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Raphael continues to stare at me for another beat, before sliding up to the bar and giving Dan his full attention. “Two whiskeys and a water that looks like whiskey.” He runs a hand over his ticking jaw. “Think Kelly’s been mixing his liquor with Benzo’s again.”
“On it, boss.”
Dan disappears into the storage room, leaving me to bear the brunt of Raphael’s attention all on my own. It’s crazy that in the darkness of his car, high off his heat, I craved his gaze, yet in the sober light of day, it makes me want to crawl under a rock.
He looks down at my chest with a hint of disapproval. “No new uniform yet?”
“Laurie said it’s coming in tomorrow.”
He gives a tight nod and glances at a message that pops up on his cell screen.
Silence swirls us like a storm, me coming on his thigh and then falling asleep in his car for over six hours at the eye of it. I grab a rag and busy myself with wiping up imaginary spillages on the oak-clad bar, trying to ignore the sudden disappointment closing in on me.
I don’t know… In the cold sunlight streaming through the windows, Raphael oozes corporate perfection. Fresh shave, pinstripe suit, shoes so shiny they reflect my glum expression.
Last night, he was a whole different man. Soaked in rainwater, his ink shone through his shirt as if they were his true colors. Being around that man gave me a different kind of thrill. It felt like he’d let me in on his dirty little secret. But this man is what he broadcasts to everyone else in the world. And for some reason, I don’t like being lumped with everyone else.
His cell locks shut and he looks up at me through a half-lidded gaze.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
A simple question, but a wave of relief coasts through me so fast, I feel a little dizzy. At least I know it wasn’t a fever dream.
Of course, I don’t let it show on my face.
“Eh. Could have been better.”
His lips tilt. “Yeah? How come?”
“No pillow, and the blanket was only a blazer. If your car was an AirBnb, I’d give it a four-star rating.” I tap my lip in thought. “No—three and a half.”
“Why’d you knock off the half-star?”
“There was also this creepy man staring at me all night.”
He laughs a beautiful, raw laugh, and a rush sweeps through me knowing I’m the reason for it.
When the lines of his face settle back to neutral, I search it unashamedly. His eyes are bloodshot, and dark circles shade the undersides of them.
“Big meeting?”
“Mm.”
“You look tired. Didn’t sleep?”
He leans over the bar, warming me with his body heat. My breathing shallows. “Yeah,” he says softly. “Seems I was too busy being a creepy man and staring at a beautiful girl all night.”
My embarrassment is written all over my face in different shades of red. He huffs out a laugh and throws me another wink.
Christ, he’s charming when he wants to be. Even though I know what’s underneath, I could see myself being a little fooled.
Dan comes out with a tray of whiskeys and sets one slightly aside from the rest. Raphael raps his knuckle against the bar and returns to his full height. “Penelope, bring them in for me.”
And with that, he breezes through the door, leaving the absence of please in his wake.
Dan doesn’t say anything, just watches me with pursed lips as I clumsily take the tray through to the lounge.
Inside, the air is thicker than it was when I first walked through, partly due to cigar smoke hanging above the coffee table, and partly because of the cards splayed out on its surface.
