Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,75
of employment carrying a working-class man’s bouquet of roses. You’d already know she quit her job to accept my personal invitation.”
“Whatever personal invitation you think she’s accepted from you, you’re dreaming. You may be a powerhouse in the business community, but you’re a nothing in Candace’s life. This working-class man is one hundred percent sure of that.”
“I hope your police officer’s salary affords you an accountant at tax time, because your mathematical skills are severely lacking.”
“I don’t know what your problem is, Balducci, but I suggest you walk away and don’t come back.”
“That’s my plan.” Balducci extracted a phone from an inner pocket of suit jacket. “Now that Candace is exclusively at my beck and call, I have no reason or need to come back to Lucky’s.”
The stiff cellophane crinkled inside Jake’s tightening grip. One more shot at decency, that’s all he’d give this asshole. After that, he was going to punch the bastard in the face and enjoy every bone-cracking second of it. “If you think I’m going to allow you to threaten or coerce her—”
“Stop before you say something that will get you fired, Constable.”
“Candace is more important than my job.”
Balducci’s eyebrows rose. “I believe you feel that way. How unfortunate for you that she doesn’t reciprocate those feelings.”
“You crossed the line about half a dozen comments ago, Balducci, and I’m done listening to your insanity. If Candace is courteous to you because your kids go to the same school, that’s all it is—courtesy. You may have discovered where she works, but know nothing about her feelings or her life, and that’s how it’s going to stay.”
“You have it backward. I didn’t discover where Candace works, I met her here. We’ve become very well-acquainted over the past two years. Well enough for me to know about the birthmark on the underside of her left breast and the single, large dark freckle in the crease of her upper thigh. Would you care to hear other details I know about her?”
Jake didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Fury and disgust were choking off his airway.
The arrogant son-of-a-bitch smirked. “I’ll be a gentleman and withhold the rest of my personal knowledge. However, to be clear, only recently did I learn that Candace’s lovely little Macy attends school with my son. That’s when I offered Candace the opportunity to leave the massage parlor and be available exclusively to me, and I do mean that in an all-encompassing way. The arrangement benefits me in ways you undoubtedly understand, while providing her with a safer lifestyle and more free time. She asked me to meet her this morning. Though I have no doubt you’ll miss her, I’m sure you can appreciate the wisdom of her decision.”
He wanted to call bullshit. There’s no way Candace had agreed to be this slick asshole’s exclusive anything. But Balducci knew things. Things only a man with intimate knowledge of Candace would know.
“Go fuck yourself,” he said, wrenching the door open.
“I think I’ll let Candace take care of that.” Balducci’s words followed Jake into the parlor as the door closed.
By the time Jake reached the reception desk, he could barely see anything beyond his rage-filled haze. One thing was clear, though—Candace wasn’t in the lounge area. “Where’s Candy?” Fuck, he hated calling her by that name.
“She’s not available, but we have other—”
He shut the receptionist down with a glare. “Is she with a customer?”
The young woman shook her head. “She’s not here.”
“Did she call in sick?” He’d spent the majority of the weekend with her and she’d been fine. Better than fine, she’d been great. Everything about their time together had been great. As close to perfect as reality could possibly be.
“She doesn’t work here anymore.”
“Quit or fired?” Either option was cause for celebration. He’d be jumping for fucking joy if his head wasn’t full of Balducci’s shit-talk.
“She quit. You just missed her.”
“Did she see a customer before she quit? The dark-haired European man in a gray suit who just left here?”
“I can’t share information about other clients with you.”
Déjà vu kicked in as he loomed over the desk. “Share it with me now and nobody else will know, or I’ll be back in uniform and you can share it with everybody who reads the arrest report when I shut this fucking place down.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” an attendant said from the lounge. “Yeah, Candy met with the Italian guy this morning. He’s one of her weekly regulars. He was here first thing and they went to a room. A few minutes