"They wouldn't let you? You offered to buy them a new house and they wouldn't let you?" she says to clarify.
"Nope. I didn't want to take the money either, not at first. My parents were the ones who convinced me to. I quit my construction job, and that brings us to now. That brings me to you."
She stares at the fire. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. From the minute I laid eyes on you, I wanted you, no matter how hard I fought it. When I walked in and learned that Zane had hired you, I knew I was in trouble." I nudged her knee with mine.
"We can-" She stops when I shake my head.
"No. Not turning back, not changing my mind, not letting you go. I told you this morning that I need more of you. Last night wasn't enough for me."
She's quiet, and if I wasn't watching her I might have missed her whisper, "Me either."
"Hey, man, you mind helping me put the fire out? We're going to start packing up and heading back," Zane asks.
I nod and Berklee stands. "I'll see you back at the house?" she asks.
I fight the urge to reach out and grab her. "Yeah, see ya," I say instead, then watch her head back over to Maggie and the rest of the girls.
Zane and I put the fire out while everyone else packs up the grills, coolers, and the rest of the trash. On the way back, I think about how the day started as shit, but just an hour of sitting and talking with her turned it all around.
MONDAY ROLLED AROUND too quickly. I think it's partly due to the fact that I'm nervous to see Crew, my boss, my . . . friend with benefits. After we got back to Zane's on Saturday night, we all went our own way. I waved to him and we left it at that.
"Morning," I yell, walking up the steps to the club. Zane's office light is off, but I can see a glow coming from Crew's.
He steps out just as I reach my door. "Morning, beautiful." He walks over to me, stops when we're toe-to-toe, then leans down and kisses me. "Too fucking long, Berklee. It's been too fucking long since I've tasted you."
I don't say anything, since he's technically not breaking the rules-we're at work, not at either one of our houses, and we're alone. He's got the bases covered, and his cocky grin tells me he knows it.
"I have a delivery coming today," he says, kissing my neck.
"Oh yeah?" I manage to ask.
"Yeah, a couch." His lips find their way to my ear. "If it has to be here, we need a soft place to land."
Holy hell. "Good call," I murmur, breathless from his assault.
"I thought so," he says, standing to his full height. "Should be here any minute. I also added a few things to the lounge." He points across the room.
Turning to look, I see a mini fridge and a Keurig. "You did that for me?" I state it as a question, but I know he did.
"Yes, and because I don't want to waste time on coffee runs. Zane will be downstairs in the security room most of the time. This"-he sweeps his hands out-"is all us." He smirks.
"Looks like you've put a lot of thought into this."
"You have no fucking idea." He leans down and kisses me again just as the buzzer sounds on the door. "There's our couch." He swats my ass and takes off downstairs to let them in.
I boot up my laptop and pull up the schedule. The staff will be here at nine for server training. I've hired a serving specialist-yes, they have them, apparently. We'll see how good she is. After talking with Crew, I decided everyone would be trained in all areas. They may not be working that position, but if everyone has a good understanding of what the other does, this place will run that much better. It's also good if we're in a pinch for coverage; at least having the basics is better than going in blind.
"Last door on the right," I hear Crew's deep voice instruct. "Staff's starting to arrive," he says, peeking his head in my office.
"Thanks." I grab the stack of notebooks and box of pens for everyone to take notes and head downstairs. I included myself in all the training sessions as well, figuring if we get desperate I can fill in. I didn't tell Crew that part. I'll let that be a surprise. One I'm sure he will not be impressed with.
Turns out the server specialist is just that, giving great instruction and examples of how to handle difficult customers. She's worth every penny.
"That's all for today," Macie, the instructor, says. "I'm here all week, so think of any questions you might have and we can address them with the group throughout the week."
"Thank you so much. I'll see you in the morning at eight?" I ask her.
"Yep, see you in the morning." She's chipper and focuses on the "kill them with kindness" method. Club Titan is going to have a serving team that's on point.