Chapter 5 #2
There’s still half an hour left of my shift, so I try to shove those thoughts aside so I can focus on waiting tables. I’m coming back from dropping off drinks at a six-top, ready to load up some food that just got put on the counter for another of my tables, when Nicholas stops me.
“The restroom needs attention,” he says.
“Again? I just cleaned it up.”
“People have to go,” he says.
“That’s not fair,” I say. “I cleaned it last. You should take a turn.”
“I didn’t ask what you think about my managerial strategies.”
I feel like I’m in some kind of surreal altercation, where things aren’t making sense. He has to see that he’s making unreasonable demands. He has to see that he isn’t treating me fairly. Then again, why should I feel differently after the shit he pulled, stealing my Saturday game night shift?
I notice his hands are damp and they smell like the bathroom soap. Pointing at them, I say, “Did you just come out of the bathroom?”
He smirks. “Maybe.”
“Then why didn’t you clean it?”
“Because I’m telling you it’s your job. I’m the manager. I decide.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if he pissed all over the floor on purpose, just to make me clean it up. And the very idea that I can’t trust he wouldn’t do that, makes my skin crawl and sends pulses of rage through my limbs.
“You, sir, are a twatnugget,” I say, before removing my apron and dropping it on the ground.
“Hey!” he shouts. “You can’t quit like that.”
“Watch me.”
“You can’t leave me with your clean-up duties!”
“Can and will,” I mutter to myself as I retrieve my bag.
Nicholas follows me. “You’re going to regret this. No one else will hire you. Don’t even bother asking me for a recommendation.”
I snort. If I wanted a recommendation, Nicholas is the last person I’d go to.
From behind him, Natasha gives me a thumb’s up. I’m not worried about her—he wouldn’t dare ask her to clean the bathroom. And as I walk out of the pub, several of the patrons give me encouraging smiles.
I did the right thing.
And even though I’m going to be worried about bills for the next week or two until I find something else, it feels so fucking good.
Even better? When I leave the pub, Kingston’s car and driver are waiting at the curb for me.
“Mr. Tyler is hoping you’ll agree to meet him at his penthouse for dinner,” Garth says.
I smile. It’s about time I got to hang out with my other daddy.
Ella
The elevator lifts me up to Kingston’s apartment, and I step out of it and into a room flooded with candlelight. Scattered rose petals litter the floor. At my gasp of delight, Kingston looks up from the couch and stands to greet me. He wraps his arms around me and tugs me against him.
“Ella, sweetheart,” he says, his voice a low rumble that sends a flash of need sparking through my body.
“Hey, Daddy,” I say into his warm chest. “I tried to get in touch with you earlier today.”
“Sorry I wasn’t available,” he says, and I can hear the frown, the regret in his tone. “There’s a lot going on at work. I always want to make time for you, though. What did you need?”
He’s under so much pressure already, I don’t want to add to that. “Nothing important,” I say. “Not really.”
“I promise to start being more available to you,” he says. “I think I’m through the most difficult part of transitioning Kristin to Joel’s old position.”
“Kristin…” I say. “Is she the one who came out of the building with you, after the bomb threat?”
He nods. Hesitates. Clears his throat. “Listen. I just want everything to be out in the open, okay?”
A heavy feeling thuds into my gut. This isn’t going to be good news. Maybe he likes Kristin more than me. Maybe he cheated—oh, fuck, he cheated and all of these candles and rose petals are an elaborate apology.
“Okay,” I whisper, even though nothing about this is okay.
“Kristin—”
I cover my face. I wish I could cover my ears.
“Come here, little one,” he says, tugging me toward him.
“No, thank you. I need space. Just say what you have to say.”
He lets me go. “Kristin made a pass at me. Looking back, I think she hinted more than once that she was interested in me, but I ignored her signals. Finally, at lunch today, I told her that there couldn’t be any relationship for us, beyond that of colleagues.”
I wait for the rest, but he’s quiet. Waiting for my response.
I peek at him through my fingers. “Is that all?”
“That’s all,” he says, giving me a faint smile and holding his hands out as if to show he’s unarmed.
Horror washes over me as I realize I thought this kind, sweet, and protective man was cheating on me. Like his no-good son had done. Kingston is nothing like Joel.
Before I can process my thoughts, tears are pouring from my eyes. “I’m so—so sorry—”
“Ella,” he says, wrapping his arms around me. “What is it? You didn’t do anything. I’m sorry I didn’t shut down Kristin’s passes earlier. It was cowardly of me to hope it wasn’t real. I’m so sorry for scaring you.”
“No, I just…for a minute, I thought maybe you’d cheated on me. I’m horrible for even thinking that.”
His arms tighten around my shoulders. “No, little girl. Never. And I’m not mad that you were worried about it. Of course the thought would cross your mind after what you’ve been through. I should’ve stated it from the start.”
“Well,” I say, pressing my head against his chest and taking comfort in his rhythmic heartbeat, “it’s okay. I’m glad you told me, and I’m glad it won’t be a problem anymore. I mean, it won’t be, right?”
“No, it won’t be. Kristin realizes that she and I wouldn’t be a good match, either way.
” He kisses the top of my head. “Now. As much as I would like to take credit for the fine Japanese dinner waiting for us in the dining room, I have to admit that I had it delivered, and it’s not getting any fresher. Are you hungry, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” I say, and my stomach growls to punctuate that statement.
Chuckling, he leads me to the candlelit table and pulls out a chair for me.
Everything is so beautiful. Even if the food is takeout, he’s transferred it to plates and set the table as if we’re in a restaurant.
Of course Kingston wouldn’t have us eating out of foam takeout containers or paper plates.
It’s a good thing he’s hosting, and not me.
Rather than sit at the far end of the long table, he pulls out a chair next to mine and starts offering me food from the different platters.
“Sebastian didn’t want to come by for dinner?” I ask. He’s been staying at his uncle’s this week, trying to make sure his uncle has everything he needs, and offer Lin some breaks from hovering.
“He thought you and I should take some time to reconnect, one-on-one,” Kingston says.
“That sounds good to me.” I grin over at him.
We eat and chat. I ask him more about his travels, and am surprised to learn that he spent two years in Australia when he was a kid, because his mom got a temporary job assignment there.
He asks me about my childhood, and I tell him how I loved being on the track team in high school.
“Do you still run?” he asks.
I shake my head and give him a wry smile. “When would I do that?”
“Good point.” His frown is full of sympathy. “Have you thought of cutting back your hours—”
I hold up my hand. “I have some pretty big news.”
“What’s that?”
“I, um, impulsively quit the pub.” I wince, waiting for Kingston’s judgment.
Instead of telling me that my decision was rash and foolish, he laughs. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Was it the wrong call? Nicholas was being horrible, and Kevin might not come back, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I have enough to cover my rent and everything still, it’s just going to be kind of tight—”
“Bash and I have been plotting an intervention to convince you to quit,” he says, his blue-gray eyes twinkling.
“We hadn’t gotten far, because I got too busy with my own stupid concerns.
But this is great news. You’ll have more time, and you won’t be working in the evenings. It’s going to be great.”
I shake my head. “I’m going to look for a new job, to replace Bartleby’s.”
“What?” He looks stricken. “No, Ella, listen. You can move in with me. I’d love nothing more than to live with you, wake up with you every morning, fall asleep with you every night.”
“I love you,” I say, “but I’m just not ready to move in like that. Having more sleepovers, great. I would even accept a drawer in your dresser and some space in your closet. Leave a toothbrush here, and toiletries.”
“But you’re not ready to move in entirely,” he says, sighing.
“No. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby girl. Whenever you’re ready, okay?” He takes my hand in his and gently squeezes my fingers, his calluses rough and comforting at the same time.
His phone chimes with a notification. To his credit, he doesn’t look away from my face, and instead kisses my nose, then my cheek.
“Don’t you have to check your phone?” I ask.
“No,” he says, kissing my other cheek. “Tonight is for you.”
Next, his mouth moves to my lips. I drink in his taste, breathe in his scent. I want this man so fucking much, all the time.
The phone chimes a second time, then a third. Then it begins to ring. Giving me an apologetic smile, Kingston says, “Hang on just a second—I’m going to turn it off.”
As soon as he glances at the screen, though, his face pales and he answers the call. “This is Kingston Tyler.”
The voice on the other end of the line is muffled, but official-sounding.
“I understand. Yes, yes, of course.”
Kingston ends the call and looks at me, a bleak expression on his face.
“What happened?” I ask. “Another work emergency?”
He shakes his head. “Yes and no. It goes beyond work.”
Grabbing his hand, I say, “Please just tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s Kristin,” Kingston says. “She was kidnapped right outside the office building, twenty minutes ago.”