“I’m sorry. I can’t sit down. I’m just here to pick up lunch for Lloyd and me. I’ve never been here before, but he has an addiction to the club sandwich.” He got a frown on his face. I wondered what I’d said to put that there.
“Lloyd? You’re married? I didn’t know. Sorry. I thought when you were the only one to come outside the other night, that you were single.” He glanced down at my ring finger.
“No! I’m not married. Lloyd is my boss. Lloyd Sanders. Do you know him?”
His face relaxed, and he was smiling again. “Oh, yeah, I know Lloyd. I hadn’t heard he had hired anyone new. I haven’t been to his office for over a year.”
“I started just over a year ago when Devyn and I moved here. I’m his paralegal.”
He took my arm. “Well, since you’re here on your lunch hour, let’s get you taken care of quickly.” Before I knew it, he was leading me past the bar and over to the hostess, who had directed me to the bar. I looked around to see if anyone was seeing us bypass that way. I didn’t want either of us to get into trouble. There was a line of people waiting to place orders at the to-go line. This didn’t include those seated at the tables and waiting for a seat.
“Kylie, I need you to put a rush on her order. She needs to get back to work.”
“Sure, no problem. What can I get you?” she asked me without batting an eye. Did he really have that kind of pull in here? He must have seen my concern and confusion.
“Darlin’, don’t worry. Neither of us will get into trouble. The Archangel’s Warriors own this place. I guess you could say I’m her boss.” He winked at me.
“I didn’t know your club owned it. I still don’t feel right jumping the line. Others have been waiting longer.”
He shrugged. “How about this? Let Kylie know your order and she’ll put it in at the end of the to-go orders already in line now. When it’s ready, we’ll have it brought over to the office. If not, you could be here for quite a while.” I thought about his idea. It made me feel better not to cut in line, and it would allow me to get back to work sooner.
“Are you sure it’s not any trouble to bring it to the office? I could run back to pick it up when it’s ready,” I volunteered.
Bull shook his head. “It’s no trouble. Let her know what you want, and we’ll bring it over when it’s done.” After I placed my order, he told me he’d see me later and headed behind the bar into what I assumed was the kitchen. Kylie said I could pay for it when it was delivered. With this out of the way, I hurried back to the office after thanking Bull and saying goodbye. When I walked in the door, my stomach dropped. There stood Jonathan. He gave me his creepy smile.
“Where have you been, Jocelyn?” he asked in that smarmy voice I hated.
“I was out getting Lloyd and myself lunch.” I walked over to Lloyd’s office as I answered him. “Lloyd, they were super busy, but someone will bring our order when it’s ready. I hope that’s all right.” He looked startled.
“That’s fine, Jocelyn. I wasn’t aware they were delivering now. Perfect.” He gave me a sweet smile. I turned to go to my desk and ran into Jonathan. I hadn’t known he had come up that close to me.
“Excuse me,” I said and looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to move. He took his time and made sure he brushed against me as he did it. I gritted my teeth. If it had been anyone else and not at work, I would have blasted him. I might have to if he didn’t stop. I went to my office and got back to work. I’d been working maybe a little more than a half hour when the office door opened. We had a chime that went off every time the door opened. Meg wasn’t always at the desk to greet people since she helped with pulling files and other duties. This way it generated an alert that we had a visitor. I sat back in surprise. Bull was the one coming through the door with a bag in his hands. I stood up and hurried out to him.
“Bull, I didn’t realize you’d be the one to bring our lunch. I’m sorry. I could have waited. Lloyd said he didn’t know The Dark Angel delivered. They don’t, do they?”
He smiled. “No, they don’t, but since you insisted on not cutting in line, I wanted to do it. It’s no problem. I have to go this way to go to the club. Everything should be here. I had Kylie double-check. Where do you want it?” I showed him to the compact break room we had in the back. I didn’t see Lloyd, but he might have gone to the restroom. I did, however, see Jonathan. He was staring at me and glaring daggers at Bull. I ignored him. Bull sat down the bag and I pulled out the containers. As I did, Lloyd came out of the restroom.
“Hey, Bull! What are you doing here? Something going on with the club?” They shook each other’s hands.
Bull shook his head. “Naw, Lloyd, the club is fine. I brought you and Jocelyn lunch from the Angel. We had a full house when she came in, so I told her we’d deliver.”
I saw Jonathan had come to the doorway and was listening to us. He was still glaring and giving me pissed looks. I saw that Bull noticed him. He gave him a puzzled look.
“Well, no matter the reason, it’s good to see you. We haven’t had a chance lately to sit down and talk. If you have time, why don’t you sit a spell, and we’ll catch up?” Lloyd told him. Bull agreed and then looked at me.
“Is everything there, darlin’? If not, I’ll have someone bring it.” I assured him the order was good. He gave me a wink, then went off with Lloyd. I took my food to my office. As I passed Jonathan, he stopped me.
“What is that biker doing here? I don’t know why Lloyd is friends with them. It’s bad enough we represent them and that club when someone gets into trouble. They’re nothing but a bunch of outlaws if you ask me. You should steer clear of them. You don’t want people talking about you, do you?”
I eased past him without responding. I wouldn’t engage in a debate with him. He stomped off to his office. As the time passed, I could hear Lloyd and Bull laughing in his office. Jonathan came out of his several times to glare at the door and then over at me. I acted like I couldn’t see him. It was over an hour later, before Bull came out of Lloyd’s office. I heard him say goodbye, then he came over to my office.
“It was good to see you again, Jocelyn. I—” He stopped speaking because Jonathan had stepped out of his office and was standing there listening. Bull shot him a look. Then he turned back to me. “We’ll talk later. Bye, darlin’.” I watched him as he walked out the door. I could feel Jonathan’s eyes on me. I pretended not to know he was there.
“How do you know Bull? He acted like you guys knew each other before today.”
I raised my eyebrow and looked at him. “I don’t think my relationship or how I know Bull is any of your business. Now, I’m busy and need to get back to work, Jonathan.” This was as catty as I’d ever been to him, but I had enough of his crap. He huffed off to his office. Thankfully, the rest of the day passed by quickly.
In no time, it was five o’clock. I got my purse and locked my office. I peeked in and told Lloyd goodbye. I was almost to my car and freedom when I felt someone grab my arm. I swung around to find Jonathan had a hold of me. I tried to jerk my arm away, but he had a tight grip on me. “What do you think you’re doing, Jonathan? Let go of me.” He didn’t. He moved closer.