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Mike.
I quickly backtrack before Coral’s husband sees me. I need to know what I’m dealing with. “Drama,” Sam says from behind me, and I sigh.
“Where’s John?”
“Your office.” Sam heads into the bar. “Put your armor on. He’s not a happy bunny.”
“Bunny?” I laugh, and Sam grins over his shoulder, settling on a stool next to Mike, whose head starts to lift with some effort. I make tracks to my office, wary, still looking around, still listening. It’s quiet. Which means John has calmed the situation down or Sarah has sewn Coral’s mouth shut.
I walk into my office and the first thing I see is the big man with a face like thunder. Then I see Coral on one of the couches, her face a tear-stained mess. And guarding her, Sarah, leaning against a cabinet, her arms crossed over her leather bodice, her lips twisted in displeasure. She shakes her head at me. “Glad you found it in yourself to return to sort out your shit,” she spits, dipping and picking up her whip off the floor and stamping toward me. She stops by my side, looking up at me. “You need to get your priorities in order.” She carries on her way, slamming the door with brute force.Oh boy.
“Jesse,” Coral sobs, jumping up from the couch and throwing herself into my arms. I hold my breath, catching her, not at all comfortable.
“What’s going on?” I ask John, who’s rising slowly from the chair, removing his wraparounds to ensure I see the fierceness in his glare.
He raises his hands, holding up all ten fat fingers. “Number of members who canceled their memberships this evening.”
My eyes widen. “Ten?” That’s unheard of.
John steams past me. “Outside,” he orders, swinging the door open, obviously not prepared to let Coral free from my office. I negotiate her dead weight over to the couch and ease her down, the smell of alcohol, both new and stale, wafting up, making my nose wrinkle and my eyes water.
She flops back against the cushion on a whimper, and I hear John growl, prompting me to follow him out of my office. He closes the door. Slips his shades back on. Stuffs his hands in his trouser pockets. I remain mute, waiting for him to give me a thorough dressing-down for all the things. Only John can.
“Coral was engaging in some activity with another male member this evening. Mike didn’t like it.”
My eyebrows rise, and I can’t help but think this is a good thing. Coral’s shifted her affections to another man? Great. This means she’ll leave me alone. Right? “Okay,” I say slowly, waiting for more information I’m hoping won’t burst my bubble.
“Mike’s asked me why Coral is still here, given he knows she’s not meeting her contractual payments.”
I cringe, resting back against the door. “Oh.”
“He wants to know who’s giving her the free pass.”
“Oh.”
“And she didn’t mind telling him when they were screaming at each other in the communal room.”
“Oh.”
John’s shoulders drop. “You are your own worst enemy, you stupid motherfucker.”
“I know,” I reply lamely, rolling my body until I’m facing the wall, giving my forehead a few deserved whacks.
“Coral thinks you have feelings for her, and now Mike does too.”
Bollocks.
“So you need to make yourself clear. To both of them.”
I hear the sounds of his heavy steps leaving. Leaving me to deal with the mess I’ve created.Fuck my life.An hour ago, I was on cloud nine. “John,” I call, and he stops but doesn’t turn around. “Miss O’Shea will be here tomorrow at noon.”
“Miss O’Shea?” He spins around faster than his big body should allow, his lips straight. “Have you taken the poor, oblivious young woman to bed yet?”
I start shifting on my feet, dropping my eyes to my shoes. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
His groan is epic, and he stalks back toward me, forcing me to back up until he’s got me pinned to the wall by his deadly glare. I remain where I am out of respect. And because, despite his strange way of showing it, he cares. And he’s always right. “It has everything to do with it.” He throws his arm out to my office door. “In there is a woman who is head over heels in love with you after you merely fucked her. No emotions or feelings. Yet she loves you.Andyour infamous Manor.” His other arm shoots out, pointing away from my office. “Out there, somewhere in London, is a young woman,Miss O’Shea, who knows fuck all about you. You’re giving her a side of you no woman has ever seen before. A softer side. A committed side. A side that cares, even if it’s driving you fucking crazy. And me, by the way. It’s driving me fucking crazy too, because you’re not thinking straight, you stupid motherfucker.” He takes in air as my eyes increasingly widen. “That woman out there? She’s falling in love with you, Jesse. Like every other fucking woman you’ve had. Except probably harder. Probably faster. And that”—he jabs me in the chest hard—“is plain fucking cruel when she doesn’t know who the fuck you are.”
“You think she’s falling for me?”
