40. Katie
Katie
Michael gets to the bar an hour before my shift ends, sliding into the same booth he spent days watching me like a total creep.
Only now, every time I catch sight of him, I’m smiling.
It’s not even on purpose. It just happens.
Every time I pass his table. Every time I glance up from behind the bar and find him already looking at me.
It feels different tonight. I can’t quite explain it, but there’s something sitting under my skin. Especially after last night and every time I remember where I’m going when this shift ends. With him. To his house.
He’s already waiting by the door when I finish. He opens it without a word, his hand sliding to my waist as we step into the night, pulling me close.
“Have a good shift?” he asks.
“It was okay. Tips weren’t great tonight.”
His mouth tightens, his gaze dropping to me, but he doesn’t say anything. When we reach his car, he opens my door first, his hand brushing my back as I slide in. He shuts the door behind me and circles the front to his side. As he pulls out, his hand slides to my thigh, resting there.
“So,” he says, eyes on the road. “You should quit the bar.”
I let out a short laugh. “You’re kidding.”
“If it’s about paying for your mom’s facility, I can do that.”
“Stop,” I say.
He glances over at me.
“I don’t like you working there.”
“I don’t remember asking you.”
He takes a slow breath, his jaw working.
“This relationship,” he says, gesturing between us, “only works if I know you’re safe and taken care of.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.”
I shove his hand off my thigh. He puts it right back, firmer this time.
“Katie. I’m not the kind of man who’s going to sit back and wonder if some fuck face asshole is giving you a hard time, or if you’re struggling to make ends meet.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I tell him.
“Doll,” he says, softer this time. “You don’t need to run yourself ragged working two jobs. Let me do this for you.”
I look down at his hand. His thumb is lightly running along my thigh. When I look back at him, his focus is on the road, but he glances at me.
“Please?”
My brain is telling me to back the fuck up. You’ve known this man for all of a week. He’s trying to control you. Don’t let him do this, but there’s another part of me that doesn’t care. It wants to give in. I’m tired of carrying everything on my own. I’m so fucking exhausted.
I don’t look at him when I say it, “Okay.”
He exhales. My hand finds his on my thigh, and I intertwine our fingers, sealing it in place.
“Katie, hey. Doll, we’re here.”
I blink awake, my head against the window. I push myself up and look over at him. He’s smiling at me.
“You fell asleep.”
I glance around, trying to get my bearings. We’re inside. There are bright lights overhead and cars lined up everywhere.
“Come on. Let’s go inside,” he says.
He gets out, walks around, and opens my door, holding his hand out for me.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“The basement garage.”
I look around again, slower this time. There have to be at least thirty cars down here, and every single one of them looks expensive as hell.
“Are all of these yours?”
“Yeah,” he says, leading me between them.
“God, you’re so fucking rich.”
He laughs, tugging me along by the hand. I yawn, and he catches it. He stops us and his arm goes under my thighs, the other at my back, lifting me.
“Yes, please,” I say, already wrapping my arms around his neck.
He doesn’t stop until we get to an elevator. A goddamn elevator.
“You’re joking.”
He glances at me. “About what?”
“You have an elevator.”
“I have a lot of things you don’t know about,” he says, leaning in and brushing his nose against mine.
“That sounded dirty.”
“I meant for it to,” he says, grinning. Heat creeps up my neck.
The doors open, and he steps on, pressing two. Then he’s kissing me. I melt into it. His grip tightens, pulling me closer. The elevator stops, but we don’t. The doors open. A throat clears, and I drop my face into his shoulder.
“Good evening, Boss.”
“Marco.”
“Miss Katie.”
I turn to look at him. “Hi, Marco.” I mumble to Michael, “Put me down.”
Michael smiles, enjoying this way too much, but he sets me on my feet anyway. I tuck myself into his side and avoid eye contact with Marco.
“I was just finishing up for the night,” Marco says.
“Anything I need to know?” Michael asks.
“It can wait until tomorrow.”
“Good. Goodnight.”
I glance up as Marco nods to Michael and looks straight at me.
“Goodnight, Miss Katie.”
I manage a small smile. “Night.”
“That was embarrassing as hell,” I say, as Michael turns and starts down the hall.
“Doll, people are around. It’s bound to happen again.”
“I don’t like it.” I say.
“But you like me,” he says, grabbing my hand.
“For some stupid reason.”
He ignores that, and stops at a door, pushing it open. He flips on a light, and I freeze.
“Shut the fuck up.”
The room is massive. The ceilings stretch up higher than they should.
Everything is dark—rich wood, black accents, and low lighting that makes everything feel expensive.
The bed sits raised against a wall on a wide platform.
It’s the focal point, and everything else was built around it.
There’s a sitting area off to one side with a couch and a glass table, and even that belongs in a showroom somewhere.
I turn, taking it all in. “This is your bedroom?”
“Last I checked.”
Smartass. I push him away from me and drift toward the windows.
I step closer, my reflection staring back at me for a second before I focus past it.
It’s dark. It’s all open land stretching out into nothing.
There are no lights or houses. There’s no movement.
It’s only black with the faint outline of trees in the distance. There is no one around for miles.
“Shit,” I breathe.
I turn back toward the room and spot the bathroom. The second I step inside, I stop again.
“Okay, this is stupid.”
The shower alone is bigger than my entire bathroom.
It has glass walls, double showerheads built into opposite sides, and is clearly meant for more than one person.
There’s a clawfoot tub set off to the side, and a countertop that stretches way too far along the wall with two sinks spaced out.
Everything in here matches the rest of the room.
I run my fingers along the edge of the counter, shaking my head a little.
“You live like this?”
I finally look at him, and he’s watching me, smiling. He walks over and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me in. My hands find his chest.
“I’ve wanted to share this with someone for so long.”
Something in my chest cracks open.
Fuck. I’m not sure how this happened, but I’m in love with this man.