When I woke and it was her curled up next to me and not Gracie, a piece of my heart shattered all over again.
SIXTEEN
Danika
Work sucked.
My back hurts, my neck’s stiff and to be honest, a little bit of my heart hurt, too. I wasn’t sure what caused Hush’s behavior this morning, but he looked at me differently than he had last night. It was a cold and lifeless stare. Like a new shattering sadness. I was hoping after being snowed in together all night, we’d have moved on to friend territory. But hope was lost after he took me home this morning. Wouldn’t even look at me. I thought we were making progress. There was something about him that made me want to be close to him but then realizing it’d be weird to force such a thing.
“What are you doing tonight?” Lydia asks me from her seat at the bar, prepping napkins for the morning crew.
“Absolutely nothing and I’m keeping it that way.” I toss a ketchup bottle across the counter, Thomas impressively catching it with one hand, then heading toward the back.
“Come on. We don’t have to work in the morning, and I’ve been wanting to check out this club on Parker Street.”
I know what club she’s referring to. It’s an arrogant vibe, richer for the area, so it’s always busier than it should be. The building has two floors and takes up half the block. On the first, is the dance floor and bar. The second is the VIP lounge. The only reason I know this is because my table five from earlier this month raved about it the entire time I was cleaning nearby. All of that sounded too much for me, but as Lydia stares at me with her big doe eyes, begging me to hang out with her, I cave. While we’re suitable work friends, I don’t think we’ve ever spent time together outside of the diner.
My gaze flicks to the street. It’s night but the recently fallen snow makes it look like daylight. “Ugh. Fine. But I refuse to wear anything skimpy. It’s cold and I’m still recovering from last night.” I pause, my hand still gripping the towel I was using to wipe the counter.
Shit.
“Wait. What was last night?”
I can’t tell Lydia I was with a biker club. She’d tell me how crazy I was and well, maybe I am, but unless you knew them, she wouldn’t understand.
She hadn’t asked about them the other day, and I took that as a sign she thought it was just another table. Hadn’t seen Angel needing to defend me either. She did, however, comment on how incredibly good looking all the guys were. Hot as fuck, were her exact words and while I agree, I can’t spill the tea on how I’m sort of friends with them.
Thomas makes his presence from the back and Lydia whips her head his way forgetting about her latest question.
“Are you coming out with us tonight?”
Thomas’s body goes still. “Yeah… I don’t go to clubs or bars anymore. Sorry, toots.”
Lydia rolls her eyes. “Guess it’s just us then.”
Our boss throws open his office door, directing a menacing look my way. “Office, Danika. Now.”
Thomas lets out a low whistle as Eric disappears back inside his office.
Great.
What could I have possibly done wrong?
“Good luck. You have my full support to knee him in the balls.” Lydia chuckles but all I do is give her a short smile because all jokes aside, I don’t like being alone with him. “Want us to wait for you? We’re clocking out in five.”
“No. It’s okay.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I’m done getting ready. Then I’ll swing back and pick you up.”
I tell her that sounds good and then stiffly make my way to Eric’s office. My hands clam up and my pulse beats loudly in both ears.
Inside, Eric leans back in his giant leather chair, hands neatly folded on his lap. He takes a quick moment to eye me up and down and my stomach drops.
“Close the door.”
My muscles lock, but I obey his request then sit down. The small room feels like it’s shrinking by the second. With a nervous tug to the bottom of my skirt, I let out a slow breath. “Did I do something?” My words are a bit harsh, but I’m glad.
His brows narrow. “Your friends are not welcome here.”
