the house clock. “No, I’m not on shift today.”
“Bell said you were taking her shift.”
Damn Bell! That was the second time in a row.
“You need to be here in fifteen minutes or I’m going to have to let you go.”
“What?” I yelled into the phone. “But I’m never late, I—”
“Get here, Gabrielle.” The phone went dead.
Tears blurred my vision. “Gotta go, Lex.” I grabbed my stuff and hurried out of the house.
My car was giving me trouble. I prayed it would start.
It did.
Luckily I’d been working so much I had my uniform in the backseat. I parked in front of the club ten minutes later, grabbed my uniform, and charged in through the double doors. My apologies fell on deaf ears—they always did, because even though I did everything right . . .
I was hated.
Because I was the only waitress in the club’s history who had refused a promotion to the stage.
The girls called me goody-goody.
The men thought I was a prude.
And my boss thought I was ungrateful.
I really needed to find another job, but nothing paid me as well as this one did.
The next two hours were hell, and I still had two more to go.
“Your dress isn’t as tight as it used to be.” Lex’s familiar voice was like a balm to my soul—words I thought I’d never think or say aloud.
“That’s probably a good thing.” I grabbed a napkin and placed it on his table. “What will it be?”
“A beer and water.”
“Preference?”
“Anything that’s going to get that asshole boss of yours to allow me to stay as a paying customer. Keep them coming.”
His kindness floored me. Why was he even there?
“Are you, um, meeting someone?” I asked when I returned with his drink and water.
Lex burst out laughing. “I’m alone . . . Unless you’re offering to join me?”
“Ha-ha.” My laugh was awkward, uncomfortable. “I only have one break, and I was going to take it—”
“Now.” He pulled out a chair and slid the water over to me.
Lex wasn’t necessarily bossy; commanding was more like it. So when he said things, I either argued to keep myself from falling for him, or I listened because he was usually right.
And he was.
Right, that is.
My feet ached.
I winced as I sat my butt down and kicked off my heels.
Without any sort of warning, Lex grabbed both of my ankles, jerking my chair closer to his with a loud squeak, and then placed my feet in his lap.
“What are you—?”
Strong hands started massaging my right foot, hitting every single pressure point. With a shudder, I flexed my toes, then leaned back as a moan escaped my lips.
“Holy shit!” Lex burst out laughing. “Did I find your kryptonite, Supergirl?”
He hadn’t called me that in years.
I opened one eye to stare him down, and I probably looked like an exhausted cyclops, scaring the super villain away. “Hmm?”
No words would come. It felt too good, and my feet hurt so bad.
His thumbs massaged up and down, pushing in around my heel. “I never knew you had an off button. I feel like I just discovered a new world or something.”
“Yesss.” I choked out the word as he pressed harder into my arch, making me nearly come off my chair.
The massaging stopped.
I opened my eyes.
And the hunger was back.
Lex’s chest was heaving.
He slowly dropped one of my feet onto the floor and moved to the other, gripping my left foot hard and then pressing his thumbs into the middle while delicately caressing down the sides.
With a wicked grin, he twisted his thumb in the middle of my foot.
I arched off the chair, my foot landing on his crotch.
I tried to jerk away, embarrassed that I’d basically just kicked him in the junk, but he kept it there.
My eyes widened as I realized why.
Danger! Danger!
My mind screamed for me to pull back while my body remained perfectly still.
The logical part of my brain refused to listen to all the red flags popping up all over the place, instead focusing on his arousal.
And the fact that I’d been the one to cause it.
Again.
Was it me?
Or were all guys like that?
I didn’t have enough experience to know.
All I knew was that I wanted Lex to look at me like that forever. His lips parted as he wet his lower lip and then huffed out a short breath.
I moved my foot.
His eyes closed.
I moved my foot again as his hands went limp.
“Gabi!” my boss yelled above the music. “Break time’s over! You can flirt