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I cursed and laughed. He was just drunk. A buffoon certainly. A pig, most likely. Well, that remained to be seen. Either way, he was a guest of the club and had to be treated accordingly. Besides, I kind of liked his verve.
"Alright."
I shook my head and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it for him. He took a long grateful drag and offered me a puff.
"No, thanks."
"Suit yourself. I'm Jake by the way."
"Elle."
"Yeah, I kind of noticed that."
He smirked at me, gesturing to my name tag.
I stared at him, knowing I should go. He was wearing a club tie and jacket— kept on hand for those who couldn't be bothered to dress nicely enough. Usually that meant poor relations. But that wasn’t exactly how I was reading him.
No, he didn't look like a poor relation at all.
What he looked like was a hawk in a dovecote. A falcon in a room full of canaries. He looked lawless somehow. Not like the average stuck up stiff who came in here.
He looked raw. Rowdy.
Dangerous.
I shook myself. I was here to work, not moon over the guests. Especially not the rude ones who reeked of bourbon. No matter how blue their eyes were. Or how broad their shudders were. Or how they made me feel like there were a million butterflies in my stomach.
"Eleanor Gavin! What is the meaning of this? You are needed upstairs on the floor."
Hell and damnation.
My stomach dropped at the sound of my supervisor’s shrill voice. The butterflies were gone. In their place was a giant cannonball of doom.
Mr. Peabody had found me. This was not good. He had been looking for a reason to get rid of me. A lump formed in my stomach at the thought of telling Shirley I’d gotten fired. Hopefully it wouldn't reflect badly on my friend.
Never mind I had no other prospects for work. The band didn’t pay. Not yet.
I knew it would though. It had to. Somehow I would make it through.
But instead of getting fired, I watched in awe as Mr. Blue Eyes turned around and made my supervisor turn stark white. The stodgy old fart actually looked intimidated.
I could have sworn I saw Mr. Peabody's mustache quiver.
"Mr. Delancey! I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you there. This is an employee only section. And there's no smoking on the grounds."
"My fault entirely. Eleanor came out here to tell me the same thing and I waylaid her. She was only being polite. It’s not her fault that she’s so pretty.”
I glanced at him in shock then covered quickly. He was handling Mr. Peabody like a pro! I sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward. Thank the good lord in heaven!
I kept a composed look on my face, but inside my wheels were spinning. Jake Delancey had just done me a favor. He’d done me more than a favor, he’d saved my ass.
He was after something.
Don’t be stupid Elle, you know what he is after.
He was after me.
Hopefully he didn't expect anything in return for it. Thought part of me would be happy to show him my gratitude and appreciation. A part that I’d been trying to ignore since the moment our eyes had locked in the dining room at the start of dinner service.
"Alright, Eleanor. You may return to your station. And Mr. Delancey, please put that out if you don't mind."
“Of course,” he said, taking one last deep drag, simultaneously throwing me a meaningful look and a wink.
I nodded regally and sailed past Mr. Peabody with my head held high. I could feel Jake's eyes on me as I walked back into the building.
Check that.
I could feel his eyes on my ass.
Oh yes, he was definitely interested in more than bumming a smoke.
Well, I thought peevishly, if he did expect anything from me in return for covering, Mr. Blue Eyes Delancey would just have to get used to disappointment. After all, my Mother had raised me right. I was not the sort of girl who put out for spoiled rich boys, no matter how handsome they were.
All the same, those blue eyes stayed with me. Blue eyes, smoke, and the smell of the top shelf bourbon he’d spilled on my uniform. And for some mysterious reason I found myself smiling the rest of the night.
Chapter Five
Jake
Eleanor. Just her name was enough to make my pulse pound and my cock hard. I hadn’t felt like this in years, if ever. I should have been annoyed. I should have run. Instead, I was smiling.
Even with the overwhelming sense of doom that seemed to pervade the mansion.
I stared into the gas fireplace. My brothers had said they wanted to talk to me alone. So I was sitting here in the study, waiting for them to get on with it. It was marginally easier to pay attention now that we were home, without that sexy waitress to look at.
