Chapter 71 Rosalie
SEVENTY-ONE
ROSALIE
Aweek after shopping with Anson, I found myself rushing around, waitressing tables. The tips weren’t bad, and the staff was friendly. Overall, it was decent. Not at all fulfilling, but it helped pass the time with minimal thinking about my life.
In the week I’d been there, I’d helped them improve on the muffins they served, and they were flying out the door with the breakfast people. That earned me a fifty-dollar bonus.
Jamie called to check up on me a few times.
I told her I was doing well, and she was genuinely happy for me to be working.
I told my parents I’d gotten a job and had broken up with the guys.
I knew my dad wanted to comfort me, and he did, but I could also hear the happiness in his voice at the news.
I still hadn’t found an apartment, but I did have another one to visit after my shift ended this afternoon.
“Table six has a daddy-type. And god, is he hot.” Sabrina, one of the waitresses, fanned herself and nodded to table six, which was my table.
I looked over to find Klaus Seeley seated there.
“I’ll, uh, get his order,” I said as Sabrina tittered with Angela, another waitress.
I wandered over to him and plastered a smile on my face.
“Hey, what can I get you?”
He looked at me, clearly confused. His blue eyes moved from my feet up to my yellow uniform to my face.
“Hummingbird?” he asked, frowning at me. “What are you doing here and wearing that god-awful uniform?”
“Um, I’m working,” I said. “This is the uniform. Yellow isn’t really my color.”
“It’s not.” He continued to frown.
My cheeks heated at his words. I didn’t think I looked that bad.
“Why are you working?”
“Because I need a job,” I said.
“Isn’t Anson taking care of you?”
“No offense, Klaus, but Anson is my friend. His job isn’t to pay my bills.”
He rapped his knuckles on the table. “I’ll take a coffee. Black.”
“Got it. One bitter bean water as black as your soul,” I said, not bothering to write it down.
That did earn a smirk from him.
“When is your break, Rosalie?” he asked, still smiling at me.
“I already took it. I’m off in an hour.”
“Perfect. I’ll wait for you. Then you’ll come with me.”
“I can’t. While your invitation is intriguing and probably dangerous, I have to look at an apartment when I get out. Raincheck?”
“No, no raincheck. I’ll go with you.”
I sighed, noting the steely look in his eyes. I wasn’t going to get out of it. Chances are, he’d run back and tell Matteo, and I’d be dragged back to him while he tried to house me in his mansion and give me a manicure.
I left him and got his coffee. I slid it in front of him.
“Do you need anything else?”
“Yes. I came in for a muffin. I heard there were blueberry ones.”
“Sure. I can get you one.” I went back, grabbed him a muffin, and returned. “Anything else?”
He held up his finger, bit into the muffin, and chewed slowly before washing it down with a sip of coffee.
“This is good. My compliments to the chef.”
“I’ll let him know. Anything else?”
“You to sit with me.”
“I can’t. I’m working.”
“What are they paying you?”
I shuffled nervously. “I make a lot in tips.”
“I’ll give you five hundred dollars right now if you sit with me.”
“I can’t. I have to work,” I repeated. “I just got this job. I don’t want to ruin it by sitting with a customer.”
“OK. I’ll give you fifty thousand to quit and sit with me.”
I scoffed at him. “You’re insane.”
“Am I? You’re the one not accepting fifty thousand dollars. I’d say you’re crazier than I am.” He leaned in. “I’m good for it, by the way—fifty thousand, hummingbird. Sit with me. We’ll talk.”
“Klaus.” I laughed and glanced to see Sabrina and Angela watching the exchange. “We can talk when I’m off, OK?”
“Fine. Bring me a milkshake. Strawberry.”
I left him and set to work making his milkshake.
“What’s he saying?” Sabrina asked, coming to stand next to me.
“Uh, nothing. Just wants a milkshake. Said he likes the muffins.”
“Girl, don’t lie. He’s into you. He’s staring at you like you’re the milkshake.”
“No, he isn’t,” I said, letting out a nervous laugh. I chanced a look back to see he was definitely watching me.
I finished making the shake and returned to him.
“Forty-five minutes,” he said, taking the shake.
I smiled wordlessly and went back to working without saying a word. I took a few more orders before my shift ended, acutely aware of Klaus’s eyes on me the entire time.
I dropped his check on the table before serving a burger basket to another table. He left a few moments later, and I noted he was waiting on the sidewalk.
I went to where he’d been sitting and picked up the bill and cash he’d left, along with a slip of paper.
I unfolded it to find a check for fifty thousand dollars and a tiny note in the memo area that said, Quit your job, hummingbird.
With my heart pounding, I stuffed his money into the register and clocked out. I grabbed my bag and met him on the sidewalk, knowing damn well Sabrina and Angela were still watching.
“Here.” I handed him the check he’d left. “I don’t want that.”
“You earn tips, yeah? That’s mine. Keep it.” He looked away from me.
“Klaus. Please. I-I don’t want it.” I grabbed his arm as he made to walk away. He rounded on me, making my heart jump into my throat. He was a hell of a lot bigger than me, that was for sure. He’d crush me if he wanted to.
“You talk too much,” he said.
I blinked at him. “You’re… annoying.”
That made him chuckle. “Come on, little hummingbird. Let’s go see this apartment.”
He gestured, and a moment later, a blacked-out SUV moved forward, and a man with black hair and blue eyes got out.
I glanced at the man, who inclined his head at me as he opened the back door. I slid onto the leather as Klaus followed.
“Where to?” the man asked.
Klaus looked at me for direction.
I rattled off the address before the man got back behind the wheel.
“That is not a good neighborhood,” Klaus said conversationally as we rode.
“It’s within my budget,” I said, looking out the window.
He laughed softly, but didn’t push it. We arrived several long, silent minutes later. The driver opened the door, and I followed Klaus out.
He went straight into the building.
“Which apartment?”
“Twelve.”
We walked up three flights of stairs. I could hear kids crying in the distance and police sirens.
A man was waiting outside the apartment when we got there. His face paled when he saw us.
“Mr. Seeley, sir. I-I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“Funny that, isn’t it?” Klaus said.
“I-I have the money. L-Let me grab it.” He dashed off to a room at the end of the hall while I stared after him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking back at Klaus.
“This is my building,” Klaus said, smiling at me.
“What? Yours?” I squeaked out.
He nodded. “It’s really not in a good neighborhood.”
My stomach sank. “You’d be my landlord?”
He nodded again. “Technically.”
Damnit. Did all these gangster men own every damn thing in this city? I couldn’t even find a bar to go into without running into someone from this world. And now an apartment?
Son of a bitch.
Klaus reached into his jacket, pulled out a key, and inserted it into the lock before pushing the door open.
“After you,” he said, gesturing me inside.
I sighed and stepped in.
It wasn’t terrible. In fact, it was adorable and decently updated.
“Good to see you’re not a slum lord,” I muttered, looking at the built-in bookcase in the tiny living room.
He found that funny because he chuckled.
I wandered through the tiny space and checked the bathroom. No bathtub. It was a standing shower, but it was a nice one.
Klaus left me to it, but I assumed it was because he was collecting money from the guy who showed the apartments.
I went into the only bedroom and frowned. It was going to be tight. I might be able to fit a twin bed in there. The closet wasn’t much of anything either.
I wouldn’t have much space for my keyboard, guitars, or even a decent space for music writing.
But I’d have a place to live that was mine.
“Do you like it?” Klaus asked, leaning against the doorjamb. I jumped at the sound of his deep voice.
He had to duck his head a bit just to stand there.
“It’s… cute,” I said.
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “There isn’t a lot of space for my music stuff, but then again, I don’t really think I’ll be using it anyway.”
“The space or the music stuff?”
“Music stuff. I was thinking about donating to the music center for students who can’t afford the equipment.”
“You are quitting music?” He frowned.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I’m not even in school anymore.”
He seemed surprised at that information. “What are your plans? Waitressing?”
I shrugged. “It’s OK. I don’t know. I have an interview at a bookstore tomorrow. Part-time. It’s hard to find full-time. But together, I can probably make enough. This is within my budget, so it could work for me. I-I have a cat. Is that going to be a problem?”
Before he could answer me, gunshots rang out somewhere down the hall.
Everything came flooding back to me, making me snap as the panic overtook me. Klaus looked at me for all of a moment as the screams and gunfire continued before he shoved me away from the door.
“Do not move!” he shouted, closing me in. I went to my ass and curled into a tight ball, covering my ears as more ugly noises sounded out.
More gunfire. More screams. Crashing. People running. Gunfire. Gunfire. Tires squealing.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.
I wasn’t sure how long I lay on the floor, sobbing and struggling to breathe, but the door burst open and Klaus stomped back in and scooped me into his arms.
“It’s OK,” he murmured as he carried me from the room. I buried my face in his neck, my fingers twisted in his black shirt.
“I can’t rent you the apartment, hummingbird,” he said as the outside air hit us. “I have a no pets policy. Sorry.”
I’d have laughed if I hadn’t been screaming inside.
“Frank, Call Joey. I need a cleanup,” Klaus said gruffly. “Tell Matteo it’s the Russians again.”
“On it,” Frank, our driver, said as Klaus got into the backseat and held me on his lap.
“Easy. It’s OK. Nothing is wrong. All is well,” Klaus said softly as the SUV pulled onto the street. “Shh, stop your tears. You’re OK. Breathe. Slowly. Match my breathing. Feel my chest beneath your fingers, sweet one. Everything is going to be OK.” His deep rumble had a way of soothing me.
It took several minutes, but eventually, I calmed enough to release his shirt. I noticed I’d clawed him. I winced as I reached out and traced the ugly scratches on his chest where his shirt was unbuttoned.
He shivered beneath my touch.
“It’s OK,” he murmured again. “I hope you’re not upset about the pet policy.”
“No.” I shook my head as he brushed away the last of my tears. “I-I hope you’re not upset that I think you might be running a drug house.”
His big body shook at my words, his hard muscles moving with the effort as he laughed.
“You are a funny little thing. Tell you what. Let me show you a really nice apartment. I’ll make up for the drug house.”
“I’d like that. I-I have fifty thousand dollars for rent.”
He laughed again, not bothering to move me to my seat.
And for some reason that I didn’t even know how to explore, I liked that.