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Seducing her isn’t the answer when I know damn well I won’t be able to say no to this woman. I need my head clear. I need her to come crawling to me because she has no other option. I need her to need me.
“Have a good afternoon, Miss Porter. Thanks again for your time.” I step around her and head back toward the driver’s side. “And do me a favor, keep this between us.” I don’t look at her before sliding back behind the wheel of my Bentley, also not bothering to look in the mirror at her either as I drive away.
Something about her pulls at me like an invisible string; something inside me wants her in ways I’ve never wanted someone. An almost bloodthirsty craving for her that I’m scared to deny. I feel out of control just being near her but not enough that I’ll throw it all away just to fuck her, I remind myself. Because at the end of the day, that’s all it would be for me—fucking.
I’m not a man who wants or needs love. I was once not too long ago and look where that got me. There’s only one thing I want and I need her to help me get it. Before I head to Freddy’s to do the one thing I know will guarantee her crawling back to me, I stop back at home first, grabbing several stacks of cash from my safe.
When I pull up outside the bar, I place the cash in a black duffel bag before walking inside.
“Freddy in?” I ask the man behind the bar. He nods toward a dingy hallway. “Thanks.” I nod back, making my way down the long, dark hallway till I reach an office with a bent, half smudged off sign that once said Management. I don’t bother knocking; instead, I swing the door open and walk inside, startling the asshole half-asleep in his chair.
“Fire her.”
“Who the fuck?” He tries to right himself, reaching for a drawer where I assume he hides a weapon. I reach over the desk, holding the drawer closed just before he grabs the handle.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter, what I want does. Fire Stella. No questions asked.” I bring the bag up from my side and place it on his desk.
He looks from me to the bag, slowly reaching his hand out to unzip it and look inside.
“It’s one hundred thousand. Count if you want but it’s all there. Fire her and I won’t come back looking for that. Don’t fire her and I’ll make sure the person I send to retrieve it won’t be as nice as me.”
I know this is a dangerous game I’m playing, a lion keeping a sheep as a pet, but I can’t undo what I’ve already set in motion. So my only option is not to allow myself even a single taste. Because that’s all it will take to bring me down.
Chapter 5
Stella
“Clyde, it’s Stella. Open up.” I knock on his door, a little louder this time as I bounce from foot to foot with excitement. “I have great neeeeews!”
“Calm down now, girl, I’m an old man. Takes me twice as long to get to the door than you.” He waves me inside, laughing when I tell him he’s still just a young man. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart. How are you holding up over there these days?”
“Well…” I can’t keep the secret inside any longer. “I got you your job back!” I throw my hands in the air in excitement. “Julio and Terrance too.” Clyde’s face is a mix of excitement and confusion. “I-I should start by apologizing first.” I reach for Clyde’s hands. “I had no idea Freddy was going to fire you guys. He came in my room afterward and told me what he’d done.”
“Hey now”—he squeezes my hands—“you didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing?”
“I just felt so bad, like I should have fought harder for you guys. It wasn’t until I was talking to my friend Matilda and she told me to tell Freddy that the only way I’d perform was if you guys came back. I even agreed to his four performances a week and he agreed to rehire you guys.” I can’t hide the disappointment on my face when Clyde isn’t as excited as I am.
“Stella.” He pulls me closer, his face growing serious. “Did Freddy make you agree to anything else in order for us to come back?”
“I—” My brows shoot upward. “Oh, no, no, I promise, Clyde. I… There’s no way I ever would or could agree to anything with Freddy.” I can’t hide the disgust on my face and the shudder that runs through my body.
“Phew.” He claps his hands together. “Well then, that is damn good news.” Now he’s excited, his smile growing wider by the second. “I might not be able to keep up with four shows a week for too long.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’m not getting any younger. Gotta start slowin’ down sometime.” He winks at me, reaching over to squeeze my knee. “But don’t worry, my son Dexter is moving back to Chicago in a few months. He’s been living down in Memphis for a few years doing music.”
“You want him to join the band? Will Freddy be okay with that?”
“Not join, take over for me.”
“Clyde.”
“Not right yet, Stella. It’s okay. But soon.”
