Fire & Brimstone (Neighbor from Hell #8) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,45

couldn’t-” she started to explain when the man that had just walked through the front door caught her attention. “Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit,” Melanie seconded as Rebecca reacted like any sane woman would when her biggest dating mistake came waltzing in through the door.

She looked for the fastest escape route before he spotted her.

“Run,” Melanie whispered, but she was trapped.

There was nowhere for her to run, because she was out in the open and the biggest jerk that she’d ever met had spotted her. Great, she thought miserably as she tossed her notepad on the table and prepared herself for a discussion on everything that made Brian so wonderful.

She should have never agreed to go out on that one date with him, but she’d felt bad for him. He was now the reason that she refused to give out on a pity date ever again. From the moment that he’d actually had the balls to tell her that he was incredibly good looking and that she should feel flattered that he’d asked her out, she’d realized that she’d made a mistake in saying yes. She’d mumbled her agreement to shut him up, realizing too late how conceded he was and nearly cried when she realized that the appetizers hadn’t arrived yet.

It had been the most boring night of her-

“Get the fuck out of my bar,” Lucifer, who at some point had crossed the room, said softly with a glimmer in his eyes that told everyone that had the balls to look that he wasn’t playing around.

Secure in the knowledge that Brian would do the smart thing and run away, which he did, Lucifer turned around, locked eyes on her and-

That’s when she decided that someone, namely her, should go count the napkins in the back room to make sure that they had enough to last them for another year or two.

Chapter 22

“I really wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Melanie said offhandedly as she picked up her empty glass and proceeded to nibble on her straw as she gave him a pitying look.

“I’m not doing anything,” he said, pushing a chair out of his way so that he could go after Rebecca and continue staring at her like a fucking moron.

“You’re out of your league on this one,” Melanie called after him.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, ignoring the new waitress that he’d hired, who was desperately trying to get his attention as he headed towards the back hallway.

“Don’t I?” she said, sounding a little too smug for his comfort.

Slowly, he turned around to face her as he told himself that there was no way that Rebecca had told her anything, but one look at her face told him everything that he needed to know. Cursing, he ground his jaw, turned right back around and stormed off in the direction of his office, knowing damn well that she would be right behind him.

He walked into his office and waited for the smug woman to waltz past him before he slammed his office door shut. As soon as he made the door was locked he sat down behind his desk all while keeping his eyes on the woman who apparently knew too much.

Or did she…

“What did she tell you?” he asked, deciding that it was for the best to play on the side of caution.

“Everything,” she said without batting an eye.

Narrowing his eyes on her, he said, “You’re bluffing.”

Cocking a brow, she leaned back in her chair as she folded her hands over her lap and gave him that smug smile that was really going to get her killed. “Am I?”

For a moment he studied her, trying to decide whether she was bullshiting him or not, but in the end it was that damn smile of hers that had him convinced that she knew a lot more than she should.

“Start talking,” he said, already deciding that if she didn’t say anything useful in the next sixty seconds that he was tossing her out of his office and hunting Rebecca down so that he could fit in a few more minutes of staring at her like an idiot before the dinner rush arrived.

God, he was fucking pathetic.

“First off, you really need to stop glaring at her all the time,” she said before adding, “It’s seriously disturbing.”

“I’m not glaring at her!” he snapped even as he conceded that it would probably be for the best if he stopped doing that.

“No, of course you’re not,” she mumbled absently as she