Page 22 of Stained
“No problem,” both Alicia and Danica said at the same time. Well, Danica said,No issue,but what was the diff? “It’s okay, Scott,” Alicia said to her manager. “I know this woman.”
Danica gestured to her assistant, who hastily pulled something out of his inside pocket and handed it to an unsuspecting Scott the Blue Bird Manager. “I would appreciate speaking to Ms. Colbert in private,” Danica said. “It’s of the utmost importance.”
Scott took the small piece of paper and went from neutral to gaping like a fish in fewer than five seconds. “Y…yes, ma’am.” The paper trembled in his hand. “Go on, Alicia!” he hissed in his employee’s direction. “What are you waiting for?”
“You’re serious.” The other hostess appeared, took one look at the developing situation, and hurried to seat the next round of guests. “I’m not due for a break yet.”
“Maddie will cover for you!” Scott pointed to the hostess now disappearing behind a column. He came closer to Alicia and lowered his voice. “Do you know who this woman is? Her company owns this place!”
Alicia had to refrain from shrieking in disbelief.I’m out of reactions. She’s sucked them all out of me.“All right. Fine. I refuse to get in trouble for this, though.”
“Trouble? What trouble? Keep the woman happy!”
Scott really had no idea, did he?
Danica left the restaurant as quickly as her shiny black shoes allowed her. The bodyguard followed them out, the Clayborns and the other men staying behind in the restaurant. A stretch limo was parked across four handicap spaces. The driver hopped out and opened the nearest door for Danica and Alicia to climb in. The bodyguard stood outside.
Well, this is fancy, even for her. Contrary to what many assumed about Alicia, she had been in the back of a limo before… for her friend’s bachelorette party two years ago.
That limo didn’t compare to this, though. Back then, Alicia had been impressed with the leather finish, the complimentary drink bar, the pocket cell phone, and touch controls that combined sophistication with practicality. The back of Danica’s limo was like a freakin’ RV! The woman pushed one button to dim the car lights and control the amount of tint in the windows. Alicia went from seeing the bodyguard one moment to nothing but faint streaks of sunlight. The air conditioner turned on, making her shiver in her collared shirt and slacks.
Or maybe that was Danica making her shiver. She seemed to have that power.
“So,” Alicia murmured, glancing between the folded hands in her lap and the powerful woman sitting across from her. The car had yet to start, let alone drive off anywhere. At least she wasn’t kidnapping Alicia. “Is this another booty call? You wannado it right here?” When Alicia made the joke about fucking her curbside, this was not quite what she had in mind. The least Danica could do was get out of the handicap spaces. “This would be the, what, second time you’ve fucked me on the job? At least I got permission this time, I guess.”
Once she realized her mouth was running, she struggled to catch it, rounding it up with her lips curling inward and her chest tightening in suspense. Danica cracked a small smile.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to give you the proper attention that I wish, Ms. Colbert.” Danica’s elbow rested against a ledge, fingers scratching her lip. “That’s why I wished to ask you out to dinner this Friday evening. I unexpectedly had an empty schedule that night.”
“Oh, well, if you have an empty schedule to shove me into…”
“I recognize your sarcasm, Ms. Colbert, but I’m serious. I’ve told you over and over that my time is valuable. Deciding who I spend my precious free time with is of the utmost importance to me. I’ve decided to try spending more of it with you.”
That was… almost romantic? Delivered with a soft tone, for sure, but there was a hollowness to her words. Alicia was watching a movie instead of living in this moment.
“Why?”
Danica sat back, body making the leather beneath her squeak. The strange thing? That was one of the most humanizing moments Alicia had ever seen with this woman. “Because I would like to. Does it have to be more complicated than that?”
Alicia shrugged. “You could have any woman. I don’t think I’m so special that you’re suddenly enamored with me, Ms. Moreau. We’ve had sex. Big deal.” It sort of was a big deal for her, now wasn’t it? Not that Alicia would let her see that. “I thought you would keep stalking me and finding out how you could touch me at a moment’s notice.”
The woman remained unchanged. “We could do it that way, if you want.” Danica squared her shoulders, eyes fluttering in thought. “Though I thought you might prefer a date here and there. I don’t go on many of them because of…”
“Time. Yup. Got it.”
Danica unleashed her devilish smirk. “If you don’t have time either, Ms. Colbert, we may be able to rearrange our schedules to include one another. If that suits you, that is.”
“To be totally honest, I have nothing to do Friday night.” The only big-ticket day Alicia was allowed to work at the moment was Sunday. Friday and Saturday were days she would get more experience at Blue Bird.Then I could start paying some bills…“I’m rather curious as to what you consider a date, Ms. Moreau. I’m sure sex is in there somewhere.”
She was still smirking. “Do you have a problem with that, Ms. Colbert?”
Considering how quickly her thighs were heating up, not at all.Could we do it in a bed this time?Danica’s bed? Would Alicia ever be so special? “No. If it feels agreeable in the moment, I don’t mind screwing your brains out.”
Danica’s perfume became more intoxicating as she leaned forward. “I was thinking more the other way around.”
“Of course you were. You’re the type who wants to always be in charge, right?”
Something sinister glistened in those amber eyes. “You truly have no idea, but I thought we might discuss that Friday night. How about I pick you up at your place around six or so?”
