Chapter 16
Luke was already in bed and waiting for her. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before climbing into the bed beside him. He brushed her hair back, and she smiled at him.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying the night?” he asked.
“No, I want you to stay,” she said.
He traced his hand over her bare shoulder and down her arm. Goose bumps broke out on her skin, and he leaned over her and kissed her collarbone. “We had sex a lot today.”
“We did,” she confirmed as he cupped one small breast and stroked her nipple.
“Are you sore?” he asked.
She was a little sore, but she shook her head. “No.”
He rested his hand on her hip and kneaded the flesh. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said. “Make love to me, Luke. Please.”
She was suddenly on the verge of tears. This would be the last night she would spend in the arms of the man she loved, and she fought back the wave of depression. She wouldn’t spend this last night feeling sorry for herself. She would enjoy her final night with Luke and not let herself dwell on the future.
She kissed him hard on the mouth. “I want you.”
“I want you too, sweet Jane.” He pushed her onto her back, and as his mouth began a slow path of kisses down her body, she closed her eyes and concentrated on nothing but how good he made her feel.
* * *
“Wake up, Jane.”Luke kissed the back of Jane’s shoulder.
She rolled over to face him and smiled in the dim light. “I’m not sleeping.”
“You should be, it’s early.”
She glanced at the alarm clock. “Why are you awake so early?”
He didn’t want to tell her he had been awake all night. This was his last night with Jane, and sleep had eluded him because of it. He rubbed her hip. “I need to leave early. I didn’t bring work clothes with me.”
She gave him a small smile. “Right, of course. Thank you for spending the night with me, Luke. Thank you for everything.”
He kissed her gently. “Thank you. I enjoyed our time together.”
“I did too.”
He waited for her to tell him she didn’t want it to end, but he was being an idiot. They couldn’t keep sleeping together. He didn’t want to be known as the boss who banged his secretary, and it wasn’t like she would quit so they could have a relationship. It was apparent that most of her paycheque went to Mama J’s care. She needed the money, and he couldn’t blame her for that.
So, transfer her back to Mark’s department at her current pay. Problem solved.
His mouth gaped open. Holy shit – could it be that simple?
“Luke? What’s wrong?”
He stared at her and blurted, “You don’t need to work for me.”
“What?”
“You don’t need to work for me,” he repeated.
She froze, and a look of fear crossed her face. “Are you firing me?”
“What? No, of course not.” He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. “But you could transfer back to finance. You could work in Mark’s department again, and then we could -”
He stopped abruptly, and she said, “We could what?”
“Date.” He had almost blurted out that they could get married. Fuck, what was wrong with him?
“You want to date me?” she said.
“Yes,” he said. “I do. There’s no policy on inter-office dating, and I get that people will talk if we date, even if I’m not your direct boss, but I don’t care what they say. Do you?”
He hurried on before she could reply. “I know you need your current wage to care for Mama J, and I understand that. But you could transfer back to Mark’s department at your current wage.”
“I was a data entry clerk. They don’t make that much,” she said.
“I’ll talk to Mark about it,” Luke said. “You’re intelligent and a fast learner. You could learn to do more than data entry.”
She stared silently at him, and he said, “Unless you don’t want to date me and then forget everything I just said.”
She burst into laughter, and he grinned nervously at her. “Is that a yes or a no to dating me?”
“I want to date you,” she said.
“Yeah?” He knew he sounded like an eager little kid, but he couldn’t help it. “Really?”
“Yes,” she said. “But only if I transfer back to Mark’s department.”
“I’ll talk to him today,” Luke said. “You can be back in his department by tomorrow.”
“You might want to wait until you find a replacement for me.” Jane laughed.
“I’ll talk to Maria and get her to put out a job listing right away. We’ll put you back in Mark’s department, and I’ll maybe borrow you for urgent stuff while we’re waiting for the new PA to start.”
She sat up, and he pulled her into his lap, kissing her on the mouth as she tangled her hands in his hair.
“Let’s have sex to celebrate,” he said.
She laughed. “We don’t have time. You need to go home, remember? Besides, we can’t celebrate yet. Mark might not want me back in his department. I’m sure they’ve filled the position I left by now.”
Luke shook his head. “He’ll put you back in his department. Don’t worry about that.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Jane said. She was slightly worried about Mark’s reaction to having her work for him again, especially since she knew his and Amy’s secret.
“I do,” Luke said confidently. “Now, stop talking and lie back so I can eat your pussy.”
“We don’t have time,” she repeated.
“There’s always time for pussy eating.”
Her laughter ended when he yanked back the covers, pushed her onto her back, knelt between her thighs and buried his face in her pussy.
“Fuck me!” The words burst from her throat in a harsh little moan as his tongue slicked over her clit.
He lifted his head and grinned up at her. “Whatever you say, Ms. Smith.”
* * *
“So, as you can see,”Luke tapped his laptop screen, “we are fully committed to overhauling our digital presence and creating a new shopping experience for our clients.”
Pierre and Julien studied the screen as Luke discreetly checked the time. It was already five thirty, and Jane would have left for her second job by now. He tried to hide his irritation. He hadn’t even had the chance to tell her the good news. Mark was perfectly willing to have Jane return to the finance department and was open to training her to do more. Hell, he had even suggested that if Jane was interested, she could take a few accounting classes.
He’d wanted to tell her immediately, but Pierre and Julien were early for their meeting. He’d spent the last three hours reviewing the company’s finances with them for the third time and detailing their plan to change their website and digital footprint. Frankly, he was tired of their waffling and ready to throw in the towel.
Pierre glanced at Julien and nodded before sitting back in his chair. “Congratulations, Luke. We want to invest in your company.”
“Good. You won’t regret it, gentlemen. I’ll have Mark draw up a contract, and we can start negotiations.”
“Perfect.” Julien glanced at his watch. “This calls for a celebration. You must go out with us this evening.”
“I have quite a bit of work to do,” Luke said. “I should probably -”
“We insist,” Pierre said. “If we are going to be working so closely together, we should get to know each other better, no?”
“Yes,” Luke said. Jane was working late anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to get to know the two French men better. “I know the perfect place for dinner.”
“Bien,” Pierre said. “And we have heard of the perfect entertainment for after dinner.”
He grinned at Julien as Luke said, “What are you thinking?”
“There is a place called ‘Teasers’. Have you heard of it?” Julien asked.
Luke nodded and kept the dismay from his face. “I have.”
“Perhaps you have visited this fine establishment?” Pierre said.
“No,” Luke grunted.
Julien raised his eyebrows. “You have an issue with us going?”
“Not at all,” Luke said.
“Bien,” Julien said. “So, you will join us then?”
“Of course,” Luke said. “I’ll invite Mark as well.”
“The more the merrier,” Pierre said. “Now, if you will excuse us, we want to say hello to your delightful sister before we leave.”
“She’s not here today,” Luke said. Amy had called in sick this morning.
“What a shame,” Julien said. “Give us the name of the restaurant, and we will meet you and Mark there in say,” he glanced at his watch, “an hour?”
“Sure.” He gave them the restaurant”s name and shook their hands before walking them to the elevator. He walked to Mark’s office and knocked before sticking his head into the room.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Mark looked up from his desk. “I’m about to head home.”
“So, no plans?” Luke said.
Mark gave him a suspicious look. He didn’t look as tired as Sunday night but still looked out of sorts. “Why?”
“Julien and Pierre have agreed to invest with us,” Luke said.
“That’s good,” Mark said.
“You don’t sound that excited.”
Mark shrugged. “I am. I just don’t like those guys. Or trust them, for that matter.”
Luke sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say. Working with them will benefit the company despite how we feel about them.”
“I know,” Mark said. “Ignore me, I’m tired today.”
“About that – I need you to go out with me tonight.”
“What are we doing?” Mark asked.
“We’re having dinner with Julien and Pierre and then going to Teasers.”
“No,” Mark said as he closed his laptop and stood up. “No fucking way.”
“Come on, Mark,” Luke said. “I need you to help me out with this.”
“I’m not going to a goddamn strip club with those two assholes,” Mark said.
“C’mon, man,” Luke said, “it’s one night of your life.”
“They don’t even like me.”
“They were fine with you coming along. I can’t go to a strip club with only them,” Luke said. “You know I can’t.”
Mark sighed. “Fine. But you fucking owe me.”
“I know,” Luke said. “Thanks, buddy.”
* * *
“This place is disgusting,”Mark muttered into Luke’s ear.
“It could be worse,” Luke said. They followed Julien and Pierre to a table, and he sank into the chair as the two French men stared eagerly at the stage. A woman wearing bikini bottoms and nothing else gyrated against a pole. She was an excellent dancer, and her body was lean and well-toned with high, firm breasts, but he felt nothing when he stared at her. He wanted to be at home with Jane. He checked his watch. He wondered how long it would take before he could call it a night.
Julien and Pierre were still watching the woman dancing, and when the waitress approached them, Luke smiled politely at her. “We’ll take four whiskeys. Thanks.”
She nodded and walked back to the bar. She wore a tiny pink skirt with a white satin bustier. A white kitten ear headband was perched on her head, and her thigh-high stockings had small white bows at the bands. Luke studied the club as Mark leaned forward in the chair beside him.
The place wasn’t very full, although there were more men than he would have thought for a Monday night. One of the tables across the club was crowded with eight men in business suits. Their faces were bright red, and they talked loudly as they watched the woman dance.
“Luke,” Mark nudged him, “let’s get out of here. Now.”
Luke frowned at him. “We just got here.”
“We should go.” Mark stared at the table of drunk men with an odd look.
Luke studied the table of men as well. “Look, I don’t want to be here anymore than you do, but we need to stay at least an hour before we bail. We’ll have a couple of drinks and make some small talk, and then we’ll...”
He caught sight of the waitress serving the table of eight men. She wore the same outfit as their waitress. Her dark hair was in a high ponytail, and a thick layer of makeup covered her perfect skin, but he still recognized her.
“What the fuck?” he said.
“Luke, let’s go – you can talk to her tomorrow.” Mark glanced at Pierre and Julien. Both men’s gazes were glued to the woman on the stage, and Mark grabbed Luke’s arm when he stood.
“Let me go!” Luke yanked his arm free and strode across the club. He took the waitress’ arm, and without looking at him, she said, “No touching, please.”
“No touching,” he repeated. She froze before looking over her shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” she said in a low voice.
“What am I doing here? What am I doing here?” His voice was rising, and she made a shushing motion before glancing nervously at the bar. “Jane, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Hey, are you gonna take our order or not?” One of the men slurred.
“Be right with you, sugar,” Jane said. Luke’s gut tightened when the man studied her small breasts and licked his lips.
Jane pulled free of his grip and glanced again at the bar before heading toward the corner farthest from it. Luke followed her and glared at her.
“What are you doing here, Jane?” He studied the kitten ears on her head and the way her small breasts were nearly busting out of the tight bustier. She wore dark eyeshadow and false eyelashes, and her lips were painted a dark red.
“Working, obviously,” she said. “Why are you here?”
“Julien and Pierre insisted we come here,” he snapped. “Why didn’t you tell me you worked at a goddamn strip club?”
“Why do you think?” She retorted before glancing at the bar. A dark-haired man wearing a knit cap and a vest without a shirt was leaning against the bar and staring at them. Tattoos covered both arms, and he raised his eyebrows at Jane in a silent question.
She waved at him. “I need to get back to work, Luke. Can we talk about this later?”
“Do you dance?” he asked.
“What?”
“Do you dance on stage as well?”
“No. I just waitress.”
He tried to hide the relief on his face, but he must have done a piss poor job because she immediately bristled. “The women who dance here are good people, and if you’re going to look down on them, I -”
“I don’t,” he said. “I don’t look down on them, Jane. I just don’t like thinking that other men watch you dance or see your naked body, okay? I won’t apologize for that.”
She sighed as his gaze travelled over her uniform. “They don’t. I’ve never danced, just waitressed. I really can’t talk about this right now. My boss is here, and he’s not the most,” she paused, “reasonable guy. I’ll text you later, okay?”
“I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Luke, I’ve been working here for a long time. Please trust me that I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t reply, and she chewed at her bottom lip before glancing at the bar again. “I need to go back to my table. I’ll try to make sure Pierre and Julien don’t see me.”
She slipped past him and walked back to her table. Trying not to notice the way the men stared at Jane’s ass, he returned to his table and sat woodenly next to Mark.
“You okay?” Mark said.
He nodded, then shook his head. “Fuck, I don’t know.”
Their whiskeys had arrived while he was talking to Jane, and he drank his in two big gulps, wincing at the burn. Julien leaned over and grinned at them. “What do you gentlemen think of getting some private dances?”
“No,” Luke and Mark said in unison.
Pierre rolled his eyes and finished his whiskey. “Americans do not know how to have a good time.”
“You two go ahead and get your private dances,” Mark said.
Julien shrugged before downing the rest of his whiskey. He stood and ambled toward the bar. He spoke to the bartender, who directed him to the dark-haired man leaning against the bar. They spoke briefly before Julien turned and waved at Pierre.
Pierre stood. “Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure. We head home tomorrow but will be in touch about our new partnership.”
Luke didn’t reply. His gaze had wandered to Jane. She stood with her back to them as she spoke to the men she was serving.
“That sounds good,” Mark said. “Enjoy your evening.”
“You as well,” Pierre said.
He joined Julien, and the two followed Jane’s boss past the stage to an unmarked door. They disappeared into a private room as a dancer stopped in front of their table. She leaned over, and Mark eyed her cleavage as she purred, “Care for a lap dance, handsome?”
“No thanks,” Mark said.
“How about you?” She turned to Luke, who shook his head. He was still staring at Jane, and the dancer made a low laugh.
“You don’t want her, sweetheart. Her tits are way too small, and she don’t dance nearly as well as I do.”
Luke glared at her, and she stepped back before glancing at the giant of a man standing near the stage.
“We’re not interested,” Mark said. “But thank you.”
“Whatever.” The woman shrugged and, hips swaying, walked away.
“Time to go, Luke.”
“No,” Luke said.
“It’s not a good idea to stay.”
“Then go,” Luke said.
Mark sighed. “This is such a bad fucking idea.”
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Luke was standing and stalking across the club. One of the men had stood, grabbed Jane’s ass and squeezed it hard. She tugged his hand away, but he grabbed her ass again as Luke stopped beside her. With an angry growl, he yanked the man’s hand from her ass and twisted it. The man howled with pain and fell to his knees as Luke leaned over him and said, “Touch her again, and I’ll break your arm.”
“Luke, no!” Jane said. “Stop it right now!”
“Do you understand?” Luke said to the man on his knees. “Repeat what I just -”
He grunted with pain when one of the man’s friends jumped on his back. He hooked his arm around Luke’s neck, and Luke let go of the other man and staggered back. He grabbed the man’s arms and bent over quickly. The man sailed over his head and landed on the table with a splintering crash. Glasses exploded, and the other men made hoarse cries of surprise as Luke punched the man twice in the face.
“Stop it!” Jane shouted. “Tony, no! It’s okay – don’t hurt him!”
Another arm wrapped around his neck. This one was thick as a goddamn tree trunk and cut off Luke’s air when it squeezed.
“Tony, stop!” Jane said pleadingly.
“Let him go, you asshole.”
He could hear Mark’s angry voice as Jane appeared in his rapidly diminishing vision. “Please, Tony. He’s a friend. Please.”
The vice around his throat relaxed a little, and he dragged in a lungful of air as Tony half-carried him across the club. He dropped Luke into a chair, and Luke stared at the giant standing before him. Tony had to be close to seven feet tall and weighed at least three hundred pounds. He stared down at him as Jane put her small hand on his forearm and said, “He won’t cause any more trouble, Tony. I promise.”
“You sure?” Tony’s voice was a rumbling truck. “I don’t want him hurting you, Janie.”
“I’m her fucking boyfriend, you jackass,” Luke said hoarsely.
Jane made a low moan of dismay as Tony rolled his eyes. “Your boyfriend always this much of a dick?”
“He’s had too much to drink,” Jane said. “Don’t tell Jeremy, okay?”
“Don’t tell Jeremy what?”
Jane turned white as the man in the knitted cap materialized beside Tony. He stared at Luke before turning his gaze to Jane. “What’s going on, Jane?”
“Nothing, Jeremy,” Jane said. “Just a misunderstanding, that’s all.”
“Misunderstanding?” Jeremy said. “I’ve got a customer with a busted nose and another one screaming that his hand is broken. You call that a misunderstanding?”
Luke stood and stared at Jane’s boss. He was nearly half a foot taller than Jeremy, and he studied the man’s face as Jeremy gave him a cool look.
“You know this guy, Jane?”
“Jeremy, I...”
Jeremy reached out and put his hand on the back of Jane’s neck. He started tugging her toward him, and Luke knocked his hand away and pulled Jane against his body.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” he said as Mark rested his hand on his arm.
“Be cool,” Mark muttered into his ear.
He ignored his best friend and stared at Jeremy. “Don’t touch her again.”
“So you do know him,” Jeremy said to Jane.
“He’s just -”
“I’m her boyfriend,” Luke snapped.
“Luke, hush,” Jane said.
He gave her a confused look as a grin crossed Jeremy’s face. “You know the rules, Jane.”
“I’m sorry,” Jane said. “I didn’t tell him, and he -”
“Not my problem,” Jeremy said. “You’re fired. Get the fuck out of here.”
“Jeremy!” Jane gave him a desperate look, but Luke tightened his grip around her when she tried to wiggle free. “Please, let me explain.”
Jeremy shook his head. “No. Shelly, get your fat ass over here.”
“What you want?” The chunky Asian woman who strolled over from behind the bar glared at him. She was missing her front teeth, and the overwhelming smell of tuna hung over her like a thick cloud.
“Get Jane’s things from her locker and bring him out. And move your fucking ass for once, would you?”
She shuffled off as Jane said, “Jeremy, please. I need this job. You know I do.”
“Then you shouldn’t have let your boyfriend come in here and start punching my paying customers,” Jeremy drawled.
Jane glanced at Luke. “Luke will apologize to the customer and buy him and his friends a round of drinks. Okay?”
“No, I won’t,” Luke said.
“Luke!” Jane gave him a desperate look that he studiously ignored. As far as he was concerned, Jane being fired from this hellhole was a good thing.
“Here’s your stuff.” Shelly had returned, shoving Jane’s coat and bag at her before belching loudly. The scent of tuna mixed with beer wafted over them, and Mark grunted with disgust.
“Jesus,” he muttered as Shelly grinned at him, revealing the gaping hole where her teeth should have been.
“You want a private dance, sexy?”
“Get lost, fat ass,” Jeremy said dismissively.
Shelly flipped him the bird before wandering away. Jeremy rolled his eyes before pointing at the door. “Get out, Jane. You can pick up your final paycheque on Friday.”
“Jeremy...”
“Get out. Tony, walk them to the door.”
“Let’s go, Jane.” Luke kept his arm around Jane’s waist as they followed Tony to the door. The big man opened the door, and Luke ushered Jane into the cold.
“Janie?” Tony touched her arm, and Jane pulled free of Luke and let the big man pick her up and hug her. “I’m sorry, girl. I’m going to miss you.”
“Thanks, Tony. I’ll miss you too. I’ll see you around, okay?”
“Yeah. Candy’s having her birthday party next month. You’ll be at that, right?”
Jane nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Tony kissed her cheek and set her on her feet before staring at Luke. “Take care of my girl, dickhead.”
Luke didn’t reply, and Tony grinned at him before returning to the club. Mark rubbed his hand over his forehead.
“Christ, that was a fuck up.”
Jane tugged her jacket on and picked up her bag before walking away.
“Jane!” Luke chased after her and pulled her to a stop. “Where are you going?”
“The bus stop,” Jane said.
“I’ll drive you home,” he said.
“No thank you,” she said. “I want to be alone.”
“I’m driving you home, no arguments,” Luke snapped.
She glared at him before shrugging. “Fine, let’s go.”
* * *
“Jane,will you just talk to me, for God’s sake?” Luke followed her into the kitchen. She dropped her bag on the floor and glared at him.
“Keep your voice down. Amy is sleeping.”
“We need to talk about what happened,” Luke said as she yanked open the freezer door. She pulled out a bag of frozen peas and threw them at him.
“Put this on your hand.”
He sat down and rested the bag of peas on his hand as Jane paced back and forth in the kitchen.
“Are you going to apologize for getting me fired?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “You shouldn’t be working there. You’re better than them, Jane. You -”
“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m not better than them, Luke. The people who work there – Tony, Candy, Selena – are good people. Yeah, there’s some real garbage people there, but that’s true at every job. Don’t look down on them because of what they do to keep their families fed.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I am, and I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole. But, Jane, why are you working there?”
“Why do you think?” She yanked at the tiny pink skirt, pulled the kitten headband off her head, and tossed it into the garbage. “I need the money.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “You make more money working at Dawson Clothing now, and your rent isn’t as high living with Amy.”
She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “You can’t possibly understand.”
“Try me,” he said.
She sank into the chair across from him. “Mama J’s care is costly, all right? Yes, I make enough now not to need the second job, but what happens if – if things don’t work out between us? Do you think Amy would let me keep living here? I’ll have to find a new place to live and be right back where I was. I’ve been putting the money I make at the club in a nest egg.”
“You act like we’re not going to work,” Luke said. “You don’t know that.”
“We’re very different,” she said gently.
“So?” He gave her an angry look. “If you don’t want to even try in this relationship, then - ”
“I’m not saying that,” she said. “I want to be with you, and I hope it works, but I have to be realistic. I don’t have the luxury of just pretending you’re my Prince Charming, and I’ll never want for anything again. I need to take care of Mama J. She’s the most important thing in my life, Luke, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize her care. Do you understand that?”
He did understand. He hated it, but he knew how important taking care of Mama J was to Jane. “Yes, I understand.”
She gave him a searching look. “Do you?”
“I do,” he said. “I’m sorry I got you fired.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’m sorry your clients saw me working at the club.”
“They didn’t,” Luke said. “They didn’t notice you when they first arrived, and they were in a private room when,” he paused, “everything else happened.”
“Good, that’s good,” she said.
They sat silently before he said, “Should I go home?”
She shook her head. “No. I want you to stay with me tonight.”
Relief flooded through him, and he stood and tossed the frozen peas back into the freezer as she said, “Unless you don’t want to stay?”
“I want to stay,” he said.
She gave him her sweet smile, and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m sorry. I hated seeing that guy touching you.”
“I know,” she said. “Thank you for coming to my rescue. It was very Prince Charming-ish of you.”
He held her tightly and kissed her forehead. “I’ll always take care of you, Jane. I promise.”