Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
“At least the next few days.”
“All right. Well, Julian thinks you should come home now, but all I’ve got is a reminder that Saturday is the scheduled meeting here for the final blueprint inspection for the Reservations expansion. Outside of that, the Iron Maya’s having their menu rollout. You’re scheduled to fly to Texas a week from tomorrow…yes, next Tuesday. You’ve got a conference call scheduled with regionals Wednesday, I believe. It’s all in your calendar.”
“Right,” Thane said, barely paying attention to a single word she said. He held the phone to his ear, anchored a hand against the door and dropped his head, wondering how the hell to get inside this restaurant without having to walk all the way around to the service entrance. When he closed his eyes, the images started again.
Levi’s body so hard and yet so giving against his.
His muscular chest and stomach, ripped and toned. Perfect in every way. Except that damn flush that ran from his chest up his neck and colored his cheeks.
Fuck!
He was driving himself insane thinking about the all-American boy good looks. Clean-cut and innocent, but something in Levi’s eyes said otherwise. The way he carried himself, proud of who he was but very afraid to let his guard down. Damn, this guy was a contradiction and one hell of a tempting distraction. His next thoughts were of that perfectly round ass and that hard as stone dick he’d felt grinding against him. Both were spectacular attributes—ones he desperately wanted to get his mouth on.
The frown tugged at his lips as dark thoughts started to fill his head. He’d offered more money than he’d ever paid anyone else. Hell, that amount would have made Julian giddy and Julian had been expensive to keep around.
“Maybe Julian’s right. He’s not for you,” Thane whispered to himself, jolting upright when Jenna spoke.
“Thane! You aren’t listening to me, are you?”
Hell no, he wasn’t listening. “Email me, I gotta go.” He ended the call, becoming more irritated by the second. He dialed the restaurant’s telephone number. When the phone was answered, he barked, “Open the front doors. I’ve been out here knocking for ten minutes.” He looked around when the Escape lobby grew silent, all eyes were on him.
He didn’t care in the least, but he lifted a hand, hoping it showed as some sort of apology. When the doors opened, he came face-to-face with Steve. He’d been a long-time employee from the earliest days of his company, transferred out here when the restaurant opened.
“I’ve heard you’re on a rampage which means something’s not right in your personal life. That’s fine, Thane, but we open in one hour. Whatever you’re going to put us through can’t stop prep.”
Thane stepped past Steve, ignoring all his little revelations and declarations. “I want to check the grill gates. We keep getting hit for those.”
Steve rolled his eyes and re-locked the doors. “Can’t you go deal with Julian? He can handle you better than I can.”
Thane left him standing there as he marched toward the kitchen. He scanned the dining room as he went and ticked off several possible concerns. No, they weren’t terrible, but still outside his standards. “I already see three corporate violations. It’s gonna be a long afternoon, Steve. You better call in extra staff.”
Chapter 10
Three days later
How had the best possible paying job turned into the worst employment ever in a matter of a week? Levi grabbed a couple of empty beer mugs off a table, swiped another cocktail glass off the four-top while giving a nod at the raised finger refill request the guy at the booth gave him. He walked the long way around to the bar, still trying to sort his thoughts. He’d gone out of his way so many times tonight he had to have added an extra mile of walking, all to avoid a chance meeting with a man he couldn’t get out of his head, a man who had the ability to wreck him with a single kiss. Thane Walker was a temptation he couldn’t afford to tangle with, but unfortunately, all his thoughts centered on that man.
Earlier that evening, Levi had even been pleasantly surprised when he’d come home from his shift at the clinic to find Linda and Logan cooking dinner. Luke had been in the kitchen, not necessarily helping, but also not locked away in his bedroom. They’d eaten together like a normal family—they hadn’t done that in so long. That had set a positive tone.
Yet, those few hopeful moments now paled with the tension Levi experienced. The rumor on the floor said Thane was in beast mode. He’d been finding fault with everybody and everything. The bar manager had quit before his shift had even started as well as the front-end manager in the fine-dining restaurant.
If the rumors were true, Thane had been working the dining manager’s shift and ended up firing two of the restaurant’s waiters after their shifts. Julian was in a tizzy, running around trying to put out all the little fires Thane started. Julian also helped tend bar, and Levi had just overheard an angry debate when Thane had entered the club tonight. Julian told Thane in no uncertain terms that he should never step foot inside this club again.