“No!” Stormy barked out, holding her finger up at Gwen as if the woman was a rambunctious pit bull.
Gwen rolled her eyes and she and the other three regulars fell back. “You can’t keep him up there forever, Stormy.”
“Oh, but she can, ’cause I can last just that long with the right motivation. You ladies good at motivating?” Lynx asked.
“Get yo’ tight ass upstairs before they wear you out,” Stormy snapped, fully intending to have Lynx leave through the door at the end of the upstairs hallway, leading to the back stairs her clients would use when she began seeing them in her office.
“Did you see that opening move?” Lynx asked as he walked into her office. “How I wowed them in their tracks with my Asian persuasion? Practiced that move for weeks.”
“You are such an idiot.”
“No, that’s how I lull women into a sense of safety. When they’re all ‘oh my God, you’re so funny, such a good guy I feel like I can share everything with you,’ I show them the bad and get all the good lovin’.”
“You’re as bad as Lucas,” she said, sitting down in one of the plush wingback chairs near the wall to the left of her desk. She could see it, why Lucas was so protective of Lynx. Though she had no doubt Lynx was more than capable of taking care of himself, there was an impishness to him that pulled for her to watch over him.
Wondering around her office, Lynx looked out the window to the right of the room, the one behind her desk. He picked up knickknacks, examined artwork. He explored her office like a curious cat in a new environment.
“So, how’d you discover the big guy’s real name?” he finally spoke, sitting on the edge of her desk and squeezing her stress ball in his hands.
“He told me this morning…after he’d broken in here to let me know he’d hacked my personal information and could basically cause me problems if I continued to have anything to do with you. All weekend you’ve been trying to convince me that he’s a good guy, but in truth he’s a bully and an asshole.”
“But that’s the best part, it’s only with you!” Lynx said, tossing the ball in the air. “I can’t believe he broke in here. Wait until I tell Mama.” Something about the plaque above her door caught his eye, he tilted his head and gazed at it silently.
“It’s in recognition of my volunteer service for a nonprofit working with sexually exploited minors.”
The hooded sidelong glance he cast at her made her uneasy. Why had he looked like that? Her soul rebelled at the idea that he would abuse children, but her mind saw too much in this life, knew how ugliness hid itself. And why hadn’t she noticed the shadow in his gaze before?
Because he’s so easy to talk to, she thought, too fun-loving.
“What was that look, Lynx? Do you feel some kind of way about kids and sex?”
And this time she watched him, watched him close.
He watched her closer, then shrugged.
“You’re one woman. You should have a team at your back when you disrupt the money of people in that line of business.”
“I got a team. It’s called Desert Eagle featuring .44 Mag. Today I pulled my taser, but your boy Lucas will find that out if he keeps messing with me.”
“You pulled a taser…on Lucas?” Lynx laughed so hard, his lightness returning as he was consumed by laughter, bending over and nearly rolling off the desk onto the floor. She laughed too, remembering Lucas’s reaction.
“Yeah, you need to be watched,” Lynx said, wiping at his eyes as he stood back up. “I’m not one for playing matchmaker, but me and Mama think you’d be good for the big guy. You have the fire to take him on, and you’re smart, and you care about people.”
“Didn’t hear the part about the breaking in and the threatening, did you?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “He has a small problem with boundaries and limits. He’s very free that way.”
“He thought I was a prostitute.”
“Hewantedyou to be a prostitute so he could justify having you,” Lynx clarified. “Big Country doesn’t do relationships, he has contractual agreements revolving around sex in exchange for financial support and no drama. You’re right, though, there’s only a few women he values, but he’s got his reasons for that. I don’t think you’re a fool, Stormy, I just think you’d be good together even if for a short period of time. Plus—,” he smiled wide, “—you didn’t call the police, that’s got to mean something.”
She thought about her conversation with Jules and Lou earlier, thought about the ways she still allowed Chaduwo in her life, and shook her head. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Most excellent. Big Country’s not either!”
She groaned. Was the universe conspiring against her?
“Tell you what, you give him a chance and I promise you won’t regret it. I got a good feeling about you.” His cell phone buzzed and he pulled it from the interior of his vest pocket. He smiled, fingers moving quickly over the screen.
