House Rules(38)

Tess opened the door and her pinched expression made it more than clear that any hope I had of getting her in my bed tonight was gone. The glint in her eye told me it was more likely she’d be ripping my balls off, instead of sucking them between her lips.

Fuck.

What the hell did I do to deserve all this bullshit?





CHAPTER 13





Theresa


Derek nodded at one of my tables behind me where two couples had taken seats, waiting for service. I walked over and offered them a menu and took their drink order. Normally, I’d rather it be a table full of guys. That meant bigger tips. Today, with Miller in the building, the two women sitting at the table were my safety net.

For the first few days after my fight with Miller, he’d been at the bar, working in his office. Every once in a while I caught him watching me. Then came a suspicious pattern. If a guy’s eyes lingered too long or their fingers got too close, I noticed they’d finish their drink and make a hasty retreat not too long afterward.

Miller.

At first it pissed me off because even though each one left a pretty good tip, I had to wonder what they might have left had they stayed to drink some more. The asshole thought he had a right to control the people at my tables. By the third day, I noticed that only couples were seated at my tables. It frustrated the hell out of me, but I was still making more money than I had been at the boutique, and causing an argument might jeopardize that. I was far more concerned with losing the job than arguing with Miller over minor details.

Miller had been absent for a while and I’d settled into a comfortable routine. That was until he walked in this morning. Like every other time I was drawn to him, even when I reminded myself that he was an egomaniac who wanted to control my life, which was none of his business.

I wondered if Miller’s constant hovering would return. Up to now, no one paid attention to anything said to me by the customers and as long as they tipped well, I ignored it, too.

Now I worried about staying on my toes with the customers and giving Miller less of a reason to run them off. Why he would damage his own business was beyond me.

I took the order up to Derek and waited for him to fill it when a woman with less clothing on than me walked up to the bar. She flipped her bottle-blonde hair over her shoulders and batted her eyelashes at Derek.

“Hey, handsome,” she purred. “I’m here to see Miller. He in?”

It was hard to miss his eye roll. He must be used to this behavior.

“Not sure if he’s here. I’ll check.”

Derek came down to the end of the bar where I was waiting for my order. My gaze was pinned to the woman as she leaned farther over the bar, her dress cut so low her nipples would surely be on display for everyone to see. “Hey, Tess. Can you go let Miller know he’s got a visitor? He can decide what he wants to do about her. I’ll finish your order. It’ll be ready when you come back.”

I nodded and wrinkled my nose at the woman when I passed behind her. I couldn’t get the picture of the cheap whore begging for seconds at the bar out of my mind and it irritated the hell out of me to think that Miller would sleep with a woman like that, especially considering he was acting like no other man was allowed to touch me.

I stomped up to his door and banged my fist against the wood a few times, hoping he got the hint and hurried the hell up. When he didn’t answer the first time, I banged even harder and yelled through the door. He couldn’t ignore me forever.

He called for me to come in and I pushed open the door. His face was wreathed in a smile; at least, until he took at good look at mine and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s some blonde here to see you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did she give you a name?”

“No, but she’s spilling out of her dress at both ends, if that helps?”

“And you told her I was here?”

“No. Neither did Derek.” Did he think I wanted to take messages from his other one-night stands? “But I’m not your goddamn secretary. I’m here to wait tables, which I can’t do when I’m standing back here talking to you.”

I had to get away from him before I said something I’d regret. Only a part of me was pissed as hell at Miller. The other half was as bad as the woman waiting at the bar. I was beyond denying that we both wanted a second chance with Miller, but nothing in this world would get me to tell him that. “Now, can I get the hell out of here so I can go back to getting paid?”

He nodded curtly and I stormed from the office. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why Miller had such an easy time getting under my skin.

By the time I reached the bar again, Miller’s mystery woman had taken a seat and was shamelessly trying to flirt with Derek and Evan, the other bartender who had just come on duty, both of whom were doing their best to ignore her.