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“Hey baby, you ready?” He called up without looking up because he was busy turning off his phone. I was on the third stair before he lifted his head in my direction, and there it was. That look in his eyes can only be described as pleasure, and the way his lips relaxed as if he was about to smile while his eyes remained glued to me made my tummy tremble.
I don’t think I breathed until I reached the bottom of the stairs, and he took my hands and spread them to get a better look at my dress. “Wow!” He sounded so proud and looked so pleased; meanwhile, I could feel a bout of the giggles coming on. “You ready?”
I nodded my head shyly at his question, still not sure what was going on with me. It’s a good thing he held my hand all the way outside and into the car. He was the one who locked up as well since I couldn’t seem to remember what to do. What the heck happened to me? I wasn’t this shy over the weekend on his boat when he had me in every position known to man and some that probably haven’t made their way to the general public as yet.
“You sure you want to go to the club? You’re not just saying that because you think I need to be there, are you?”
“It never crossed my mind. I really do like the food there and the ambiance. The people there are very nice.” It’s true; his staff, the ones I’d met so far anyway, have been nothing but nice and inviting.
“If that’s what my baby wants.” He pulled off, and I sat there in stunned silence at the offhand endearment. He’d just thrown it out there like it was nothing, having no idea what those few little words meant to someone who’d never heard them before and never expected to.
I kept cautioning myself all the way there not to make an ass of myself, but I wasn’t sure how long I could hold back the tears that threatened. Mace held my hand all the way inside, even stopping to greet the security guys outside who were setting up for the night. Some of them said hi, even calling me by name, and I noticed that when any of the men looked at me too long, Mace pulled me closer to his side.
I need to call Nat because I think I might be having some kind of out-of-body experience and my poor heart was about to give out from all the excitement. Just what in the world is wrong with me anyway? I stealthily checked my forehead for fever, but it was cool to the touch, and I wasn’t feeling sick anywhere else. Just this feeling of lightness as if walking on air and those butterflies that kept playing tag in my tummy.
As soon as we reached inside, one of his staff members rushed over. “Oh, good boss, you’re here.”
“I’m not here to work.”
“I know; this will only take a minute.”
Mace looked at me and started to decline, but I stopped him. “It’s okay; I’ll wait for you here.”
I took a seat at the bar, which is actually my favorite spot, and smiled at the bartender, who made her way over with a smile.
MACE
I knew we shouldn’t have come here. I didn’t even get through the door good before someone needed me for something. But if this is where she wants to be, then I don’t mind. “Okay, tell me, what is it?”
“Your sister was here earlier; she came as soon as the place opened.”
“What did she want?”
“She asked a lot of questions about your girl. Where she lived, stuff like that.”
I tightened my fists but didn’t show any other outward signs. “What did you tell her?”
“We know better than that, boss; we didn’t tell her anything. I figured if you wanted anyone to have that information, you’d have told them yourself.”
“Good man, and keep it that way. Tell the others as well. And that goes for anyone who comes here asking about her.” He nodded and left the office where we’d gone to talk.
I started to head back down and don’t know what made me do what I did next. She’d claimed that my staff was good to her, but I wanted to see for myself. I think I’ve been too lax in the past that I hadn’t given enough credence to the things she has to endure even though I’d seen some of it for myself.
I guess Roz’s behavior had opened my eyes a bit more, and now I wanted to be sure that the people I was exposing her to were treating her right. I’d feel awful if any of my people were mistreating her right under my nose. I flipped the button that would allow me to hear what was going on in that sector.
