Chapter 6

“So what do you think? Beth? Hello. Earth to Beth,” Iris shouts, waving her hands in front of Beth.

Beth is vaguely aware of Iris waving in her peripherals but she doesn’t break from her haze till Iris shoves her face right in front of hers. She blinks and realizes that they’re already out of the office and standing on the sidewalk. “Sorry, what do I think about what?”

“What the hell, girl? You’ve been off since you got back from the interview. What’s wrong?” Iris asks, looking concerned.

“Nothing. Just tired,” Beth says because she’s suddenly very tired. It’s been a really long and interesting day.

“And why won’t you give me the juicy details of your interview with Adrian Dane?” Iris adds with a pouty face.

“Because there are no ‘juicy details’ to give,” Beth replies, unable to meet her best friend’s eyes. She can’t bring herself to talk about what happened with Adrian; about the things he made her feel. She’s not sure how she could explain it because she hardly understands it herself. She can still feel his intense gaze on her even though it’s been hours since she left his office.

“Yeah right. Your expression tells a different story, but I won’t push.” Iris unlocks her phone and shoves it in Beth’s face. “I was asking what you think of him. I have a date with him tonight.”

“Oh,” Beth says, squinting down at Iris’s phone. She sees a picture of a guy with a buzz cut and a five-o-clock shadow. He looks like the definition of a ‘bad boy’. Exactly Iris’s type.

“I think he looks heavenly, like he could be the father of my children,” Iris says in a dreamy voice.

Beth has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Iris has given a similar speech for every guy she’s ever gone out with. And there have been many. Beth has known Iris since her college years and has seen this situation play out at least a hundred times. She’s concluded that Iris just isn’t the type of girl to stick with one guy for too long. She gets bored quickly.

“Where’d you meet him?” Beth asks even though she suspects it was through a dating app. That’s how she meets most of her conquests.

“He just moved into the apartment next to ours.”

Oh. How had she missed that? Maybe this time will actually be different. At least, she hoped it would.

“And you got that picture of him by...“

“...stalking him on the internet. Yup. Anyway, he’s coming to pick me up for our date so we won’t be catching the bus together.”

“That’s fine,” Beth says, thankful things are working out this way. She isn’t going home since she has a job interview which Iris still has no idea about. “Have a lovely time on your date. See you tomorrow.” Beth leans in to give Iris a hug.

“I sure will. See you.”

Beth leaves Iris standing on the sidewalk and walks briskly to the bus stop. She gets there just when the next bus arrives. She walks through the folding doors that open to a short set of stairs. There are a lot of passengers on the bus so she’s left with only a few seat options. Fortunately, there’s one closest to the front of the bus and by the window. She settles into it and leans into the window.

Her thoughts drift to Adrian as she watches vehicles and city streets illuminated by overhead lights flash past the windows. Why do her thoughts keep leading back to him? He’s exactly the kind of guy she shouldn’t be thinking about but she can’t help it. She can’t understand how she can feel this way about someone she barely even knows.

But the way he looked at her…

She’s at her destination within fifteen minutes. She steps out of the bus onto the pavement, taking in the evening air. When she enters the bar, she’s immediately enveloped by hot stuffy air. There’s a shout from the corner where a group of men are watching a TV affixed to the wall. She walks over to the high counter across the room and takes a seat at one of the wooden stools. The bar is nearly empty with the only sounds being the murmur of the few customers in it and faint music coming from a radio at the end of the room. It isn’t the peak time for the bar but she suspects that the bar will be packed in a few hours since most of its customers are just heading out of the office.

There’s just one waitress clearing a table and wiping it down with a cloth. She looks over her shoulder and notices Beth. “What do you want to drink, love?”

“Um, nothing. I’m here about the job posting. For an interview as a waitress.”

“Right. Well, the manager isn’t here now. You’ll have to wait about 30 minutes.”

“Oh. That’s no problem,” Beth replies with a faint smile.

“Sure you don't want anything to drink?”

“Well, a bubbly soda water would be nice.”

“Sure thing, love.” She goes through a door leading to the back of the bar with a stack of plates.

Beth takes a sweeping glance across the room and notices one of the men gathered at the corner looking at her. She looks away but he keeps staring at her making her feel uncomfortable. She picks her phone out from her bag and begins fidgeting with it to distract her from her discomfort. She’s flipping through images on her phone when she notices that he’s standing up from his seat and walking up to her.

Oh, God, no.

When he reaches her, he leans in too close, clouding her with his beer breath and the stench of sweat clinging to his underarms. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing here?” he whispers into her ear, making the hairs on the nape of her neck rise. She’s torn between straight up telling him to fuck off and playing nice because god knows what he and his friends could do to her. There’s no sign of the waitress anywhere and even if there was, what’s to say she’ll be any help?

His friends at the corner have stopped talking amongst themselves and are now watching Beth with menacing smiles on their faces.

“Well, come on now, love. I just want to share a drink with you. Don’t be shy.” He’s laughing now, his breath overwhelming her and making her queasy.

Beth makes the decision to just walk out of the bar. Forget about the job interview. She’ll look for a job elsewhere. She puts her phone into her bag and starts to slide off the edge of the wooden stool but he grabs her wrist and tugs her closer to him so she’s inches from his face “Let me go, please,” she says between gritted teeth, attempting to release her hand from his grip. He tightens his grip and places his hand on her leg, sliding up her gown. Her breathing becomes quick and shallow and she’s filled with a sudden and overwhelming sense of dread, “You can’t go yet. We haven’t even gotten acquainted. Let’s just have a chat. I promise it’ll be worth your while, sweetheart.”

Chills run through her as she struggles to slide out of his grip. She reaches down to pry his hand off her leg, digging her nails in, but he just squeezes tighter. She yanks at his hand and is about to tell him to let go when a rough, deep voice barks from behind her.

“Take your hands off her.”

The unwelcome hands touching her immediately withdraw as the man stumbles back. Beth’s gaze jerks from the guy who was just harassing her and travels over her shoulder. She was so overwhelmed she hadn’t noticed the sound of anyone entering. When her eyes find the eyes of the man who had just spoken, her breath catches in her throat.

It’s Adrian Dane.

The look on his face is completely lethal—jaw tight, muscles flexing in his cheek, and his nostrils flaring like a bull’s. His eyes are cold and hard, and his expression is that of total male power and dominance. Even in this dark of the bar, she can make out his eyes as they peruse her—the same way they did when she sat across from him in the conference room this afternoon. And just as she had then, she feels claimed by his overwhelming magnetism, her heart racing just at the sight of him.

She reaches down to rub her wrist where the jerk touched her, and a red mark has already appeared. Adrian walks up to her with rapid, long strides and he lays a possessive hand on her shoulder and speaks to the other man in a low, dangerous growl. “Get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper. You don’t ever put your hands on a woman who clearly isn’t interested.”

The other guy backs off even more, then walks over to his friends who stand and leave the bar with him. The memory of his touch fades just as quickly as it came. Beth realizes that she no longer has the support of the stool. Her legs turn to jelly and her knees buckle. She falls into his arms. He catches her with graceful ease, his solid body holding her steady. Her hands clench his dress shirt and she feels his firm chest under her grasp.

“Beth...” His voice flows over her like a wave of calm. “I’ve got you.”

Oh, boy.