“Sure, Matt and Ryan should be in soon. I’ll have them do that first thing.”
I nod thanks in acknowledgement and start to walk away, but then pause, remembering he was going to interview someone Knox had known.
“Oh hey, how did the interview go?” I turn to look at him.
“Better than I expected. You know, I’m not one for people being referred, since most of them are just friends trying to get their foot in the door. But she knew her stuff. Even theharder drinks I threw at her. I had two more after her, but they didn’t compare. Not to mention, she will fit right in.” He grins playfully.
“How so?”
He just laughs. “You’ll see.”
Taking his word for it, I walk towards to the stairs that lead to my office. As I approach the dance floor, I see a group standing with their attention focused on Knox. Knox and I have known each other since our teenage years, and he is my best friend, my ride or die. The last few years, though, I’ve poured all my time into getting this place off the ground. A social life just hasn’t been something I could fit in.
Growing up, his family life wasn’t exactly healthy. Neglectful mom, abusive dad, so he ended up hanging at my house more often than his own. I lived with my uncle—who took me in after my parents died from a car wreck. I guess that’s why Knox and I bonded, broken homes and shit. The only constant growing up in our inner circle was us. Sure, others flowed in here and there but, at the core, it always was just him and me. He was the only one I trusted with most of my secrets—after all, we shared the biggest secret of them all.
There was no hesitation about my decision to make him head of my security. I stood there for a moment, watching him pace the stage, giving direction while he reads off his iPad. In front of him is the team of bouncers and undercover security.
“We have some VIPs coming in tonight, so make sure that even if you recognize them, you get their IDs.” He pauses, staring down at Darren in the front row. Darren’s large frame folds in defeat by the stare down.
“Damn, Knox, are you ever going to let me live that down? It was one time, and you have to admit, she looked just like Halsey,” Darren protested.
“IDs! I don’t care who they are,” Knox snaps seriously. “That’s it for now, lets a have a good night.”
As the team starts to part and walk away, he looks in my direction and dips his chin in acknowledgement. I salute lazily with two fingers and ascend the staircase that leads to my office. Footsteps echo up from below, and I stop, turning around.
“Z, wait up,” Knox calls from the bottom step. “Everything go ok at the meeting?”
“Yeah, it went fine. We got the Late-Hour Liquor License.” Normally, closing is at two, but in the summer, we decided to keep the momentum going by staying open until four A.M.
“Sweet,” Knox says. “Hey, thanks again for letting my girl Vix take the bartender's spot. I owe you one. She was in a shit place and needed out.”
“Jack said he was impressed, so thank you for sending someone who knows their way around a bar. Jack doesn’t have time to go through interviews right now. He said she will fit right in,” I say appreciatively.
Knox laughs. “Oh yeah, she will. She won’t put up with any shit, either.”
I snicker. “Good, we need someone like that. Alright, man, I need to take care of orders and paperwork. I’ll come back down later, and we can talk then.”
“No problem.” He raps on the banister and heads back down the stairs.
I make my way back up the stairs, pausing when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
My heart quickens, and my vision starts to get hazy. I rush to my office door, shoving the key in the lock. I walk in and close the door before leaning against it. Trying to concentrate on my surroundings to block out my thoughts, I glance around the room, trying to ground myself. Despite my best efforts, I hear the voice that haunts me as if it were next to me.
His beckoning is a torturous reminder of the months he has plagued my thoughts. Two simple words float in a menacing whisper…
It’s time.
I close my eyes and all I see is the vision of her flooding back to me; how her long dark hair flowed into crimson tips, and her emerald eyes captivate me, making my breath catch as fragments of electricity trickled throughout my body.
The strain against my jeans forces me to adjust. The strength of my attraction had taken me by surprise in the elevator. She was thick in all the right places. Her t-shirt was tight across her chest, and her blue jeans hugged her ass. The urge to touch her was so intense, it took everything to restrain myself.
“Myssa.”
Chapter 4
Myssa
Opening the door to my apartment, I take a moment to breathe as the door clicks shut, the exhaustion of shopping with Vix for the last five hours causes me to drop the bags on the floor, not caring where.
