“Do what you gotta do,” I forced out. The words felt thick on my tongue. “Just shut the door behind you,” I muttered, pushing my cleaning cart to the hotel room door.
“Shit.” He looked torn. I wasn’t sure why. It was evident by the fact he’d avoided me and hadn’t bothered to text me that he wasn’t interested. “This isn’t over, spitfire.” The calm warningin his voice made the hair at the back of my neck stand, but I ignored it.
“Sure.” I rolled my eyes and walked out.
Thankfully, the clubhouse was empty.
Maybe because it was midweek, so everyone was out and about. Either way, I wasn’t going to question it. It was a blessing in disguise even if it meant I had more work on my plate this shift. I’d cleaned up this space after a couple of parties they’d had after the monthly fight nights the club hosted, and that wasn’t something Ieverlooked forward to.
Couples in all sorts of positions and states of undress, not to mention used rubbers that littered the ground along with beer bottles and shot glasses. I wasn’t a prude. The Steel Sinners knew how to party, and there was nothing wrong with it. Especially when you were there as a guest. But cleaning up bodily fluids and puke sucked.
And cleaning it to take the stink out sucked worse.
Today, though, wasn’t one of those days. I emptied the trash and cleared out the dishes that were stacked by the sink. I knew Pope told Mary to let the guys take care of their own things, but I also knew Mary loaded the dishes and ran the machine to make sure all the counters in the kitchen area were cleared. So, I did that, too. By the time I was done, I was a little sweaty and ready to head home. My phone pinged as I was on the way down to the break area in the elevator.
Mary: I think I lost my necklace in the club area when I went to check on Kim’s work. Could you go down to Elysium and check for me? I wouldn’t ask, but my mom gave it to me. It’s a cross with a ruby in the middle.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. It looked like my already long day was about to be longer.
Me: Don’t worry. I’ll check.
I texted back pressing the button for the second floor. I’d seen the necklace Mary was asking about before. The woman hardly ever took it off. I could have sworn I’d heard her and Teresa talking about how it was time for her to take it to get the clasp fixed last week. Looks like she hadn’t. Not that I blamed her. We hardly had any time off. A lot of us juggled side hustles or a second or even third job.
The elevator doors opened, and I left the cleaning cart to the side and hurried to get to the club.
Me: Any chance you remember where on the second floor you were?
I hitSendand started at the kitchen of the members-only restaurant. It was busy with the kitchen staff prepping things for the dishes the chef would be offering later that night. The air smelled delicious, and my stomach growled as I walked around while glancing at the ground. A couple of the people I knew waved, and I smiled at them as I hurried, when I got another text from my boss.
Mary: By the back booths of the club maybe? Kim hadn’t cleaned under the tables, and I had to show her how she needed to clean.
Show her.Kim was lazy and needed to be fired. I could bet money that Mary had done it for her and probably exerted her so much her blood sugar went bonkers. I stepped inside. The place was still well lit and, curiously enough, empty. Usually, therewas at least one person in there. Whether it was a dancer who had arrived early for her shift or bartender getting things set up for the night or security guard walking around.
The place was pretty all well lit, all the décor in blacks and reds. I could only imagine what it was like when the doors opened for the elite members who visited Elysium. I’d never been when it was open. I rushed to the back area of the club, closer to the VIP area. There were about four high-backed booths I had to check. Thankfully, I found it at the second one I checked.
Right on the ground was Mary’s necklace.
I bent and picked it up, smiling at the pretty, intricately-made cross before slipping it into the front pocket of my uniform.
“What do you have there, spitfire?” Griffin’s deep voice cut through the silence. I jumped.
“Why do you like to jump-scare me?” I growled. Griffin sauntered over, and I looked around. Suddenly, I wasn’t so glad the club was all empty. Not that I thought Griffin would do something I didn’t specifically ask for.
And even then, probably not.
“What did you just put in your pocket, spitfire?” Why did I like that nickname so much? I really had to get my head checked! Nicknames were dangerous. Especially from men who looked like Griffin. Nope. Just nicknames from Griff.Or better yet, from Daddy.
“It’s Marty, in case you forgot my name already after two days,” I muttered.
“It’s been three,” he corrected. My lips twitched as something inside of me celebrated with glee that he remembered.
“I see someone’s been counting.” I smirked. “Miss me?” I grinned, making it obvious as I checked him out.
There was no way to hide the way my body reacted to him. My nipples pebbled beneath my plain black cotton bra. Thankfully, the uniform was made of thick, almost itchy material, and I doubted he could see the evidence of my arousal. He neared, and when he was within reach, my breath hitched. I wanted him to reach out and grab me. Pull me into his strong body and talk to me. Shit, he could read the damn encyclopedia, for all I cared.
But he didn’t.
He simply leaned his large frame against the booth as his gaze locked with mine.
