Darren goes to the back of the bar and finishes setting up the cocktail station. He doesn’t ask who Jake and Martin are, but I do notice that he keeps glancing at them. No doubt he will be asking Susie about them when I am out of ear shot.
“Bonnie,” I say, startling her. “We can’t wait any longer for Tom. It’s nearly opening time and I need to show you a couple of things before then.”
“Okay,” she says coming to stand beside me.
“We’ll go through to my office and then I will show you where you can put your stuff,” I say, indicating to her handbag and coat.
“Cool.”
“First though, there is someone that I would like you to meet.” I smile at her and lead her over to Martin and Jake. “Obviously, you know Martin from our trips to Danish, so I don’t need to introduce you to him.”
“Hi, Bon,” Martin pitches in.
“And this is Jake Waters. He owns this place,” I tell her. Her eyes go wide, and she shifts on the spot. I guess she didn’t expect to meet the owner on her first shift.
“Pleased to meet you,” Jake says, ever the gentleman. He holds his hand out for her to shake, which she does.
“You too,” Bonnie stammers.
“She forgot to mention that I am also her boyfriend,” Jake says, nodding in my direction.
“I was just getting to that part,” I say as I place my hands on my hips. “You’ll have to excuse him, Bonnie, he can be a little needy at times.” Jake chuckles and I know that he has taken my comment at its comedy value. Bonnie smiles as she watches the easy banter between us.
“Oh, please,” Martin says as he sips his drink. “These two are just as bad as each other,” he says, pointing at both me and Jake.
“Shush you,” I say, smacking him playfully on the arm. I cut the conversation short because I don’t have time to carry it on. I tell Jake and Martin that I need to show Bonnie a few things before we open and then I lead Bonnie to my office.
We go through some forms and Bonnie gives me her relevant information for the payroll. After that, I show her the staff room, which is Lydia’s old office, and then I give her a quick rundown of the protocols expected.
I show her the weekly rota, which is up on a noticeboard in the staff room. I have already added her name to it for the coming week. I take her back to the bar area and see that customers are already starting to filter in. There is still no sign of Tom, so I busy myself showing Bonnie the ropes.
Darren is already busy making up cocktails and Susie is serving a couple of guys that have taken up residence at the bar. I see Jake’s glass is empty, so I ask Bonnie to pour him a scotch and take it over to him. I decide that I should go and phone Tom to see where he is. I tell Bonnie that I will be back in a minute and go to my office and close the door behind me.
I walk to my desk and freeze on the spot when I see that there is a huge bouquet of flowers sitting in a vase on my desk. The flowers are beautiful, and I can see a card poking out of the top. I take the card and open it.
Nowhere near as beautiful as you.
Hope you like them.
xxxxx
I smile as I read the note and I instantly forget to ring Tom as I rush back out to the bar to thank Jake for the flowers. I come up behind him and place my hands on his shoulders, leaning down, so that my lips are by his ear.
“Thank you,” I say as move my body to the side of him, so I can look at his handsome face.
“Thank you for what?” he asks me, looking genuinely confused. I know that Jake can put on an act when he wants to, so I take no notice of his confusion.
“For the flowers. They’re stunning.” I place a light kiss on his lips.
“What flowers?” I roll my eyes at him.
“The ones that are sat in my office. The ones that you had delivered here with this note,” I say, handing him the piece of card with writing on. He takes the card and reads it, but he doesn’t smile. In fact, he looks pissed off.
Before I can say anything else, Jake grabs my hand and leads me out of the main room and back to my office. He closes the door behind us and looks over at my desk.
He inspects the flowers as if they are omitting a nasty stench.
“I didn’t send you these, Stacey.” His mouth sets into a line and I can see that he is clenching his jaw.
“You must have,” I reply, but I don’t sound so sure. “Who else would send me flowers?”
“Fuck knows, but it wasn’t me.” He walks over to the offending flowers and studies them like he is going to get answers from them. I wrap my arms around myself and start to feel uneasy.
If it wasn’t Jake, then who was it?
Someone has obviously been in my office and I don’t know who the hell it is.
A sense of unease creeps through me.
The last person to creep about this place was Caitlin. I know that it isn’t her this time, but some of the same feelings resurface.
“The camera’s,” I say to Jake as I have a lightbulb moment. He turns to look at me, clearly understanding where I am going with this. He takes a seat at my desk and switches my laptop on. Thank God Jake had extra cameras installed after the Caitlin fiasco. Looking at the footage will hopefully show us who has been in here.
Jake brings up the relevant programme and brings up the camera footage.
“So, these weren’t in here when you came in with Bonnie?” Jake asks me.
“No.”
“So, it has happened in last thirty minutes or so?”
“I guess so.”
“Right. I’ll go back and find you and Bonnie in here, and then we will just have to watch to see who came in here and left the flowers.”
“Okay.” I peer over Jake’s shoulder as he finds the correct place on the footage and hits the play button. I can feel the tension pulsate around us as we watch avidly to see who is going to appear on the camera.
After ten minutes, Jake pulls me onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. I take comfort from him and hope to God that we don’t have another Caitlin-type-scenario on our hands. I know that I am probably overreacting, but being stabbed has made me warier, as it probably would most people.
Another five minutes go by of watching nothing, but then the office door opens, and I sit forward to get closer to the computer. Jake does the same and we watch in silence as someone in a black hoody walks into the room with the flowers. The person keeps their head down the whole time. It definitely looks like a man from the build of the person and from the baggy jeans and trainers.
“Who is that?” I whisper as the person places the flowers on the desk and then they leave the room just as quickly as they entered it.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Jake says. He gently lifts me off of his lap, so that I am standing, and then he gets to work looking at all of the other cameras in the building.
“I’ll go and get us a drink,” I say, knowing that Jake will be reluctant to leave my office until he has found answers.
I return to the main room and go behind the bar to pour Jake and I a drink. I also make another drink for Martin, but there is no sign of him. I leave it behind the bar and tell Susie to let Martin know that I am in my office when he returns. I quickly check in with Bonnie, but she waves me away and says that she is doing fine. The Den is busy but the three of them can handle it for now.
I return to the office, drinks in hand, and give Jake his as he keeps his gaze fixed on the computer screen.
“Any luck?” I ask him.
“I’ve traced the person through the whole building, but I am yet to be able to see their face clearly. Whoever this is, knows where each and every camera is. They don’t want to be caught.”
“Great,” I say sarcastically. I can’t believe that yet another person is trying to mess with us. I feel anger build inside of me.
Why can’t we just be left alone?
“I will find out who this is,” Jake says, taking my hand in his and squeezing gently.
“
Even if you do, when will this end?” I say, exasperated by it all. Jake frowns at me and I quickly explain my outburst. “Why are there so many people willing to interfere in our lives, Jake? I’m so fed up of fighting. I don’t want to fight anymore.”
Jake stands up and pulls me into his arms, holding me close to his chest. I wrap my arms around his waist and close my eyes. I may not want to fight, but I will. I would fight with everything that I have for our relationship.
It is at this moment that I remember the note that was left on my car.
“Oh my God, the note,” I say out loud, causing Jake to loosen his grip on me a little.
“What note?” he asks.
“There was a note left on my car the other day. I presumed it was you that had left it.”
“When was this?”
“When I went to Lydia’s the other morning. I came out of her flat and the note was on the windshield. It just said, ‘missing you already,’ so I thought that maybe you had driven past and put it there. I forgot to mention anything as it has been so busy around here.”
“Where is the note now?”
“Still in my car.” I see Jake’s jaw begin to tick.
My office door bursts open, startling me, and Martin walks in.
“There you two are. God, a man goes for one little dance and the two of you bugger off like he never existed,” Martin says, waltzing in and taking a seat on the sofa.
“Sorry, Mart,” I say, breaking away from Jake and going over to Martin and sitting beside him.
“It’s okay. I actually found a rather nice young man to talk to.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, and Martin starts giggling like a love-struck teenager. “Well, why don’t we get out there and show him how to party?”
“Yes!” Martin says, jumping up from the sofa. I look to Jake as I stand up and he gives a slight nod of his head towards the computer, signalling that he will be staying in here, and probably keeping an eye on me in the process.
“Come on, baby girl. Let’s go and booty shake,” Martin screeches as he grabs my hand and pulls me out of my office. We hit the dance floor and start to move in rhythm to the music.
Tonight should have just been about having fun, but instead, I now need to find out who has been leaving stuff for me, and why.
I thought I was done with being followed, but obviously not.
Martin and I dance through a couple more songs and then I leave him to go and get us some more drinks. I need to try and distract my racing mind and not give Martin any cause to worry that I am acting differently. So far, I seem to be doing a good job of that.
As I approach the bar, I see that Bonnie is serving a guy who has his back to me, and she looks all dopey-eyed. I stand beside the guy and when I look to see his face, I see that it is Brad. He hasn’t noticed me yet as he is too busy gazing at Bonnie. I smile and lean closer, so that he will be able to hear me speak.
“You’re not distracting my new staff member are you, Brad?” I ask him, making him jump. He turns to face me and smiles.
“Not at all. I’m just checking that this young lady isn’t being hassled by any men,” he replies.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Right, you mean besides being hassled by you of course?”
“Hey, I am a gentleman. I don’t hassle, I just charm.”
“Uh huh.” I notice that Bonnie is looking from me to Brad and I inform her that Brad is Jake’s brother.
“Wow. Good looks really do run in the family, huh?” Bonnie says. I’m guessing that she didn’t mean to say that out loud, seeing as her hand is now clamped over her mouth.
“I guess so,” I say, grinning at her faux pas. She quickly scurries away, her face red with embarrassment.
“Ah, Stace, I was making good headway until you came along.” He says it in a joking manner and then pouts at me, making me laugh.
“Don’t blame me if your techniques aren’t having the desired effect. Maybe you should up your game?”
“Hmm. Maybe I already have.” The way he speaks and stares at me, makes me feel like he is talking about something else. I don’t know what, but his answer definitely has a double meaning. Luckily for me, Martin comes bounding over and puts his arm round my shoulders.
“Where are those drinks, baby girl,” he asks impatiently. His eyes wander to Brad, and he starts to grin. “Oh, well, if this is why you are taking so long then, please, take all the time in the world.” I roll my eyes at him and Brad’s smile suddenly drops from his face.
“I’ll just go behind the bar and get our drinks myself. Brad, do you want another?” I ask him.
“Yes, please,” he says, gulping back the rest of his beer. I chuckle as I make my way behind the bar and busy myself getting the drinks ready. I only have a diet coke as I need to keep a clear head, just in case I need to serve on the bar at some point. If that Tom guy had bothered to show up, then I wouldn’t have had to worry at all. I decide here and now, that Tom is a lost cause. If he hasn’t showed up for his first shift on time, then he clearly doesn’t want the job that much.
I sigh as I take Brad and Martin their drinks. I will probably end up having to select one of the other not-so-great candidates that I interviewed the other day. I groan at the thought.
I pick up my drink and tell the guys that I am going to my office to check on Jake. Brad decides to follow me, but Martin returns to the dance floor. I open my office door and Brad follows me inside. Jake looks up from the computer screen and I see his face harden slightly when he sees Brad emerge from behind me.
“Hey, bro,” Brad says, taking the seat opposite Jake, on the other side of my desk.
“You showed up then,” Jake says, his jaw ticking with annoyance.
“Of course I showed up. Didn’t you think that I would?” Brad asks, a smirk crossing his face. I walk around to stand by Jake and to take a quick look at the computer screen to see if he has found any clearer images. Jake doesn’t answer Brad and instead turns his attention back to the computer. “What are you guys doing anyway?”
“Oh, we’re just––”
“Checking some accounts,” Jake says, interrupting me. I give him a quizzical look and the look in his eyes tells me that he doesn’t want Brad to know what we are looking for. I close my mouth and take the silent hint that he is giving me.
“Seriously? On a Saturday night?”
“Yes, Brad. It’s part of running your own business,” Jake replies.
“Jeez, it’s the weekend, man, leave work alone for one night.” Brad rolls his eyes and I start to feel a little bit awkward at the uneasy words between the two brothers. “Nice flowers,” Brad remarks, his eyes settling on the large bouquet that sits on the floor, beside my desk.
I tense at his words and place my hand on Jake’s arm to steady myself.
“Uh huh,” is all I can think to say.
“What’s he done this time to buy you a bouquet like that?” Brad says, nodding his head towards Jake but keeping his eyes fixed on me for an answer. I immediately try to rack my brains for a suitable answer to cover up the fact that they have been left by some creep.
“They’re not from me,” Jake says, startling me.
“Wow, you got some competition then, bro,” Brad says, chuckling away at his own comment.
“They’re from a supplier who won’t take no for an answer,” I say, pleased with myself that I have thought of something to say.
“You wanna keep an eye on that supplier, Jake,” Brad says with a wink.
“He doesn’t need to worry,” I say, putting my arms around Jake. I lean down and put my cheek next to his. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I place a kiss on Jake’s cheek and I feel some of the tension leave his body from my touch and my words.
“Uh, I think I’m gonna head back to the bar and get another drink. Are you two coming?” Brad asks as he stands up.
“Be there in a minute,” Jake says as he fixes his eyes on mine. I hear Brad sigh and then turn to leave my office
.
When I hear the door click closed, I move my head forward and lock my lips with Jake’s.
“Do you know how much I love you?” Jake says when we break apart.
“Hmm, you may have mentioned it once or twice.” I love that he has no hang-ups about telling me what I mean to him.
“Come on,” I say, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go and have some fun. We can worry about the flowers tomorrow.” I expect him to argue with me, but he doesn’t. I just want to have a good time, enjoy myself and forget about whoever it was in my office.
The problem will still be there tomorrow, and I have no doubt that Jake will be doing everything that he can to find out who the culprit is.
Chapter Thirty-One
Stacey
It’s been a couple of days since the offending flowers were delivered to my office. Jake has been scouring the camera footage morning, noon and night. I finally took the laptop off of him last night and hid it from him. He’s driving himself crazy trying to figure out who it was that sent them, and also the note that was left on my car. He has upped the security at The Den, and I swear that he is watching the cameras each and every time that I am here.
I am currently sat in my office and I know that he will be sat at his desk, watching me. It doesn’t creep me out that he does this as I know that he is just worried about my safety. I know that after what happened with Caitlin, it frightens him that there is some other loon out to get me. I have tried to reassure him that the security guys wouldn’t let anything happen to me, but if watching the cameras gives him peace of mind, then I’m not going to argue with him.
I am typing up the rota for next week when there is a knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I shout out, looking up from the computer screen. Bonnie appears from behind the door and walks over to my desk. “Everything okay, Bonnie?”
“I guess so,” she says as she takes a seat and lets out a loud sigh.
“Uh huh. Out with it.” I know that something is bugging her. She’s usually so upbeat, so I am not used to seeing her looking so fed up.
The Complete Perfect Series Page 60
