Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Nova
“...And that’s when I knew I had to get out of what I was doing,” the raven-haired girl, Jill says, I realize as I glance down at her resume.
“And what were you doing before?”
“Umm, office work.”
There’s no crime in wanting to find another position, but she doesn’t seem to have her last workplace listed as a reference. That could be a red flag, or they could just have been assholes to work for, I’ve been there.
“I see you’ve had quite a few years of experience. We have a computerized quoting system that we use here, but that’s mainly the boys.” I thumb behind me.
“Ooh, the bikers?” she wiggles her eyebrows, and that irritates me.
We’re not buddies. I’m interviewing her.
“There’s talk,” she goes on. “About the MC and what goes on. If I get the position, does that mean I get to go to the clubhouse?”
I frown. “No, it doesn’t. The MC are particular about who they let in the doors.” I say that with tongue in cheek because they let any old skank in but I don’t need to let her know.
Not that I’m saying she’s one, but her eyes are wide with wonderment now we’re talking about the guys.
“That cute blonde one,” she blurts. “The one I passed on the way in, he’s hot, who is he?”
I clear my throat, knowing she’s talking about Sawyer. “He’s not available,” I say.
She pouts. “Damn it. Some girls get all the luck.”
“So, why did you leave your current job?” I ask, and it’s from that question this entire thing goes pear-shaped.
“Oh, well, uh, I wasn’t gonna bring this up, but it isn’t like I keep it a secret,” she giggles and I wonder how I get out of here and fast. “Well, I had a little sideline, and a couple of the guys at work found out about it.”
“Sideline?”
“OnlyFans,” she says, like we’re discussing the weather. “Everyone has one these days.”
Everyone?
Hmm. I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. I can’t help but wrinkle my nose. I’m not a prude, and I don’t have anything against anyone doing what they want to do, of course, but really? At an interview? You’re telling your potential boss you have an OF account?
Jesus, hell almighty. What is the world coming to? Is nothing sacred anymore?
“Okaaay,” I say, because I can’t think of anything else to say. Clearly OF isn’t paying very much if she’s still working, and that thought right there cuts me short of saying anything more.
I’m all for women’s liberation, but girls selling their bodies for $8 a month also makes me sad because that’s what this world has come to.
Women selling their bodies because they choose to is better than women selling their bodies because they don’t.
And that’s what I cling to when Jill leaves at the end of her interview.
Thank god she never said anything more about Sawyer.
I can’t stop thinking about him.
He was right. We spent all day Sunday in bed, and I can still feel him between my legs. Hell, I think I’ll be feeling him between my legs for quite some time yet.
After Jill leaves, I check my phone. Erica is due in shortly but couldn’t make it for the first few interviews.
So far, nobody has struck out at me. I want to find the right person, not just a butt in a seat.
They have to fit in and gel with the crew, and not just be here to ogle the boys.
Especially not Sawyer. A sense of infinite jealousy washed over me as she goaded me for more information on him when she was leaving.
I almost told her we spent the entire weekend in his bed, but I didn’t want to sour the mood.
There’s also no need to gloat, that wouldn’t be fair.
Sawyer is an attractive man and I’ve always been aware of that. It hasn’t changed just because we slept together.
He also told me something he shouldn’t have: about what happened in the warehouse.
I know from the other girls that pillow talk is a thing, but I felt quite chuffed with myself that he’d confess, not that I wanted to hear about him torturing a man, he also didn’t tell me what happened to the other man, but I suspect the worst.
Both of them were bad men. They did bad things. They deserve whatever is coming to them.
I told Sawyer to be careful. I know he thinks he has a hunch with this ex-Chicago mafia dude, but these are dangerous people. Then he reminded me that the MC were dangerous people, too, and he does have a point. I wouldn’t want to cross any of them.
“So much for club business.” I smile into his chest.
“Yeah, well, keep whatever I say in that pretty little head of yours,” he says. “I don’t enjoy lyin’ to you where I’ve been, but you know I’m not gonna stop until I find out who was behind all of this.”
“I know,” I say, my breath shaky. “I get why, and I’m behind you all the way. Just don’t get hurt.”
I’d never tell him not to do something, that isn’t fair.
And he was on his own personal journey long before I came along, and vice versa.
Not that I’m going to be following in his footsteps anytime soon, I’m more of a ‘karma will get them eventually’ kind of person. Sawyer, just like my cousins, isn’t.
I smile at the memory of him pillow talking, then I hear someone clear their throat. “You okay? You look weird,” Brew says, eyeing me as I drop my smile.
“Nice to see you too, Brewster.”
I sit back in my seat behind the desk. Trust him to be Mr. Observant.
“Why are you smilin’?”
“Why? Am I not allowed to smile around here?”
He grunts. “You know what I mean, spit it out, did the interview go well?”
Oh, the interview. “Actually, no, it didn’t.
The last one who just left told me she had to leave her current job because her co-workers found out about her OnlyFans account and wouldn’t leave her alone,” I sigh.
“I felt a little sorry for her, to be honest, but I guess that’s what happens when you let creeps look at you naked online. ”
He pulls a face like he smells something bad. “Erica will be here soon.”
“I can’t wait to hear how that giant baby inside her has grown even more,” I muse. “I mean, did you even stop to think about her poor uterus?”
“Didn’t plan on a baby so soon,” he mutters. “But don’t be sayin’ shit like that to scare her. She’s already cursin’ my name because her ankles are swellin’.”
I tut. “And she’s coming into work?”
“I can’t stop her,” he states, and I give him a deadpan look. “What? You know how stubborn she is. The woman is hormonal, imagine that ten times.”
“Imagine what?” Erica says, and Brew jumps. I don’t even cover my laugh. This man has it bad.
I never thought Brew would be one to toe the line, but Erica has him by the balls. In fact, most of the women have their men exactly where they want them, and it’s comical that they don’t see it.
“That he didn’t consider your internal organs with that giant baby inside you.” I fill in the blanks with a smile.
Erica’s eyebrows rise. “Giant baby? It’s not a giant baby, he or she is a little on the larger side, but not a giant.” Even as she says it, her face pales.
“Now look at what you did.” Brew shakes his head.
I’m about to protest when Erica pats his shoulder, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “She didn’t do anything, honey, it was all you.”
I chuckle to myself because they really are cute. Brew isn’t soft for anyone, but he’s certainly a marshmallow when it comes to Erica.
“Funny,” he mutters, moving to kiss her on the lips. “You didn’t have to come in.”
“I’m fine,” she says with a teasing tone. “Don’t worry, I’m sure me and your giant baby will be fine.”
Brew kisses her on the forehead, then glares at me before taking off.
“He’s a little highly strung today,” I observe.
She laughs. “Is that why you enjoy teasing him so much?”
I shrug. “Not really. Brew is easy to wind up, though, so it’s basically a skill at this point.”
“How did the interviews go?”
“The first one was late, the second one had to leave her workplace because her colleagues were too busy watching her OnlyFans,” I sigh.
Erica wrinkles her nose. “Oh, dear.”
“Yep, and then she tried to ask me all kinds of questions about the MC and if she’d be allowed in the clubhouse.”
Erica purses her lips, which is exactly how I feel, but instead she says, “So, how are things with you know who?”
My eyes blink rapidly as I lower my voice. “Wait, how do you know about that?”
She taps her nose. “I have my sources, and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, honey. I won’t tell Dylan anything.”
Erica is the only one allowed to call Brew by his real name, which she doesn’t do all the time, only when she’s annoyed with him or making a point.
“I appreciate that,” I say with a coy smile. “Things are good. I have to break the news to them eventually, though, because we want things to be out in the open.”
She claps her hands together as she sits. “I’m so happy for you!” she whispers.
“Well, I’m happy for me, too, but I won’t be happy if they fuck with Sawyer’s face,” I whisper back. “Those boys have to understand I’m not a little kid anymore. Ugh, they’re so annoying, and before you give me a big lecture about them caring, I know why they do it.”
“Have you ever thought maybe they will be okay with it?” she suggests.
I guess I hadn’t really, but that’s mainly because the boys spent the better part of the year making threats against Sawyer that frankly were downright rude. Do they really think that we were gonna remain ‘just good friends’ though? I mean, can guys and girls really be just friends?
I’m skeptical, then again, I’ve never had a guy friend before Sawyer, so I can’t really comment on that.
“I guess miracles can happen.” I shrug. “They’ve always been super overprotective of me. I am the same as an annoying little sister in a way, but I can’t really be that annoying if they employed me and gave me a raise.”
“I’m happy for you,” she says again. “Now if we can find someone to replace me before this baby comes out, that would put my mind at ease.”
“Is it scary?” I ask. “Childbirth?”
She smiles softly. “It depends on who you ask. For me? Not really. I’ve done it before with Olive, but before her? I was scared out of my mind. Childbirth isn’t easy, no matter what anyone says, and back when I was in the church, I didn’t have any pain relief.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter. “You know you’re gonna need it with Brew’s—”
“Average size baby?” She cuts me off, shaking her head. “Because of complications with Olive, I will probably have a caesarian, so that might put your mind at ease.”
I slump back in my chair. “That does make me feel better,” I admit. “I just didn’t want your nether region pulverised for the rest of time.”
She laughs again. “I’m gonna miss you, Nova.”
I sober for a second, not wanting to tear up, but I do. “I’m gonna miss you, too. We’ve had fun.”
“Hey, I’m not dying,” she says, nudging me with her shoulder. “I’m just having a baby. A baby I will bring in to visit, and you can come over, too. He or she will be your niece, after all.”
“Aunty Nova.” I smile to myself. Olive already calls me her aunt which I really like, but having a baby around will be kinda cool. Despite what I said to Sawyer, I really don’t hate kids. “You know what, though?”
Erica turns to me, her hands splayed on her enormous stomach. “What?”
“I really freaking hope the baby looks like you and not Brew.”