Page 62 of The Cask

He hit the button to unlock the doors and we took off running toward his SUV. Climbing in, I was slightly out of breath from the mad dash. He started the engine, turned on the heat, and turned down the music.

He looked in the backseat before he looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“I am.” I reached over and touched his forearm. “Thanks to you.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “I don’t have a towel or anything for you to dry off.”

“The heat is working perfectly.”

“Good. I’m going to check something real quick.”

He hopped out and went to his trunk. When I saw him pass by with a flashlight, I cracked the window and yelled, “You’re going to get soaked!”

Ignoring me, he continued to my car, inspecting each tire. His grey hoodie was dark with rain by the time he looked at the last tire. When he made it back to the car, he was drenched.

My eyes widened. “I think I have towels in the bar. Let me get you something to dry off.”

He had a contemplative look on his face. “I’m fine. But uh…” He hesitated as he turned in his seat to face me. “What’s going on?” He pointed in the direction of my car. “That wasn’t an accident.”

“I’m not trying to get in your business and what you have going on with Luxe,” I started slowly. I knew I had to approach what I was about to say carefully if I wanted the outcome I was hoping for. “But what did you say to Kim?”

I saw the confusion pull at his handsome features. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just wondering what you said to her because the situation just seems to have gotten out of control and I don’t even understand why.” I made sure my expression remained puzzled as I lifted my shoulders. “Did you fire her or something?”

“Hold up, what are you saying? Are you saying Kim did this?”

“What I’m saying is that I got a visit from her earlier tonight. She came into my place of business, made some wild accusations in front of customers, told me to watch my back, and then left.”

His eyes looked like they might bulge out of his head. “Kim?! Kim threatened you?”

“Yes. Well, actually, I asked if it was a threat and she said it was a promise.”

“What did she say exactly?”

I recounted the entire exchange. His jaw clenched as he listened. He kept looking away from me and toward Luxe. When I finished giving him the play-by-play, I asked my question again. “So, what did you say to her? Did you fire her or something?”

He scrubbed his face with his hands. “I told her that I was going to bring Jonah down here to see if this would be a better fit for him.”

“Well, she said that I fucked up her job situation and so she was going to fuck up mine.” I bit down on my bottom lip and exhaled loudly. “I didn’t do anything to warrant her destroying my brand-new tires and preventing me from getting home.”

“I can’t believe she would do something like that. That’s not her. That’s not… Fuck!” He hit his steering wheel so hard I thought it was going to power the car down. He looked over at me. “I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t sure if he was apologizing for his angry outburst or for Kim, but I didn’t want to ruin the momentum by asking. I reached over and grabbed his hand. I ran my thumb over his knuckles.

“Should I be worried?” I whispered.

“No.” He clenched his jaw. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll take care of it.”

I was about to open my mouth to ask what he planned to do, but his phone rang.

He answered, “Hello?” Pausing for a moment, he looked around until he spotted the towing company pulling up. “Yeah, that’s the one. I’ll get out and get the paperwork for her to fill out.”

Once he hung up, he held out his hand. “I just need the key to your car.”

“Omari.” I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t mind going out there.”

He leaned over the middle console and kissed me. “I told you. I got you.”

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