Page 17 of Smut Lovers
Chapter Four
Cal
I t was a chilly, rainy October afternoon with no break in the steely cloud cover thickly blanketing the area.
Cal sat in the booth, across from her, entranced as he watched her eat a new dish he’d put together especially for her. Vegetarian, just the right amount of heat she liked, and loaded with her favorite veggies, tofu, and a new coconut broth recipe.
Over the past four months since he’d taken over he found himself looking forward to her calling or coming in nearly every day.
Especially when she ate in, so he could sit and chat with her.
Although he still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask if she’d want to go out with him.
Even just as friends. He knew from Mae’s less than subtle prompting that she was single, but he didn’t feel right going there in conversation because the last thing he wanted to do was put uncomfortable pressure on her.
“You really like it?” he asked.
She glanced up, her left eyebrow adorably arched. She had gorgeous mahogany eyes that, in the right light, held flecks of amber and honey. She wore her auburn hair pulled back in a loose ponytail low on her head.
“I’m going to keep eating until I find something I like,” she said. “How about that?” The corner of her mouth quirked in a playful smile.
He snorted. “Let me know if I need to dish you up another serving so you can keep looking.”
“I might just need to.”
He also loved that her humor was snarky, like his. “I’m glad you stopped by today. I was starting worry.” It’d been over a week since she’d called or came in.
Did she blush?
“Sorry. I had to fly out of town for a gig. Sometimes I’m required to do studio work on-site instead of remotely. It was last-minute. They hired me to fill in for another actor who had to drop out of the project.”
“Ah. Do they pay for your transportation?”
“This time they did, due to the circumstances. I’ve worked with them quite a few times. Sometimes on travel jobs I have to eat the flight and claim it on my taxes.”
“How often do you need to fly?”
“Five or six times a year. I’m lucky most of my work can be done at home.
” She frowned. “Unfortunately, the building next to mine was sold two months ago. Starting next week it will be demolished, along with three others around it, to put up a new high-rise condo complex. Not sure how I’ll handle that. ”
“What do you mean?”
“Construction noise. I would prefer not to record at night, but that might end up being my new default. At least for a while.”
The words were out of his mouth before he could chase them and shove them back down his throat. “You could set up a studio here.”
Up went her eyebrow again. “At a reasonably busy restaurant?”
“I mean upstairs. The apartment upstairs. We don’t pick up here until late afternoon. There’s a small storeroom upstairs at the far end of the building and away from the kitchen. It’s windowless. I can easily move things around so you can turn it into a studio.”
She considered it. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t know if I can swing extra rent. I do okay most months, but I put away every extra cent into my savings for rainy days.”
“Who said I’d charge you?”
Now both her eyebrows soared skyward. “I can’t move my studio here and not pay you, Cal.”
“I could sic Mae and Phor on you.” He knew she visited them nearly every week even though his path hadn’t yet crossed with hers there.
She sat back. “That’s just playing dirty.”
What he wanted to do was move her into the upstairs apartment and hope the close proximity helped her see his attraction to her.
What he knew he absolutely couldn’t do was pressure her about that. Because then she’d disappear like steam into the hood vent.
So what he said was, “If you’re really worried about the cost, you can work an hour or two a day answering the phone for us and running the cash register.”
“I can’t wait tables, Cal. I can’t stand on my feet that long, much less carry trays.”
“You won’t have to. We’ll put a comfy stool for you behind the counter. Then you can also monitor the take-out shelf. Think of it this way—if you work an average of an hour a day at $15 per hour, that’s $75 a week, right? Figure four-week months, and over a year that’s about…”
He did the math in his head. “About $300 a month. Some days I’m sure you won’t work as long, and some days you’ll likely work longer, so it’ll average out. That’s more than enough for that tiny space. Meaning I’ll pay you in free food to balance it out.”
“Isn’t $15 an hour awfully high pay for that?”
He shrugged. “It’s whatever rate I say it is. If it was a clerk job anywhere else, it’d probably start around there.”
She studied him again. “What about days I’m in too much pain to come in?”
“So? Like I said, it’ll average out. I won’t put you on the schedule. That way if you call out it’s not like we’ll be short-handed.”
And then I’ll get to put eyes on you nearly every day.
But he was smart enough not to say that.
Duh .
“Tom isn’t really maximizing your social media presence, you know,” she said.
Cal nodded at the odd segue. Tom now lived with Mae and Phor, helping out since Phor was home from rehab.
“I’m too busy to do any of that stuff,” Cal said.
“I’m not a half-bad photographer. And I’m social media savvy. How about I take over running your social media accounts and website in addition to manning the counter? That way, if I’m hurting too badly to come in, at least I can be working like that.”
He reached over the table, extending his arm to offer a fist bump, because he knew from her pain she wasn’t fond of shaking hands. “Deal.”
She slowly nodded, gently returning the fist bump. “Okay, then. Deal.”
He hoped his triumph didn’t translate into a creepy smile. Tom might not agree with Cal making this executive decision, but he knew if he talked to Mae, explained it was helping Vi—as she’d asked him to call her—that would immediately settle things.