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; “Yeah?”
“Be honest with me. You're always honest with me, right?” she asked, her expression sober.
A mixture of panic and concern settled in his chest at the solemn look on her face, he said, “Always.”
“Do I look like I just got fucked in an expensive liquor closet?”
He let out chuckle, then surveyed her and nodded. “Yes. You do look freshly fucked, I'm afraid.”
“I thought so. And not to be indelicate, but um, you're currently dripping down my thighs. Oh, and someone decided to tear my panties off so now I get to walk around work without underwear. You know, like the classy lady I am.”
“I'm so sorry you have to suffer through that,” he acknowledged, his smirk firmly in place again. “I'll never do it again since it was so awful. Promise.”
“Let's not get hasty,” she cautioned, her lips twitching.
Magnus reached into his pocket, pulling out the torn panties. Gently, he knelt down to wipe her thighs off and then pocketed them again.
“Aw,” Caroline teased, her eyes sparkling with humor as he stood.
“Never let it be said that I'm not a romantic,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her once more before he pulled her toward the door. “You ready?”
At her nod, he preceded her out the door, pleased to find the hallway deserted. He moved toward the kitchens and wondered if he was ready. Because god knew, he was completely in love with her and had no idea what to do with that knowledge.
Chapter Ten
“I really hate that part of the job,” Caroline lamented, slouching in her desk chair. Security reviewed the tapes and caught Joey taking a bottle out of the storeroom and going into the employee locker room area. It was, based on the way he held the bottle and the general graininess of the image, difficult to tell if that was the bottle. It didn't matter though. He'd crumbled immediately under their scrutiny.
Lilly agreed. “I hate that he stole. Don't get me wrong. It's more about the fact that I made the choice to hire him on, though. The little bastard had me fooled. How much of the under stock do you suppose he's taken?”
“Not as much as you'd think,” Caroline explained. “The inventory system tracks a bottle's usage based on how many drinks per bottle you can pour versus what's rung up. A whole bottle during inventory would have thrown up a flag, like it did this time. We've been short a few pours but never an entire bottle. I'm going to say I believed him when he told us it was his first offense.”
Sighing, Lilly said, “That's why I hired you. That right there. That and your magnificence behind the bar. Oh. Speaking of magnificence. The event planner sent out the invitations using the guest list from the last party we threw. She said she sent you an email but you didn't respond to her. I hope that's okay?”
Caroline tried to remember the people on her guest list. It had been her parents and grandmother that she'd invited. There was no way she'd be able to go get her grandmother, so that was out. As for her parents, they'd skipped the last one so it wasn't like they'd show up anyway. “That's fine I guess. I didn't get an email, though.”
“Trinity Vickers?”
“Lemme check my spam folder, because I'm usually pretty good about my email,” she explained. Clicking on her spam folder, she scrolled down the list and asked, “[email protected]?”
“That's her,” Lilly confirmed.” Spam?”
“Yeah. I'll respond and apologize. She ended up buried with a bunch of Viagra ads and I totally missed this. Was there anything else she needed?”
“Not that I know of,” Lilly answered, frowning. “It's time. I have to get up or I never will. Now, please look away. It's not even remotely graceful anymore.
Caroline dutifully turned her head until Lilly gave her the all clear. “Thanks for your help with the Joey incident. It's pretty generous of you to not press charges.”
Snorting, Lilly said, “If I thought it would stick, I'd absolutely press charges. That little shit stole $34,000 from me. The camera didn't get a clear enough shot of the bottle. I'm surprised it was enough to scare him into confessing. I figured he'd just deny it.”
“I wasn't expecting him to come clean either,” Caroline admitted. “I almost felt a little sorry for him when he started crying. Almost.”
“Yeah. I can't handle when grown men cry. Don't tell him I told you this, but Talan cried in front of me once and it absolutely gutted me.”
“I can't even picture that. Talan is so tough and in control all the time. He's not even mine and I think that would ruin me.”
Lilly's eyes zeroed in on her neck as she gestured. “You might want to adjust your shirt a little bit. Your bite marks...”
“Crap. I'm sorry. I thought this shirt would hide them. I've been shifting it all day.”
