Page 57 of Encore

“Her happiness is my priority, and quite frankly she’s miserable without you. So don’t fuck this up, because you’ll lose something far worse than your job if you do.”

York chuckles. “Threatening his manhood, that’ll do it.”

“I was talking aboutLena,” I reply, pushing off the door.

“Of course you were,” York counters, side-eying me as we head down the hallway and towards the main floor of the club, not sticking around to listen to any more demands from Lena to open the door. It’s simple, they can sit in silence for the next couple of hours and not resolve a thing or they can hash this out once and for all.

“Not sure that it matters what I meant, I figured I made my point,” I say with a shrug.

“Yeah, I reckon you did,” he says, and when we reach the door, York blocks the way, wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me against his chest, dropping a sweet kiss against my lips.

“What was that for?” I ask when he pulls back and brushes his nose against mine.

“I love how youlove the people in your life. You’re the best person I know. Lena and Gray are lucky to have you interfering.”

“I just hope they figure this out, because honestly, they’ll be the lucky ones if they do.”

“Damn straight,” York says, checking his watch. “So what are we gonna do for the next two hours then?”

A smile pulls up my lips. “Oh, I can think of a thing or two.”

“Yeah?” York grins, his hands sliding down my spine before grabbing my arse cheeks. “Shall we christen the broom cupboard? I reckon it could be fun.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Eww, no thanks. Besides, I was actually talking about helping behind the bar given we’re down two staff members.”

“You want to work the bar?” York groans.

“Well you could grab a mop and bucket and clear up the vomit that lad has just chucked-up over the floor instead,” I say, looking through the window of the door, and eying the drunken lad stumbling around in his own vomit.

“Urgh, fuck that. The bar it is.”

“Thought as much,” I chuckle.

TWELVE

Running up that Hill

YORK

“Drink?”I ask Pen, waving goodbye to the last of the staff as they leave the club. It’s pushing three in the morning and despite us both really enjoying working the bar, Pen looks exhausted. I should probably get to bed soon as well, even though I’m not feeling all that tired.

“Sparkling water, please,” she replies, dropping onto the seat of one of the booths that circles the dance floor and pulling out her phone, presumably checking for a message from Lena.

“Coming right up,” I reply, grabbing us both a drink from behind the bar.

“And some lemon,” she adds.

“You don’t need to ask. I know how you like it,” I say with a hint of suggestiveness and a waggle of my brows, because, I’m sorry, she walked right into that one.

“You sure do,” she agrees, smiling up at me as I set her drink down on the table and take a seat opposite her.

“Everything okay?”

Pen nods, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “Lena sent me a message.”

“Yeah? What does it say?” I ask, taking a swig from my own glass of water.

“She said;Tell York thanks.”

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