Page 7

Lacey

A fter a month, I came to the conclusion that financially, partnering up with Benny was the best decision I could have made for the business. When it came to working, he was a beast. He was good at what he did and fast. He described himself as out-fucking-standing and now I could see that it was true. He also wasn’t joking about working circles around Harvey. Between the two of them, I was hoping to keep all the balls in the air.

Unfortunately, he was also a bit of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy. He never worked according to the schedule of jobs I gave him, electing instead to triage them on his own, doing the ones he thought shouldn’t wait, regardless of when the client was expecting us. He would just call and rearrange the whole day’s work schedule without asking. Since our customers seemed to love him, we hadn’t had complaints or anything, but there had been some problems with him going to pick up materials that weren’t ready because he decided to do the job in the morning instead of the late afternoon like it was scheduled. I was coping with his incessant need to control his own schedule because it hadn’t caused customer service issues yet.

Our revenue was up, and our expenditure was certainly down since Mark wasn’t here to skim off the top. He’d called for a while, trying to get his job back. When that didn’t work, he got belligerent and threatening. Since he’d been kind enough to leave threatening voicemails and text messages, getting a no-contact order hadn’t been difficult. The auditors were scheduled to come in next month and I’d frozen all our records from the time Mark was running the business. I couldn’t wait to get the ball rolling on that. Companies that did that kind of work were usually booked solid. I was lucky to get the appointment I had made with them.

And then there was Katy Purry. At first, I was kind of standoffish, but the more she rubbed against my legs and tried to sit on my lap, the less wary I became of her and I kind of got used to having a cat in the office. When everyone was out, she was company. I wouldn’t exactly say we were fast friends, but I did allow her to lounge in the windowsill behind my desk and we played laser light a couple of times a day. Benny had been as good as his word about cleaning the litter box every evening when he picked her up. Being his cat sitter had turned out to be much less problematic than I thought it would be.

Over lunch on our first day, Benny had confessed that he’d added the kitty clause to the contract as a way to wind me up. But he had genuinely been worried about leaving her all day. Apparently, the set up was only temporary, and the person who was supposed to be rehoming Katy Purry would be collecting her in a few weeks. I had to say, after getting to know her, I was kind of hoping that the person changed their mind. Either that, or I’d have to consider advertising for the permanent position of office cat.

When my phone rang disturbing the peace, I didn’t answer it because it was the ringtone I’d assigned to my old boss. That fantasy of him begging me to come back to work for him kind of came true but it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I think he just didn’t want to have to train a new person.

This morning I was processing payroll. It didn’t take long because there were so few of us who work for the company. Lost in my work, the whole day slipped by before I knew it.

When my phone pinged, I almost didn’t check it because I thought it was my old boss texting me again. It was a good thing I decided to look, because it was Zoe inviting me for drinks at the Slayers’ clubhouse. I texted her back that I would, and then I wrapped up my work.

By the time Benny came to pick up his cat I was ready to go. When he saw me in my jacket with my purse on my shoulder, he asked, “You’re pretty eager to get out of here. Got a hot date or something?”

“Nope, just drinks with Zoe at the clubhouse,” I told him. I could tell by the intense way he was looking at me that he was thinking about the last time we were at the clubhouse together.

“You’ll be in my neck of the woods then,” he commented while looking at me intently.

“Yeah, I don’t socialize with employees. Just thought I get that out in the open.”

He scooped up Katy and glared at me. “Is that what you think of me? As your goddamn employee?”

I was taken aback by his response. “That’s not what I meant,” I told him. Benny had a tendency to get offended too easily.

“I asked you a damn question. Do you think of me as your employee, someone who reports to you and you have control over?”

I took a step back and tried to reel him back in from whatever had sparked his anger. “Jesus, Benny. Calm the hell down. I wasn’t trying to set you off.”

“Why won’t you answer the question? Do you think you’re too good to socialize with me at the clubhouse because you see me a mere employee?”

“I do pay you for going on jobs.”

“If that’s how you feel, maybe I should start looking at you as my office help. You keep my calendar, answer my business line, and sort out my invoices, right?”

“Look, we can call it being co-workers if you like. It’s not a good idea for co-workers to socialize together. It’s not professional.”

Curling his upper lip, he snarled. “I hate to say this but you’re a liar. Want me to tell you how I know?” Without waiting for me to answer, he told me. “It’s because Harvey told me that your folks always invited their employees to their house for cookouts and bowling with them. Correct me if I’m wrong but you said you’d be running this office just like your mother, who socialized with employees, but you think you’re too good to socialize casually with me on my club’s property. Where does that leave me? Should I run and hide every time you decide to come and hang out with my club president’s wife?”

“No, of course not. Why are you so upset? Explain it to me like I’m five because I just don’t get it,” I knew I probably should have phrased my original comment differently, but I really didn’t know why he was getting so angry.

Taking a step closer, his expression turned dark. “I’ll tell you exactly why I’m pissed. It’s because women like you enjoy coming to the clubhouse, hanging around the bad boys and soaking up the biker ambiance but you’d burn in hell before you socialize with us, right?”

Exasperated, I told him, “Turning this business around is the most important thing in my life right now. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize our professional relationship. I’m just trying to set and maintain good boundaries.”

“Yeah, I’m hearing what you’re laying down. You’re the queen bee who sees me as one of your drones. I’m not a real person in your eyes, just a mechanism to make money for your business. You aren’t gonna let anything stand in the way of our lucrative partnership, right?”

“This partnership is working for you as well as it’s working for me. I just don’t want to complicate an already complex situation.”

“I’ll make it easy for you. Offering to show you around the basement at our clubhouse was the biggest mistake I ever made, and I’m fucking thrilled that you turned me down. Trust me when I say, you don’t have to worry about me approaching you for any reason at the clubhouse. I’ll pretend you’re not even there.”

I felt overwhelmed and bewildered by his reaction to our situation. “I’m sorry, Benny. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“For starters, you could stop calling me Benny. It’s Mr. Ross to you. Remember, all you care about is making money and being professional. Fuck the actual human beings, right?”

Before I could respond, he stalked out the door with his cat tucked under his arm. There had been several of these situations where he got a bug up his ass about something. I didn’t think I’d ever truly understand men, but it sounded like he either thought I was frigid and cold hearted and just interested in exploiting him for his labor—or that I liked to hang out at the Dark Slayers clubhouse, and drink their free booze with no intention of letting any of the men get close to me because I thought I was better than they were.

***

Since I wasn’t cold-hearted or frigid like Benny insinuated, I decided to prove it by embracing every new experience I’d been holding myself back from sampling. I decided to go home and put on something that matched my new outlook of trying everything once. I showered, put on lacy underthings, a short black skirt, thigh-high stockings, and spiked heels. I added a white silk button-up vest with nothing underneath and some light makeup and jewelry. After brushing out all my long brown hair into soft waves, I felt sexier than I ever had in my life. Standing in front of my floor-length mirror, I decided that I could give those club girls a run for their money tonight if I wanted to.

On the drive over to the clubhouse, I decided not to mention the disagreement I’d just had with Benny to Zoe or Alison. Truthfully, I simply didn’t want to rehash and analyze it. I preferred to have a nice, cold margarita and kick up my heels for the evening and put the whole thing out of my mind. Tonight I would have fun.

When I arrived, Zoe and Alison were already there sipping on refreshing drinks. Seeing them fitting in, happy and carefree, triggered something in me. I wasn’t a cold-hearted stick in the mud no matter what Benny thought. I vowed to really let my hair down tonight. I was going to drink, not worry about driving home and I was going to socialize with every single brother in the damn building, I thought bravely.

That’s when I noticed that there were no brothers in attendance tonight. I made a beeline for my friends and grabbed an empty chair at their table.

Alison teased me, “Hey didn’t I just see you here like five weeks ago?”

“Yeah, I had a nice time and decided to come back for more.”

“Well, you’re dressed to kill. Every brother in the building is going to try and get with you if you’re not careful.

“Oh, I plan to be everything but careful. Unlike last time, I’m going to leave this clubhouse saying I came, I saw, and I kicked all kinds of ass.”

Zoe and Alison gave me twin expressions of confusion. Alison said, “Say what now? Explain.”

“I’m tired of being the mousy little office manager who always counts her drinks, plays it safe, and never lets loose. Tonight I’m going to enjoy my drinks, flirt with every single brother I come across, shoot pool, dance, and maybe take a peek down in the basement. I’m going to do everything I was too scared to do before.”

Alison lifted up her drink in a salute. “You only live once, my friend. And life is meant to be enjoyed.”

Zoe, on the other hand, cautioned me, “Just remember if you want something to stop, you have to say it out loud. The men here can’t read your mind.”

Alison just stared at her sister. “I can’t believe any of the brothers would do something she didn’t want. They’re not like that.”

Turning to me she asked, “What’s driving this sudden need to be wild at a biker bar?”

Since I promised myself not to point fingers at Benny, I simply said, “Someone accused me of being cold and not caring about fellow human beings. I hate that I come across that way, so I decided to change it up.”

“And you’re intent on proving to yourself that you can open yourself up to exciting new experiences and engage with people, right?”

I nodded my head and just as I was about to reply, Rosie dropped off my margarita. I grinned up at her and said, “I plan to drink a million of these tonight.”

Rosie chuckled and responded cheerfully, “Along with the fifth or sixth drink I’ll be sure to include a barf bag.”

Glancing around again as Rosie walked off, I realized there were still no brothers, just a bunch of women hanging balloons and streamers. I gestured around the room. “I can’t really flirt or dance if there are no brothers. Are they all at a biker rally or something?”

“Nope. They’re having church in the back meeting room,” Zoe said, gesturing towards the back of the bar.

I guessed my confusion was apparent because she clarified, “Church is just what they call their club meetings.”

Alison chimed in, “I’m surprised you didn’t know they were having church this evening. Since Benny’s getting patched in tonight.”

“If he gets enough votes,” Zoe clarified. After studying my stunned expression, Zoe guessed, “You didn’t know, did you?”

I shook my head because I understood what a big deal it was for the prospects to finally be accepted by the brothers as a full-fledged member of the Dark Slayers MC. I just didn’t realize it was Benny’s turn to get voted in.

Alison’s expression turned worried. She ran her finger around the rim of her margarita glass, scooping up some of the salt and brought it to her lips. Then she asked, “I wonder why he didn’t tell you? I thought the two of you would be close, being partners for coming up on a month now.”

I closed my eyes and came clean with my friends. “We’re not close. He doesn’t even like me.”

Zoe gave me a knowing look. “Let me guess, he’s the one who said you were closed off and cold-hearted, right?”

“Yeah, all I said was that we shouldn’t socialize when I come to the clubhouse. He lost his mind and accused me of thinking he was just a worker and not someone worthy of socializing with.”

Zoe tilted her head to the right as her expression turned perplexed. “Well, do you? Do you see the brothers as just a bunch of low-class bikers, bad boys from the wrong side of the tracks?”

“No! Of course not. How could ask me something like that?”

“For two reasons. First, Benny isn’t stupid. If he said that, it’s because that’s the impression he got from you. And second, because I was really confused the first time I met Storm. Much like you, I’d lived an upper-middle-class life growing up. I honestly didn’t know what to make of the Dark Slayers or of him. He was so different to anything I’d ever known. I had a hard time trusting him. Does any of that ring a bell?”

I thought it over for a few minutes, really digging down deep to see if I had any of that going on. After considering it for a few moments, I shook my head. “No. I think Benny is smart, capable, and even handsome. Unfortunately, he also has a really difficult personality. I often find myself in conflict with him and don’t even know how I got there. I don’t think he’s being difficult intentionally. It just happens. To be honest, my bright idea of keeping our relationship strictly professional was mostly because I don’t trust myself not to end up in some huge fight that blows up our professional relationship.”

Zoe squinted her eyes as though she was trying to remember something. “I think I know what you’re talking about. I had a sit down with him after the meeting Storm arranged for the two of you. He made some comment about how the club president’s wife had never sat down and talked with him before, and he sounded like he was accusing me of snooping into the situation with you. He was convinced you were going to take on the role of queen bee and make him a worker bee.”

I almost choked on my margarita in my haste to point out, “He said something like that to me today too, insinuating that I only value him for the money he makes for my family business.”

Alison threw in her two cents’ worth. “This is coming from a woman who’s had a lot of experience with therapy. It sounds like he has a chip on shoulder.”

I snorted a laugh. “Why would that handsome, competent bastard doubt himself? He’s like the whole package, even with whatever this chip is.”

Zoe’s mouth snapped shut, almost like she knew, but wasn’t going to say. “We shouldn’t be gossiping about a club brother with you, Lacey. If you want to know what makes Benny tick, you should spend time getting to know him.”

Alison immediately agreed with her sister. “Zoe’s right. The way I see it, trying to play it safe by being standoffish in order to preserve your professional relationship might end up doing just the opposite. Even if he has a difficult personality at times, Benny is still Slayer material.”

Zoe added, “Storm calls that having the right stuff. It means he’s honest, loyal, dependable, and always willing to go the extra mile for a friend or a brother. He would be a good person to have in your corner, and pissing him off constantly might not lead to a good outcome for you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Zoe?” I asked, wondering if she was hinting that he’d be vindictive. I’d had enough of that with Mark, and I really didn’t need another disgruntled employee.

Zoe frowned at me. “It means that he might get fed up with being treated like he’s just a cog in the machine and quit. He’s not obligated to keep working with you, right?”

“Well no, but I’d sure like it if he did. He’s a good electrician and master electricians are hard to find.”

Alison look a drink of her margarita and lowered her voice. “I’m not saying you have to date him or be besties with him but maybe it would be better if you could treat him like a person rather than a valuable commodity for your business. Surely it wouldn’t kill you have an occasional drink or conversation with him in passing when you’re both in the clubhouse.”

My mouth fell open, because when she put it that way, I could see where I went wrong. We didn’t work for a big corporation. My family business was a small, casual mom and pop operation where we treated our employees like family. So, why was I trying to keep Benny at arm’s length?

Just then there was a big commotion near the back of the room and a bunch of brothers came flooding out. Benny was among them. He had his shirt off and my mouth went dry at the sight of his ripped body. His shoulder-length hair was no longer tied back at the nape of his neck in a ponytail. Instead, it was messy, like he’d just roughhoused with one of the brothers. He was carrying a leather vest in one hand. He stopped to put it on, and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

It hit me hard and fast that this was indeed why I’d been trying to keep him at arm’s length. It wasn’t because he was a rough and ready biker, a master electrician, or because he was my business partner. It was because he was smoking hot, and I didn’t know what to do with my attraction. I turned my back to him and began gulping my margarita. Shit. Shit. Shit. How could I have been so stupid?