Page 17 of Before the Storm
Sucking in a deep breath, he gripped the handle and yanked open the door. “Pam, what are you doing here? This is my home and I don’t like it when people come over unannounced.”
“You’re joking, right?” She planted a hand on her hip, jutting it out. “You left work with two steaks. I heard you tell Jack you were hoping to cook dinner for someone. I was standing right there and you know I wasn’t on the schedule for the evening shift.”
“If I wanted to have you over, I would have asked.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of something. Please don’t come over again. I hate being rude, but you leave me with no other alternative.” He was going to have to bring his brothers into the conversation. This bordered on harassment and he wasn’t having anything to do with it.
Her big smile quickly faded. “What changed between when you left…” She peered over his shoulder. “…what is Janelle doing here?” Pam pushed him aside, nudging her way into his home.
“Pam. I have to ask you to leave.” He held the door open, but she didn’t listen. Fuck. This wasn’t going to turn out well. “Seriously. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
As Pam stormed into the room, Janelle stood in the kitchen like a deer in headlights.
Phoenix raced through the living room. This was the last thing he needed. He was sure Janelle didn’t need a confrontation with a co-worker.
“What’s going on here?” Pam set her purse on the counter. She glanced between Phoenix and Janelle.
“Dinner, what does it look like?” Phoenix said with a long breath. “This is who I was planning on cooking for.”
Pam’s face hardened. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Next, you’ll tell me she’s the one who rented the garage apartment when I told you that I was interested in it.”
Phoenix snagged the wine bottle and poured himself a large glass. “Only after I rented it and you have a place in town twice the size,” he mumbled before chugging his wine, wishing it were a shot of tequila. “Pam, I’m going to walk you to your car so I can make things perfectly clear once and for all.”
“Oh please, make them clear right here. I’m sure Janelle would like to know about how you’ve been dating me?—”
“For fuck’s sake, Pam. We’ve never dated. We’re never going to date. And if this doesn’t stop, you’re going to force my hand to take the kind of measure that won’t be good for you.” He pointed to the front door. “Please leave. Don’t make me do this the hard way.”
“Are you threatening me?” Pam glared.
“Take it however you want. But you are not welcome in my home. You’re my employee. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“That’s what Janelle is.” Pam snagged her purse, aggressively putting it over her shoulder. She leaned closer to Janelle. “You’re the new girl. I get it. All shiny and pretty. But remember, what he just did to me, he’ll do to you.” She looked Phoenix up and down. “I was warned about you. I didn’t want to believe it, but everyone was right. You’re a ladies’ man. Just another notch in your bedpost.” She turned on her heel and stormed through the house, slamming the front door.
Phoenix closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening them. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
Janelle gripped the counter, saying nothing.
“Are you okay?” He rested his hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. Her breath came in short pants. He could feel her heart beat wildly out of control. “Hey. That had nothing to do with you. Pam has been hitting on me for weeks and I thought I had it handled. I’ve told her numerous times that I wasn’t interested.”
Janelle took in a slow breath. “I should go,” she whispered.
“Don’t let what happened ruin the nice time we’ve been having.” He ran his hand up and down her tense back. He’d seen his share of battered women, and Janelle hit every single criterion.
She flinched every time he touched her.
She couldn’t deal with confrontation.
She was soft-spoken and struggled with authority.
But this seemed over the top.
A jealous woman getting under her skin like that shouldn’t be such a big trigger. Unless it was the way he handled it. He’d done his best to keep his voice level. He hadn’t yelled. Sure, he swore, but he’d been as respectful to both women as he could.
“I don’t want to cause problems with you and others at work,” she said.
“Trust me, you’re not.” He took a chance and gently gripped her by the biceps, turning her to face him. He caught her gaze.
Tears filled her eyes. One dribbled down her cheek.
He wiped it away.
