Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 124140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“Yes, some of us have places to be,” Tariq said smoothly. But Alejandro was aware of his interested look.
Fuck. He might have already played his hand.
You can’t play a hand you don’t hold.
The girl is nothing to you, and you need to forget about her.
“Bring the girl back in here,” Vince said with a bark. “I need another drink.”
He wanted to refuse. Why hadn’t he swapped her with a different server?
Fuck it.
He nodded to Reuben, who pressed a button that would buzz outside to let her know they wanted her.
When she walked in, she didn’t look at him. But he noted with satisfaction that her gaze didn’t go to anyone else either. She kept her face down and got everyone what they wanted without lingering by anyone or smiling at them or fucking touching them.
At one stage, Vince reached out to touch her, but before he could do anything, she dodged away.
“Don’t grope my employees,” he warned.
“You never minded with Starla,” Vince pointed out.
“Starla knows the ropes,” Reuben said smoothly. “We don’t want to break this one. She’s too young.”
“And ripe.” Jacques licked his lips.
Fucking sicko.
She looked over at him when she was finished and he nodded, dismissing her.
Reuben leaned into him. “I notice she’s showing far less skin now.”
Alejandro glared at him, but Reuben just gave him a smug look back.
Asshole.
Then he pushed any thought of the girl from his mind.
She wasn’t important, and after tonight, he’d likely never see her again.
4
Alejandro was back.
It had been two weeks since she’d seen him. She’d been starting to doubt that she’d see him again.
Cat finished taking her table’s order. They’d been a pain in the ass all night. They weren’t the restaurant’s usual clientele. But she guessed anyone who could pay was welcome. Most of the time, though, it was couples or suits bringing in clients for a quiet dinner and chat.
These guys were loud and rude.
Mind you, the other customers were still rude. They were just quieter about it.
Moving to the computer, she put in the order so it would send it out to the kitchen, then snuck another look over at him.
Lord, he was beautiful.
In a very dark, forbidden way.
Were they having another meeting? Would he ask for her to be their server? Starla wasn’t rostered on tonight. Cat tried to keep her excitement low-key.
Chill.
When she glanced over at him again, his gaze was moving around the room, but it skipped her.
As though he hadn’t even seen her.
Ouch.
She’d made a great impression, then.
Shit. What was she going to do? What if this didn’t work? What did she have without him? She tried not to think about that. Because then this would have all been for nothing.
She moved to the bar to collect the drinks order before taking another look around. Alejandro had disappeared.
Fuck it.
She’d lost another opportunity.
She made the rounds before picking up some of the meals for the table of assholes.
“Here you are. Two steaks and a chicken. The fish will be out in a moment.” As she bent over to put the last plate down, she felt a hand squeeze her ass.
She jumped and stepped back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sweetie. Now, why don’t you bend down and get my fork? I accidentally dropped it on the floor.”
“No, you didn’t.” It was in his hand.
The asshole held it up, then dropped it. “Oops.”
Fucking prick.
She ground her teeth together. Suddenly, someone pushed her gently out of the way and reached down for the fork.
“Here you go,” a guy said.
She glanced to the side and saw Alejandro’s bodyguard from the other night. The one with the Scottish accent.
“Fuck off. I didn’t want you to pick up the fork,” the guy sitting at the table said.
“Take it.” The bodyguard’s Scottish accent strengthened, and she saw the asshole swallow as he stared up at the big guy.
“Hey, man, we don’t have no issue with you. Just wanted the little waitress to do her job.”
“No, you wanted to touch her inappropriately again.”
“I didn’t touch her. Did I, sweetheart?” the weasel asked.
Did he seriously expect her to lie for him?
“Yes, you did. You touched my ass.”
“That’s what I thought,” Alejandro’s guy said. “Take it.”
The guy reached for his fork and the bodyguard grabbed his fingers, bending them back. The guy gasped, making a high-pitched squealing noise as he tried to pull away.
“Don’t ever touch what doesn’t belong to you. Got me?” The bodyguard kept his voice low. She glanced around, but while there were several people watching them, they likely couldn’t hear much of what was being said.
“You can’t do this! It’s illegal!” the weasel said in a high-pitched voice.
“Yeah? Do you really want to do this on De Leon territory?” the bodyguard had leaned in, his bulk dwarfing the guy in the suit. “Alejandro De Leon doesn’t allow disrespect to go unanswered.”