He looks a little taken aback by the gesture, as he should. It’s not often that people are shaking hands around here. But he steps forward and takes her hand. “Good to meet you too. Whereabouts you from?”
“Is it that obvious I’m not from around here?” She cringes, glancing over her shoulder at me.
Ray’s smile grows, and the beast inside me growls.
Ray lets out a big laugh. “Don’t stress about it, it’s not a bad thing.”
But I can tell by the way her shoulders sag that she’s self-conscious. “I’m from Wisconsin by way of Tennessee.”
Ray smiles wide. “I have some family in Tennessee. Whereabouts?”
The two of them discuss the different areas of Tennessee for a few minutes, and I find myself growing more and more irritated as I watch Hattie become more comfortable with him. I don’t know why, but the idea of her giving her attention to another man is riling me up. Her sole focus needs to be on me so that I can move my plan along.
Growing impatient, I finally interrupt them. “I’m assuming there’s a reason you wanted to see me, Ray?”
He realizes his error and sheepishly looks away from Hattie. “I just wanted you to know that Sean showed up here after we closed last night. You’d already left, but I told him I would let you know he’s looking for you.”
My jaw clenches. I haven’t heard from Sean since our little showdown, but it’s not as if I didn’t expect to have another conversation on the same topic.
I nod at Ray. “If he shows back up and I’m not here, text me. If I’m close, I’ll come by.”
“Yes, sir.” He starts to make his way out of the room, then turns at the last second. “Good to meet you, Hattie. You ever have any problems while you’re here, come find me or one of my guys, okay?” He winks and walks off.
What the fuck was that wink about? I’ve never seen Ray wink at anyone. Actually, he makes little conversation with anyone. Even the dancers sometimes complain about his broody attitude.
“He seems nice,” Hattie says as though she’s surprised. I’m not sure how many outwardly different types of people she’s been around in her life.
“People aren’t innately bad people just because they work at a strip club.” I say it with more bite than I intend, given the mood Ray put me in.
“I didn’t mean?—”
“Let’s just get back to work. I have a lot to catch you up on.”
Looking chastised, Hattie tucks her skirt and sits back down, and we get back to it.
If only I could decipher who I’m more irritated with—her or me.
18
HATTIE
Idon’t know what I said wrong, but Bastion’s mood soured after Ray left his office. Though I try not to let it get to me, the change puts me on edge, nonetheless.
The good news is that I catch on quickly to everything he goes over with me. In fact, I have some ideas on how to streamline a lot of his processes. I won’t mention them now, but once I dig in and get the lay of the land, maybe he’ll be receptive to hearing them.
The bad news is that I now work at a strip club.
I can’t even believe the words when I say them in my head. My parents will definitely not approve. I’m not sure I do. But Bastion’s right—the salary this job affords me can change a lot of things in all three of our lives, so it’s worth giving it a chance, right? Plus, Bastion is nice. Ray is nice. If it’s a nice work environment, then what’s my problem?
Maybe I’ll be sequestered in here all the time and never be exposed to what goes on outside of this office.
A few hours in, things must be up and running because the deep rumble of bass sounds through the walls of the office, and I can hear people—mostly females—talking farther up the hall from where we are.
Bastion claps his hands together and leans back in his seat. “Shall we take a break?”
“Whatever you want.” I give him a tight smile, hoping his mood comes back around.
“I want to go make the rounds now that the club is open. Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
