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Carter watched her stoop and pick up her shirt from the floor. She pulled it over her head and turned to face him with determined eyes but lips set in a frightened position.
He didn't blame her for being afraid.
“Devon might be behind this. It's definitely something you need to take into account.” He didn't like bringing Devon up to her after her harrowing experience. “Maybe it's time to involve the police.”
She let out a disbelieving laugh. “Honey, I'm a stripper. The cops don't give a shit about me. He's rich. He doesn't have to follow the rules.” With a shrug of her shoulders, she completely disregarded Carter's advice.
Carter couldn't help but wonder if that belief had been compounded by an experience. While he was familiar with the fact that a lot of rich people could grease palms and otherwise get out of things, he knew there were plenty of cases where rich people had gotten what was coming to them.
“I'm willing to report that he kidnapped you.” There was no way she didn't know that having Carter’s backing would change things into her favor significantly. He didn't want her to have to depend on him, but he was absolutely willing to do whatever it took to help her.
“Don't worry about it, I'll figure it out.” She walked over to the window and stood, looking out over the city. With her arms crossed tightly, he could tell that she was completely closed off from him.
“What reason would they have them fire you? Have you recently violated any rules or done anything that you think would make them let you go?” Carter couldn't wrap his head around what had happened, but he wanted to get to the bottom of things as quickly as possible.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't done anything wrong that they could possibly catch me at. So, it would require somebody seeing me reporting me something happening... I don’t know. I have no idea really.” Her upset voice twisted up Carter's insides.
“What if I talk to your managers? What if I tell them that I'm not coming back now that they fired my favorite girl?” Carter knew that she liked her job and he'd never stand between her and what she enjoyed doing. The question was, would she be willing to accept his help?
Kaitlyn stood in silence for a few moments longer before turning gracefully to face him.
As the silence between them grew, Carter decided to speak up again. “I know you might not want me to leverage my power or pull to help, but that's really all I'm doing.” He spread his hands wide in what he hoped was a convincing gesture of innocence. “No strings attached. I don't expect anything in return, I just want to help. I know that you're proud of your job. I know that you work hard, and I know that you like what you do, and it feels right to offer help.” He meant every word, and he could only hope that she believed him and understood.
To his relief, she nodded. “I know what you're trying to do, and I really appreciate it, but do I really want to go back to work for a place that fired me for reasons unknown? A place that couldn't even give me the respect to tell me what I've done wrong?”
“Those are all very valid points. Maybe there's another club you could work for, one that might treat you better?” Carter wanted to find a solution, some way to help. He didn't like feeling helpless. Itwasn't a feeling he was familiar with, and it was definitely an emotion he didn't want to continue.
“Yeah, I'll look around and see what I can find. I know several other clubs but... it's just not the same, you know?” She looked away from him, her cheeks blazing scarlet. “Getting fired ishumiliating.”
Carter stood up and made his way over to her, pulling her into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head; he inhaled her sweet scent. “You have nothing to be humiliated about. This is their loss, their mistake and they're cowards for not telling you why they fired you.”
Her arm slipped around his shoulders.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” As soon as Carter said the words, he felt her tense up in his arms. Kaitlyn pressed both hands to his shoulders and gave him a push, and Carter stepped back to give her the space that she demanded, confused why she suddenly seemed upset. “Did I say something wrong?”
“I just... I can do this myself. I don't need help.” She wound her arms around herself in a protective gesture that had him on edge. Did she see him as a threat? And if she did, why? What had he done to push her away?
“I know you can, but there's no shame in letting other people help you. You can lean on me; I’m happy to be a support column in your life.” Sensing that she needed more space, Carter backed away and sat down on the couch, keeping an eye on her as he did.
She watched him go, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I know you want to help, but I'm not some weak, helpless little girl. I can fix this mess just like I've fixed every other mess in my life.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she bit down on her lower lip and he wondered if she was thinking about being kidnapped by Devon. Of course, Carter wasn't going to throw that at her, but there was definitely something going on that made her realize that her words were incorrect.
Carter decided not to comment on her response. “So, what would you like to do with the rest of the night?” Changing the subject seemed like a smart way to go to get the conversation rolling and to remind her that she was here because she wanted to be in so that he could protect her. Not because he wanted her thinking about and fixating on those things, but because they were going to be spending time together and he wanted to make sure that she wasn't completely miserable for that time.
This seemed to bring her back to the present and her tight hold on herself eased until she was just crossing her arms instead of hugging herself. “I'm not sure.” She glanced at him and then at the couch, as if suddenly remembering where they'd been before she took the phone call with the life changing news.
Carter wasn't about to suggest they could get back to that, even though he absolutely wouldn't say no if she was interested in continuing. He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't interested in her, and even though he did think he was too old for her, she didn't seem to agree and he was absolutely going to respect her thoughts and views on the topic.
“We could watch a movie, read a book, order in some dinner... whatever you want to do.” Carter realized he wasn't feeling too picky about the activities for the evening, but he was excited to spend time with her, to learn more about her, and to dig deeper into what made her tick. She was a fascinating individual and he felt that he didn't even know the tip of the iceberg that is Kaitlyn Marks.
“I should probably make a few phone calls, actually.”
He could sense that she'd completely closed off not just because she was refusing to meet his glance now, but because of the way she scanned the room with a completely dismissive expression while shooting down the idea of spending time together.
“Look, I'm sorry I upset you, but you don't have to shut down like that.” Carter could feel his patience wearing thin. He didn't particularly like being treated like a monster just for offering her help in a tough time. “You don't have to be so stubborn, you know. Not everybody's out to get you.”
With that gauntlet thrown, her gaze snapped to him. “Well, as soon as the ones that are out to get me start wearing a sign on their forehead, I will absolutely believe you.” She took a step closer to him, inhaling before speaking another word. “But here's the thing, Carter. I know that even you aren't necessarily the nice guy you claim to be.” Her voice lowered and her tone took on a dangerous edge. “I know that the only reason that you won me at that charity auction was so that you could make sure Devon didn't get what he wanted. You wanted to win a bet. It had nothing to do with me.”
Carter could feel his brow furrow. “Of course, it had nothing to do with you at first. You were a complete stranger; I didn't really know who you were.”
