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Acting on instinct, without even thinking about it, she grabbed his hand.
He jolted and she let go. “Sorry.” Crap. She was messing up all over the place.
But to her shock, he reached out and took her hand. “You don’t have to keep saying sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. And you didn’t upset me. Sometimes, I . . . sometimes I get so involved in the details that I forget about the emotions. My childhood, well, it was all about emotion. And not the good kinds. As a result, I became rather detached from all of that. I’m trying to find a way to be more in-tune with my emotions. But it’s not easy.”
Her heart melted for him. She squeezed his hand. “It’s all right. I understand.”
“Just be patient with me.” Letting go of her hand, he walked out.
Yeah, things had definitely changed. Because no boss acted that way with their employee. They might be friendly, they might tease. But they didn’t sandwich them between them.
Or cup the side of their neck with their big hand.
Or hold their hand and ask them to be patient.
The thing is . . . she didn’t know whether to be terrified or excited.
Maybe a bit of both.
Returning to the desk, she glanced down at the gloves, running her finger over them. Expensive and pretty.
Lord. She was in trouble.
* * *
The next day,Grady bought her Mace.
Steele bought her fluffy socks and ate half of the peppermint mocha brownie she’d made.
The day after that, Grady bought her a Taser.
Steele bought her a new scarf and ate several apple cinnamon muffins.
And then Grady bought her a rape whistle.
Steele bought her a woollen hat.
She knew she had to find a way to make them stop.
The thing is . . . she just didn’t want to.
22
Damn Vanessa.
So freaking unreliable.
Effie was supposed to have gone home three hours ago. She was exhausted, hungry, and her back was really starting to ache. She wasn’t used to being on her feet for hours on end. Let alone carting drinks around.
She’d never waitressed before and she’d spent the first hour messing it up. But now she’d kind of gotten the hang of it. However, she didn’t think she’d be making much in tips. Especially as she wasn’t dressed like the other servers.
“Hey, girlie. This isn’t what I ordered,” an older man with a long gray beard yelled at her.
She gritted her teeth.
Smile, Effie.
It was really hard to see the good side of anything when she was hurting and hungry.
