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He belts out a roaring laugh like she’s the most amusing creature on the planet, his glassy blue eyes watching her with rapt fascination. “You’re a feisty one,” he muses as he takes a swig of his own drink, swallowing it down and licking his lips. “I like that.”
Juliet shrugs and settles back against the booth with a smug grin, tracing the rim of her glass with a fingertip.
I toss an arm over the backrest behind Juliet and raise my glass of bourbon to hide my mouth behind. “I’m going to see my guests out, and you’re going to go to the manager’s office and wait for me there,” I murmur in a voice so low that only another shifter could decipher my words.
Juliet visibly stiffens, shooting me a quick sideways glance that I can’t quite read. Is she going to resist? Make a scene? Be stubborn just for the sake of it? No doubt that any of those options would be par for the course with her, but to my surprise, she scooches forward in the booth, pushing to her feet and abandoning her drink on the table in front of us.
“Well I’d better leave you guys to it,” she says.
Gavin immediately deflates, his jovial smile falling for the first time all evening. “Aw, c’mon,” he grumbles in protest, looking to me as if I’ll step in and do something to prevent her from leaving.
“Her shift just ended,” I provide, finishing the last sip of bourbon in my glass and leaning forward to slide it onto the table.
Gavin throws back his own drink, scowling in displeasure. And damnit if seeing him pout like that doesn’t make me feel smug as fuck.
Juliet smiles sweetly in his direction as she gathers up empty glasses from the table, patting Gavin on the shoulder in consolation as she passes by. “Come back and see us anytime, Mr. Holley.”
Even though it shocked the shit out of me to see her working here when we first arrived, to her credit, Juliet’s a natural in this gig. If I didn’t know who she was, I’d assume she had prior experience judging by her performance tonight. She had Gavin and his buddy eating out of the palm of her hand.
It’s not just because she’s beautiful, which she undoubtedly is. It’s because she’s charming as fuck when she turns it on, a delightful mix of sweet and fiery that’s enough to drive any man wild. I’m not at all surprised when I see Gavin peeling hundred dollar bills out of his wallet as he watches Juliet walk away, tossing them onto the table as her tip.
He releases a low whistle, turning back to me with a shake of his head. “You’ve got a hell of an operation here. Hell of a staff, too. Your cocktail girls ever work overtime?”
He waggles his eyebrows suggestively as I resist the urge to lunge across the table and rip his tongue out of his mouth so I don’t have to endure any more of his commentary.
“I hope you’re not insinuating that one of my employees is for sale,” I deadpan.
“Of course not!” Gavin busts out a laugh, even though that’s exactly what he was just doing. “I’m just saying, we could keep the party going…”
“Maybe some other time,” I interrupt, rising to my feet and brushing my palms off on my slacks. “Unfortunately I have other business to attend to. I appreciate your time, and I’ll be in touch about the contracts.”
I stick out a hand and Gavin pushes up to stand, slapping his own into it and shaking it firmly. “The infamous Cole Bauer, glad I was finally able to put a face to the name,” he says, suddenly the picture of professionalism. If he’s miffed by my abrupt dismissal, he doesn’t show it. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
I give him a nod, edging out of the booth as Sam rises beside me.
“Why don’t I walk you out?” my beta suggests to Gavin and his cohort. The two of them mumble in the affirmative as I turn and stride away, bound for the office on the east side of the balcony.
Along the way, I survey the bar below, noting that Jason’s down there helping out again. I also intercept the other cocktail waitress and ask her to take care of Juliet’s remaining tables in the VIP section. Then, satisfied that everything is well in hand, I enter the office to find Juliet waiting for me, looking none too pleased.
She’s perched on the arm of one of the couches across the room, one long tan leg crossed over the other and her arms folded over her chest. Her full lips are pursed, brow furrowed, and as if I couldn’t tell just by looking at her that she was annoyed, she speaks up to voice it before I can even get the office door closed behind me.
“Let me guess,” Juliet sasses, tossing her hair back. “This is the part where you try to tell me I can’t work here, right?”
I blow out a slow breath, kicking the door closed and crossing the room to the bar set up along the far wall. I put my back to Juliet as I select a glass and pour myself a measure of bourbon. The silence in the room is deafening. All I can hear is the clink of the tumbler on the bar top, the splash of the liquor as I pour, and my own heavy heartbeat. I raise the glass and take a sip of my drink before finally turning around, leaning back against the bar as our gazes collide.
“Is your brother on board with you working here?” I ask, holding eye contact with her and resisting the urge to drop my gaze. The way she’s folding her arms is pushing her tits together and up high, and it’s damn near impossible not to sneak a peek.
Juliet rolls her eyes but doesn’t respond- which tells me exactly what her answer is. He doesn’t know.
Taking another sip of bourbon, I turn away again, heading over to the desk and taking a seat behind it. “It’s not personal, Juliet,” I grumble as I slide my glass onto the desktop and lean back in the chair. “I can’t turn a blind eye to you working here because I’m too involved. I own this place, so technically you’d be working for me. If your brother has a problem with that, then I can’t be complicit in you going against your alpha.”
“Ugh!” Juliet shouts in frustration, pushing up from the arm of the couch and stomping toward me. “He wouldn’t even have to know! Why can’t the men in my life just let me live it?”
“You’re technically not even old enough to be here,” I remind her.
She holds up a finger. “Ah, but I’m old enough to work here! I looked it up before I came in to interview.”
Rather than stopping short in front of the desk, Juliet starts to round it, coming to my side. My eyes unwittingly drop to her legs- those fuckinglegs- which is why I’m not paying attention when she leans in and steals my glass of bourbon, bringing it to her lips and downing it like a shot. She then flashes me a smile, setting the glass back down as she hops up to sit on the edge of the desk.
