Chapter 7 #2
“I’ll confiscate the phone,” Atticus said as my two security guards joined us. “Is there anything specific you would like me to do?”
“Bring him to me.” Questioning him myself would put my mind at ease. Was it as innocent as being captivated with Capri, or did he have another motive for taking our picture? “I want to know why he was so intrusive.”
“We’ll be right back.” Atticus signaled for the other men to follow him.
“Why don’t you go to the ladies’ room and fix your lipstick?” I extended my hand to help her off the stool, but she didn’t accept it. “Capri?”
“I don’t want to fix my lipstick.”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have phrased that as a question, because it wasn’t one.”
“You’re ordering me to go to the bathroom?”
“I’m requesting you give me a few minutes to handle this.”
If Leo had something to do with sending this man to spy on Capri, I didn’t want her to know. I wanted to see what I was up against first.
“There’s no reason for you to be here when I take care of this,” I said.
“I disagree.” She straightened her posture. “Here they come anyway, so it looks like I’m staying.”
“I’ll handle your defiance next.”
“What does that mean?” she mumbled.
I stood from the stool as Atticus and the guards brought this man who looked to be in his early twenties and appeared more nervous than professional. I towered over his slim frame.
“There’s obviously been a misunderstanding,” the man said. “Do you make it a habit of assaulting your customers?”
“No one has assaulted you.” I moved closer to him. “Yet.”
“What do you want?” He swallowed hard enough for his Adam’s apple to bulge. “I was just having a drink.”
“We need to see your phone,” Atticus said.
“Why?” He glanced at Capri who sat on the edge of her seat, taking in the exchange like a mesmerized spectator.
“Don’t look at her again,” I said. “It has come to my attention that you took a picture of me and my companion, and I want you to delete it.”
“Why would I take a picture of you?” He shook his head. “You’re mistaken.”
“I saw you do it,” Capri said.
“Don’t answer her.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “We’re having this conversation. Just the two of us. But if my girl said you have a photo of us on your phone, I believe her.”
“I don’t,” he insisted.
“Are you saying she’s wrong?” I sighed. “Atticus, we have a problem.”
“We can take him in the back,” Atticus said. “We’ll get the information you need. I’ll delete the picture and get it off the Cloud.”
“You can’t do that.” The man tried to back away, but I grabbed his upper arm.
“I can do whatever I want. Do you know why?”
He didn’t answer.
“Because this is my club.”
“You’re Hades?” he asked. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just…”
“You just what?”
“I’m an influencer,” he said.
“What kind of influencer doesn’t know who he is?” Capri asked. “That sounds a little sus.”
I glared at her, but it didn’t seem to faze her.
“I scored an invitation to the VIP lounge,” he continued. “That opportunity won’t come along often. I need content, and when they said I couldn’t take pictures tonight, I figured there was an important reason why.”
“I told you he took a picture of us.” Capri bit the corner of her bottom lip when I scowled at her, but she continued speaking as if she couldn’t help herself.
“You need to work on being a little more discreet,” she said to our intruder.
“But you really shouldn’t be taking pictures of women without asking them. It’s icky.”
“You’re going to go with my men,” I said. “You’ll give them the phone, they’ll delete all the pictures from tonight, and then you’ll access your backup and delete anything from there.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” He took out his phone. “I can delete the picture of the two of you, but I want to keep the rest.”
“What part of any of this did you think was a negotiation?” This conversation had already gone on way too long.
“You’ll do as I say or I’ll accompany you to the back and shoot you in the chest so I don’t damage that pretty face of yours.
I’ll need it to access your phone when you’re no longer breathing. ”
“What?” He gasped. “You can’t threaten me like that over a picture that I said I would delete.”
“That wasn’t a threat.” I extended my hand for Capri and helped her off the stool. “Consider yourself lucky that I’m still offering you option number one, because some would say I’m a pretty good shot, so when I aim for your heart, I won’t miss.”
The color had drained from his face as he glanced between me and Atticus.
“I would take option number one if I were you.” Atticus shoved the man in the direction of the two guards. “Take him in the back. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“He’ll cooperate,” I said. “But if he doesn’t, text me and I’ll intervene.”
“This will be handled quickly. I’ll make sure he leaves with an understanding of who you are and why he shouldn’t come back.”
“If he cooperates, he’s welcome to come back,” I said. “He has a job to do too.”
I placed my hand on the small of Capri’s back and guided her away from the bar. I had my own situation to deal with.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my office.”
“Why?”
Backing her against the corridor that led to my office, I pressed my forearm against the wall by her head. As I trailed my finger down her throat and to the exposed skin between her breasts, the pulse in her neck quickened.
“When I tell you to do something…” I brushed my lips along her jaw as I circled her nipple through the thin, black silk of her dress. “I expect you to do it.”
“What if obedience isn’t my best quality?”
“Then it will be my pleasure to teach you how to obey me.” I forced my lips on hers, trapping her against the wall and my body. “That’s why we’re going to my office.”