Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
RUBY
O ne of the perks of working in a coffee shop was, well, the coffee. So when a late night at Club BDE was followed by a few hours of tossing and turning while her mind played through all of the delicious punishments Beckett might devise for her— if she decided to go through with it—and then her alarm going off before the sun was even up, she at least had the promise of the life-giving elixir known as espresso to help drag her out of bed.
The caffeine wasn’t helping as much as she would have liked it to this morning, though. Not only was she feeling every minute of sleep she’d missed out on, her brain still wouldn’t stop obsessing over ‘The Beckett Problem’ as she’d dubbed it at four a.m. when she’d still been staring at her ceiling running through yet another scenario.
She’d even gotten herself off twice in the hopes it would wear her out enough to force her brain to shut down. But all that had done was make her even more tired than she had been, without actually helping her sleep.
Stupid hormones.
“Earth to Ruby. Come in, Ruby.”
Jumping slightly at the sound of her name, she turned to blink at Jay, the cafe’s assistant manager. “What? Sorry, I zoned out.”
“I see that.” Pulling a stack of cups from the storage beneath the counter, Jay grinned at her as he restocked. “What’s his name?”
“Whose name?”
“The distraction.” When she simply stared at him, Jay rolled his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve seen you come in here, dead on your feet and still running circles around the rest of us. The only thing that could possibly be that distracting is a man. So spill. What’s he like?”
The bell above the shop door rang, pulling her attention away from Jay to their next customer. But her usual greeting died on her lips at the sight of Beckett Stone, dressed in his usual custom suit, with its flawless lines and not a single thread out of place. Pausing just inside the door, he scanned the shop, obviously looking for someone.
But then his gaze landed on her, and a smile she could only describe as wolfish curved his lips as he strode toward the counter.
“He’s like that,” she muttered.
“Holy shit. Talk about a distraction ,” Jay whispered back, his voice full of awe. “You go girl.”
“Shut up. It’s nothing.” Forcing a bright smile on her face and hoping it would hide the nervousness pounding through her veins, she finally managed to get out her greeting. “Welcome to Charleston Brews. What can we get started to brighten your morning, sir?”
“Trust me, you’ve already brightened it considerably, Ruby Red.”
Smooth. So fucking smooth . From any other man, it would have sounded corny or even borderline gross. But Beckett somehow managed to make even a cheesy pickup line sound like the most erotic poetry she’d ever heard.
“Um, thanks.” Then there was her, the exact opposite of smooth. “But I still need to know what you want to drink, sir.”
It was ‘sir’ with a lowercase s, because they weren’t at the club. And still, Beckett’s eyes flashed, his smile deepening at the address. She half expected him to throw out another line, but he surprised her by simply asking, “What would you recommend?”.
What would she recommend? How was she supposed to recommend anything when her brain had suddenly gone completely blank?
The menu. You know this fucking menu like the back of your hand. “Ah, well, we still have all our Christmas flavors. The gingerbread latte is a favorite.”
“I didn’t ask what everyone else would enjoy, Ruby. I asked what you would enjoy.”
She was well aware of Jay, and now the rest of her co-workers, watching her with interest. Oh, they were pretending not to, busying themselves with the other drink orders while they watched the scene unfold from the corners of their eyes. Or, in Jay’s case, wiping down the same section of counter he’d supposedly been cleaning ever since Beckett had walked up to the register.
Ignoring them, she forced herself to answer Beckett’s questions. “I’m partial to the Maple Pecan Macchiato. Very underrated, if you ask me.”
“Then that’s what I’ll have. And whatever pastry you think goes with it.”
“Yes, Sir.” Shit. That was definitely a capital S. Could Beckett hear the difference?
If the smug smile on his face was anything to judge by, he heard and understood the difference all too well. Praying her face wasn’t as red as it felt, she rang up his order and processed his payment.
“Thank you, Ruby Red.” He hovered for a moment, rather than moving to the end of the counter, his eyes boring into hers. “Will I see you tonight?”
Great. Now she was never going to convince Jay there was nothing going on between her and the hot, obviously loaded Beckett Stone. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“I see.”
There was a wealth of meaning in those two words. She just wasn’t sure what that meaning was . Disappointment? Anger? Hurt?
Not knowing had her stomach twisting into knots. To cover the disconcerting feeling, she offered up a polite smile. “Sir?”
That hint of smugness returned to his face. “Yes?”
“You’re holding up the line. Could you please move down to the end of the counter to wait on your drink?”
Beckett blinked, and then to her complete surprise, he let out a long, loud laugh. “Of course. My bad. Thank you for the drink recommendation, Ruby.”
“You’re welcome, Sir.”
He moved down the counter as requested, and she somehow managed to ring up their next few customers while he waited.
But instead of getting his drink and leaving like she’d expected him to, he carried his cup and the scone she’d added to his order over to a table. Right in her direct line of sight. With that same self-satisfied smile still on his face, he lifted his cup as if toasting her, and sipped.
It was going to be a long fucking morning.
Beckett
Flustering Ruby was fast becoming one of his favorite pastimes. At the club, she was the badass bartender, and while he’d managed to fluster her a bit on occasion, it was nothing compared to the way she’d blushed and stumbled her way through their conversation just now.
Which only seemed fair, considering he’d been feeling a bit flustered himself at the sight of her behind the counter, looking dead on her feet despite the bright smile she offered up to all of her customers. And her co-workers, he noticed. When there was a lull between guests, they all laughed and joked together in a way that told him they genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.
Still, he didn’t love those dark circles under her eyes. She’d been at the club until nearly two last night. How early had she needed to report this morning?
Not your problem . Right. Not only was she not his submissive, they hadn’t even done a scene together yet. Which meant Ruby… shit, he didn’t even know her last name.
Definitely not his concern.
If she had been his, however, he would make it very clear that she needed to be more intentional about her schedule. Closing the bar at the club and then opening at the coffee shop would never happen under his watch. And if she tried to go around him, like a brat of her caliber would be expected to do, she would learn very quickly that Daddy Beckett did not tolerate disobedience. Especially where health and safety were concerned.
Grief, old and familiar, yet still as raw as ever, slammed into his chest. Reminding him of why he wouldn’t be taking on that role for pretty little Ruby, or any other brats for that matter. Playing at the club was one thing, but when it came time to settle down, he wanted—needed—someone who could be trusted to listen. An obedient little subbie girl who followed the rules and didn’t take unnecessary risks.
The bell above the door rang again, distracting him from Ruby and his own dark thoughts as he glanced over. Good. Jonas was here, which meant he could focus on work instead of reminding himself of all the reasons Ruby wasn’t, and never would be, his concern.
Jonas waved in acknowledgment before walking up to the counter. From his seat, Beckett could only hear snippets of the conversation, enough to know Jonas was flirting with her the way he did with pretty much every living, breathing human he came into contact with. So there was no reason for the churning in his gut, the burn in his chest that made him want to snarl at him to get the fuck away from her.
What he was feeling must have shown on his face, because when Ruby next glanced over at him, her eyes went wide and she quickly looked away again.
Fuck.
Schooling his face into what he hoped was a more pleasant expression, he sipped at his drink again—points to Ruby for an excellent recommendation—and waited for Jonas to join him at the table.
Which he did a few minutes later, a shit-eating grin stretched across his face and his eyes sparkling with an excitement Beckett recognized all too well. “I have news.”
“What kind of news?”
“Preston Kingsley is shopping around.” Looking positively gleeful, Jonas leaned in. “Rumor has it Pinnacle fumbled the ball and lost him nearly ten billion on the last deal they brokered and he’s pissed.”
A familiar hunger rose up inside him and Beckett straightened in his chair. “Really, now?”
Preston Kingsley was the one percent of the one percent. The man had built and destroyed more empires in a single lifetime than most people could even fathom. Stone Investments was already on the map and had been for a while, but landing someone like Preston would mean they owned the map.
And Beckett really, really wanted that fucking map.
“Rumor also has it he’s specifically looking for a local firm. After Pinnacle fucked him, he’s decided he doesn’t trust ‘those snotty New England bastards’ anymore.”
“This just keeps getting better. But how the hell are we supposed to get a meeting with Preston Fucking Kingsley?”
Some of the excitement on Jonas’s face faded. “Ah, well, I was hoping you might know some people. Since you’re running with the Hollywood set, and all. Figured you might know someone who knows someone.”
That probably was true. Preston had just turned sixty last year and his party had been filled to the brim with A-Listers. But asking that of Ice felt a little too much like using their friendship for his own personal gain, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. “I’ll have to see what I can do.”
“Excellent.” Jonas checked his watch and grimaced. “Got a meeting with The Dragon, so I need to get going. Just wanted to tell you the good news in person, and away from any potential spies. The walls have ears and all that.”
‘The Dragon’ being Widow Carrigan, one of the first clients Beckett had ever brought in, with a reputation for watching over her investments like a dragon with its hoard. For years she’d refused to work with anyone but Beckett, until he’d brought Jonas on board and personally walked them through building a working relationship they both could both live with. As much as Jonas whined about it, Beckett had his suspicions they enjoyed each other’s company more than either was willing to let on.
Jonas left, and though Beckett had his own business to attend to, he took his time, draining what was left of his coffee while Ruby snuck little glances at him from the counter. Those sneaky looks, along with the knowledge that Preston Kingsley might finally be within his grasp, nearly had him whistling as he left the coffee shop.
A bright morning, indeed.