Page 35 of Lucifer's Revenge
“On the makeup front, I like what I’ve seen. We have talked about some concerns she’s having with one of the people on her team.”
“What type of concerns?”
“Lucius, what are you wanting to know?”
“Fine, did she say she was having any trouble with someone by the name of Brenda?”
“Yes. She even told me that Brenda is under the impression that you are going to ask her out on a date, any minute now. I don’t know if Starr’s said anything, and I know I haven’t because I have no idea who this woman is, but Starr and I talked two days ago. She glossed over some problems and said that by the time we get back from our trip, Brenda should be off her team. I did ask if it would hurt her, and she said no, because Brenda wasn’t carrying her weight now. It would be easier to kick her off the team than to continue to put up with her attitude.”
“Thank god.”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“The day after I met you,” he said as he looked over at her with a smirk. “The night I stole your French fries, and comped your meal. The day we met at the café for the first time.”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Starr came to the bar with her teacher and four other people. Three of them were going to help her with the makeup for the Bash. The fourth one was her teacher’s brother, and he was going to be in charge of set design. I don’t know if you know this, but I want the new addition to be like Hell. Or how I see it. Reds, blacks, smoke, glowing lights.”
“I can see it. What happened?”
“The day I met everyone, the club was there to meet the new artists. After meeting me, this Brenda character started saying how she would do my makeup, but I shut that shit down in a heartbeat. Starr backed me up and pointed to the ones that only she will work on. Me, Bandit, Gator, and it was supposed to be Hawk, but he can’t get the time off work, so she took Wolf.” He looked at her with a grin. “Yes, you know them by those names. Because those are club names for them, Starr decided to make them into actual characters. Anyway, Starr told her that becauseshe was the leader of the group, and I was her brother, no one but her touches me.”
They remained silent for several miles, both lost in their own thoughts. She squeezed the hand she still held, shook her head, and asked quietly, “What happened?”
She didn’t know if it shocked her or not when he jumped to answer. “I learned earlier this week at the church meeting that Brenda has been harassing the other ladies of the club, as well as my main bartender, Misty, that she’s going to be in charge of them soon.”
“I’m confused, how can that happen?”
“Well, first, she was asking Misty how much money the bar made on a daily basis, how much time I take off, and then she told the ladies that I’m playing hard to get, but I will soon be asking her out on a date. When that happened, then that meant that because she was dating the president in the club, that made her the first lady, and they would have to do her bidding.” He sighed heavily and took one hand to scrub his face, then massage the back of his neck.
“Hawk told me that people have seen her sketch book. It is full of drawings with the two of us, her and me, in compromising positions.”
“Jesus, is she delusional? She sounds obsessed with you.” Lilith stared at him in shock. “Wait, she does all this behind your back?”
“Yes, somehow she’s figured out when I’m not at the bar, and that’s when she tries to assert herself as the alpha female. I’m sorry, but in my book, you are my girlfriend, and though we don’t do what she says, but if we did, you would be in charge of the ladies of the club. I want you to know that I have never encouraged her in any way, shape, or form. The day I left that meeting, and she demanded to know where I was going, I flat out told her it was none of her business, but to set her straight,I informed her that I was going on a date. I didn’t find out until a few days later, when both Starr, and the men of the club told me that Starr shut her down in a second when she started whining about me seeing anyone but her.” He shook his head again. “I just hope this doesn’t come back and bite us in the ass, somehow.”
“I want to say not to worry about it, but this woman sounds unhinged. I can only say to watch your back.”
“You too, if she’s so obsessed with me, then there is no telling what she might have the mind to do in order to eliminate the competition. I don’t think she sees you as that yet, but in my eyes, there is no competition. You are it for me.” He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. They drove the rest of their way in silence, and when the GPS stated they had less than thirty minutes before they arrived at their destination, they stopped to fill the truck up with gas, use the facilities, and try to contain their excitement on the last leg of the trip.
Chapter 15
“Ready?” Lilith asked in excitement as they stood outside their hotel room door holding the key for them to enter.
“Yes,” he said with a grin, and watched as she inserted the electronic key, then nodded as she entered to hold open the door in order for them to get the three cases inside, along with the bag with the rest of the food. “Uh oh,” he said as she turned to shut the door. He looked at her with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s only one bed.”
Lilith paused as she saw it, then sighed heavily. Instead of making a big deal of it, she looked at him with a shrug. “I’m good with it, if you are.”
“I am,” he said with a wolfish grin, and tossed the bags on it. They took the next thirty minutes to explore the room, put away their clothes and toiletries, then he looked at her with a smile. “Are there any more sandwiches?”
“No, are you hungry?”
“No, I was just wondering what we would do with them, since I don’t see a mini fridge around.” He cocked his head to the side and stared in awe when she opened a door and pointed. “Ah, clever, keep it hidden. Now, since we ate on our last leg of the journey, and we’re all unpacked, would you like to tour the town? Maybe take in the sights, get something to eat for supper later, then come back here.”
