La Cosa Nostra, This Thing of Ours (3 page)

"One milestone down
," Sarah says, coming up next to me. "It usually takes a few weeks for Monica to throw the 'I'll cut you' line to a new girl. She must feel really threatened by you."

"Whatever, I
'm not here to land a rich man. I'm here to pay for college," I tell her, which gets me a look of admiration from Sarah.

Chapter 3

Hello gorgeous
. Not long after the encounter with Monica, in walks Liam with that silky black hair and the obvious muscular body under his $1000 suit that hugs him in all the right places. His jaw is chiseled and strong, and those eyes dark as night. He looks my way only for a second. I've seen pictures of him, but none do him justice. He has a beautiful redhead attached to his arm. She is wearing a blue gown with a slit up to her thigh. It shows off her ridiculously long legs. Her halter top is very low. In fact, it is showing so much skin I'm not even sure why she is wearing anything at all. 

I watch as he walks through the club with
grace, stopping to shake hands with a few of the patrons. I turn my head when he scans the room again, this time he has noticed me staring.  Looking at Sarah for a distraction, I fight everything in me to not look in his direction again. 

"I
see you've noticed Liam," Sarah says. I'm biting my bottom lip so I don't look again. "It seems he has noticed you too," she says, nodding a hello, which makes me turn to see that he is still looking this way. In fact, right at me.
Shit, shit, shit
. 

"I've s
een pictures, but damn up close ... damn." I turn back to Sarah fanning myself with my hand.   She has amusement on her face.

"He's coming over," Sarah says with closed lips.
It takes me a second to figure out what she just mumbled when I turn around horrified to see Liam and his redhead standing there.

"Hi, I'm o
ne of your bosses, Liam Tarseta," he says, putting his hand over the bar to shake mine. 

"Harper Troy
," I introduce myself, taking his hand. It feels like an electric shock jolts through me. I let loose of his hand fast which he doesn't seem to like. 

"I can't beli
eve that Matty hired a brunette," he says, standing up straight after leaning over the bar to shake my hand.
What is with these people and blondes?

"I didn't realize ha
ir color was such a big deal." I don't even know what to say to this. 

"It is with my dad, you should get it dyed right aw
ay," he says, looking at me intensely. 

"
All due respect, Mr. Tarseta, but that won't be happening." I stare right back at him. The redhead has become beyond bored with this conversation. 

"Let's go sit, baby," s
he whines, rubbing her hand on his chest. 

I think he is going to respond to my comment
, but instead just nods at me and turns, escorting his date to their table in the corner. 

"Holy shit
, kid, I could feel the fire from over here," Sarah says.

"What?" I give her a confused look. 

"I've worked here eight months and Liam Tarseta has never introduced himself to me." She is leaning with one hand on the bar giving me a one eyebrow raise. "In fact, I doubt he even knows my name." 

"Oh
, whatever." I wave her off, but when I look in the direction of the Tarseta table I am met with those damn dark eyes. The redhead is flirting with Matty, and even though I can't really see all of Salvatore, from this angle I can see that he is trying to talk to his son. Just when our eyes meet, Liam looks away, putting his arm around his date. 

Monica comes up to t
he bar to put in a drink order. "I can't believe he is with her again," Monica spouts to Sarah and me. Apparently, I'm not her worry anymore now that there is an obviously bigger threat. Sarah just shrugs her off and I make her drinks. 

I do a good job of avoiding eye contact with the
Tarseta table as the club picks up. Sarah and I are busy making drinks when one of the club patrons comes up to sit at the bar.

"Whiskey double
, please," he orders when I'm standing in front of him.

I pour the drink and set it
in front of the man who is already rather drunk. Before I am able to pull my arm away, he places his hand on my wrist.

"I
want you to come home with me, hot stuff," the thirty-something man says with a slur.

"I am sti
ll working. You need to let me go so I don't get fired." I smile sweetly at the good looking, very drunk man who is holding my wrist even tighter.

"I'll tak
e you home and take care of you. You don't need this job, sweetness," he says, not letting go. Instead, he starts pulling me toward him so I have to lean over the bar. I could have this man begging for mercy if I wanted, but I don't know how much force I am allowed to assert with frisky patrons. 

B
efore I have the chance to assess the situation, I see a hand reach over, grabbing the man's arm. I set myself straight, fixing my blouse that is tousled from being forced over the bar. It's only then I see my rescuer is Liam.

"Now
, Pete, you're drunk so I am going to overlook this one, but you know the rules. I think it is time for you to call it a night," Liam whispers in the man's ear.

"I like the new girl, she is prett
ier than all the rest," Pete says, slurring his words, turning in his seat to head for the door. Liam motions for the security guard at the door, a giant black man, to come escort him out.

"
Petal, if you are going to work here you need to learn a few things," he says smugly, putting his hands on the bar and leaning onto it to tell me his words of wisdom.
What I want to do is show the fucking sex god in front of me what I could do with asshole men
. 

Instead
, I hastily grab for the man's drink that is still on the bar. As if in horrible slow motion, I knock the glass over instead of grabbing it. Pete's still full glass goes airborne. The golden liquid flies in the air landing on Liam, hitting his shirt and his crotch.

"Shit!" I yell
, mortified. "I am so sorry, Mr. Tarseta," I stutter, horrified.
Real fucking smooth, Harper
. "I'll pay for the dry cleaning."

"Jesus Christ
, you're an idiot!" Monica comes rushing up and grabs a napkin. She starts rubbing Liam's shirt then moves to his crotch area and starts rubbing slower.
Really, it's like she is giving him a hand job right in the middle of the restaurant
. 

"Fuck
, Monica, I'll get it," he grates, swatting her hand away he walks toward the bathroom.

"
What are you still doing here?" Monica shouts at me. "You are so fired! You might as well pack up your shit and leave." I turn to Sarah for confirmation as Monica scoffs off in a rage.

"I don't know
, but I've only ever seen one girl spill a drink. It was on a customer, not the owner, and she was fired," Sarah shrugs. It is apparent to me that she could care less if I stay or go. I decide I will leave on my own to save some of the dignity that I have left.

Head
ing for the locker rooms to grab my bag, I see Liam exit the bathroom. Avoiding his black eyes, I dart into the back room to change and get the hell out of here. I kick off my high heels first before I start to unbutton and remove my shirt. I hear the door open behind me. Turning, I see Liam standing in the doorway. Standing only in my mini skirt and black lacy bra, I grab my shirt to cover myself. 

Liam step
s all the way in the room, shutting the door behind him, and leans up against it with his arms crossed.
Damn he looks sexy as hell standing there all confident and in charge.
Too sexy. In my state of undress, I feel my body betraying me. My stomach goes tight while I feel a pull deep down
. 

"What are you doing?"
he asks in a low seductive voice.

"I'm changing
."
And getting fucking turned on as hell, stop looking at me like that.

"Why
are you doing that?" He slides his hands in his pockets, slowly walking toward me.

"Because I don't think it
's very smart for a girl to walk around in this outfit at night in Chicago." I answer not moving, as he is now within touching distance of me.

"Yes
, that is true." He gives me a steamy sideways smile. "What I meant is, why are you changing because your shift is not over?"

"Monica said I was fired."
He lets out a low sexy laugh. With one swift move he grabs my shirt from my hands. I stand there, not able to move or breathe as he stares at me. I swallow hard, not knowing what to do or say at the moment. He holds up the shirt to me like he is going to help me put it back on. 

"Well
, Monica is not your boss, I am, and you are most certainly not fired. So get dressed and get back to work, Petal." The words knock me out of my trance. I yank the shirt from his hands and throw it on as fast as I can. I turn around so my back is to him and start buttoning up the shirt. The door opens again, turning around, he is gone. 
What the fuck is wrong with me. My panties are soaked with excitement, yet I feel like I want to punch the arrogant asshole
. 

I in
hale a sharp breath, my heart starts pounding.  I sit on the bench in front of the lockers feeling dizzy. My heart's racing, my palms sweaty, I think I'm having a panic attack.
Jesus Christ, did he just give me a panic attack?

After I calm myself down
, I return to the bar with Sarah. 

"What happened?" Sarah sa
ys to me when I return. 

"Nothing, Liam said I wasn't fired
, that's all," is all I say. What else is there to say?
He came in and I think I had an orgasm at the way he looked at me
.

"Liam came out of the locker room,
took Monica off to the side, and she started crying. I think she is still in the bathroom. Whatever Liam said to her really upset her," Sarah says, looking at me like I am not giving her the whole story.

"I just told him Monica said I was fired and he laughed and said I wasn't
. That's it, I swear." She still doesn't seem to believe me, but whatever. I can't help the little bit of satisfaction I got from knowing that Monica was crying in the bathroom. 

I don't even dare look in the direction of his table.  If I'm not making a drink, I'm studying the bar for where everything is. 

Liam and the redhead get up to leave. Still avoiding his eyes at all cost, they stop to talk to Matty right in my line of sight. I would basically have to turn around and stare at the wall to not see them. While Liam is talking with Matty, the redhead has her arms under Liam's jacket wrapped around his waist. She's making out with his neck like they are the only two people in the room. After Matty walks away, he looks at me.  Our eyes meet, and even though he has a leech trying to suck the skin off his neck, he doesn't seem to notice. I look away from his mesmerizing eyes and watch the redhead practically dry humping him. I shake my head and let out a little chuckle. He looks away from me, turning his attention back to his date. He puts his arm around her and the two walk out. 

A little after one, the last of the patrons have left and the cleaning crew is arriving. I help Sarah clean up the bar before going into the locker room to change. Monica is in there already. I can still see her eyes are red and puffy. I only saw her once the rest of the night, serving the Tarsetas their drinks after their meal. She avoided me at all cost.

I open my locker to
grab my bag. I pull my jeans up under my skirt and then slide the skirt down around the jeans. It's like one round piece of elastic that stretches, but also shows every curve.  I button my shirt up all the way, deciding not to change into the t-shirt I brought, and then throw on some Converse. Putting my jacket on then grabbing my bag, I leave the locker room, not saying a word to anyone, especially to the pouting Monica in the corner.