“Nice, Chad.”
He stalked towards me with a determined look in his eye. Vance’s body tensed and he tightened his grip on me. Chad was suddenly standing right in front of me, grabbing a stray hair, and tucking it behind my ear. “You remember how hot we were together, don’t you baby?” He asked. “You have no idea how much you haunt me, do you? Even after all this time, I’ve never found anyone who can come close to competing with you.”
“Well, not for lack of trying, that’s for sure.” I blurted out. “Even while we were still together, remember?”
“Ah yes, that is something I have come to regret. I wish I would have known you were open to exploring like this.” He nodded towards the room. “Things could have been very different for us, lover. We could be in the middle of one of our infamous all-nighters right now.”
Vance’s fist clenched as he said “Look buddy, I think you need to back off.”
“Is that so?” Chad replied. “And I suppose you’re going to be the one to make me?”
“If I have to.” He moved in front of me, clenching both fists.
“I’d like to see you try.” Chad taunted. “C’mon pussy, give me your best shot.”
In a move so fast that I could barely track it, Vance threw a punch. Unfortunately, his clenched fist landed in Leo’s hand instead of on Chad’s face. Leo held Vance in a punishing grip until he backed down. Where the hell did he come from anyway?
“Gentleman.” He said, looking at both men sternly. “I’d like to think that I run a nice establishment here. I would hate to see that soiled with such childish behavior.” He spared a glance in my direction. “I can certainly appreciate the source of your anger; this beautiful woman is unquestionably a prize to be treasured, but I will not tolerate fighting in my club. Agreed?” Okay, I may have blushed a little with the beautiful comment.
Neither men said a word, but they both nodded. Leo seemed satisfied so he turned to me and said, “My dearest Karli, I do have some business to discuss with you. Would you please accompany me back to my office?”
“Right now?” I asked. He nodded. “Um, sure.” What could he possibly have to discuss with me?
Vance stepped forward in protest, but Leo held his hand up. “Mr. Alexander, if you would please go to the bar, I will have Sonia prepare a drink for you, on the house. I should only need a few minutes of Karli’s time then you two can be on your way.” He looked at Chad and said, “As for you, I would like you to leave right now. I do not want to worry about you two while I’m gone.”
“But---” Chad argued.
“It is not open for negotiations Mr. O’Brien. I know you’re a regular here, and I appreciate your business. I am willing to overlook tonight’s indiscretion based on your history with us, but I will not give you a second chance. If you wish to visit this establishment again, I suggest you leave now with no further comment.”
Chad turned around and walked away, muttering something under his breath.
I glanced up at Leo as he reached for my hand. “Shall we?” He asked.
Vance seemed like he was going to follow us but I shook my head at him and mouthed “I’ll be fine.” He pressed his lips into a fine line as Leo and I walked down the hall.
Leo motioned for me to take a seat when we arrived at his office. “Would you care for a drink?” He asked.
“Oh, no thank you. I think I’ve had plenty to drink tonight.”
“Ah, yes. You did seem like you were…..having a good time out there.”
Oh crap! He saw that? I looked up at the security monitors and got a clear view of the room that I had just vacated. Oh God, I think I just broke the record for most embarrassing moment with your boss. Blushing profusely I said, “Uh yeah, sorry about that. I’m not normally like this. I’ve just had a lot going on lately, and I had like five or six shots, and well, there’s people having sex everywhere you look around here! Things just kinda happened.”
“Please, do not apologize for indulging your body’s desires.” He said with a grin. “That’s what this place is for. It is Mr. O’Brien who should be apologizing for interrupting you right before you were about to really enjoy yourself.” Okay scratch what I said before. This was the most embarrassing moment.
“Um, I’m assuming you didn’t call me back here to talk about that, did you?” I asked, completely mortified.
“No, of course not.” He replied. “I just wanted to let you know that I will be spending my evenings at Pixie Dust once it reopens. I want to keep an eye on things in case this demon is targeting my employees. I’ve already reserved a room at the hotel so I can be there during the day if need be.”
“Well, I appreciate the offer, but that’s really not necessary.” I said. The last thing I needed right now was to spend more time with a vampire. Especially not this vampire.
“Karli, I wasn’t asking for your permission. I do own the place if you recall.” Shit, now I’ve stepped in it! “As one of my Head Bartenders, I thought you should know.” He added. “Besides, it is my responsibility to ensure my employee’s safety. I’ve made many enemies throughout the years. It’s possible this could all be a personal attack on me.”
“You really think so?”
“I have no idea at this point. Hopefully I will know more as your detective does his job.”
“He’s not my detective.” I corrected.