Fire & Brimstone: A Neighbor from Hell (12 page)

Chapter 21

              “Mr. Bradford?”

              “What is it, Patrick?” Lucifer asked, pretending that his mind wasn’t on his bed upstairs and the small woman currently curled up in it, hogging all the blankets. She was going to be furious when she finally woke up, he thought with a small smile as he tallied the credit card slips for the night.

              “I can take care of that if you want,” Patrick offered after a slight hesitation, making the same offer that he made every night around this time.

              “I have it, Patrick,” he said, not bothering to look up from his desk as he shifted his attention to the order slips.

              God, he was so fucking exhausted.

              All he wanted to do was call it a night, go upstairs and curl up with the woman that was going to kill him as soon as she woke up, but he knew that he would never get that far. He’d be lucky if he made it to the couch at this point.

              “Well, goodnight, Mr. Bradford,” Patrick said, sounding like he wanted to say more, but in the end he left, locking up and setting the alarm on his way out.

              He needed some fucking sleep soon or he was going to burn out, but one look at the pile of work waiting on the corner of his desk that needed his attention had him biting back a yawn and getting back to work. He only had a few hours to put a dent into all this paperwork before he had to oversee meal prep and the breakfast service. He also needed to make sure that the bar was fully stocked since tonight was going to be one of the busiest nights of the week.

              College night.

              It was one of his most profitable nights of the week, but it was also his busiest day. It was Thursday, which meant that he had to make sure that they were set up for the rest of the week. That meant calling venders, taking in orders, food prep, going over the schedule and making sure that the majority of his senior staff was scheduled to work, running to the bank to get change and make deposits, and making sure their online ordering system was working flawlessly.

              Just thinking about everything that he had to do today was making him tired, but that was too fucking bad because he had a job to do. For the next four days the Fire & Brimstone was going to be a mad house. They’d have the mornings and afternoons to prepare, but even those meal services were going to be brutal, especially since they were still down four waitresses, a bartender, a dishwasher and a cook. Sighing, he made a note to put another ad in Monday’s paper with the hopes that this set of applicants would actually bring him more than just college kids looking for beer money.

              Then there was the problem of the woman sleeping in his bed…

              He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do about her. The only thing that he was absolutely sure about was that he should be relieved that she was quitting instead of sitting here trying to figure out a way to make her stay. For five goddamn years he’d wanted her gone and just when he was finally about to get what he’d wanted, he’d not only backed down, but he’d also given her a raise to keep her around.

              As much as he’d like to say that he’d regretted manipulating her into staying, he couldn’t. She’d needed answers that she would probably never have gotten, because she’d long since given up. So, no, he couldn’t regret helping her when he’d had the chance, but he wasn’t sure that he could say the same about sleeping with her. He should have never slept with her, but he knew that he’d do it again in a heartbeat if he ever got the chance.

              Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and wondered what he was going to do about her. She was a complication, which was something that he really didn’t need in his life. He had too much going on in his life to add a pain in the ass girlfriend whose soul purpose in life seemed to be driving him out of his fucking mind.

              He didn’t need that in his life, especially not right now when he was still doing everything that he could to make Fire & Brimstone into something special. There was no way that he was going to be able to do that with Rebecca around. He should let her go, keep his hands to himself and focus on what really mattered, but even as he told himself that it was for the best, he found himself thinking about how much he wanted to go upstairs and put his arms around her.

              Letting her go wasn’t an option, he realized, not until he’d let this thing between them run its course. He had no idea if she was the one or just the one that his body wanted right now, but either way he wasn’t giving her up just yet. But, letting her take over every waking moment like this wasn’t going to work either.

              He needed to get his mind off her and back where it belonged and in order to do that, he was going to have to start treating Rebecca like he would any other woman and hope that she didn’t lose her fucking mind like the rest of them had.

*-*-*-*

              “Why is Lucifer glaring at you?” Melanie asked from where she sat, perched at the edge of her seat with a fresh chocolate milkshake on one side, her computer in front of her and a half-eaten cheeseburger on the other.

              She chuckled as she placed Melanie’s bill on the table. “He’s always glaring,” she said, wondering why Melanie was suddenly unnerved by Lucifer’s favorite pastime.

              “True,” Melanie readily agreed with a nod as she continued to watch Lucifer with a perplexed expression on her face, “but normally he likes to diversify his glares to include everyone in the general facility.”

              “Maybe he’s glaring at you?” Rebecca suggested even as she glanced over her shoulder to find Lucifer not quite glaring at her as much as he was staring at her as though he was trying to figure something out.

              “No, he’s definitely looking at you,” Melanie said with a thoughtful expression as she took a sip of her milkshake. “Any idea why?”

              “Not a clue,” she said, honestly having absolutely no clue what was wrong with him.

              It had been an entire week since that amazing day they’d spent together doing, umm,
things
. She’d hoped that it would lead to something, at least an attempt at something, but as soon as she’d woken up the next morning she’d realized that she probably shouldn’t get her hopes up.

              After waking up and finding herself in her own bed, she’d realized that she’d missed her shift. Cursing Lucifer for exhausting her with amazing sex, she threw her clothes on, ran downstairs, only slightly looking forward to seeing him so that he could wrap his arms around her while worshiping the very ground that she walked on. Instead, she’d managed to make it downstairs in time to sneak into the morning meeting where Lucifer pretended that he hadn’t noticed her.

              That hadn’t bothered her since they were at work and needed to maintain a professional relationship. What had bothered her was when the meeting was over and they were the last two people in the room. He’d barely acknowledged her when she said hello and before she could get a chance to talk to him, he was walking out the door.

              By the end of the day she’d realized two things, she might not have to quit after all and Lucifer wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. Since then he’d all but ignored her, acknowledging her when he needed something and only then if he couldn’t find someone else to do it for him. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t disappointed that it had been just a one-time thing. When that didn’t work, she tried to convince herself that the two of them together was a really bad idea.

              It had taken a few days and several trips to Dixon’s Gluten Free Bakery, but she was eventually able to get over it. She would probably never forget just how good it felt to be in his arms, but she was surprisingly okay with that. She also realized that she would probably never meet another man that could make her feel the way that he did, which had the power to depress her so she tried not to think about it.

              “What happened between the two of you anyway?” Melanie asked.

              She’d ruined him for all other women.

              But, she couldn’t say that, because it would give away too much and Melanie would never leave her alone. So, instead she settled for a shrug and a lie.

              “He professed his undying love for me, but alas, I just couldn’t-” she started to explain when the man that had just walked through the front door caught her attention. “Oh, shit.”

              “Oh, shit,” Melanie seconded as Rebecca reacted like any sane woman would when her biggest dating mistake came waltzing in through the door.

              She looked for the fastest escape route before he spotted her.

              “Run,” Melanie whispered, but she was trapped.

              There was nowhere for her to run, because she was out in the open and the biggest jerk that she’d ever met had spotted her. Great, she thought miserably as she tossed her notepad on the table and prepared herself for a discussion on everything that made Brian so wonderful.

              She should have never agreed to go out on that one date with him, but she’d felt bad for him. He was now the reason that she refused to give out on a pity date ever again. From the moment that he’d actually had the balls to tell her that he was incredibly good looking and that she should feel flattered that he’d asked her out, she’d realized that she’d made a mistake in saying yes. She’d mumbled her agreement to shut him up, realizing too late how conceded he was and nearly cried when she realized that the appetizers hadn’t arrived yet.

              It had been the most boring night of her-

              “Get the fuck out of my bar,” Lucifer, who at some point had crossed the room, said softly with a glimmer in his eyes that told everyone that had the balls to look that he wasn’t playing around.

              Secure in the knowledge that Brian would do the smart thing and run away, which he did, Lucifer turned around, locked eyes on her and-

              That’s when she decided that someone, namely her, should go count the napkins in the back room to make sure that they had enough to last them for another year or two.

Chapter 22

              “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Melanie said offhandedly as she picked up her empty glass and proceeded to nibble on her straw as she gave him a pitying look.

              “I’m not doing anything,” he said, pushing a chair out of his way so that he could go after Rebecca and continue staring at her like a fucking moron.

              “You’re out of your league on this one,” Melanie called after him.

              “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, ignoring the new waitress that he’d hired, who was desperately trying to get his attention as he headed towards the back hallway.

              “Don’t I?” she said, sounding a little too smug for his comfort.

              Slowly, he turned around to face her as he told himself that there was no way that Rebecca had told her anything, but one look at her face told him everything that he needed to know. Cursing, he ground his jaw, turned right back around and stormed off in the direction of his office, knowing damn well that she would be right behind him.

              He walked into his office and waited for the smug woman to waltz past him before he slammed his office door shut. As soon as he made the door was locked he sat down behind his desk all while keeping his eyes on the woman who apparently knew too much.

              Or did she…

              “What did she tell you?” he asked, deciding that it was for the best to play on the side of caution.

              “Everything,” she said without batting an eye.

              Narrowing his eyes on her, he said, “You’re bluffing.”

                Cocking a brow, she leaned back in her chair as she folded her hands over her lap and gave him that smug smile that was really going to get her killed. “Am I?”

              For a moment he studied her, trying to decide whether she was bullshiting him or not, but in the end it was that damn smile of hers that had him convinced that she knew a lot more than she should.

              “Start talking,” he said, already deciding that if she didn’t say anything useful in the next sixty seconds that he was tossing her out of his office and hunting Rebecca down so that he could fit in a few more minutes of staring at her like an idiot before the dinner rush arrived.

              God, he was fucking pathetic.

              “First off, you really need to stop glaring at her all the time,” she said before adding, “It’s seriously disturbing.”

              “I’m not glaring at her!” he snapped even as he conceded that it would probably be for the best if he stopped doing that.

              “No, of course you’re not,” she mumbled absently as she studied him.

              “I’m not!”

              “Uh huh.”

              Sighing, he gestured for her to get on with it so that he could get back to work. Well, at least pretend to work since he couldn’t seem to keep his mind off Rebecca. This plan of his was seriously fucking with his life, but it was the only one that had ever worked in the past.

              He just needed to give it a little more time, he told himself, already knowing that it was bullshit. Rebecca wasn’t like the other women that he’d dated. Whenever she was near him, he found himself watching her and when she wasn’t around he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d hoped by putting some space between them that he’d be able to focus on the restaurant, but instead she’d somehow become his entire world and he hated her for that.

              “So, you want to tell me why you’re stalking my best friend?” Melanie demanded, reminding him that he needed some answers.

              “I’m not stalking her,” he bit out, wondering why she was pissing him off even as he noticed that she didn’t have anything on Rebecca. While Rebecca could torment him with a devious little smile and drive him out of his fucking mind with barely a word, all Melanie was doing was pissing him off.

              “Really? Then what would you call it?”

              “Dating,” he bit out.

              For a minute she didn’t say anything as she sat there, staring at him as though she couldn’t quite understand what he’d just said.

              “Dating,” she said slowly as though she was testing the word.

              “
Dating
,” he ground out, having had about enough of this bullshit for one morning.

              “Umm,” she said, pursing up her lips in thought, “is Rebecca aware that you’re dating?”

              “Yes.”

              “Are you sure about that?”

              “Yes!” he snapped as he shoved away from his desk and headed for the door, deciding that he’d wasted enough time on this asinine conversation when her next words had him snarling every curse word that he knew and throwing the door open.

              “Because I saw Jon follow her to the back and he looked like he had more than inventory on his mind,” she said with an innocent expression and a shrug, making him realize that he really might want to reevaluate his dating rules.

*-*-*-*

              “Let me help you with that,” Jon offered with that boyish smile that all the waitresses talked about.

              “Thank you,” she said, returning his smile as she stepped back so that he could reach the box on the top shelf.

              “No problem,” he said as he easily grabbed the box and hefted it into his arms. “Where would you like this?”

              “The floor’s good,” she said, taking another step back so that he had enough space to place the large box on the floor between them.

              “Is this okay?” he asked as he placed the box on the floor and then opened it for her without being asked.

              As nice as it was to have a man smile at her and actually acknowledge her existence, she couldn’t help but miss the grumpy bastard. He’d entertained her, made her smile, not on purpose, and for a short time he’d actually made her feel like…

              She was being stupid, she told herself as she forced her thoughts away from what had obviously been a mistake and focused on helping the man smiling at her. Jon was a nice enough guy, always had a smile on his face, always willing to help her when she needed it and had even asked her out a few times.

              She’d always turned him down because they worked together, but maybe she should say yes the next time that he asked her. It might get her mind off of-

              “You’re needed up front, Jon,” Lucifer said, cutting into her thoughts and reminding her why getting involved with someone that you worked with was a bad idea.

              “Sorry,” Jon said with an apologetic smile, obviously meaning it and making her wonder why she couldn’t find herself thinking about a guy like Jon instead of the seriously pissed off man standing in the doorway.

              Maybe it was time for a fresh start, she thought as she returned Jon’s smile with a murmured, “Thank you.” He shot her a wink before he stood up and headed for the door, careful to avoid Lucifer who was still standing there…
glaring
.

              “Did you need something, Lucifer?” she asked as she ignored him and focused on sorting through the box filled with miscellaneous items like salt and pepper shakers, metal napkin holders, old menus that they no longer used, but kept to spice up the special’s menu every now and then, and about a hundred other items that they should probably throw away, but the man who was seriously starting to piss her off refused to part with.

              “Yes,” he said right about the time that she realized that he’d not only closed the door behind him, but was now unbuckling his belt and pulling down his zipper, cluing her into the fact that he was done ignoring her.

              It really was too bad that she was going to have to bash his balls in with the paper napkin dispenser, she thought with a sigh as she grabbed the aforementioned item and stood up, more than prepared to make Lucifer sing soprano for the rest of his life.