Logan

 

That was hands down the worst timing ever. I'd had situations where the most inconvenient thing happened at a time where it really could have stayed, but this was a lot worse than anything I'd ever had before. My cock was still throbbing with Selena's body and the orgasm I'd had; my body still ached for hers and she was gone. Not only was she gone, she was furious with me.

 

Why had May messaged me now? She knew I wasn't interested. Of course, she also knew I was on a date. I had mentioned that to her. I had forgotten that she had the ability to use any single piece of information and use it to her advantage or, rather, to my disadvantage.

 

Of course, she couldn't have known Selena would actually read my message. Maybe she hadn't thought it would sabotage my night, even if she secretly hoped it would.

 

Still, I was fucking pissed at her. She had effectively ruined the one good thing that had happened to me lately, and I wasn't talking about the sex - although, that had been fantastic in its own right.

 

When Selena took off through the restaurant where she knew I couldn't follow, I'd had to get dressed as fast as I can. I'd pulled on my pants and a shirt I half-buttoned in the run before leaving it like that. I was decent. The rest didn't matter. I ran through the restaurant on bare feet. The diners all looked at me. The picture was frozen, no one was talking, all eyes were on me. I didn't care. I ran to the front, past the seating hostess and out the front door.

 

I was just in time to see Selena get in a cab and slam the door shut. I shouted after her but she wouldn't stop now. I saw her turn around in the back seat and look at me through the rear window until the cab turned. Her eyes were in the shadows and I couldn't tell what was in them. That was possibly what killed me the most.

 

I felt eyes burn into my back and I turned around. I expected a crowd had followed me out, but there was nothing. No one was outside, looking at me like I was crazy. Still, someone was out here. I looked around, forcing my eyes to adapt to the dark, tried to make out figures in the shadows.

 

This wasn't just a restaurant and a business that brought in money. The VIP area was a place where we conducted business from time to time. It was a second headquarters for when we needed to talk to people who were classier than our dump of a clubhouse. It was for when we needed to put on a face of money and snobbery. It meant there were people hanging around here, too, scoping out the place the same way they watched the club from time to time.

 

I wouldn't have been surprised if someone like that had been watching me now, but I didn't care. Unless whoever it was physically attacked me I wasn't going to make a fuss. And if it did turn into an attack...well, I was in a terrible mood and I would draw blood and think nothing of it. This was not the time to fuck with me.

 

When I looked up at the restaurant my chest hurt like I'd run a very long time and I was finished. I rubbed my sternum, trying to relearn how to breathe. I looked down and realized I'd mismatched the few shirt buttons I'd managed to get done before I'd left it.

 

I must have been a sight. No wonder the diners had all been staring.

 

I didn't go in through the main entrance again. I'd had enough eyes ogling me. I didn't need a repeat, especially now that I wasn't in pursuit and I was that much more aware of everyone and everything around me. I walked around the restaurant and walked through the back door that led through the delivery area and then into the kitchen.

 

The staff all stopped when I walked in and looked at me.

 

"Carry on," I said. They obeyed. They worked for me, after all, and they knew who I was. Every face turned back to whatever dish they were preparing and I pushed my way into the VIP area. I looked at the couch where we'd just had sex and sighed. I had to get the boys together soon and talk to them about our next steps after that threat. I had to make sure they were okay.

 

Maybe we could even abandon the Club for a little while and get everyone together here until the drama died down. They were my first priority.

 

It was just hard to focus on business now that Selena had run away from me. Despair trued into anger. Who the hell did she think she was, anyway? She hadn't even given me a chance to explain. I would have done that much for her. She couldn't just run out of here, expecting me to fall at her feet and beg for her forgiveness, without giving me any kind of a chance.

 

I poured myself a drink - two fingers of whiskey in a crystal tumbler. I took one sip and it tasted vile on my tongue after her tongue had been in my mouth. The alcohol was less than satisfying. For a moment I saw red and I threw the glass across the room. The crystal shattering against the far wall brought me back to reality. I was just so damn angry. Angry that my life wasn't what Selena's was. Angry that May was such a bitch. Angry that my boys were in trouble now. Angry, angry, angry. I was just so fucking angry.

 

I sat down opposite our sex couch and pushed my hands into my hair, mussing it up like it usually was.

 

The door to the kitchen opened and Maxine walked in. She looked unsure. "Are you alright?"

 

I looked up at her. Big dark eyes, curly hair, hourglass hips. Everything a man would want in a woman, and I'd had her. We were friends now. We'd had one or two one-night stands before. I was the kind of man who could get any woman I wanted - almost - and usually I did. But I wanted Selena. Was it always a fact that men would go after the one woman they couldn't have?

 

"I'm fine."

 

She hesitated. "I heard glass breaking."

 

I nodded. "I had an accident." I pointed at the wall where a splatter of whiskey darkened the paint.

 

Maxine looked and nodded. "I'll get one of the staff to clean it up."

 

"Thank you."

 

She looked around the VIP area, noting the clothes still lying on the floor. My blazer and tie. Socks. Shoes. I couldn't read her face. She'd glared at Selena earlier like a jealous lover. No, her face was an expressionless mask. Could girls have sex and not care the way men sometimes could? I hoped so. I'd had sex with too many for them all to be hurt. If I thought about it too much I would feel bad and I didn't need that kind of guilt in my life on top of everything else.

 

And in Selena's case I wished it weren’t possible. I wanted her to have some sort of feeling for me after that. I wanted her to want to come back to me, even if she was mad, because sex made her feel something for me she just couldn't ignore. I didn't want her to have the ability to just walk away like it had been a run of the mill kind of thing.

 

"Where's your date?"

 

Her voice pulled me out of the spiral of thoughts that was threatening to consume me. The damn alcohol from earlier was still in my system - enough to make me feel edgy and needy but not enough to drown out the raw emotions.

 

I looked at Maxine. I don't know what my face showed but she flinched. "I need you to call all the staff together in here as soon as the last customer leaves." It wasn't an answer.

 

She looked at me, waiting for me to say more. When I didn't she nodded and walked away. Before she disappeared into the kitchen she looked at me over her shoulder.

 

I looked at the shards of glass on the floor where it had shattered and wished I hadn't done that. I had lost control for a moment. The days that used to happen were behind me for the most part. I wanted to keep it that way. Besides, having that drink sounded like a plan. Although, if I poured myself another one I might just end up doing the same and I wasn't in the mood for a repeat of failure.

 

The staff filtered into the VIP area just after twelve. The last diner had finally left. They came in one by one and stood in a bunch in front of me, none of them saying a word. I sat on the couch, my elbows on my knees, watching them. I'd put on my socks and shoes, buttoned my shirt right and pulled on my blazer. I looked like a leader again.

 

"Thanks for coming," I said when they were all present. In the end it was a choice for them. They worked at my restaurant because I'd given them jobs but they were all my people. I'd handpicked them and trained them and they were like an extension of my gang. They weren't just employees. If my gang was family, the people in front of me were the extended family.

 

"I want you to keep your eyes and ears open for anything strange going on. We're picking up hints of trouble on the other side of town and the last thing I want is for any of you to end up in a pickle because of your association with me."

 

They nodded. I looked each one of them in the eye.

 

"If anything happens, let me know. I'd rather get you guys out of here as quickly as possible instead of risking an injury or worse."

 

They nodded again. In their eyes I saw loyalty. They were going to stick with me even if things got tough - just like they had before - because that was how we did things. Because I had done exactly that for each of them at least once.

 

I dismissed them.

 

Maxine was the last to leave. "Let me know if you need anything."

 

I nodded. I wouldn't, of course. I wouldn't lean on her - something like that would lead her on. But it was sweet of her to offer. When I was alone in the VIP area I hoisted myself up off the couch and exited through the back door again. I hadn't come to the restaurant with my bike - I didn't want the wind to ruin my suit - so I flagged a cab and went home.

 

The apartment was quiet and empty. Usually I preferred the peace and quiet. Tonight I would have liked Selena to come home with me after we were done at the restaurant. I shook my head and closed the door behind me. I stripped off my clothes and left them in a trail to my bed. I slipped naked under the sheets and lay back, feeling the tension of the day ease out of my muscles bit by bit. I picked up my phone. One in the morning. Would I ever get a full eight hours?

 

I pulled up Selena's number and sent her a text. I didn't care how much she thought I was a selfish two-faced asshole, I was going to demand she listen to an explanation. I asked her to meet me and added the address. I switched off my phone and turned my face to the window before I closed my eyes.