Page 21 of Ruthless Secrets
She looks nervous, but that’s not surprising.
Levi rang the moment he spoke to Clara and voiced her concerns about working for the De Luca family.
It was a gamble approaching Clara with an offer to work at Nox, considering my family’s very public reputation, but I couldn’t get her out of my head.
But her silence doesn’t bode well for my plan to get her to work for me.
Her throat bobs as she looks up at me under her lashes. “I need some more time. I want to give my boss enough notice to find a replaceme?—”
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible.” I tuck my hands into my pockets. “I need someone who can start immediately and if that isn’t you, then so be it. I won’t have any trouble finding someone else.”
I’m not sure why I’m being so hard on her.
Do I want her to say no, is that it? It’s not unlike me to self-sabotage. After all, bringing her into my world is selfish. If I truly cared about this girl, I would have walked away and never looked back.
Clara’s face pales, and she fiddles with the hem of her white shirt.
My eyes roam over her body, taking in the curve of her hips and waist which are only amplified by her black skirt, and her shirt is pulled tight around her full breasts.
Images of her naked body flash through my mind, and I want nothing more than to rip off her clothes and fuck her up against the bar.
Though knowing my luck, she’s probably seeing someone and all of this has been for nothing.
“I-it’s okay. I can be here tomorrow, if that works for you.”
I regard her for a moment.
She’s so quick to obey my demands despite her moral desire to offer her current job notice.
Does she need money, is that it? Or is she motivated by something else?
“It works for me.”
Clara’s shoulders visibly relax, and I decide to save the interrogation for a later date. I don’t want to scare her away when I’ve only just got her through the door.
“So, do you have any questions for me before I show you around?”
Clara’s cheeks color again as our eyes meet, but she shakes her head.
Her blonde hair is longer than I remember it being, and she’s wearing it in loose curls around her shoulders.
“So, can I get you a drink?” I walk around the bar and grab two glasses.
It might be nine a.m. but in my world, it’s never too early for a drink.
“Not for me, I, uh…I have work.”
She’s not looking me in the eye, which has me intrigued.
Do I make her nervous? She certainly didn’t seem nervous the night we slept together, but then again, she had been pounding those tequila shots.
“Can I get you something else?”
“No, that’s okay. Oh, I do have one question.”
I finish pouring myself a drink. “Ask me anything.”
“It’s not a coincidence that I’m here, is it?”
