Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man(24)

“What’s wrong with you?” a voice bellowed out. She looked and saw her boss, Luke Broughton, standing behind the bar. “Get your ass moving, Jenay. I’m not paying you to stand there like some prissy princess!”

Jenay steeled herself, and then headed for the table. Charles was sitting there, in his dress shirt and slacks, looking even more muscular and strapping than even she remembered him. All she could think about was his hands. And how they felt all over her. And his penis. And how it felt deep inside of her. How was she going to pull this off without giving away her true thoughts? Her only hope was that he would do, as other men had done to her in the past, and pretend, in front of his friends, that he never saw her before in his life.

Charles, himself, wasn’t aware of her presence at all. They were in a deep discussion about a possible merger.

“We need your capital, Charles,” Ethan, one of his business associates said pointblank. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve tried to work this every way we can. We’ve worked it all night long. It just won’t work any other way.”

Abe, his other business associate, elbowed Charles. He looked at Abe.

“I wouldn’t mind working on that all night long,” Abe said with a smile.

Charles looked in the direction Abe was nodding, and that was when he saw her. She was walking in that sexy slue-foot style of hers he adored, and still had that sincere, disarming look he actually missed. He hadn’t seen her in several weeks, but it felt like several years. It felt as if he was seeing someone near and dear to him after a long, difficult absence. He had, in fact, decided against looking her up when he first arrived in Boston a couple days ago to avoid those very feelings. But seeing her now changed everything.

Since his divorce fourteen years ago, he’d had one-nighters countless times. And he left them exactly as they were: one night stands. But Jenay stayed with him. He thought about her many times, and dreamed about her more than once. He even considered looking her up again.

But her words kept ringing in his ears: what good would come of it? So he left it alone. Now, despite all of his best efforts, she was in his orbit again. And his heart, remarkably, leaped for joy.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she said as she placed the menus on the table and pulled out her order pad. “Welcome to Capani’s. May I take your drink orders?”

“What’s your name, pretty girl?” Abe asked her.

“What’s your name, pretty boy?” Jenay responded, and Abe and Ethan both laughed.

Good, Jenay thought. She had the misdirection going just fine. Now all she had to do was get their orders and get the hell away from there. But curiosity was a bitch. She couldn’t avoid it. She took a peep at Charles. When she did, she realized that he was staring at her as if he had been waiting for her to look his way. And if she thought he was going to pretend he didn’t know her from Adam, and they had no history whatsoever, she was dreaming.

“Hello, Jenay,” Charles said.

Jenay’s heart began to pound. She looked into those striking green eyes and wanted to smile. She’d missed him. “Hi, Charlie,” she said.

“Charlie?” Abe and Ethan said in unison, chiding their business associate.

Jenay ignored them. “How have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve been okay,” Charles responded. “And you?”

“Good. Real good. I graduate in a week.”

Charles smiled. “Congratulations!”

“Thank-you so much. I can hardly wait.”

“Made a decision yet? I’m certain you aren’t planning to make this dock your home.”

She smiled. “Not hardly.”

“So who won?”

“Econolodge.”

Charles gave her a thumbs up. It was the best choice, he felt. He glanced down, at her breasts. “Still graduating top of your class?” He looked into her eyes.

“You remembered,” she said with a smile. “Yes. I am.”

“Good for you.”

“Yes, Jenay very good for you,” Abe said. “Now about getting together with us later…”

“Not going to happen,” Charles said.

Abe looked at him. “Says who?”

“Me,” Charles responded firmly. “Three beers, Jenay,” he said.

Jenay was relieved to be getting out of there. “Three beers coming up,” she said, and took off.

Abe was upset. “Why did you do that, Charles? She was engaging me. She was interested! We could have had her tonight.”

“She’s not that kind of girl.”

“Yeah?” Abe asked. “And how would you know that? You know her like that?”