Chapter 10
H ayes walked into the bar and immediately saw her.
The little brat.
He couldn’t believe that she had dared to put salt in his coffee the other day.
He settled in at the bar and nodded to Mac who gave him a far friendlier look than he had before.
“Here you go.” The bartender set a beer down in front of him. “On the house.”
Hayes raised his eyebrows.
“A small thank you for helping our Devi.”
“You’re not pissed at me?”
Mac shook his head. “I’ve told her so many times not to put out the garbage. That it’s Andy’s job. But she’s always covering for him. She’s a funny mix of tough and kind is our Devi.”
Hayes saw the moment that Devi saw him. And Mac likely did too since he was staring over at her.
The smile dropped off her face and she glared at him.
“If looks could kill I’d be giving you mouth-to-mouth right now.” Mac walked away with a whistle.
Hmm. Such a brat.
He sipped at his beer and watched her continue to work. He could tell when she started growing more tired. She got clumsier, made more mistakes.
Of course, that could also be due to nerves as well.
The number of looks she shot his way told him that she was definitely nervous.
As she should be.
He might not have retaliated straight away but that didn’t mean he was going to let her naughtiness slide.
No, he was just waiting for the right opportunity. And he thought it only fair that she should sweat it out for a bit.
After watching her for a while longer and realizing there was no way that she would come near him, he moved seats.
And placed himself right into her section.
There. That should really make her start to sweat.
Devi was hyperventilating.
What the heck was he doing in her section? He never sat at a table, he always stayed at the bar.
So why was he mixing things up tonight?
You know why he’s mixing things up. He’s trying to psych you out.
She still didn’t know why he hadn’t complained about his coffee. He had to be playing a long game.
And part of that long game was him moving into her section, where she’d be forced to serve him.
Silla was working with her tonight. Tuesday nights were always busy due to the local bingo club and the bridge club meeting early then coming for a drink after. She hadn’t seen Hayes since the salt in the coffee incident last Saturday.
“Silla,” she hissed.
“Yeah?” Silla said loudly.
“Can you take that table in my section? Please.”
“What table?”
Dear Lord. Could she speak quietly for once?
“The table with him at it. The bodyguard.”
Silla turned and stared straight at Hayes. She had no clue how to be subtle.
This was it. The end.
Please let the world open up and just swallow me.
“You’re hoping that you’re going to be beamed up by aliens, aren’t you?” Silla said, rubbing her back. “I’d know those dejected shoulders anywhere. I’ve had those shoulders before. They never listen. Maybe one day we’ll get beamed up but not today.”
“Actually, I was hoping that the earth would open up and swallow me whole.” She turned her head toward Silla. “But I’d accept aliens. I don’t mind being probed.”
Silla threw her head back and laughed. “Well, that might depend on where you’re being probed, right?”
Oh God.
Please, earth. Please open up and put me out of my misery.
“Why are the two of you standing there and talking about probing when there’re customers to serve?” Mac demanded.
“I don’t want to serve him,” she said to Mac.
Mac sighed and studied her for a long moment. “Is this about last Friday night? You’re not holding a grudge about what he said, are you?”
“Umm. Well.”
“Jesus. What did you do, girl?” Mac grumbled.
She straightened. “What makes you think I did anything?”
“Because I know you. I know what you’re like when you think you’ve been wronged by someone. And I also know a guilty look when I see it.”
Crap.
“So what did you do?” Mac demanded.
“I put salt in his coffee,” she confessed.
There was silence and she could feel them staring at her, even though she couldn’t glance up.
Silla let out a hoot. “Is that all? Sheesh, the way you were acting I thought you’d killed his cat or something.”
Devi glared at her. “I’d never harm a cat.”
Mac shook his head. “I don’t know what you were thinking, Devi. That is not a man you play games with.”
“He was a jerk to you,” she said. “And he was mean and bossy to me. How can you defend him?”
“You know what? I’d have been angry with me too, if someone I cared about was attacked while working for me.”
“But he doesn’t care about me!” she protested.
Had Mac lost his mind? Or had he gotten into the whiskey? Care about her?
“You and he might want to pretend that he doesn’t care. But it was pretty easy to see that he got upset with you for putting yourself at risk. Now, I don’t know for sure, but that sounds like a man who cares.”
That couldn’t be right.
There was no way that Hayes cared for her. He barely knew her. And he hardly even talked to her. In fact, he seemed annoyed by her most of the time.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Silla said. “And he’s chosen to sit in your section for some reason. Maybe because he wants to talk to you. You know that’s really romantic.”
No, no, no.
She couldn’t have Silla thinking that Hayes’ actions were romantic. Silla was the biggest romantic out there. If she thought that Hayes was interested in Devi . . . then she would do whatever she needed to in order to get them together.
“It’s not romantic. It’s psychotic. You have to take his table.”
“The two of you need to take any tables. Now,” Mac grumbled. “Because I’m not making any money while you stand here and jabber.”
Right. Shit.
She had to do her job. She was actually glad that Mac was treating her like he always did.
“Please, Silla,” she begged. “You have got to serve him for me.”
“I can’t hear you. La-la-la.” Silla skipped off to deal with her area.
Jesus. She was toast.
Well. There was only one thing for it. She was going to be extremely mature about all of this.
Actually, no she wasn’t.
She would just ignore him. Devi moved quickly around, taking and delivering orders. She managed to trip over one person’s feet and bang her knee against the bar. But otherwise, she was doing pretty well for someone who hadn’t been sleeping well.
At one stage, she noticed him on his phone, reading something. Then he stared at her with a strange look she couldn’t decipher.
Deciding that she didn’t really want to decipher that look on his face, she turned away and got back to work. If she kept busy she might forget about him.
And hopefully he’d leave.
Finally, she looked around and the place had emptied out a lot. It had to be close to midnight and she was exhausted.
And he was still here.
Not only that, but he was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest just watching her.
Well. That wasn’t intimidating or anything.
She stared back at him.
He crooked a finger at her.
Shit. Oh crap. Shit.
She shook her head.
He kept crooking that finger and then he pushed his chair back.
Oh, thank God. He was leaving. What a relief.
Yeah? If it’s such a relief then why do you feel a stab of disappointment?
No. That couldn’t be disappointment she was feeling. It had to be indigestion.
Yep, that’s what it was.
Then he turned his chair and pointed in front of him.
What the heck?
Again, he crooked his finger, then he pointed at the floor in front of him.
Was he serious? Did he really expect her to walk over there and just stand in front of him?
Yeah. That wasn’t happening.
“I think he wants you to go talk to him,” Silla told her.
Thanks, Silla.
She hadn’t realized that.
“Not happening. I am not going over there,” she stated.
“Why?” Mac asked. “We’re quiet. You have time to chat. Or is that you think you’re gonna get your butt reddened for the prank you played on him?”
She gaped at Mac. “No! I wasn’t thinking that!” Well, she hadn’t been before he’d put the image in her mind.
But now she was having trouble thinking of anything else.
Devi could see herself over his lap; no doubt his thighs were as hard and firm as the rest of him. One of those dinnerplate sized hands would land against her ass. And she’d probably scream so loud that they’d hear her in Canada.
“Ooh, you are totally imagining that, aren’t you?” Silla asked. “You kinky monkey.”
A kinky monkey? Silla said some strange things sometimes.
“How is a monkey kinky?” Mac asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not a monkey. But I’m sure they have their ways.”
Mac shared a look with Devi, shaking his head slightly. They were used to Silla’s eccentricity by now.
“I really think you should go to him, Devi,” Silla advised. “You don’t want to make a man like that angry. I’d bet he spanks really hard. And you’ve got another shift tomorrow, right?”
“He is not spanking me,” Devi whispered. The last thing she wanted to do was go over there. But she also had a feeling that he wasn’t going to leave until he talked to her.
Damn it.