I’m thinking to myself that I don’t even know what that means, but my mouth has already moved on.
“Not a problem.”
“So then you won’t mind giving me an…audition.”
His pause gives me a little chill that races down my spine. I clear my throat and reach deep for my bravado. “Audition? What did you have in mind?”
He doesn’t answer for a few seconds. Long enough to make me squirm. Long enough for me to think of all sorts of different types of auditions, a couple of which excite me.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Liv! He’s off limits!
He laughs. “Nothing too creative. I don’t want to push my luck with the sexual harassment thing. Yet.”
“Are you trying to run me off?”
“Oh come on. You can’t tell me you’ve never worked for someone who’s attracted to you. I bet that happens to a girl like you all the time.”
I resist the ridiculous grin that’s tugging at my lips. I can’t let him see that I’m pleased to hear him admit to being attracted to me, especially when “pleased” is code for “I can barely breathe I’m so excited”.
“A girl like me?” I ask in my calmest manner.
“Yeah, a girl like you.” Cash’s lids drop down part way over his eyes, making them look like heavy, bedroom eyes, and his voice is like the silk sheets I can imagine him sleeping on. “Feisty, sexy, gorgeous as hell. I bet you’ve never met a man you couldn’t wind around your little finger.”
He’s watching me like he wants to undress me right where we are—in an empty bar with low light and soft music. And there’s a tiny part of me that would love for him to do exactly that.
I snort.
Ohmigod, I snort! “Not hardly.”
“Yeah, you say that, but I’d bet you could have your way with any guy you want.” He cocks his head to one side as he considers me. I get the feeling he’s weighing me, assessing me. “But maybe you just don’t know it.”
“I…I…I don’t know what you mean,” I say, hating that my voice sounds so breathless. I don’t want Cash to know he affects me at all.
“Hmmm,” is all he says. After several more seconds of trying to figure me out, Cash smiles. It’s a polite smile that says he’s back to business. Well, at least as much as he has been thus far. “So, audition it is. Can you come for a shift tomorrow night?”
I hate to call in at Tad’s, but I don’t want to quit until I know I have a job here either. So it’s either call in at Tad’s or blow off this audition. I don’t have much choice.
“Sure. What time should I be here?”
“Seven. That way Taryn can show you the setup before the doors open at nine.”
“Sounds good,” I say, nodding. Silence stretches between us and I’m at a loss. “Well, I guess I’d better let you get back to your work.”
“Aren’t you going to ask about money? Nash said that was kind of a thing.”
Holy crap! I’m so freakin’ bedazzled I forgot to even ask about the pay!
I feel my cheeks get hot. I pray it’s too dark for him to notice, and that, if he does, he chalks it up to my discomfort with talking about money matters.
“Yes, there is that.”
“How about two dollars per hour above what your current employer is paying you?”
My mouth wants to drop open. “Don’t you even want to know what that is?”
He makes a face. “Nah. I get the feeling you’ll be worth it.”
“No pressure there,” I mumble.
He laughs again. “Oh, there’ll be plenty of pressure. Don’t you worry about that. This place is kickin’ on the weekends.”
I want to remind him I’ve been here, but I don’t want him to be thinking about me undressing him.
Too late.
“And you’ve only seen the upstairs,” he says with a wink.
I should’ve known I wouldn’t get out of here without some reference to that.
“Can we just forget that ever happened?”
His smile is devilish. “Not on your life.” He starts backing up, away from me, away from the exit. “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Seven o’clock.”
“Should I wear something particular? Or…”
“I’ll send some stuff to your house. Size six, right?”
For some reason, knowing he’s checked me out so closely that he can estimate my size makes me feel warm in all sorts of places that I shouldn’t feel warm.
“Yes.”
He winks again then turns around and disappears into a barely visible door at the back of the bar.
CHAPTER EIGHT - Cash
I smile as I hear the door bang shut behind Olivia. She’s gone.
I hate that I had to cut the interview short, but I can already see that girl’s gonna have a way of making me do and say crazy, stupid shit. In a way, I like it. I like her.
She’s such a contradiction. I can tell she’s attracted to me, but she tries not to be. I can tell she’s a little shy, but she tries not to let that show either. And watching her put on a brave face, watching her rise to a challenge is so damn hot! It makes me want to push her, to see how far she’ll go.
I know that sounds perverse, but it’s true. Something about her reaction to my taunts gets my juices flowing. All I know is having her around so much is going to make for some very interesting weekends!
I sit down to type out an e-mail to Marie, who owns the shop that supplies me with all my uniforms. I can’t help but think of what Olivia will look like in the low-slung black jeans and snug black tank top. I don’t want my bartenders to look like whores, but I don’t mind for them to show a little skin and a little cle**age. It sells more drinks. And, in Olivia’s case, it will provide me with lots of pleasure.
I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow night. She’s already got that cute ‘n sexy thing going on. Putting her in an element where I can focus on getting her to spread her wings a little will be the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I’m already thinking of what I can ask her to do for her “audition.”
CHAPTER NINE - Olivia
The ring of my cell phone wakes me up. I open one bleary eye and look at the bedside clock. It’s four minutes past six. In the morning. Who in the world would be calling me at such an ungodly hour?