“What the hell are you doing?” I heard loudly over the music. I looked up to see Daimon brooding over me.
“Go away, please,” I said as I looked back down to pick up the pieces of glass.
“Get up now!” he barked, but I ignored him.
“Fuck me, Addie.” He reached down for me and picked me up. “Let one of the busboys do this,” he hissed. At that exact moment, Darren showed up with a busboy.
“Are you okay?” Darren asked me as he put his hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said, slightly shaken as I tried to act like the whole bar wasn’t looking at me.
“No, you’re not. You’re fucking bleeding!” Daimon bit out.
I yanked my hand away from Daimon, but he held on tight. He looked over me and shook his head. I saw Elissa walk over to my table with a tray of replacement drinks.
“You know, Darren, you should hire help who actually knows how to work?” Clara mocked.
“I’ll see you get the bill for both sets of drinks,” Darren said without missing a beat.
“What? Why?” she hissed and her friends scoffed.
“Because you fucking tripped her, that’s why,” Daimon snarled as he pushed me behind him and nearly lunged at her.
“It’s like we’re in high school all over again,” she cried out. “Poor little Addie needs all the boys to help her. Please give me a break, she’s a fucking loser.”
“Clara keep the fuck away from her,” Daimon growled at her. I could feel him tensing up as his body began to shake. I reached up and placed my hand on his back as I tried to soothe him.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly.
“It’s not FUCKING OKAY!” he yelled at me. “She is my woman. Mine and nothing ever touches her but me,” he shouted at Clara. Clara leaned away as a threatening Daimon glared at her.
“Daimon,” I said softly.
He said nothing as he pulled me to the back of the bar where Darren’s office was and sat me down. He took a bar towel from Darren’s desk and began to gently clean my hand.
“You’re bleeding everywhere,” he said curtly.
“I'm fine.” I tried taking away my hand, but he looked at me and gave me a murderous stare. I looked at his icy blue eyes and was transfixed. I looked down to stop myself from looking directly at him.
“That was quite the performance out there,” I teased. “And here I thought I was going to be in trouble for leaving you in front of the restaurant.”
“I'm a good actor,” he said coldly. “And don’t worry, you will pay for it. It’s only a matter of when,” he remarked. I winced as a piece of glass scraped my palm.
“That’s it. I'm taking you home,” he snapped.
“No. I need to work. I’ll go to the washroom and clean up.” I stood up from the couch that he placed me on. I started for the door, but Daimon put his hand out and stopped me.
“I’ll pay for your fucking day today. What is it, a hundred dollars, maybe two? Whatever it is, I’ll give you the damn money. Now just let me take you home,” he berated me.
It ached; what he said made me ache, the words he said hurt me and what little ego I had. His face began to change as he kept looking at me. I sighed heavily and pushed past him opening the office door. I heard a loud thud against the wall behind me, but I ignored it as I walked over to the bathroom. I went over to the sink and washed my hands. The blood slowly dripped onto the sink as I removed the final shards. I took a few paper towels and placed them on my hands. I held on tightly as I looked in the mirror of the dimly lit chic bathroom and wondered where the hell I went wrong. I watched as tears began to form. Just great. Since when did Daimon’s words start affecting me so much? I quickly wiped them away as Elissa walked in.
“Holy shit! Are you okay?” she asked, taking my hands gently and looking them over.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said meekly.
“Stupid rich bitch,” she said hatefully. “You know I ‘tripped’ and dropped my drink on her,” she winked at me.
“You didn’t?” I asked not too surprised, the girl was a Scorpio. No one messed with her even on her good days.
“For you, baby girl? I’d do anything. I told you I like you too much,” she smiled and helped me clean up. “Look, Darren said to go home. There’s no point, the night is nearly done and the bitch is still out there,” she said softy.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I really needed the money tonight. The fucking rent is due for the restaurant,” I said feeling exhausted again.
“I’ll give you money,” she offered.