Distraction: An underground kings novel (2 page)

“Bring her up,” I snarl, hanging up the phone, lifting my jacket from the back of my chair, slipping it on, and then straightening my tie. I don’t need this shit—not right now, not while all this other shit is going on around me. Over the last few months, a multitude of women have been drugged while partying here, but no one has ever gotten hurt—no one I’m aware of anyway.

“Put me down right now!” the woman yells, kicking her feet and hitting Zack in the back as she enters my office over his shoulder. Lowering her to the ground, he grunts as she pokes him in his chest and yells, “I’m not paying for your chiropractor bills, you giant, overgrown jerk.”

“Miss, can you please have a seat?” I ask, and her head turns toward me, her big honey-colored eyes catching me off guard. Seeing the look in her gaze does some shit to my chest that makes me uncomfortable. Pulling my eyes from hers, I sweep them down the length of her body.

I have no fucking idea how she got into the club wearing pajamas, but she did. The blue plaid bottoms that are about four sizes too big are dragging under her flip-flops. The thin, tight, white tank top she has on allows a glimpse of her breasts and dark nipples. I wouldn’t say she’s fat; she’s all curves, with large breasts and wide hips. Her long, dark hair is in a low ponytail, and her face is round and soft, almost innocent-looking. She’s beautiful in a way I’m not accustomed to.

“How did you get in here?” I ask when my eyes meet hers once more.

“I paid the guy at the front a hundred dollars to let me in,” she says, glaring at me and crossing her arms over her chest, accentuating her cleavage. Looking over the top of her head, my eyes meet Zack’s and he nods before stepping out of the office, closing the door behind him.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re here?” I ask, taking a seat and motioning for her to do the same across from me.

“My sister was here earlier tonight,” she says, reaching into the top of her tank top, pulling out a cellphone that must be twenty years old, flipping it open, and shoving it across the desk. Picking the phone up, the grainy image of a smiling woman who looks similar to the one across from me is on the screen. She’s much slimmer than her sister, so slim she looks ill.

“You told Zack she was drugged here and beat up. If you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t the police here instead of you?” I query, watching her face close down almost instantly. “If this is some kind of ploy to get money, it won’t work,” I tell her, pushing the cell phone back across the top of the desk.

“A ploy to get money? Do you mean like blackmail?” she growls, grabbing the phone and clasping it tightly in her hand.

“That’s exactly what I mean.” I nod, watching her stand.

“You’re a…you’re a real lint-licker, you know that?” She paces in front of my desk, lifting her hand and pulling out her hair tie, allowing her mane to cascade down her back and over her shoulders.

“Lint-licker,” I repeat, trying not to smile as I watch her.

“Lint-licker.” She nods then stops pacing and turns to look at me. “I don’t want money. The police won’t come, because my sister isn’t healthy. She has a drug problem, and they don’t care what happens to her. She’s just one more faceless druggie in a sea of fricking druggies. But I love her. She’s my sister, so I want to find the scum buckets who did what they did and turn them in myself,” she says, and my hackles instantly rise.

“You’re never coming back here again,” I snarl, standing and placing my hands on the top of my desk, leaning onto them.

“You can’t stop me.” She shrugs, and just like that, she turns her back on me and leaves my office before I can even comprehend what just happened. Following after her, I run downstairs through the crowded club. Once I reach the front entrance, I catch a glimpse of her right before she gets into a car the size of my desk and takes off down the street.

“Everything okay, Boss?” Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I glance at Zack and shake my head.

“She’s gonna be a problem,” I warn him, rubbing my chest as I head back inside.

*

“Boss, she’s here
again.” Glaring at Teo, who just stepped into my office, I turn to search through the large glass window that looks out over the club floor below. Spotting her sitting at the bar with a drink in front of her, I know it’s cranberry juice, the only thing she ever orders.

“Who the fuck let her in this time?” I ask turning around, watching Lane shrug and a smile with a twitch in his lips.

“Zack said he was going to ask Maggie if she wanted a job.” He smiles.

“Who the hell is Maggie?”

“The girl…that’s her name. Maggie.”

“You guys are on a first name basis now?” I ask, leaning back in my chair and tilting my head back, feeling a headache coming on.

“Well, she’s here everyday. It would be rude not to know her name.”

“This shit’s getting ridiculous,” I mutter to the ceiling. The damn woman has shown up every night over the last two weeks. She gets here when the club opens and stays ‘til closing. She no longer asks people if they know her sister, but she does inspect drinks, and talks to the women at the bar about making sure they are being safe. She is driving me fucking crazy.

“She’s kinda cute.” Lowering my head, I look at Teo and narrow my eyes, watching him raise his hands in front of him. “But she has a boyfriend,” he adds with a smile.

“Who?” I ask without thinking.

“Don’t know.” He shrugs, walking over to the window, looking down toward the bar.

“Well, the guy is obviously a piece of shit if he lets his woman out of the house every night to come to a club alone,” I mutter under my breath.

“What are you going to do about her?” he questions, turning to look at me.

“Give her a job,” I half joke. She’s persistent as fuck, and if things keep going the way they have been, she’s going to end up causing trouble, and I don’t need anymore trouble.
At least, that’s the lie I’m telling myself.

“You do need a new assistant.”

“Fuck no,” I snap, loosening my tie. The last assistant I had ended up being a clusterfuck. The woman was pissed that I wouldn’t fuck her. I finally had to fire her ass when she brought another woman up to my office and proceeded to try and get me to join them on my couch when I walked in on them half naked. Work is work. Yes, I might invite women up to fuck, but never anyone I work with.

“It’s not like she’s your type,” he says, and I feel my jaw tick. “Besides, if she’s up here with you, she’ll stop harassing the women down there.” He nods toward where she’s sitting and my eyes follow the movement, seeing her talking to a girl who looks a little startled by whatever it is Maggie is telling her.

“It’s not happening. You guys need to keep her out of the club,” I tell him, turning away from the window.

“Just saying it would be a good way to keep an eye on her,” he gripes, patting my shoulder before leaving my office and closing the door behind him.

Letting out a frustrated breath, I turn away from the window and try to focus on all the shit I need to get done.

“Yeah,” I pick up my desk phone when it beeps and looking at the clock, seeing that an hour has passed since Teo left.

“Look out your window,” Zack says, and I spin my chair around and scan the floor, wondering what he wants me to see. Then I spot Maggie with a man’s head tucked under her arm as she leads him toward the front of the club, with Lane and Zack following closely behind them.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“That guy tried to put something in some chick’s drink, and Maggie saw him and went postal on his ass,” he explains almost proudly.

“Jesus Christ, what the fuck do I pay you for?” I gripe.

“I saw the whole thing. I was getting ready to step in when she stood up on her barstool, jumped on the guy’s back, and then did some fucking ninja shit, wrapping her arm around the guy’s head and forcing him to his knees. She won’t let him go. She said she wants to ask him some questions.”

“I’m on my way down,” I say, slamming down the phone and jerking open the door to my office, taking the stairs two at a time. Reaching the front of the club, I see Zack holding the guy and Lane’s arms wrapped around Maggie’s waist, trying to drag her away. What the fuck is going on?” I roar, and all eyes come to me except Maggie’s, who takes the opportunity to grab the man’s ear and twist, making him drop hard to the ground on his knees.

“You think it’s funny to drug innocent women, you flaming turd bucket?” she yells, hitting the top of the guy’s bald head, and Zack chuckles along with Lane, but I don’t see one damn thing that’s funny about this shit.

“Maggie, let him go and come here,” I growl, and she raises her eyes to meet mine, looking startled.

“He—”

“I said get your ass over here now!” I yell, cutting her off and feeling the vein in my neck bulge as I point to the ground at my feet.

“Fine.” She pouts, letting the guy go, walking sullenly toward me as Zack pulls the man to his feet, taking him with him around the corner, with Lane following behind them with his phone to his ear. I’m sure they are going to have a talk and wait for the cops.

“Let’s go,” I say, wrapping my hand around the back of her neck, leading her through the club and up the stairs to my office. Sitting her in the chair in front of my desk, I walk over to the cabinets where I keep my personal bottle of scotch and pull out the cap. I then lift the bottle to my lips, taking a swig while trying to calm down.

“Alcohol isn’t good for you,” she informs me as I take a seat behind my desk.

“Do I look like I give a fuck about that?” I ask her, taking another swig.

“You might not care about what it can do to your body right now, but you may want to know that it lowers sperm count and stamina in the long run.”

“Jesus.” I shake my head and rub my eyes in aggravation.

“Just saying it’s not good for you,” she mutters, dropping her eyes to her lap.

“What happened downstairs isn’t okay, Mags.”

“Maggie,” she corrects, still not looking at me.

“Whatever,” I drone, taking another swig. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“I have a black belt—”

“Look at me,” I demand, cutting her off and slamming the bottle down on the top of the desk, waiting for her eyes to meet mine. “You could have gotten hurt or worse. Do you understand that? He could have had a weapon on him.”

“You don’t understand,” she whispers as tears fill her eyes, but I harden myself against them, needing her to understand this isn’t a fucking movie. This is real life, and there are bad—
really
fucking bad—people in this world.

“You’re not allowed on the club floor anymore,” I state firmly.

“I’m going to find the guys who hurt my sister,” she states, and I see the determination in her eyes that make me proud and pissed at the same time.

“If you come, you come to my office, and if something happens down there”—I point to the club floor over my shoulder—“you’ll be the first to know.”

“Why would I come to your office? I need to be at the bar where I can see what’s going on.”

“You just got the job as my new assistant,” I tell her, watching her frown while wondering what the fuck I’m doing. This chick is a distraction I do not need right now, or ever for that matter.

“I already have a job,” she says as her frown grows deeper.

“Well, quit. You’re here every night, Mags, and you don’t leave ‘til the club closes at one. I can tell by the bags under your eyes that you’re exhausted.”

“Why would you want me to work here?” Now, isn’t that the million dollar question?

“Either take me up on my offer, or I’m going to have a restraining order placed against you and you won’t be allowed within a few hundred feet of the club.” I shrug like it’s all the same to me.

“You know this is malarkey, right?” she stands and I take her in fully for the first time tonight. Her loose, sheer, black dress is cinched with a thin belt emphasizing the dip in her waist between her full hips and breasts. Her hair is down in a mass of messy waves, and her makeup is subtle but still draws attention to her eyes, which look even more golden now that she’s standing in front of me looking pissed off.

“I’m not messing around with you anymore either. You take me up on my deal, or I’ll call the police and have them escort you off the premises,” I tell her, ignoring the fact I’m getting hard just looking at her.

“This is total crap,” she mumbles, looking around before meeting my eyes again.

“Take it or leave it.”

“Jeez, can I have a second to think?” she cries, and I feel my lips twitch, so I rub my hand down over my mouth to hide it.

“Ten,” I state, watching her eyes narrow. “Nine…eight…seven…” I continue counting, watching as she looks at me like she’s ready to kill me. “Six,” I raise a brow. “Five…”

“Fine!” she yells when I open my mouth to finish my countdown.

“Thought so,” I say triumphantly.

“You’re such a…you’re such a bigasterd,” she growls.

“A what?” I ask, and I can’t help it, I laugh at that one.

“When do I start?” she asks, ignoring my question while red spreads across her cheeks and down her neck.

“Tomorrow. Be here at five, and I’ll show you around the club and tell you your responsibilities.”