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“Taking care of me, Cin?”
Her mouth went dry, and her nipples hardened. She wanted to do much more than feed him. Well, she’d like to feed him something else, but now was not the time to say it. “Just making sure we feed the Boss.”
He was silent as the couple stood behind him, waiting to be taken care of. “You want to make sure I eat, huh?”
“Yes,” the word escaped her mouth in a soft breath.
“Sure, Cin. Have some food delivered to me in my office. I’d appreciate that.”
As he walked away, she turned to watch. His long stride, his dominant aura, his ‘don’t give a fuck attitude’ could be gleaned from the way he strolled across the room. No one could say they didn’t know he was the man in charge. Shaking her head, Hyacinth knew there was no use going down this road. It was unwise and a danger to her heart to get caught up with a man like Rhys Mannetti.
The man was a tyrant, but he also was walking sin and temptation all rolled into one. If only she could stay strong enough to resist the pull.
Turning back to the front, she faced the waiting couple and plastered a smile on her face. “Good evening. May I help you?”
Chapter 6
“Fuck!” There was a sinking feeling in her stomach when she walked out to her car after work a few days later. Two of her tires were flat. Tears pricked the back of her eyes. It’s not that she couldn’t pay to get two new tires, but it was the entire situation. How did this happen? Nothing had been wrong with her car before now. Yes, it was old and needed routine maintenance to keep it running, but it was a decent car that had been reliable for the past six years.
Grabbing her phone, she went to call a tow truck, adding up the additional costs in her head when she heard a voice behind her.
“What are you doing standing out here? Don’t you realize how dangerous that is? Cin, you have to be smarter than this.”
Just what she needed. Hyacinth didn’t want to deal with Rhys right now. “I’m just enjoying the scenery.”
“Don’t be a brat. Now, answer my question.”
When she looked up, he was only inches away from her. His firm jaw, dark beard, and green eyes captured her attention. Why did he have to be so fine? Better yet, why did he have to be her boss?
She lifted one hand and motioned towards her car. “My tires are flat.”
His eyes shifted to where she pointed. He walked over to the car and squatted to get a closer look. One large touched around rear flat tired. Then he moved and repeated the motion with the other flat tire. Before long, he’d checked the entire car. When he came back to her side, his jaw was clenched, and his brow furrowed.
“Do you have any enemies, Cin?”
Shock flowed through her. “Enemies? No. Why would you ask me that?”
“Because someone slashed two of your tires. They’re not flat due to wear and tear. And your other two tires are completely fine. Someone did this on purpose. Who?”
His tone grated on her nerves. Yes, he was a take charge type of person, but she was the victim here. Why the hell was he so annoyed with her?
“Rhys… I mean, Mr. Mannetti.”
“Stop that Mr. Mannetti shit. No one calls me that. Well, no one who matters. We were beyond that ‘Mister’ business from the first day we met.”
Hyacinth bit her bottom lip as she looked at her car. “Rhys,” she acquiesced. “I don’t have any enemies. Not any real ones that would do something like this. Unless you mean the girl that teased me in junior high because I was tall, a bit chunky, and wore braces. Yeah, I punched her in the nose one day when she pulled my hair in gym class.”
He shook his head at her. “Now is not the time to play with me.” Glancing around, he looked as if he were trying to see deep into the darkness surrounding them.
This was downtown Santa Barbara. Full of celebrities, well-to-do professionals, and free-spirited people who loved the beach, surfing, and watching the sun set on the horizon. It was so cliche, but in this case the statement was true. Things like this didn’t happen around here.
Looking at her car, she had to admit that things like this did happen. The proof was staring her in the face.
“Let’s go. Leave your car. I’ll have it towed to the garage of a friend. It’ll be safe there.” Pulling out his phone, he pressed a button. “Hey, Charlie. One of my employees has a car issue here at the restaurant. It’s a black, 4-door sedan. It’s sitting in the back employee lot. Two flat tires. Slashed.” He motioned toward his car idling at the back door. His driver waited for Rhys to enter the vehicle and he would take him wherever he needed. “Okay, thanks. Yeah, and while you have it, give it a full workup. Fix whatever needs fixing. On me.” He hung up the phone and turned to see Hyacinth still standing in the same spot. “Come on, Cin. Let’s go.”
“Why did you do that? You didn’t need to have my car towed. I can handle it myself.”
The deep sigh he released should have clued Cin in to how he was feeling. His patience was razor thin and if she were paying attention, she would have stopped pushing him.
