Chapter Six
For Dane, the weeks passed in a blur. The new hotel was in full swing and doing well, filled with bookings and getting great write-ups. He went over there every day to see how things were going, along with checking in at his office to catch up on other business. With twenty-one hotels now in his possession, he was busier than ever.
He liked to pop in on his hotels without warning, see for himself how daily operations were without the staff knowing he’d be there. Once or twice a month, he was away from New York, traveling to one of his properties for a few days to check things out.
But he hadn’t planned any trips for the next few weeks. He told himself, and his assistant, Elise Cannon, that he needed to be in New York for now. By the end of the second week of business, he knew damn well he was lying to himself. He’d handpicked the best people he could find to fill every position. The hotel was doing phenomenally well. He could’ve gone to check in on one of his other hotels. In fact, he should have. But he was hanging around because of Julia Shay.
He couldn’t explain the power she had over him. He was drawn to her, by an almost tangible pull. So on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, he’d pop into the lounge and take in one of her sets. Listening to her sing was such a pleasure. A drink at the end of the day to unwind, listening to her and Kelvin do their thing, and sitting back to just savor the view of the beautiful redhead . . . he was enjoying it. And he’d been right about her—the lounge filled up when she performed. Some fantastic online reviews had spread the word quickly; it was Julia Shay that was packing the house each night, no doubt about it.
Afterward, he’d linger to talk with her a little. She’d finally allowed him close enough to have some general conversation. Sometimes he flirted with her, partly because he couldn’t help himself and partly to see how she’d react. Sometimes she shot him down, and he’d take the hit. But sometimes she’d flirt back. Like him, she was a natural flirt, loved to tease and play. And when she did flirt back, or ensnare him with one of her provocative stares? He was a fucking puddle. He played it cool, but he knew he was putty in her hands.
That boggled his mind. He was the one whose stares turned women into puddles, not the other way around. But Julia would slide him a frisky look, or lick her lips, and his blood would start to heat in his veins and fry his damn mind.
This had been going on for three weeks now. The sexual tension between them was ridiculous . . . and he kept coming back for more. Frustration over his limitations gnawed at him. If he was smart, he’d stop going to the lounge to see her, cease his flirtations, keep his distance. He was her boss. End of story.
But he didn’t want to stop. He wanted her—in his bed, against the wall, over the damn piano, wherever he could have her. And he’d never been very good at denying himself something he really wanted.
It was a hot mid-July Thursday, with brutal humidity and ninety-degree heat, the kind of steamy day that made the Manhattan streets bake and sizzle. Dane put in his time at the office, then went for his daily workout at the gym within his office building. He returned home, showered and dressed, checked some e-mails, then prepared to get to the Hotel Alexandra in time for a late dinner.
He should’ve been on a beach somewhere, not going from his Tribeca apartment back up to the Hotel Alexandra. He should’ve been heading out east, enjoying a leisurely weekend at the Harrison family compound in the Hamptons. Tess had called that morning to tell him she’d be there for the weekend and invited him to join her. But he’d turned his sister down, saying he’d come out on Sunday and stay for two or three days at the beginning of next week. Julia was performing tonight, and he wanted to see her. He was a glutton for punishment.
“Oh, thank God,” Julia sighed the minute she entered the Alexandra Bar & Lounge. There were patrons inside, but she didn’t think any of them would recognize her in her current disheveled state. Wearing big dark sunglasses and no makeup except for tinted lip balm, her thick mane pulled up in a high ponytail, she had almost sweated through her pistachio-colored T-shirt. She dropped her heavy duffel bag to the floor and straightened her black shorts, rolling her head around to stretch the muscles.
Her first set wasn’t until ten, and she usually didn’t get to the lounge until eight-thirty. The commute from Long Island was fairly easy, the whole trip taking about an hour. She always liked to be early to a gig, but she was way early tonight and looked around, not having been in the bar for Happy Hour before. Justin Timberlake was singing about his suit and tie over the sound system, and the bar was fairly crowded for six o’clock on a Thursday. Business was booming here. Dane Harrison’s golden touch had done it again.
She stood in place under the vent by the door, lifted her ponytail off her neck, tipped back her face, and closed her eyes. The blast of cool air on her flushed, sweaty face felt like a miracle.
“Hi, Julia.” Tonio Ramos, the head bartender, came over to stand beside her. “You okay? You’re a little flushed.”
“I almost melted on the way here,” she joked. “God bless air conditioning. It’s disgusting out there today.”
“I know.” Tonio folded his thick arms over his broad chest, glanced at his watch, and added, “You’re early.”
“Yeah. I knew I’d be a sweaty mess by the time I got here,” Julia explained. “So I wanted to take a shower and cool down before I got ready.”
“I hear ya. Good idea.” Tonio looked out over the small crowd, watching the three bartenders behind the bar as they worked. Julia let her eyes slip closed again for a minute as the cool air washed over her skin. She drew a deep, cleansing breath and exhaled it nice and slow.
“You want some water?” Tonio’s deep voice startled her. “Hey, you hungry? Did you have dinner?”
Her eyes snapped open to look up at him. “Um, no, actually. I haven’t yet.”
“I was about to order something from the kitchen,” Tonio said. “You want something too? You can eat out here, or in your dressing room, whatever ya want. Then you can go get ready. Ya got plenty o’time.”
She smiled. “Thanks for asking. Yes, that’d be great. Especially if you’ll join me.”
His brows shot up. “Okay. Yeah. Whaddaya want?”
Twenty minutes later, Julia and Tonio were having dinner at one of the high-backed booths in the bar. She dug into her pasta primavera with gusto, not realizing that she’d been starving until the waiter had set down the appetizing meal before her. The cubes of grilled chicken on top were juicy and flavorful, and she ate a few as she finally felt herself relax. Tonio plowed through his bacon cheeseburger, finishing half of it by the time she’d taken only a few bites of her supper.
“So where’s your friend Kelvin?” Tonio asked amiably.
“He’ll be here by nine, as usual,” she said. “So. Tell me about you. You married, Tonio?”
He almost choked on a French fry. “Ha! You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”
“Nope.” She shot him a wide grin, then speared another forkful of rotini and chicken into her mouth.
“I like you.” His eyes narrowed a bit as the side of his mouth curved up mischievously. “No, I’m not married. Why, you hittin’ on me?”
“No, sorry, I’m not,” she said with a chuckle. “I was just curious.”
“Ah, that’s too bad,” he teased, his dark eyes sparkling with humor. “I’m divorced. Two kids. They live with her, over in Park Slope.” He downed a gulp of ginger ale. “You?”
“Also divorced,” she said. “Long time ago.” She took a few swallows of her mineral water and cursed herself inwardly. Knowing she’d opened herself up for more questions, she quickly changed tactics. “I bet women throw themselves at you all the time, working in a place like this.”
He guffawed and shook his head. “I don’t really pay attention if they do. I have a girlfriend now, and she’s great.”
“Good for you,” Julia smiled. “What’s her name?”
“Evie. She’s a nurse. Home care stuff, per diem.”
“That’s admirable work,” Julia said earnestly.
“Yeah, it is. She works hard. She’s a good person.” He ate a few more fries before smirking at her. “You get checked out every time you step in here,” he said. “I’ve seen it. But I guess that comes with the job, you being onstage and all.”
“I guess,” she said, shrugging. “But . . . look at me now. Not exactly a glamour queen. This is the normal me. This me doesn’t get hit on much. Men like the mirage, you know?”
“Well, I think the ‘normal you’ is gorgeous too, but I get what you’re sayin’.” Tonio nodded and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “Julia . . . if anyone ever bothers you, makes you uncomfortable, ya know . . . you just tell me, all right? I did my bouncing days. I’ll take care of anyone who bothers ya.”
She felt her face warm with gratitude. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
“I mean it,” he said. “I know Kelvin’s got your back and all. But he don’t have my brawn. And we wouldn’t want him to take a chance on hurting those hands of his, right?”
They laughed together. Julia breathed a sigh of relief deep inside. She hoped she’d never have to take Tonio up on his offer. But with her past experiences, she knew better. It had happened before, and could happen again. Knowing this six-foot-three bruiser had her back made her feel a little more secure. Damn, she liked this job.
“Tell me a little about our boss,” she said, striving for casual nonchalance.
Tonio gave her a sideways look. “Dane? What about him?”
“I don’t know,” Julia said. “You’ve worked for him for a while. Tell me something I don’t know. Something interesting.”
“Uh . . .” Tonio chewed a few more fries while he thought. Then a big, wicked grin spread across his face. “He likes gorgeous redheads.”
Julia burst out laughing. “Shut up!”
“It’s true!”
“He goes through women like I go through bottles of water, doesn’t he?”
“I dunno,” Tonio said with a heavy shrug of his huge shoulders. “And I don’t care. I don’t keep up with his social life.”
“Come on,” Julia scoffed. “His ladies’ man status is kind of legendary.”
Tonio’s gaze narrowed. “How do you know? Done some homework?”
Julia felt color bloom on her cheeks, but said quickly, “Maybe a little. I wanted to know about who I’m working for. That’s what seems to come up a lot where he’s concerned.”
Tonio leaned in on his meaty forearms and lowered his voice. “Who you’re working for is a good man. Dane Harrison isn’t your typical rich boy. Money like his, you’d think he’d be a dick, but he’s not. He’s cool. He likes to have fun, he’s generous, and he’s fair. He works hard. He keeps his word.” His eyes held hers as he added, “Dane doesn’t treat me like some lower-class guy, or just a bartender, none of that. He treats me like an equal. He treats everyone well, no matter if they’re the mayor or one of his busboys. You’ll never hear anyone who knows him say a bad word about him. That’s who you’re working for.”
Julia took in the sober look on Tonio’s face as she absorbed the information. She pushed around the food on her plate with her fork and nodded. “Good to know. Thanks.”
“How’s it going?” Dane asked with a grin. He slid onto a seat at the bar.
“Going great,” Tonio answered. “Busy tonight. What can I get ya?”
“Uh . . . dark beer, whatever’s on tap.”
“Got Sam Adams, Beck’s Dark, or Guinness.”
“Beck’s.”
As Tonio turned away to get the beer, the crowd in the lounge started applauding. Dane craned his head to see, and caught Julia walking onto the small stage. Her red hair was down in loose, sexy waves, and her charcoal gray beaded gown hugged her curvy body like a glove. Kelvin, in his usual black Armani suit, was already seated at the piano. He started right in with a rousing romp on the keys, playing a few bars of true old-time jazz. Julia took a sip of water and set the bottle aside on a stool before getting back to the mic. When she did, Kelvin changed the tune, morphing from ragtime into the sweeter opening bars of an Alicia Keys song. Julia’s eyes slipped closed as she hummed a few measures, then cradled the mic with one hand, opened her eyes to look out at the audience, and began to sing. Her rich voice suited the yearning song well. The song was almost over when Dane realized Tonio had placed an open beer in front of him at some point. He must’ve gone to help another customer, because he returned to Dane now.
“You want anything to eat?” Tonio asked.
“No, I’m good, thanks.” Dane took a long swig of beer. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”
“Who, Julia?” Tonio nodded. “Yup. That girl sure can sing.”
Dane shot him a grin before turning his gaze back to her. He could stare at her easily from farther back in the room, and he was enjoying the view. “She’s fucking beautiful.”
“That she is,” Tonio agreed. “She had dinner with me tonight. It was interesting.”
Dane felt a tiny flare of jealousy burn in his chest, but ignored it. “Really.”
“Yeah. She got here early, I was about to eat, so we ate together.” Tonio leaned against the bar, glancing at Julia before adding to Dane, “Aww, don’t get jealous. We’re just two friendly coworkers. Actually, she asked me about you.”
Dane’s head swerved back to him. “She did?”
“Yeah.” Tonio grinned at the look on Dane’s face.
“What?” Dane asked with a touch of defensiveness.
Tonio shook his head, trying to hide his grin. “Nothin’. Nothin’ at all.” He straightened and said, “For what it’s worth? I think she’s cool. She’s good people.”
Dane only nodded.
“And the chemistry between you two is crazy,” Tonio added. “So good luck.”
Shooting him a stunned glance, Dane reached for his beer and took a hard gulp.
Julia stretched out on one couch, Kelvin stretched out on the other, and they both sighed.
“You rocked it, baby,” Kelvin said.
“You rocked it, my dear,” Julia replied.
“We both rocked,” Kelvin pronounced. “And now, I. Am. Tired.”
“I’m not tired,” she said, surprised to realize it was true. “I just needed to lie down for a few minutes. I’m actually kind of wired.”
“You always are after a gig,” he said, loosening his black-and-gray striped tie. “Me, I’m always ready to collapse and sleep for a week.”
“That’s because you’re old,” she teased.
“Oooh, beeyotch!” he huffed. “You’re only three months younger than me, you just watch yourself.”
They grinned at each other over their long-running joke.
“You’re going home, then?” she asked.
“Yup.” Kelvin yawned and sat up. “What about you?”
“I think I’m going to have a drink at the bar, then head home,” she said. She’d seen Dane at the bar tonight, watching her. He’d stayed for both sets, but hadn’t tried to talk to her on the break in between. At the end of the second set, he’d been staring at her so intently she could feel the heat in those blazing blues from across the room. It had set her heart racing against her will. She wanted to see if he was out there, at the bar. She wanted to have a drink, and nurse her secret, dirty fantasies about him. . . .
Someone knocked on the door. Julia and Kelvin looked at each other.
“You expecting someone?” he asked.
She shook her head.
Kelvin rose from his sofa to open the door. Standing there was Dane Harrison.
Julia watched the men shake hands in greeting and exchange a few words as she looked her boss over. Damn, he looked especially good tonight. He wore a navy suit, white shirt, and a tie with several hues of blue that brought out his already amazing eyes. A day’s worth of scruff covered his jaw, it was after one in the morning, and the man still looked like he’d just stepped freshly out of a GQ photo shoot.
Someone that handsome shouldn’t be allowed out at night, she thought to herself. He’s too dangerous. Sexy, handsome, and dangerous.
She realized her mouth had gone dry and grabbed her nearby water bottle for a few sips.
“I came to see you, Red,” Dane said, moving farther into the room. “Got a few minutes?”
The air crackled with sudden electricity and their eyes locked as she murmured, “Sure.”
“I’m gonna get going,” Kelvin said, heading toward the closet to retrieve his messenger bag. He undid his tie, shoved it into the bag, and slung the wide strap over his shoulder.
“You don’t have to leave on my account,” Dane said, flicking a friendly glance his way.
“Oh, I’m not,” Kelvin lied. “I was heading out anyway.” He leaned down to kiss Julia’s cheek and whispered in her ear, “Careful, girl.”
She smiled up at him from where she sat. “See you tomorrow, babe.”
“You bet.” Kelvin shook Dane’s hand and they exchanged good-byes.
When they were alone, Dane sat on the sofa Kelvin had vacated, directly across from her.
“So . . .” Suddenly edgy, her heart rate picking up speed, Julia fidgeted with the cap of her water bottle. Even as she did, she tried to be cool, calm, and collected. “Why’d you want to see me? Everything okay, Boss?”
“Not exactly.” Dane leaned in, his elbows on his knees, and pinned her with his stare. “Thing is . . . I can’t get you out of my mind lately. This . . . there’s a draw between us. Something. Chemistry, just lust, I don’t know. But it’s not going away. It’s only getting stronger.” His eyes dropped briefly to her mouth. “So I thought . . .” His gaze raised to hold hers again. “. . . maybe it was time I do something about that.”
She felt her eyes widen and her heart rate skyrocket, but carefully schooled her features into neutrality. Her chin lifted just a notch as she stared back at him. She said nothing. She didn’t know what to say, so she waited for him to play out his hand.
A slow smile of intent spread across Dane’s face. His eyes seemed to blaze fire as he said in a low, seductive tone, “I’ll bet I can shatter that prized self-control of yours with one hot kiss. I’m here to find out.”