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“I don’t give a shit,” he growled.
And . . . wow. I mean, he was right. It was unfair to have to deal with the blatant misogyny that thrived in a place like this. Wasn’t that exactly what I fought so hard against? From the day I first walked into this place, I’d wanted to make sure anyone who came through the door felt safe enough to do so. And yet, I’d still somehow grown accustomed to how grimy customers could be—especially when alcohol and an entitlement to “fun” were thrown into the mix—that I’d begun to hold bad behavior against some arbitrary rating scale. Like, maybe tonight’s creep wasn’t so bad because at least he kept his hands to himself.
I inhaled a deep breath, taking Leo’s words right on the chin as I nodded. “Point taken.”
Twin lines carved out space between his brows. I forced my gaze back at the computer screen, clicking around randomly under the heat of his glare. “That’s it? ‘Point taken’?”
My defenses were falling again, just as they had last night. I had a deep urge to reach an arm out, to brush a finger along his jaw and soothe out some of that frustration on his face. But I couldn’t . . . wouldn’t go there with him again. So, instead, I played the business card. “We’re closing soon, and I have a lot of people to start closing out. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Again, he frowned. “This conversation isn’t over, Mara.”
I forced a smile. “Whatever you say, sir.”
Chapter Nine
I slept like the dead, waking only when my phone’s alarm blared its assault against my unconscious bliss at eleven. Between staying at Larkspur until nearly three in the morning to close up and the near all-nighter with Leo the night before, I was beyond exhausted. I was too tired to even stop for food last night—I jumped in the shower as soon as I got home and immediately crawled into bed and passed out.
Heavy clouds covered the sky outside my window, and all I wanted to do was stay wrapped in the comfort of my warm blankets until my shift tonight. But I had things to do. Twice a week, I attended an early afternoon Muay Thai training class at a gym about twelve blocks away from my building, and I also needed to get into Larkspur early to do some admin work. A liquor shipment was due to be delivered that I’d need to process into inventory, and I had to post the staff schedule for the next two weeks and ensure payroll was up to date.
A small part of me hoped a certain tall, rich, and devastatingly handsome new nightclub owner wouldn’t show up today, but something told me he wasn’t going away that easily. His words from last night had been tumbling through my mind since I’d woken up, sinking their way deeper and deeper into my psyche.
This conversation isn’t over, Mara.
I blew out a breath. At some point, I knew I was going to have to face Leo. I was going to have to be a big girl and navigate my way through an honest and productive conversation with him to figure out how we were going to work together. That was the only way to move forward—we were both adults, and neither of us could change the current circumstances.
Sure, we may have seen each other naked. We may have done things together that were well beyond the boundaries of a typical boss/employee relationship. Like, a lot of really dirty things. But we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into that night, so the right thing to do was to accept the reality of the situation and move on with as much dignity as we could find.
And maybe—if I could swing it—I’d eventually convince him to sell me the club.
But first: damage control. Though Leo stayed at Larkspur last night until after I left, he didn’t speak to me again. After the last of our customers had been let out and Frank locked the doors, I pulled the registers and found the office open and empty for me to process through the day’s revenue. As I counted the cash at the large wooden desk, my eyes kept bouncing to the coffee machine that sat on the far corner, and I thought about Leo using it to make himself his little hazelnut treat.
Maybe I’d reacted a bit too harshly. It’s not like he knew that coffee was my own personal stash.
Bleary-eyed, I logged the sales figures into the system, stuffed the money in a cash bag, and locked it away in the safe. When I poked my head through the doorway to the public space in front, I found Leo and Frank chumming it up at the bar, each with a bottle of beer in hand. I called out that I was leaving and turned around to walk away before either of them could get a word out, choosing to ignore the fact that Frank was flirting pretty heavily with the enemy.
Today, I would try a little harder.
I forced myself out of my soft bed and into an all-black athletic ensemble for training. In the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before pulling my hair up into a high ponytail. My green eyes were bright against my pale skin, which reminded me to throw on a little sunscreen before I made the almost two-mile trek to the Muay Thai gym. I decided I would jog there—it would be a good warm-up, and by the time I got myself out the door I was running a little late anyway.
Outside, the October air was colder than it had been in months—a sure sign that winter weather would be here soon. The trees that lined the city streets were beginning to turn yellow and orange, transforming downtown Denver into a beautiful autumnal vision, and it seemed likely that we’d have rain today or tomorrow. Tucked into my thick fleece athletic jacket, I stuffed my AirPods into my ears and turned on some nineties hip-hop before I began jogging at an easy pace.
I felt a burn in my lungs only five minutes in—but I pushed through. I loved throwing myself into physical activity. With my body being preoccupied with movement, I was able to work through the tough shit going on in my life. My daily yoga practice was for quieting my mind, whereas I let my thoughts flow freely during other kinds of exertion, processing through problems in a more nurturing space. It was my own personal form of therapy, of meditation.
Today, I had plenty to focus on.
There weren’t as many pedestrians out as was typical for a Friday afternoon, but with the brisk temperature it made sense. People were likely staying cozy inside their homes, or enjoying the warmth of a nearby coffee shop. Soon it would be much colder than this, but even in the dead of winter, I still loved to run outside.
Since there was less of a crowd out today, I found myself looking at each person’s face as I passed them, offering a polite smile to anyone who’s eyes caught mine. Just over halfway to the training facility, my bouncing gaze caught on a pair of familiar, bright blue eyes. Eyes that grew wide with recognition, just as mine did.
Leo.
He looked like a dream in a white long-sleeved thermal shirt and black athletic shorts, jogging in the opposite direction that I was. Wavy locks of hair bounced along his forehead with each long stride, natural and free from any product as they danced along the tops of his eyebrows. The ends were slick with sweat, as was his forehead and neck. He wore expensive-looking black headphones over his ears.
I couldn’t help my gaze from dropping down to scan his entire body, momentarily fastened to his torso and the way it twisted back and forth as he ran. And then lower, where a hint of his thigh tattoo peeked out from beneath the hem of his shorts. God, his legs looked too good to be true, his muscles taut with effort as he moved—but I knew better. I knew how real they were, how they felt pressing down between my own. Seeing him like this, in clothes far more casual than the suits he’d been in the last two days, stirred something eager inside of me.
Heat rose to my cheeks despite the cold air, and I forced my eyes back up to his as we both slowed to a stop. We stared at each other for what felt like a full minute, other pedestrians meandering around us as we disrupted the flow of foot traffic.
“Mara?” Though his face still held his surprise, there was an obvious trace of delight in his features. I didn’t know what to make of it, because while it was surely a treat for my eyes to see him, it was anything but for my mind and heart.
