Page 26 of Cannon

“Sounds good. You got a lot on your plate,” he commented.

“The responsibilities of a boss,” I replied.

Our eyes locked on one another but I needed to shift the mood. Nothing was to ever happen between us. He’s my employee. And when I looked at his driver’s license, I noticed he was only thirty years old. He was a baby. I was ten years older than him. He probably had no interest in me anyway. Even though I know I looked good.

“Let me give you a tour.”

“Cool.”

I just realized that I had never seen this man smile or even smirk. His expression remained stone cold. There was something behind that hard exterior. I could tell that he had experienced a hard life. After living a hard life with my mother and working in this industry, you learn how to read people well.

And he was a mystery waiting to be solved. But I wasn’t going to play detective. He was none of my business. Just my damn employee.

“Don’t allow anyone up here in this office without verifying with me, understood?”

“Understood.”

“Even my daughter. If a girl named Esperanza or ZaZa ever comes around, come get me or call me. Do not let her in my office alone,” I directed.

ZaZa has snuck in my office before and stolen money from me. She knew that she wasn’t allowed in here but that wouldn’t stop her from manipulating someone into allowing her to come up here.

Soon we left my office. I could feel his eyes following me as we walked down the stairs. I felt his gaze on my ass.

I led him through the club like I was showing off a kingdom. VIP booths lined in black leather. Girls dripping in glitter and hustle. Bartenders flipping bottles like magicians. My team was moving like clockwork, but every cog turned because I made it.

“Security posts rotate every hour. No phones. No flirting. No drinking on duty. Your eyes and presence. Understood?”

“Understood.”

He didn’t talk much. Good. I had enough voices in my head already. But when he did talk his deep voice was soothing. Maybe I wouldn’t mind a voice like his in my head.

“This is Jules,” I said, nodding to the DJ booth. “That’s Rico and Miles, front door muscle.”

They dapped him up, curious but respectful. Cannon returned the gesture with a quick nod, already scanning the exits.

He was reading the room like a pro.

Good.

I took him past the dancers’ dressing room. Of course I knocked first to make sure they were okay with meeting him. I could tell by the looks in their eyes they all thought he was fine. But he didn’t seem the slightest bit impressed by them.

I liked that. I can’t have my security drooling over the dancers. I needed them to have self-control. Hell, he ogled me more than them. That was new. Men wanted me but strippers always garnered more attention because they were naked.

I showed him the main floor and everything else. He took it all in. I could see the cogs turning in his mind. He seemed like he was going to be taking this seriously.

After the tour we came back to my office. We reached my office, and I pushed the door open without breaking stride.

“That’s the Sylk Road. So if you don’t mind me asking…”

“I do,” he replied. I was shocked at his cocky response.

“You don’t even know what I was about to ask.”

“Whenever someone starts off with a preface like that, they’re about to ask something personal. I ain’t sharing shit personal with you. If it don’t pertain to the job, don’t ask.”

“It does pertain to the job.”

“I bet it don’t,” he quipped.