Sweet Little Thing(16)

"I'll keep that in mind," I said tugging my arm free as I hurried past him inside.

"You'll warm up to it. And I look forward to when you do," he said and left the room.

I let out a sigh of relief as he shut the door, and I allowed myself a  second to compose myself. Changing in here now seemed more vulnerable  than before. I didn't want someone walking in when I was alone, thinking  I was interested in . . . something else. I'd come to work dressed from  now on. If the employees and owner wanted to share all the STD's they  were likely to get screwing around like they were, I didn't have to be a  part of it.

Getting through this first official night and finding time to talk to  Carey about my work hours was all I should have been focused on.  Unfortunately, it got busy early and I never found the chance to talk to  him.

At the end of my shift, I counted my money, and I did get over one  hundred dollars in tips. Monday must be a good night at the club, and  now I felt like it was worth the lack of sleep I'd be feeling tomorrow.

Neil and a blonde waitress flirted most of the evening. He even gave me a  suggestive grin more than once. That guy had serious issues. I'd  decided he was a manwhore, until his wife came in for a drink after her  work shift ended. Then I realized he was a manwhore adulterer. Yuck.

When I finally walked into the house at three in the morning, I found  Stone sitting in the great room with the gas fire going, even though it  was only sixty degrees outside. He looked up from the book in his lap  and didn't smile. Not that I expected him to. He never smiled.

"Why are you working three jobs?" he asked.

I was too tired for this. For him. "Why are you sitting in Jasper's house at three in the morning drinking his whiskey?"

His only change of expression was an almost unnoticeable quirk of his  brow as he said, "Because he has a stripper he brought home from the  club in the pool house. She's currently calling him ‘God' and begging  him to fuck her up the ass harder. Now answer my question."

I was sleepy. No, I was exhausted, but his words woke me up. Jasper brought a stripper home?

"Uh," I started to explain. A second later, I forgot what I was going to  say. I looked up to find Stone's quirky brow had turned into a cold  glare, and that snapped me out of my lost thoughts. "I need money. I'm  saving it for nursing school. Any more questions? I'm tired."

He studied me a moment, then returned his focus to his book. "No."

I continued walking through the room and his voice stopped me just  before I walked out. "I didn't expect you to have ambition or goals."

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe I had just met my quota with  Stone's crap that caused my next words to spew out unfiltered. "Of  course you didn't. You're too busy glaring at me down that long nose of  yours."

Then I fled, because I had been rude and the words I'd said were  partially untrue. First of all, Stone had a nice nose. It wasn't long at  all. And second, I had just snapped at my boss's friend. To add to my  mortification, I had a sneaking suspicion Stone was Jasper's best friend  because he never left the house.

I didn't stop until I was in my room in the basement.

I undressed quickly, and after a quick shower, I collapsed in bed. I decided I would worry about apologizing to Stone tomorrow.

Unfortunately, when I closed my eyes, my mind wandered back to Stone's  words. I saw Jasper and some unknown stripper doing things I'd never  done. And deep down I had to admit I didn't like that Jasper was with  someone else. That wasn't a good thing. I had to suppress my unwanted  jealousy because being attracted to my boss was not okay. I needed my  job here and at the office desperately. Jasper was going to sleep with a  lot of women and I needed to get right with watching them come and go.  Still, I had to admit I was a little disappointed in him. The guy I was  getting to know was somewhat likable.

I tried hard to push his face out of my head and thoughts. It wasn't possible.                       
       
           



       

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed of him.

That was the beginning.





MY DREAMS HAD BEEN VIVID last night. So much so that when I walked into  the kitchen with pancakes and sausage for Jasper, I blushed. I'd  wondered if he'd bring the girl with him to breakfast, but he hadn't. He  was alone.

"This smells amazing," he said to me as I sat his plate in front of him.  His phone was in his hand and he was texting, but he stopped to look at  me.

"Thanks," I said. My cheeks still felt warm. I quickly turned away hoping he wouldn't notice.

"You okay this morning?" he asked me before I could leave the room.

"Yes."

"Late night at work?"

"Yes."

He chuckled. "Okay. Well, I won't keep you."

I nodded and hurried out. I felt silly. I looked silly. When I got to  the kitchen, I sighed in frustration as I leaned against the bar. This  wasn't going to work. I had to get over last night's dream, and over my  attraction to Jasper. He was helping me. I didn't receive help from many  people, especially not from someone who looked like him. I had to keep  my feelings straight. I was grateful to him for my job here and for the  additional work he'd offered me at his office. That did not mean I was  attracted to him.

I rolled my eyes at myself. I sounded ridiculous. A day experiencing  Jasper's charm, and then my erotic dream probably inspired by what I'd  witnessed at work had me all a mess.

Jasper cleared his throat behind me, causing me to jump before I spun around.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have breakfast with me. It's lonely in  there." He was carrying his plate in one hand and his coffee in the  other. He sat both down on the bar.

Bad idea. "Where's Stone?" I asked.

"Gone already. He went running before going into the office."

Office? "Stone works?"

Jasper nodded. "Yeah. He does. For me. Now, why don't you eat the food  you made for him and let me enjoy your company. Please," he added.

The way he tilted his head and his eyes reflected the morning sunlight coming in the windows made it hard to say no.

I nodded and joined him. Even though he'd spent last night with a  stripper, I liked him. I could never do more than like him. It was bad  for me to like him.

I was going to work on that.

"Okay. Can I get you more coffee?"

"No. I just require your company."

He just requires my company. Ugh. That damn dream.

I went to the cabinet, pulled out a plate and put half of the portion  I'd made for Stone on the plate. Jasper watched me and feeling his gaze  on me made me nervous.

"What time did you get in last night?" he asked.

"Three," I told him as I put my plate down beside him and took a seat on the stool.

"I hope you're taking tonight off. That's two nights in a row. You need rest."

I'd never spoken to Carey last night. "I didn't get a chance to talk to the manager last night."

"Call him, Beulah."

I could call him. That made sense. "Okay. I'll probably have to because  it's busy when I get there at night making it hard to find time to talk  to him about it."

He didn't say much the next few minutes as he ate and drank his coffee. I  took that time to plan what I'd say to Carey over the phone.

"Portia left last night. Said she was going to stay with a friend of  hers in the Hamptons for the rest of the summer. You won't have as much  work to do in the house now. If you can get in more hours at the office  that's okay with me."

I stopped with my fork midway to my mouth. Portia was gone? "She left?"

"We don't exactly get along," he said.

"That's why she left?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. Less bullshit for me to deal with."

Would he leave too? How long would the filing job last and then what? What if my being here was no longer needed?

"I want you to stay here. Hell, I need you to stay here. I don't have  time to find someone dependable and trustworthy to live in this house  and take care of it."

He was reading my mind again.

I nodded. "You're good at that," I finally said.

"I'm good at a lot of things. You need to be more specific." His tone  was teasing but I wondered what things he was referring to.

"Knowing what I'm thinking."

"You've got very expressive eyes."

I'd never been told that before. Guys had complimented me, telling me my  eyes were beautiful but never that they were expressive. Maybe he just  paid closer attention.                       
       
           



       

He was being kind again. Making it hard to remember I shouldn't lean  close to smell his cologne, or study the way his smiles were all  different, or admire the way he looked in his clothing. If he caught me  doing those things, I was sure to be kicked out after he fired me from  both my jobs.