There was a moment of startled silence before he laughed. “I expected you to shout at me for even putting forward the suggestion.”
“Did you take a photo before you cleaned it off?” she asked.
“Hell.” He dragged his free hand through his hair, pissed for not thinking of photo evidence. “Hopefully it won’t happen again, but if it does, I know to take a photo.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to contact the police either or check with the other businesses around the pub. Find out if other businesses got the graffiti treatment.”
“When did you get so clever?”
Laura chuckled, the sultry sound grabbing him by the nuts and making him wish she was with him right now. “Since I started hanging out with you. I’d better head back to work. The people here are nice, and the secretary is teaching me about PowerPoint presentations. I love learning new things.”
Dallas grinned at her enthusiasm, and the way she dived headlong into every new experience. “Have fun. Will I see you later?”
“Sorry, Dallas. It’s the night I have to go out with James to his work function. Remember, I asked you last week?”
Crap, she had. “I’ll miss you.”
“And don’t forget I have dinner with my family on Friday. See you on Saturday at the house,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. “Ring me later or text me.”
“Count on it. Bye.”
Dallas ended the call and took a moment to scan the photos he’d taken of Laura. Two of her bound on his bed and another casual shot when she was laughing at something he’d said. The beginnings of something—hell, jealousy—pulsed to life, even though he knew the emotion was stupid. James and Steven seemed happy together, and James presented no threat to his relationship. He knew this, yet the emotion gained traction. Laura meant something to him, something more than casual. He didn’t know what happened next and the uncertainty gnawed at his happiness.
Friday morning atO’Grady’swas quiet, and Gloria had everything under control. Dallas decided to get a jump on his paperwork. “Call me if you need me.”
Gloria flapped a hand at him and continued pouring a black beer. “Sure thing, boss.”
He stopped by the kitchen to grab a sandwich and wandered up to his apartment. He checked the email, forwarded from the pub website, and answered several queries about bookings for their function room on the second floor. The last email didn’t have a subject. He opened it and read the single line of text.
The debt is due now.
What the fuck? Dallas stared at the email and decided to fire one back.
What debt? Send an invoice, he wrote and hit send.
Then he starred at the screen, waiting for something to happen. His finger hovered over delete before he reconsidered. Laura’s suggestion to keep evidence was an excellent one. Instead, he hit print and put the copy in his desk drawer.
The internal phone buzzed. “Yeah, Gloria.”
“Someone to see you, boss. A woman. She said it’s about hiring the function room.”
“I’ll be right down.” Dallas grabbed his appointment diary and hurried down to the bar.
It wasn’t a prospective customer. Instead, Maria stood waiting for him, her curves showcased in a bright orange dress that drew every male eye in the territory. Her dark brows rose, as if she expected him to compliment her appearance. She leaned closer, extending her arms, and he sidestepped her embrace.
“I’d like to speak with you in private.”
Dallas ignored the suggestion radiating from every pore of her body, and shifted his gaze north. “Why are you here? I’ve made it clear I’m not interested.”
Her welcoming smile faltered at his abrupt tone. She glanced past him and appeared to gather herself. “I told you, lover. I made a mistake, and I want you to give me a second chance. After our history together, don’t I deserve the opportunity to make things right? We should take this private. People are looking.”
“You kicked me to the gutter when a better offer came along.” Dallas didn’t bother sugarcoating their past. “If you don’t leave, I’ll call the cops.”
“And tell them what?” she scoffed, regaining some of her usual fire.
The very thing that had attracted him to her in the first place. He didn’t mind a woman who could hold her own, but Maria worked on her agenda. It had taken time to pierce his thick skull but his money, the money he’d earned the hard way, was part of his attraction for Maria.
