Glass Ceilings (4 page)

“Two years. He was both my best friend and my worst enemy.”

“Was?”

“Is. I haven't seen him in a while. Anyway, I better get inside. I've wasted enough of your night.” With a hand on the door handle, she thanked me again and darted toward the front door. It happened so quickly, she left me no time to respond or ask when I would see her again.

New Year's Eve usually had me feeling out of sorts. Having the year stretched ahead of you without knowing what it held was daunting. My time in Chicago was about to end, and this year I couldn't wait to begin my life in New York. The light at the end of my tunnel was not only shining, it was winking at me.

The early celebrators were already causing a ruckus in the bar. Their ticket price included entertainment, snacks, and open bar between ten and midnight. At a few minutes before ten Mugs still wouldn't budge.

“Ten is ten, you assholes. Knock it off or I'll throw you all out.”

I laughed out loud. There was no way Mugs was following through with that threat.

Jase snuck in as I was serving customers at the other end of the bar. I worked while he yapped about the perfect date he'd had with Eve the night before. “Man, she's flawless in every way. She can do this thing with her—”

“Stop! I don't want to hear it.”

The last thing I wanted was a visual of Jase and Eve. I couldn't give a shit about his love life, but more important, I was fucking jealous. All I could think about was having the same with Angela. But thinking it and making it happen were on opposite ends of the spectrum. I was leaving soon. To start something now would be a huge mistake. It would be a tease, like tasting the most delicious dessert only to be told you could never have it again. It really
could
only be a one-night stand. The Nick of a few days ago would jump on a no-strings-attached hot fuck. I couldn't envision that with Angela, she was too good for that.

“Hit me up, bro! It's ten fucking o'clock!”

“Where's your date?” I asked, more so to find out where Angela was.

“They had a pit stop to make. They're cabbing it over in a bit.”

I handed Jase his beer. “Um…I want the good stuff.”

“You can't handle the good stuff. Mugs will throw you out if you repeat what happened on Thanksgiving.”

“I had a stomach flu,” he said, reciting his standard excuse. That hilarious night will forever be in my top ten memories of Chicago. Do I even have ten? I know I have one other—the first time I saw Angela smile.

As if he read my mind, Jase asked, “So, dude. What gives with Angela?”

“Nothing gives,” I responded a little too quickly and too angrily.

He stared at me for a long, hard minute. “I call bullshit. You like her.”

“What the fuck do you know?”

“I know if you didn't, you'd be balls deep in her by now.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jase.” Normally, I'd laugh at his theory. His descriptive analogy hit a nerve.

“Wow. Someone is testy today.” In my peripheral, I saw Eve and Angela enter the bar. A smile spread over my face, which Jase noticed and jumped on. “Seems something can change your mood…or someone.” The death stare I threw his way warned him to shut his mouth. He leaned in, undeterred and warned, “This discussion isn't over, my friend.”

“Hey, guys. Happy New Year.” Eve planted a huge kiss on Jase's smirking lips.

“Hey, baby.” He looked past Eve and said to Angela, “He's very grumpy. You know what they say—your mood at midnight will be your mood all year long. I plan on sucking face with this gorgeous girl, that will guarantee I'll be sucking on her all year long. Maybe you guys should have that one-night stand tonight. It could guarantee you a year of good…moods.”

Oh my God, I was going to fucking kill him.

“Why are you grumpy, Nick?” Eve asked. Those two were a perfect pair.

“He's confusing determined with grumpy. I'm just trying to figure out a way to hide all evidence after I kill him.”

“Too many witnesses,” he argued. “You'd get life as a minimum.”

Angela laughed at the scowl on my face, which caused me to laugh as well.

“Come, babe. Let's dance and give these two some privacy.” Jase assumed victory, grabbed Eve's hand, and pulled her onto the dance floor.

Angela took the barstool Jase abandoned. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. He's just a pain in the ass sometimes, that's all.”

“Is he bothering you about us?”

Her question surprised me.

Us?

I was never a half of an “us.”

“Yeah.”

“Eve has been relentless.” She nodded in agreement. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, but not for the reasons you think,” I admitted. I could've lied, but what was the point? “Does it bother you?” my mouth asked before I could stop the question.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Another automatic question popped out of my mouth. I needed to know what bothered her the most. Was it the thought of being with me?

“It's crazy! I don't know you or you me. Those two are absolutely nuts. They're acting like crazy people. And I don't just mean with their mission to get us in bed. They've known each other like a week.” She turned and raised a hand toward them as they made out on the dance floor. “Look at them!”

“I know what you mean. I've never seen him act like this. He must really be into Eve.”

Without asking, I fixed her usual rum and Diet Coke. Instead of placing it on the bar, I handed it to her. Her fingers grazed mine as she took it from me, our eyes met over the contact.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

She looked so pretty as she sat on her barstool all dressed up, makeup on, her hair down around her shoulders. Was it because it was New Year's or because she was seeing me? Fuck, I never analyzed a girl's looks, hair, or clothes before.

“Nick!” Marcy called from the other end of the bar. “Some help here?”

I shrugged an apology to Angela, and worked my way around the bar, filling orders as needed. Many of the local chicks were in normal form, flirting with me as they always did. Every time I glanced at Angela, she was also glancing at me.

One of the feisty girls who'd been desperately trying to get me in her bed, leaned over the bar just as I was filling her mug with beer, held my head, and planted a huge kiss right on my lips. I backed away, almost spilling what I had already poured.

“Whoa, Tammy.”

“I'm just ensuring I get my kiss tonight,” she said without apology.

My eyes flew back to where Angela sat. Nothing was going on between us, so why did I suddenly feel so guilty over the kiss I was assaulted with? A few minutes later, I finally got back to her side of the bar.

“Hi.”

“Hi. Um, you have a little lipstick right there.” She pointed to my lips with a teasing smirk.

I laughed at her sense of humor. “Occupational hazard,” I said while wiping the back of my hand across my lips.

“Hmm. I don't see any of the other bartenders being groped,” she responded playfully. I knew she was just busting my chops, but the whole exchange still turned me on.

“You're up, Romeo.” Mugs came up next to me sporting his usual scowl. I failed miserably at hiding my eye roll and annoyed sigh. “Tell that friend of yours to quit dancing like a fairy and start taking bets.”

After he walked away, I leaned into Angela and whispered, “I feel so used.”

Her sweet giggle moved right through me. Her unguarded smile was stunning. A strange electric current coursed between us. It zapped all the oxygen from the space around us. It stopped us both from moving. It made it impossible to breathe.

What the fuck was happening?

An unmistakable connection had formed without so much as a kiss or an embrace being exchanged. How was that even possible?

“Nick!”

“I gotta go throw some darts. Want to come watch?”

It was an innocent question that held so much hidden meaning.

“I'd love to,” she responded immediately.

Three little words, yet I'd never been as turned on by words as I was at that moment.

“We need to celebrate!” Jase said as he recounted his cut of my winnings.

Not a bad haul, even I had to admit. A thousand bucks for doing something as dumb as throwing darts.

“We'll ring in the New Year and then take this party to Eve's.”

“I'm working,” I reminded him.

“Fuck that. You just won Mugs a ton of cash. That prick could give you a few hours off.”

“Who are you calling a prick?”

Jase paled, cringing as Mugs waited for him to turn around. Mugs narrowed his eyes, sending laser beams into the back of Jase's head.

Kissing Angela at midnight suddenly became something I needed to do. In the process, I'd save the jackass's ass.

“Hey, Mugs, can I take my break at midnight?” Mugs turned his laser beams on me.

“Fuck, no. Look at this place! I need you serving as many drinks as possible.”

I offered my dart winnings with a smile. “Fifteen minutes. I'll pour out all the champagne beforehand and Marce and the others can manage handing out the cups for fifteen minutes.”

The man thrust his hand out to grab the wad of cash as fast as a lizard's tongue catching a fly. “Not a minute more.”

Once Mugs walked away, Jase raised his hands in frustration. “What the fuck? That was a grand!”

“Worth every penny.” I shrugged.

“You're an idiot,” Jase countered.

“Maybe. Or maybe it'll be the best fifteen minutes of my life.” My eyes found Angela's staring at me. That damn current kicked in again just as the lead singer announced it was thirty minutes to midnight.

“I'll be back. I have a lot of champagne to pour.” Like a madman, I worked frantically with the other bartenders to pour the champagne, positioning the cheap, disposable plastic cups that Mugs sprung for at the banquet table where the snacks had been earlier in the evening. Mugs had them all standing guard, ensuring no one took any before midnight. They also needed to ensure that everyone received just the one cupful, which was included in their ticket price.

At a few minutes to midnight, I squeezed my way over to where Angela stood beside Jase and Eve as they made out, obviously not bothering to wait for the New Year. She saw me coming and turned toward me with a stunning smile. Her plump lips begged to be kissed, and I needed to be the one kissing them.

“Will you be my good luck kiss?” I couldn't help myself. This may have been my only chance, and my only good excuse. Her smile faded instantly. Undeterred by her silence, I prodded further. “We have to. It's bad luck not to be kissing someone at midnight.”

“You're starting to sound like Jase.”

“Maybe he isn't a jackass after all.”

“Is that why you just handed over a thousand dollars? To kiss me?”

“That's exactly why.”

We stood facing each other with the current bouncing between us. Time was literally ticking by until my opportunity arrived to finally taste those lips. When the crowd around us began counting down from ten, I stepped closer. At five seconds, I wordlessly held her face in my hands. The next four seconds passed by torturously slowly. My eyes were glued to hers, and at the stroke of twelve I whispered, “Happy New Year, Angela.”

Before she had a chance to stop me, I leaned in and kissed her softly. Her hands gripped my wrists. Her fingertips pressed into my flesh as I progressed the kiss between us. The noise around us was deafening, but all I heard was my heart pounding and my head pleading for her not to end this kiss.

She tasted fucking amazing. She stopped breathing as my lips nibbled on hers. When the moment came for her to take a breath, it should have been where the kiss ended…except I went right back in. I needed another taste. She parted her lips before I felt the tip of her tongue touch my bottom lip. At the shock of feeling it, I touched my tongue to hers before I chased it into her warm mouth.

Our tongues danced, slowly, erotically, and purposefully. It was as if our tongues knew this kiss was going to be a brief, rare encounter and they needed to make the most of every second that passed.

The kiss opened my floodgates, caused blood to rush through my veins, made my cock stiffen between us, and made me question everything I thought I knew.

The kiss itself became an unspoken agreement to what could have been if things were different.

The kiss was the best motherfucking kiss I ever had in my life.

Angela and I remained just as we were while I kissed her, with my hands holding her face and her hands holding my wrists. The intense way her jade green eyes were glued to mine completely hypnotized me. I couldn't tell how many minutes of my fifteen had passed, and the last thing I wanted was to look away to find out. Looking away would break the spell we had over each other. It would send us falling face-first back into reality, and I liked where we were at that moment.

Even if the last few minutes were a fantasy fueled by a silly tradition, I wanted to stay put for a bit. It was easy, and an escape from life. Kissing her was a taste of heaven that I'd never experienced before. It could have been the build, since I'd been thinking of kissing those lips for days. But I couldn't help thinking it was something else, something between us that I couldn't explain, something that made that the best fucking kiss.

I needed to do that again.

Just as I was about to pick up where I left off, Eve broke the spell. “That was so hot. I knew it! I fucking knew it! You two have a thing for each other!”

Angela quickly backed away from what we just shared. Her expression morphed from heated passion to cold confusion in a blink of an eye. The lips I had just indulged in were nervously pressed together, almost as if she was protecting them from me. Her eyes darted between Eve and me like she was trying to find a way to escape.

I needed validation that she also felt the current that coursed between us when my tongue caressed hers, when our eyes locked. I needed to understand why, for the first time in my life, I felt an unexplainable connection that was so fierce it rendered me stupid.

I also needed more of her, much more.

“Angela.” I reached for her and she stepped further away.

“I need…I'll be back.” She turned and quickly walked toward the ladies room. Eve went to follow, but I stopped her.

“I'll go.” My guess was I only had a few minutes left before Mugs would come yelling, and I needed to tell her it was the best money I'd ever spent.

I found Angela waiting in line for the ladies room. Without an explanation, I took her hand and dragged her toward the stockroom. Some of the women in line catcalled and whistled as we walked by.

“Lucky girl,” one called out. “I've been trying to nail him for weeks.”

Another hollered, “I'm next!”

“What are you doing?” she whispered harshly, as I pulled her into the room, slammed the door, and locked it.

“We need to talk about what just happened.”

“It was a kiss, Nick. Nothing happened.”

“It was amazing, Angela. Don't tell me you didn't feel the same. And…” I gripped the back of my neck in frustration. Damn it, should I admit what I wanted? Should I finally come clean and tell her she was all I'd been thinking about and it'd be impossible to stop the thoughts of being with her, especially now after that kiss?

She turned to face me, the lost look still in her eyes. “And?”

“And, I want to do that again. And, I want to do much more.”

She let out a sarcastic huff. “Of course you do. You want that one-night stand.”

“Why does it have to be labeled? Doesn't every relationship start with one night? Look, for some reason I'm drawn to you and I know you feel it, too.”

“ANGELA!”

“Angela is getting a good fucking,” a catty response filtered through the closed door followed by laughter.

“Shut up, bitch!” Eve said and knocked hard over and over. “Ang, open up.” Angela looked up at me hesitantly, before walking over to the door to let her cousin in.

“What the hell?” Eve looked past her to me. She raised a brow and asked, “He freaked you out, didn't he?”

Is that what this is? She's freaking out?

“Eve.”

“What? He's not Ronnie, Ang. It's time you moved on.”

“Stop it. You promised.”

I didn't need to see Angela's face to know how angry she was. Her fists clenched at her sides at the mere mention of this Ronnie prick.

Eve glared back, but nodded without argument. “Fine. I'm going to Jase's place. Don't wait up.” She looked over at me and asked, “Can you get her home?”

I nodded silently. Eve kissed Angela's head and then left us alone once again, shutting the door behind her.

“Who's Ronnie?”

Without turning to face me she said very quietly, “My ex.”

“Kid!” The next loud bang came from Mugs. Angela startled, jolting to face me when his fist continued to bang on the door as he barked,
“Get the fuck out here, kid!”

We also heard, “Mugs, don't cock-block Nick!” with more catty laughter.

Unfazed by the prick banging on the door, I asked, “Can we finish this discussion later?”

Angela's nod was jerky, hesitant. I moved around her to open the door just as Mugs shouted,
“Nick!”

“I'm coming!”

“He's coming already? Oh my God! That was really quick, Nick!” A fit of cackles came through the door causing Angela to cover her eyes, completely mortified by the situation. Seeing her so upset made me want to hurt someone.

“Calm the fuck down,” I said, as I yanked open the door. My facial expression stunned him silent. This bastard was two seconds away from a punch to the face. I had never, ever disrespected him in any way. I made the man a small fortune while here, but I no longer gave a shit. My fuse was slowly smoldering toward its end, and any patience that I'd held for Mugs or that dump was no longer anywhere to be found. If I could've slapped cuffs on him and hauled his ass to jail at that exact moment, I would have.

In the first fifteen minutes of the New Year I'd already experienced both heaven and hell, and I dared anyone to mess with me until I fixed things back to the way I wanted them…somehow being physically attached to Angela.

I motioned for Angela to walk out ahead of me, making sure Mugs didn't so much as utter a sound or turn his scowl on her. Wordlessly, I then stepped around him following her out to the bar. Snickers and giggles followed us, making Angela walk as quickly as she could to escape the embarrassment.

“Angela,” I called out right before grabbing her arm. “I can't drive you home until I'm done. Please wait.”

She shook her head and without meeting my gaze said, “No, Nick. I'm ready to leave now.”

I tried to convince her to wait for my shift to end, but she was adamant about leaving. The only thing she allowed me to do was call a cab for her. She said we'd talk tomorrow. I didn't have tomorrow. I only had now.

Shit was going to hit the fan tomorrow for Mugs, and his gold mine was on the threshold of ruin. Neither he nor the Polittos had any idea what was coming.

The Dump had been the perfect façade for the multi-million-dollar drug ring that supplied half of Chicago. It was a brilliant plan.

Although its name insinuated a seedy, disgusting joint where one could score their latest fix, it was just the opposite. Trendy, well kept, and the popular place to be among young professionals in downtown Chicago. The perfect front for just one of the many illegal rings run by the Politto crime family.

After finishing up my shift, I had one more piece of evidence to secure. While my coworkers cleaned up the New Year's Eve mess, and Mugs was busy counting his cash, I quickly dismounted the hidden camera from the stockroom as well as the half dozen audio bugs I had planted throughout the bar.

I drove to my destination in a daze. Where my thoughts should have been on the evidence I was about to hand over to another agent, instead they were on Angela.

The plan was to lie low for the next forty-eight hours as The Dump was raided and all arrests had been made. Then, once I met with my supervising agent, I was supposed to leave Chicago and head straight for New York.

But now with Angela in the picture, I couldn't just disappear as I'd originally planned. I needed to see her before I left. Meeting her was not part of my plan. I had no idea what this could be between us, but for some reason I couldn't fathom starting my next chapter without finding out.

It was four a.m. by the time I parked outside Eve's townhouse. I literally sat there for a full fifteen minutes before I built enough nerve to walk to the front door. It wasn't like another fifteen minutes would make a fuck's worth of difference at that late hour. I didn't want to scare her, but I needed to talk to her. The sound of my solid knocks on the paneled wood reverberated through the deserted snowy night much louder than I would've liked. The last thing I needed was the neighbors stopping my efforts to see her at that point.

“Are you okay?” Her question sounded pained through the intercom. Mounted above on the brick elevation was a small camera pointed right at me. Of course Eve's place had a state-of-the-art security system.

“No. Angela, I want to talk to you.”

After a few long seconds, she pulled open the heavy wood door. I couldn't tell if I suddenly felt warmth from the heat pouring out the door, or from seeing her before me in nothing but an oversized T-shirt. My eyes drank in every inch of her from the curve of her neck to the toned smooth skin of her legs. My impetus to show up in the middle of the night had little to do with my sexual urges toward her. But seeing her standing a few feet away looking so stunning felt like some kind of cruel joke.

“Nick, why are you here?” She shivered while waiting for me to either speak or move.

“Can I come in?”

Surprisingly, she nodded and moved aside to let me in. The snow that clung to my head and shoulders fell to the marble floor, instantly melting into tiny puddles. I looked down and apologized for the mess.

“Don't worry about it,” she responded while leading me into a large living room. The décor screamed luxury, from the soft leather couches to the massive flat screen on the far wall. A velour blanket lay on the floor before the couch, a cup of tea sat on the table beside it, and a fire roared in the fireplace.

“I'm sorry it's so late. Did I wake you?” I asked, wondering if she was here when I knocked, or up in her warm bed.

“Um…no, I couldn't sleep. Can I get you something to drink?”

I shook my head, waiting for her to sit before I sat beside her. When she did, she tucked her bare legs beneath her.

Now that I was there, I had no idea where to begin. As thoughts fought their way to my mouth, she spared me by saying, “Nick, I wish things could be different, but I can't start something when I'm leaving soon.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?”

“New York City. I have to be gone by the time—” She stopped abruptly while looking down at her fingers as they tugged on the hem of her T-shirt. I wasn't sure if the motion was from her nerves or her modesty.

“By the time what?” I prompted.

She looked up at my face, waiting a pause before saying, “I just need to leave before my ex gets back to Chicago. He's been away in Italy for the holidays, and I want to be gone by the time he returns.”

“This Ronnie guy, right?”

She nodded without making eye contact.

“Ronnie what?”

“Delton.”

“So you're running away? Did he hurt you?” My question caused strong emotions to swell in her eyes where I could see tears glisten even in the dimly lit room.

“He won't anymore.” She shrugged, breaking eye contact to stare at the hem of her shirt once again.

Rage slowly crept through my veins into my chest, making my breathing labored and obvious. “Angela, who is he?”

“It doesn't matter. He's part of my past, and I'm ready to find my future. I just have some things to wrap up before I leave.” The minute I left her, I'd be looking into this Delton prick.

“How does Eve feel about you leaving?”

“She agrees I need to. She's like a sister to me. We grew up together before her family moved here when we were twelve. She said maybe she'd follow me back East. Eve gets bored quickly.”

I looked around the palatial townhouse. “What does she do?”

“She owns a boutique. I managed it for her.” She smiled as my eyes continued to take in all the luxuries she surrounded herself with in her home. “My uncle is very wealthy.”

“I gathered. This place is amazing.”

“Yeah, it's going to be hard leaving this.”

I walked over to the sliding doors at the back of the house. “What's that lead to?”

Angela came to stand beside me and flipped the light switch beside the door, revealing a large deck with a Jacuzzi tub. “Wow,” I said before turning back to her. “It's beautiful.” My eyes drank her in and my brain added,
So are you
. She met my gaze, and I fought the urge to lunge as the intense desire to have her engulfed me from head to toe. Several long seconds passed before she looked away.

“I'll miss this.” For some reason I didn't think she was referring to the townhouse, or the Jacuzzi, or even Eve.

“It doesn't have to end,” I said quietly as I turned my gaze back to the deck. Her following silence was deliberate.

I walked back to the couch and sat heavily. “Angela, I need to tell you something.” She sat beside me and I leaned over to take her hand in both of mine. “Six months ago I took an assignment here in Chicago. Tonight, that assignment ended. Before I met you, my plan was to pack my things and drive to New York City. I start my new job once I get there.”

The angst she felt earlier was replaced with confusion. “What kind of an assignment?”

“I'm here undercover. I work for the government, and I can't share details. You have to trust me, please. My new life will also be in New York.”

“Undercover?” She withdrew her hand and stood abruptly to pace the room. “Wait, is your name even Nick Smith?”

“No.” The look on her face crushed me.

“What is it?” she whispered.