Page 24 of Sins of a King
“Yes.”
Flynn’s girlfriend must come to the club enough to recognize a change in staff. Bitterness and bile churned in my stomach.
“I’ll have a vodka gimlet. Up. And Flynn will have his usual.”
My smile remained in place. “Mr. Campbell is joining you?”
“Yes.”
“Fantastic,” I chirped. “Be right back with your drinks.”
My steps were heavy as I made my way toward the bar. I waited for Jake to make my drinks and then approached the booth again. I nearly stumbled when I saw Flynn in the middle of a heated discussion with Lana. The woman grabbed the lapels of his suit, but he shrugged her off, his face an angry picture. Lana’s gestures and body language were all supplication, but Flynn wasn’t giving an inch. He said something and pointed to the door. Lana pouted. Flynn waited. She grabbed her clutch and left.
I moved forward, careful not to spill the drinks. I slid past Flynn and set them down on the table. “Your friend ordered these while she waited for you.”
“She’s not my friend.”
“Your girlfriend,” I corrected.
“She’s not that either.”
“None of my business,” I said, finally making myself look him in the eyes.
“Barrett—”
“I have to get back to work.” I attempted to turn away from him, but he placed a hand on my arm. I glanced down at it like I wondered how it had gotten there. He slowly removed it as if he didn’t want to.
By the end of my shift, all I desired was a glass of wine and my pajamas, but Chelsea had other ideas. “Come on,” she said. “We’re going to grab a slice.”
“We are?” I asked.
“Yup. My morning class was canceled. Professor has a meeting with the Dean or something, so I finally can enjoy my night and then sleep in tomorrow. Grab your stuff, let’s go.”
I looked at Lacey. She nodded, letting me know she’d tell Flynn. I hated that I had to report to either of them, but at least I was free to go.
When I was nibbling on a slice of pepperoni, she asked, “So, are you going to stop lying to me?”
“Lying? About what?”
She gave me a look. “About what’s really going on between you and Mr. Campbell?”
“Nothing. He has a girlfriend. She came in tonight.”
“And left pretty quickly. Every time I see you and Mr. Campbell together, it’s like you guys can’t stop eye-fucking each other. Unless of course, you’re pretending to ignore one another.”
The rational side of my brain told me it was dangerous for Chelsea to be noticing anything when it came to my interactions with Flynn. The emotional side, however, was infinitely glad that Flynn seemed as torn up about me as I was about him.
“Nothing’s going on,” I denied.
“But you want there to be.”
“I won’t be the girl who sleeps with her boss. Too much unequal power, ya know?” It was an easy excuse, but maybe Flynn was right—sleeping together while I worked for him would only complicate things, befuddle the mind.
“I respect that,” Chelsea said.
“What about you? Any guy on the horizon?”
“Nah, I don’t have the time. I can’t wait for winter break. I might catch more than five hours of sleep at a time.”
