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She listened to them talk about the new bouncer Tony had hired to replace Dell, who’d been fired four days ago. She wondered if Coop had figured out yet that she’d finished her job for him.
After six nights on the floor, she’d done as much as she could. His staff was clean, and she and Tony had put together new procedures that should keep things relatively honest. Her salary from Coop, along with the pay from her chauffeur job, would hold her over for a while. How long depended on what was in the tip envelope the limo owner was collecting for her and how much further she could stretch out her job at Spiral. Her job that was over.
She told herself to think more like a shark and less like a Girl Scout. The salary Coop paid was her lifeline, and she needed to hold on to her job. Except there was no more she could do for him.
If only Duke hadn’t taught her about integrity—along with how to shoot, fish, and feel bad about being female. As much as she needed to bleed Coop a little longer, she couldn’t do it. As he ended his conversation with Tony, she gripped the wheel a little tighter. “I’ve done everything I can for you.”
He set his cell in the empty cup holder and practically leered at her. “Not quite everything . . .”
“I’m talking about my job,” she said quickly. “I’ve done what you hired me for. Your biggest problem right now is your lamebrained refusal to keep a bouncer near you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“It’s interesting that every other big-name jock who comes into the club brings along all kinds of hired muscle, but you’re too tough.”
“I can take care of myself.” He couldn’t have sounded more belligerent. “Are you really telling me you’re thinking about quitting?”
“It’s not quitting. Spiral’s clean. All that’s left is for you to hire a female bouncer. It’s not smart to have your men touching any of your women customers, no matter how drunk they are. You could end up with a big fat lawsuit for sexual assault.”
“Good point. You’re hired.”
She should have anticipated this, and for a moment, she let herself consider it. But she couldn’t work until early morning four nights a week and keep building her business, not long term. Before she knew it, she’d be a nightclub bouncer instead of a detective, and she hadn’t come this far to throw away her dream.
“No, thanks. I’m an investigator. You’ll have to find someone else.”
“This is about last night, isn’t it? You’re quitting because you—”
“Because I slept with the boss?” The other reason she couldn’t stay on.
He glared across the seat at her. “That is completely unethical on your part! As unethical as it would be if I fired you.”
“Report me to the EEOC,” she snapped.
“Stop being a smart-ass. You know exactly what I mean.”
She struggled to sound professional. “Coop, I want to end this on a positive note. I hope you agree that I’ve done a good job for you, and I’d appreciate it if you’d recommend me to your friends.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that, all right.” He snapped down his sun visor and grabbed his cell.
***
Coop tried to tell himse
lf this was a good thing. She’d done her job—done it well—and he’d been waiting for the time when she’d no longer be working for him so they could launch a full-out affair. But now that time had come, and he was no longer confident that she’d cooperate.
He pretended to check ESPN on his phone. Spending a few weeks naked with her had become more important than it should. Maybe it had something to do with his retirement, with making certain the space between who he used to be and who he was now hadn’t changed.
She was new territory for him. Unsentimental and unpredictable. A woman who didn’t take him seriously—who didn’t care how many games he’d won, how rich he was, how famous. A woman who didn’t find him frickin’ irresistible!
It galled him. Compared to his usual women, she was a guy, for god’s sake. A guy packaged in an incredibly sexy, incredibly appealing, incredibly tough little body. Which basically contradicted everything he’d been trying to tell himself about her.
And that was the reason he couldn’t let Piper Dove waltz out of his life. Because he wanted her, and she refused to want him back. She didn’t flatter him or flirt with him, and she definitely hadn’t fallen for him.
He needed her to do that. Not fall in love for real. He’d hate that. Just fall for him.
“I want an exit interview,” he said when they’d pulled up behind her car in the city. “Tomorrow night at the club.” He handed over the fuses he’d taken from her Sonata without offering to put them back in. She’d know how to do that herself. Of course she would. She was the leading edge of a new civilization, one that rendered the traditional male skills of ex-jocks obsolete.
He left her with her head buried under the hood of her car, rump thrust out, and headed home. His garage door opened soundlessly. He parked next to his Tesla, grabbed his duffel, and let himself out through the side door. The floodlights on the back of the garage had burned out, and the path was dark. He heard a rustle. With no more warning than that, a man leaped from the shrubs and swung something that looked like a tire iron at Coop’s head. Coop spun and jerked. His adrenaline kicked in. He drove his shoulder into the man’s chest and grabbed his arm.
