Chapter 10
Karter was beyond annoyed. Had she known that tonight would turn out this way, she probably would have called in to work.
They had only been open for two hours, and already she’d had three tables full of passive-aggressive assholes.
They weren’t the usual brand that just came out and said whatever lewd thing they were thinking.
No, these were on a completely different playing field.
Honestly, the things they said made her wonder whether they were being inappropriate or not.
It was one of the reasons she hadn’t had them kicked out. The other reason was the fact that she may have been reading too much into it and was taking her frustrations from the first table out on the other two. The last thing she needed was to be wrong.
So, she instead ignored whatever they were saying and went about taking and placing their orders. She took the ticket for their drinks to the bar, leaning against it while she waited.
“Are you alright?” Ilia asked as she picked up the ticket.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“You sure? Those guys being assholes?”
“A little, but it’s nothing new,” Karter responded. “Honestly, I think I’m just a bit tired. I was up until the early hours of the morning.”
“Oohh,” Ilia stated, mixing the first drink. “Who kept you up all night?”
Karter laughed. “No one. I started a KDrama last night, and I kept telling myself, ‘Just one more episode’ every time the previous one went off, and I ended up watching the entire season.”
Her response caused Ilia to laugh as she placed one drink in front of her and started on the next one. The two women were still laughing when Creed walked up.
“I see the two of you are having fun.”
“Eh, if hoping that the reason Karter was so tired was because she was getting dicked down last night is fun, then yes. I’m having a blast,” Ilia stated, and Karter could feel her cheeks heating.
“What?” Creed asked, his eyes boring into her.
“I was watching a new show and got into it. No one was keeping me up in that way.”
Creed leaned in, bringing his lips to her ear. “You want me to change that?”
Karter bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep a blush from forming. Bringing her hand up, she pushed on his chest. He wrapped his hand around her wrist, his other arm going around her waist. Creed pulled her into him, leaning down to peck her on the lips softly.
The sound of glass breaking pulled Karter’s attention as she stepped back, turning her attention to the noise. She found Ilia standing there, staring at them. The older woman’s mouth was slightly ajar with a surprised look on her face.
“I’m going to say this with all due respect, but it’s about damn time,” she told them, and Karter wondered just how hot her cheeks would get that night.
“I feel gossip coming on,” Creed stated. “Make sure you clean that up,” he then told Ilia regarding the glass that had broken when she dropped it before walking away.
For the next couple of minutes, while she finished the drinks, she questioned Karter on how she and Creed had gotten together.
She wasn’t able to give her the details she wanted because she needed to get the drinks back to the table, but Ilia had made it very clear that she had no intentions of dropping the subject and would pick it back up when they could.
The next couple of hours were busy. More people came in, and Karter picked up more tables. However, the table that she’d been irritated by before was still there. Granted, they were ordering drinks, and not just soliciting. It was the fact that she had to deal with them.
It also seemed that the more they drank, the more flagrant they became in the things they were saying and the passes they were making. It was no longer passive-aggressive, and Karter was at the point where she wanted to smack them with a serving tray every time they asked her for something.
It was when she’d gone to deliver their most recent round of drinks that she’d had enough. She set the drinks down on the table, and as she turned to walk away, one of them grabbed her wrist.
“Take a break and join us,” he said.
“I can’t,” she replied, attempting to pull her wrist from his grasp.
“That wasn’t a request, darling.”
“For your sake,” came Creed’s voice. “It had better not have been a request or a demand.”
Karter used that moment to pull her wrist free of the man’s grasp.
She watched as all eyes at the table turned to Creed.
The man who had been giving her the most trouble all night lifted a brow in question.
It was almost as if he was asking what Creed was going to do about it, and honestly, she didn’t think any of them wanted to find out.
“You’ve all had enough for the night.” He turned to Karter. “Go ahead and settle their bill.”
Nodding, she turned to make her way back to the bar, where one of their cards was being held for the tab they were running. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard the man speak.
“We’re not leaving yet. We’re having fun. Right, boys?” he questioned the other men at the table. Karter turned around as they hummed in acknowledgement.
“It wasn’t a request, and you don’t get a say in the matter. You’ll be getting the hell out of my bar.”
“And if we don’t?” the man then challenged.
“Trust me, you don’t want to do this the hard way,” Creed replied.
She could see that this would not end well. Creed did not tolerate disrespect of his employees or himself in his establishment. She also knew that he was no stranger to bar fights in any capacity.
Quickly going to the bar, she flagged down Nico, gave him a quick rundown of what was happening, and pointed in Creed’s direction before going to the door, retrieving George, and sending him that way as well.
Not that she thought Creed would need help with the men at the table.
No, she had sent Nico and George to hold Creed back, or pull him off them if things went down.
She did as he’d requested and got the men paid up before returning the card so they could leave. Karter went back over and placed the card on the table as the men stood. She didn’t know what had been said, what words had been exchanged, but the atmosphere was tense.
It only took a second for George to escort the men out. A couple of them threw nasty looks at Creed, who was unfazed. He turned to her once they were gone.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I am. It’s nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“I know, but you never need to when I’m around. Will you come to my office when you get a chance?”
Karter nodded, watching him leave. She would check on her other tables and then see what he needed.
Ravage sat behind his desk, inputting time for his employees.
Payday was two days away, and he needed to make sure it was all done.
As long as he had it finished before noon tomorrow, it wouldn’t affect anyone’s direct deposit.
However, he preferred to get it done now.
He was almost finished when the door to his office opened.
He looked up as Karter walked in. She closed the door behind her, and he turned his attention back to finishing up the payroll.
“How long had those assholes been bothering you?” he questioned, submitting the last few things he needed to.
“They were being a little passive-aggressive the entire time, but that was the only time they were that forward.”
Ravage looked up as he finished. “You should have come to me if they were giving you trouble.”
“I deal with issues all the time. Besides, coming to you would have just resulted in you getting upset for nothing.”
“Come here,” he requested, moving his wireless keyboard to the side.
When she walked around the desk, he grabbed her hand, pulling her in front of him before picking her up and placing her on top of the desk.
“I’ve told you before, if it has to do with you and some asshole making you uncomfortable, it isn’t nothing.”
“Protective now, aren’t we?” she asked him with a smile, and Ravage knew that she was teasing him.
“Before, now, and later. So, deal with it,” he responded with a smirk.
Karter rolled her eyes at him before leaning forward, and Ravage met her halfway.
He kissed her gently, allowing her to lead the kiss.
Ravage was trying to control himself. Trying to give her time until she was ready to move things to the next step.
However, he’d wanted this woman for the past two years.
He’d be lying if he said keeping his dick in his pants wasn’t growing harder, especially when she kissed him so sweetly.
When the two pulled away, Ravage ran his hands up and down her sides.
He wanted to say to hell with the rest of the night and the two of them head back to his place, even if it was just for them to watch a movie and lie in bed together.
But it would leave them short-handed on their busiest day, so he knew they couldn’t.
“So, I think my mother has narrowed down where she wants us to vacation this year.”
Ravage leaned back in his chair, removing his hands from her waist. “And what places are they?”
“She still hasn’t told me. Just said that she had it narrowed down to three places. Which, honestly, if she’d just tell me, I could probably help her choose. Especially if one of the places is somewhere I really want to go.”
“Which may be why she isn’t telling you. Besides, you know Sora likes to plan things out that will be the most entertaining for everyone. Not just one person.”
“I guess you’re right, but she could choose one of my favorite or bucket list places for once.”
“Kaere, you know those aren’t normally trips you take with your parents.”
“I know, but...” she stated, trailing off with a shrug.
“Let’s start a new tradition,” Ravage suggested. “Let’s go on a vacation of our own each year. We can go wherever you want to go.”
Karter smiled at him. “I’d like that.”
“We can plan it around the family vacation, so you can still go with your parents if you want to.”
“Thanks, baby,” she responded, and Ravage was sure that was the first time she’d used any term of endearment with him.
Leaning in, he kissed her again before pulling her off the desk. “Let’s get back out there. I’m sure Ilia is going to start running all sorts of scenarios through her mind.”
Karter laughed. “You’re probably not wrong.”
Ravage allowed her to lead the way out of the office and locked the door behind him. They had several hours left before it would be time for them to leave. However, he wondered if he’d be able to convince her to come home with him, or to let him go home with her.
After they rounded the corner back into the main area of the bar, he decided against it. If either of them went home with the other, he wouldn’t hold himself back, and he knew she wasn’t ready for that just yet.