“Since I don’t much care for working,” I said with a shrug.
“Bull shit,” she snapped.
As expected, she was less than thrilled about me turning down a customer, but it was what it was. There was no going back and changing the outcome.
I smirked sarcastically. “I don’t feel like myself tonight. I think I caught some stomach bug.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and quirked an eyebrow. “I already know about what happened between you and the woman, so you can drop the act.”
I chuckled. “No fair. Who told you? I was really hoping to be the one that surprised you with that.”
She uncrossed her arms and braced herself over the table, leaning in closer to try and intimidate me. “It doesn’t matter how I found out. The point is, it won’t happen again, and if you know what is good for you, you’ll take a client starting with the girl you snubbed.”
I stared at her. Maybe I was playing a deadly game with Charlotte, but I felt emboldened. “No.”
She blinked at me. “What did you just say to me?”
She was starting to shake. That was a very bad sign, but I refused to remain her slave any longer. She could find someone else to be her little scam artist. I wanted out. Besides, even she had enough self-control to not shift in front of a bunch of humans. She loved her money too much and the SOTF had an office located just down the street.
I wanted Cassidy and no other. But I couldn’t tell Charlotte that. Sleeping with a client was forbidden due to the chance of being mated.
Oops. Guess there was no coming back from that one either.
But it seemed someone other than me had let the proverbial cat out of the bag, and I had my suspicions on exactly who that was. Not that I could do anything about it at the current point in time.
“Dallas, I don’t care for whatever has gotten into you or your friends here lately, and I’m…”
I tuned her out the second she had started to lecture me. I wasn’t paying attention. I simply remained seated in the booth and nodded at certain intervals to give off the impression that I was listening. But that quickly became boring. It wasn’t like she was saying anything new. She was basically delivering the same lecture I had been the unfortunate witness to thousands of times… and not necessarily directed toward me, but the other shifters within the club who had dared to go against her law.
The cherry on her little lecture cake was the castration of a few of our members, just to make her point perfectly clear. She hoped it was a move that worked as a deterrent and a punishment. I seriously hoped we didn’t take things that far tonight.
Her point was this: Fraternizing with the clientele was strictly forbidden… or else.
There was only one way to get her to shut up and leave me alone.
So, I huffed and waved my little white flag of surrender. “Fine. I’ll take another client if you put your hackles away.”
“Watch your tongue, Dallas,” she said. “You haven’t even listened to everything I have to say yet.”
I leaned forward and folded my hands together on top of the table. “Oh, but I have had more than enough of an earful from you.”
She leaned over the table. “I have no idea what has gotten into you three lately, but that woman is hardly worth it.”
I snorted. I wanted to push that further, but she had moved on.
“Where is Malachi, anyway?” she asked. “Have you seen him?”
“Contrary to popular belief, I am not his keeper. I have no idea where he is,” I said.
She huffed out a hot breath of air, her eyes turned cold as she leveled her gaze on me. She shook her head after several seconds. “Fine. Whatever.”
I smirked.
She stood straight and waved over some unfortunate soul. “Be extra nice to this one.”
I nodded. “Sure thing, boss.”
Extra nice meant take her for all that she was worth.