets out a loud sigh. I laugh in response and go to pull him off of the sofa, so that we can go to the kitchen and get a drink.
As I take hold of his hand, he playfully swats at me. “Oh no, just two more minutes. This is bliss.”
“Come on, Martin. There will be plenty of other times for you to pamper your butt cheeks, but now isn’t one of them.” I pull on his hand and he reluctantly stands up.
“I seriously want to come for a sleepover.”
“Fine. We will sort something out. Now, can we please go and get a drink?”
“Sure.” Martin is still gawping around the room as I drag him behind me. Jake comes down the stairs at the same time as we enter the hallway. He looks divine in his dark denim jeans, ice blue shirt and black dress shoes. I swear, the man doesn’t have to do anything to make himself look this good. I let my eyes rake over him and he grins at my obvious perusal of his body.
“Fucking unbelievable,” Martin exclaims behind me, making me jump. “A limo, a gorgeous house, and you also have the perfect man in your life. Ugh. It’s so not fair,” he says as he flounces into the kitchen. Jake raises one eyebrow at me.
“Do I dare ask?” he says.
“Probably best not to,” I advise him. “You look good, Waters.”
“Just good?” he says as he stalks towards me, and I feel my heart beat speed up a notch.
“Okay, not just good. You look fucking hot.” There is no point playing down how hot I think he looks. He can probably tell just by my body language alone anyway.
He smirks as he backs me up against the wall.
“Just so you know,” he whispers in my ear, his heated breath causing goose-bumps to rise on my skin. “All I have wanted to do since you came out of the bathroom wearing that get up, is rip it off of you.” His hands skim my sides and I shiver at his touch.
I am about to retaliate when a squeal from the kitchen brings me back to reality. I gently shove Jake away from me and rush into the kitchen to see if Martin is okay.
“What’s wrong?” I ask Martin as I go and stand beside him, my eyes scanning everywhere to see why he squealed.
“Please tell me that you do not have a fucking hot tub in that garden?” he says comically, pointing to where the hot tub is situated.
“Um, okay. We don’t have a hot tub in the garden,” I say, sarcastically with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Don’t play games with me, baby girl. A hot tub to add to your list is just even more unfair. Ugh. I am staying here for a whole weekend. I don’t just want one night, I want two.” I laugh at his dramatics.
“Whatever you say, Mart. Now, let me pour some drinks and then we can be on our way.” I pull on his arm and drag him away from the sight of the hot tub. He sits on one of the stools at the kitchen island, and watches as I pour us each a gin, lemonade and lime. I pop a straw into Martin’s glass and hand it to him.
“Thanks, baby girl.” Jake walks into the kitchen just as I am finishing pouring him a scotch. I hand it to him and he places a kiss on the top of my head as he says thank you.
“Hey, Jake,” Martin says.
“Yeah?”
“This house is the bomb.” I stifle a laugh at Martin’s description.
“Uh, thanks,” Jake replies, taking a healthy swig of his scotch. Martin asks if he can go and use the toilet, so I direct him to the one on the first floor. I know that he will be snooping for a good ten minutes before he returns, giving me enough time to finish my drink before we leave.
“Did Brad ever get back to you about tonight?” I ask Jake.
“Nope. I guess he must have found a new ‘hobby.’” I don’t fail to notice the sarcasm in Jake’s tone. I guess by ‘hobby’ he means woman.
“Oh, well, his loss,” I say flippantly. I hear another squeal come from upstairs and I roll my eyes. “I better go and see what is making Martin squeal this time.”
As I go to exit the kitchen, Jake stops me.
“Can I just ask, did I hear Martin say something about him staying here at some point?” he asks me, making me grin from ear to ear. “Oh God.”
I laugh as I walk off and go in search of Martin and his screeching.
Chap
ter Thirty
Stacey
We arrive at The Den just before six o’clock. Eric drops us off in the car park at the back as the place isn’t open for customers yet. I let us in through the back door and I can already hear activity in the main room. Jake and Martin follow behind me as I head for the bar area, where Darren is currently trying to impress Bonnie by attempting to juggle with some lemons. Susie sees me and just rolls her eyes, and then goes back to getting things ready for opening time.
As I reach the bar counter, I clear my throat loudly, making Darren drop the three lemons that he was using for his entertainment. He whirls around and has wide eyes as he sees me stood there. I’m not sure why he looks so petrified though, it’s not like I am the strictest boss in the world.
“Sorry, boss,” Darren says as he scurries around on the floor to retrieve the lemons.
“Uh huh,” I mumble as I look to Bonnie and see her trying to stifle a giggle. She has certainly dressed accordingly, which I knew that she would. She looks cute in black jeggings, black kitten heels and a white wrap around top. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, and her minimal make-up allows her natural features to shine through.
“Is Tom not here yet?” I ask, to no one in particular.
“Who’s Tom?” Susie says.
“He’s the other new bar staff member.”
“There’s two new people?” Darren asks, still looking red-faced from his lemon juggling disaster.
“Yes. Is that a problem?” I ask him.
“No. No problem.”
“Don’t worry, Darren, I’m not replacing any of you guys.” I see him physically breathe a sigh of relief at my words. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Jake and Martin have taken a seat at the bar. Susie goes over to them and asks them what they want to drink. I don’t even have to ask her to go over to them, she knows the drill.
The Complete Perfect Series Page 59
