‘She’ll be done soon,’ he said.
‘Why isn’t she done already? Her shift’s finished.’
The guy frowned. ‘Because I pay her to clean up, not that it’s any of your damn business.’
Alex lowered his voice—the solution to his problem suddenly obvious. ‘How much do you pay her?’
‘Twenty-two bucks an hour plus tips—what’s it to you?’ the man replied.
Alex did a quick calculation—figuring in the fact her tips would go up in the evenings. ‘I’ll pay you three times that to ensure she never works a night shift or a weekend again, and to bump up her tips in the daytime to whatever she’s getting in the evenings,’ he said, keeping his voice low.
Eleanor would get her panties in a knot if she knew about the deal with her boss, but that was too bad. He needed to figure out this situation. And not just because he wanted to get laid more often and he didn’t want to have to drag himself out of a warm apartment to ensure she got home safely. But because he didn’t want her working herself to exhaustion. He didn’t want her freezing her gorgeous tush off in sub-zero temperatures either. Nor did he want her to risk getting accosted by some low life while walking home alone in the middle of the night.
Plus he wanted her nights and weekends free, so she could spend the time with him. Instead of serving drinks to strangers. He’d understood why she’d insisted on paying her own way—after he’d got over being pissed about having to agree to her compromise. Eleanor’s independence and her pride were important to her. He got that, and in a lot of ways he admired her for it. But her insistence on working was screwing up his plans for their Christmas hook-up.
The bar owner took a moment to consider the offer, then shrugged. ‘Okay, man, I guess I can give the extra money to the people taking the shifts in her place.’
‘Great.’ Alex held out his hand and they shook on it.
His protective instincts had been dormant for so long, it felt weird to worry about someone else’s welfare. But the weight of responsibility didn’t bother him too much as he watched Eleanor drag off her apron and tuck it under the bar.
The wide smile which split her face as she spotted him had the weight sinking deep into his abdomen. He made the decision to cancel the meeting he had scheduled for tomorrow and take the weekend off. He’d been sent box seats to the opening night of a show at the Winter Garden Theatre, followed by some fancy after-party.
‘Alex.’ She waved, her slumped shoulders lifting. The genuine pleasure in her expression made his heart thump. He ignored the heady reaction. What they had was still just an extended booty call, which would be ruined if she got a frostbitten butt.
‘You didnae need to come get me,’ she said as she headed towards him. Her Scottish accent was always more pronounced when she was tired, or angry or about to come. He smiled, the discovery just one more major turn-on.
‘No way am I letting you walk home in a snowstorm,’ he said.
She laughed, the musical sound making his heart jiggle. Before she got too close, he murmured to her boss. ‘By the way, the deal’s between us, okay?’
‘Not a problem,’ the man said, slapping Alex on the shoulder and sending him a knowing smile. ‘I get why you’d want to look out for her. She’s a keeper.’
Huh?
He hadn’t had a chance to process the odd statement, when Eleanor threw tired arms around his shoulders. ‘Hello,’ she said, looking stupidly pleased to see him.
He sank into the kiss, swallowing her little sob of pleasure and ignoring the ripple of unease. He devoured her mouth in quick, greedy bites.
The bar owner cleared his throat. ‘Okay, you two, get a room.’
Eleanor laughed, her face flushed. ‘Yes, Mel.’
‘I’ll see you Tuesday, Ellie,’ he added. ‘Enjoy your days off. You’re on eleven to five all next week,’ he finished, winking at Alex before closing the door behind them.
Alex winked back, before slinging his arm over Eleanor’s shoulders.
He led her through the snowy night—the swish of cars driving through the slush the only sound—to the back alley where he’d parked the Merc.
He drove back to the penthouse, the falling snow glittering in the streetlamp light.
The next order of business was to get her into the apartment, unwrap her, maybe give her sore feet a massage and then see if he could get lucky before she fell fast asleep.
Finally, Christmas was starting to come together.
‘It’s time to wake up, Alex. I’m laying on the activities for today,’ Ellie said, already dressed and raring to go.
Alex groaned and rolled over. She hummed, getting momentarily fixated on his chest. When would she get over the rush of seeing all those gorgeous muscles bulging and flexing in unison as he moved languidly in bed?