AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looks me up and down. “It’s quite a short dress.”
“Declan—”
“Most go with Mr. Cross.”
“I’m sorry.” My lips feel oversensitive, almost numb. I can barely move, let alone control the words tumbling from me. Intimidation does not at all do this moment justice.
“Don’t be.” His eyes roam over me, undressing me. “If that’s what you want to call me.”
I flush violently. I’m as red as my dress now. Gathering my composure, I remind myself that I’m working. This is a job. A loud tick reminds me that time continues on. It moves and so should I. “You wanted a drink?”
“No.”
My fingers lace between each other in front of me as I stand just in front of the doorway, the light from the hall still filtering in.Please don’t ask me to close it. That's all I can think. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I were locked in with him.
I question with my tone relatively even, “Is there something I can do for you, then?”
“I’m sure there is.” His fingers toy with something on his desk. A small metal die, I think. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me since I stepped into the room. Everywhere his gaze lands, it burns my skin. “You just started today?”
I nod, clearing my throat.
“You have questions.”
“I just started so there are some, but I’m learning quickly.” It’s so quiet between us, I’m certain he can hear me swallow.
“Scarlet referred you?”
“Yes.”
He nods. “Did she suggest you wear red or did you decide that on your own?”
I’m overheating in his presence. It would be rude to look away from him, but he’s so striking that I want to close my eyes. Simply glancing in his direction gives him some kind of power over me.
Even worse, my mind keeps trying to compare him to the boy he was, but it’s impossible in the face of the man he’s become. His question hangs in the air between us. It wasn’t as casual as he made it sound. I know that much, at least.
“Scarlet said I could wear red or black or white.” I don’t want to say anything to get Scarlet in trouble. She told me the colors to choose from, and I chose. Although she told me I looked best in red.
“Scarlet told you that?”
“Yes.” She also told me shorter was better, but maybe I didn’t go short enough. Scarlet and Angela are both wearing shorter dresses than I am. Or maybe, as the new girl, I’m supposed to wear something longer. “Is my dress okay?”
Declan stares me in the eye. “Red means you’d like to be fucked.”
Shock blanks out my mind in a cold realization, followed by embarrassment. There’s a rushing sound in my ears that won’t go away. People have seen me, up there in the club. I’ve been waiting tables. Every man who smiled at me thought I was offering to come downstairs with him. “Excuse me?”
Declan smirks at me, setting the die down. “I imagine Scarlet didn’t tell you that.”
“She didn’t.” My nerves react with anxiousness. “And that is not why I wore this—” I swallow a burst of fear. “I’m not—” before I can explain myself, he cuts me off.
“From now on, I’d like you to wear black. Don’t ever wear red again.” Declan narrows his eyes. “But you can keep the lipstick. If anyone asks for you tonight, inform them that the boss has requested you. Is that understood?”
It’s quiet as I stare at him, taking in every word he’s said as if it’s a drug. It’s an order. He’s so commanding with his tone that it makes my knees go weak. Scarlet didn’t tell me everything there was to know about TheClub. She might be wrong about what Declan wants too. If he’s requesting me now …
“Say ‘yes, sir,” he prompts.
“Yes, sir.”
His brow furrows like I’ve upset him somehow. It’s not an expression I recognize from when I used to know him. He used to be soft and gentle. A good kid. Now there’s a hardness to every detail of his expression. Life hasn’t been kind to him. It’s made him tougher. His eyes darken as he watches me in my red dress that he disapproves of. “No one touches you,” he says.
