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‘You don’t even know what the job is.’ He mocked her.
‘You just told me. Bar manager. I can manage a bar.’
A wolfish smile appeared. ‘You can manage a strip club?’
Her jaw dropped. Now that she hadn’t anticipated. He looked way too square for anything remotely grey—more your black and white kind of guy. Right, wrong, official, unofficial, permissible, forbidden. His world would be one of order—totally opposite to her freewheeling one of complete chaos.
He leant forward. ‘No. Not a strip club. I’m looking for someone with experience. Someone who can handle responsibility.’
‘I can handle responsibility.’
‘You just said you were a “no” to responsibility.’
‘No, you said that. I neither confirmed nor denied.’
Their eyes met. Squaring off like a couple of cowboys in a spaghetti western.
‘Give me your CV.’
‘Give me details of the job.’
OK, so he held all the cards, but she could bluff. Better than anyone.
The silence was steady as they waited each other out. She lifted her chin a little and saw him focus on her mouth as she did so.
She couldn’t stop the tiny curve to her lips as his parted. He’d speak first. She’d known his politeness would win out—he was that type. Cool. In control. Icily well-mannered.
‘Principesa. It’s a small bar but popular. I don’t want it to start failing.’
She’d heard of the club. A new one—opened on the scene during the year she’d been away. As he said, small, but definitely had potential.
‘What’s your interest? You own it?’ Her incredulity was doing her no favours but she really couldn’t see him in the centre of such a scene. Principesa was for night owls—party people. He had white-collar workaholic stamped all over him.
‘My cousin owns it. Lara Graydon.’
She knew of Lara. Six foot something, looked like a Nordic goddess. Had been a diva in the Wellington social set for several years.
‘She’s gone to the States for a couple of weeks on a personal matter.’ His grimace indicated his displeasure. ‘Leaving me to oversee the manager.’ The last two words were ground out through a rigid jaw.
‘And the manager?’
‘Was found rotten drunk slumped behind the bar this morning by council authorities who were called when the club failed to shut down at the required hour. Music was blaring and then I discovered discrepancies in the till.’
‘And this—’
‘Adds up to one sacked bar manager.’
Lucy had the feeling that far more minor transgressions would also bear the wrath of this man. He was not the kind of guy to settle for anything less than the best. ‘So you need someone as soon as possible.’
He nodded. ‘It’s Wednesday today. I can get away with keeping the club shut for a night or two but it must be open again on Friday. I want someone in there right away to clean up the mess it’s been left in. There isn’t enough stock to last half a night. I want someone who can walk in and take over.’
‘Why can’t you do it?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Dressed like this?’ So he could do irony. He elaborated. ‘I have a day job—one that keeps me busy enough. That’s why I need someone responsible to take over so I can forget about it until Lara gets back.’
‘When’s that?’
‘Wouldn’t we all like to know?’ He shrugged. ‘Shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks.’
There was a silence. She eyed him calmly while her brain worked furiously. She tried to ignore the fact that he was incredibly arresting and that his cool determination was intoxicating. He was bright, blunt and to the point and, frankly, he turned her on. Under that suit lurked a sense of humour. What else was hidden under that remote veneer? But a suit? Come on. She’d never been attracted to a straight A type before and now wasn’t the time to experiment. She was flat broke and needed work—to start immediately. Manager would pay more, even if it was only a week or two. She could puff up the experience for her next job.
She quickly opened her dog-eared satchel and took out a copy of her CV, wishing the other fifteen copies weren’t quite so obvious. She masked her unexpected nervousness by pulling her shoulders back and handing the paper over with an assertive flourish.
He took the CV, not looking at it until he’d held her gaze in a challenging stare for so long that she was finally forced to break it. Looking down and away, she instructed her lungs to inflate. For some reason they didn’t seem to be working on auto any more. It was as if he knew exactly what he was going to find on the page. And he didn’t think much of it. As if he knew she could do better.
Rebellion burned.
There was a long silence as he read it through. His face gave nothing away but she knew he was less than impressed. Well, who wouldn’t be? Even she could admit it wasn’t great reading.
Finally he spoke. ‘Well, we have one thing in common.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You’re not big on commitment either.’
She blinked.
He looked back at the paper, obviously biting back a smile. He’d shocked her. He knew it. And he thought it was funny. She gritted her teeth to hold back her sarcastic response. She needed this opportunity and she wasn’t going to lose it by mouthing off at him. She inhaled deeply before inquiring in a voice that screamed frigid politeness. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘You’ve not held a job longer than three months.’
‘I’ve been at university until the end of last year. Student jobs, summer jobs. They never last long.’
‘And this year?’
‘I’ve been travelling about.’
‘Why did you leave your last job?’
Why did she leave any of them? That boredom, that restlessness, that niggling feeling that she wasn’t quite right for it. She tried, genuinely tried and was your average, dependable worker—with a short expiry date.
‘You phone any of my old employers and ask for a reference. I’ve never taken a sick day, I’m happy to work double shifts. I guarantee they will all say nothing but good.’
‘You’ve a strong sense of your own worth, then?’
Well, there was the biggest bluff in history. She was good but not great. More mediocre than marvellous. She’d never really shone, but she’d never really tried to. What was the point? She’d been pigeon-holed years before as someone who wasn’t ever going to excel. The only prize she’d ever deserved was for biggest idiot. A blip in her personal history that had given rise to feelings of humiliation, inadequacy and fear—feelings that haunted her still, that coloured each world she tried to build for herself. Which was why she kept starting over. Ultimately she feared to try her best because she suspected it still wouldn’t be good enough.
She leant forward, abandoning dignity in her desperation for dollars. ‘Look, I can do this. I’ve been working in bars and restaurants for years. I know the suppliers. I know what works and what doesn’t. Give me the job and I promise you won’t regret it.’
She glanced at the clock. It wasn’t far off five. She hoped like crazy the receptionist wouldn’t walk back in. Hoped her luck would hold to grant her this one chance. ‘I know the drill from the cleaning to stock management to handling stroppy customers. Been there, done that. And I can deal with staff.’ She looked at him firmly. ‘Bar staff work hard. I know exactly how hard and I know how to give them the respect and motivation they need to keep working that way.’
She didn’t know if her argument was working, but she did know he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. She’d seen him glance over her a couple of times but for the most part his gaze held hers. She found it incredibly difficult not to be distracted by his intensity. And by the colour of his eyes. She debated whether they were truly pure gold or brown with gold flecks. Either way they were unusual. And mesmerising. She blinked. Not going to go there. Not going to be distracted.
‘If you want someone to run your club. Then you want me.’
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_bf04991f-acfc-50cd-b411-df3885090bb9)
You always pre-plan your activities
DANIEL GRAYDON sat back and let the words hang on the air. You want me. Awful to admit it but he kind of did. Which was surprising because it only took a second to know she wasn’t his type, sitting there humming, smiling to herself, she was on another planet from his. He took a few more seconds to look her over and reinforce the impression.
She looked like an untamed gypsy and he was more your refined-preppy-girl kind of guy. She had the kind of tan that signalled lengthy hours on the beach. The low neckline of her singlet top revealed not even the hint of a bikini mark—an all-over-body tan? He banished the immediate mental picture only to focus on her long legs—wrapped in worn denim. Sizable patches on the thigh and knee showed where only a few threads remained before they’d finally fray into holes. He’d love to know if the skin under them would be as golden and soft-looking as that on her arms, her neck…God, he needed to get a grip.
He forced his attention to her feet.
Cowboy boots looked back at him. Brown, pointy-toed, wedge-heeled with patterns worked on the leather. He felt the reluctant smile tug at his mouth. He wondered if there were spurs to match, or if she had a whip—other than her tongue, which he was quite sure was capable of giving a good lashing.
Her CV had ‘wanderer’all over it—your typical instant-gratification girl. She’d stick around while the sun shone but any hint of a cloud and she’d be off. A shining example of the ‘what’s in it for me, me, me?’ gender. Daniel was all too familiar with women—they upped and left uncaring of whatever disaster they left behind. No sense of loyalty, responsibility, reliability. Which was precisely why he upped and left them before they had a chance to. Ordinarily, he’d have enjoyed saying no to her. But in this instance he didn’t require endurance, he required immediate and short-term. Her self-confessed flightiness shouldn’t be a problem.
He looked back to her face. She was staring at him. He could feel her willing him to take her on. But it wasn’t the bold challenge that got him. It was the glimpse of someone desperate for the chance, concealed under the confidence. As a lawyer he’d seen that look many times before. The hidden desire—wanting someone to listen and take a risk. Even though they knew there was really no chance and they were just waiting for the refusal. It was the look that had him taking on clients when his caseload was already too full to handle. Pro bono at that. The kind of cases that had the senior partners frowning at him.
She was talking again. ‘You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s nearly five now—if you want someone to start tonight I’m your only bet. I can do this. Let me prove it to you.’
He glanced at his watch. She was right; it was nearly five. No time to hit another agency. Certainly not if they were all as inept as the receptionist in this one was. So what choice did he have? He had to have someone in there tidying up the mess tonight.
Her green eyes burned into him. He saw passion there, with defiance and determination. The words were out before he realised he’d even thought them. ‘I’ll give you three weeks. We go to the club now.’
The look on her face was one he wouldn’t forget in a hurry. The sultry, sarcastic covering lifted to reveal a truly genuine pleasure—her smile wide and terrific and impossible not to respond to. His heart lifted. And then the delight shown in her full lips affected him in another region altogether. Groin region.
Not good. ‘Right now.’
He stood, expecting her to do the same. She was on her feet in a flash, papers tumbling from her bag as she did so. She stuffed the CVs in, creasing them. He watched, heart cooling, thinking that if she was usually that clumsy she might need them again sooner than she thought.
A woman walked in from the back office. ‘Sorry, I was longer than I—’She broke off as she saw Daniel. ‘I’m sorry. Can I help you?’
He raised his brows at her, giving her the supercilious-lawyer look he reserved for smart-mouthed petty crims, happy to teach her a lesson in customer service. ‘I’m afraid you’re too late.’
She looked nonplussed.
His new bar manager followed up by giving her an evil smirk. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t have time to complete all these forms. I have a job already.’ She put the long strap of her bag over her shoulder. ‘Shame. You missed a good commission.’Then she bent and lifted something else she had parked beside her seat. A violin case.
He stood back and watched as she passed him, a swaggering cowgirl looking in complete control. Completely confident. He glanced back registering the dismayed expression on the agency worker’s face.
‘You know you’re making a big mistake. It’s much better to go through an agency for temporary workers.’ She practically tut-tutted.
‘For whom?’ Daniel flattened. ‘Employer, employee or middleman who needs the introduction buck?’
He turned and joined his temp who was now waiting for him on the street. They headed in the direction of the club. It was only a five-minute walk through the funky end of town. Students, buskers and suits vied for space in the cafés they passed.
‘So is it a violin or are you actually Mafioso?’
‘You think I’m concealing a dangerous weapon?’
He had the feeling she was a dangerous weapon, full stop. ‘You know, you’re amazingly trusting.’
‘Why?’
‘You don’t even know my name.’ He had hers. Lucy Elizabeth Delaney. Twenty-four years old. Bachelor of Music, second class honours. Held current driver’s licence together with own ancient car according to registration details. Exclusive private boarding-school and not much advertised in the way of extra-curricular activities. He had the feeling she might have been too busy having some kind of social life to be tied down to the debating team or the hockey team or the school choir.
She ran a sharp eye over his suit. ‘You don’t look the dangerous type.’
‘Appearances can be deceiving.’ A little piqued, he decided to hit where he knew it would hurt. ‘You don’t even know how much I’m going to pay you.’
This time her glance stabbed. ‘I know the going rate.’
He realised then that he didn’t. Wouldn’t have a clue. He didn’t know a lot about this business—other than the price of a decent glass of wine. If he wasn’t careful this woman would have him over a barrel. She might not want to stick at any job for long, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t sharp.
‘So what is your name?’ She was staring down the street.
‘Daniel Graydon.’
Outside the club he pulled the keys from his pocket, jangling them in his hand for a moment. Was he really going to hand these over to a woman he’d known precisely twenty-seven minutes? Heart sinking, he realised Lara had left him in one hell of a mess. He had far too great a sense of obligation and responsibility and she knew it. She knew he would never let her club sink. He was going to have to stick around to make sure this was going to be OK. He was going to have to keep a close eye on his new employee.
Damn.
She climbed the stairs ahead of him. He kept that close eye on the way her curves filled out the denim jeans, on the way her hips swayed as she smoothly mounted each step.
Double damn.
Had he, for the first time in his life, just made a decision using his body rather than his brain? His brain was telling him to let her go and get on with it, but his body was telling him to grab hold and see what magic she could do. His fingers twitched, wanting to reach out and stroke her.
She walked into the middle of the floor space, the heels of her boots clicking on the wooden floor. He went to the bar and flipped the lights. Wanting rid of the late-night, fun feel. Back to business. She paid him no attention. Instead she took in the fridge behind him, noting the lack of stock.
‘When did you want this open again?’
‘I was hoping for Friday.’
He saw her swallow as she looked around some more. ‘We have a lot to do by then.’
He turned the screws a little. ‘No. You have a lot to do. I have work of my own to be getting on with.’
She turned to him. ‘Accountancy or law?’
He wondered which she viewed as the lesser evil. From the way she’d covered the question in sarcastic flavouring he guessed she regarded both as less than marvellous options. ‘Law.’
‘Hotshot, huh?’
Modesty stopped him from answering that one honestly. ‘Hard-working.’
