Watch Me (Phoenix #1) - Stacey Kennedy Page 0,11

biggest smile she’d ever seen on a dog. She kissed his nose. “Yes, you are the most handsome boy in the whole wide world.”

He wagged his butt at her.

“And you know it too, don’t you?” She laughed, helped him jump onto the stool, and then down onto the floor, and waited for him to stop his dancing before she reattached his leash and opened the door. Charlie went full steam toward the waiting room, promptly yanking himself out of Zoey’s hold.

His owner caught the leash and reined the dog in with a laugh. “Was he a good boy?”

“Always a fantastic boy,” Zoey said, finally reaching them.

Patty, Charlie’s owner, stroked the dog’s head and gave Zoey a curious look. “Any chance you’ve changed your mind on moving away?”

“No, sorry,” Zoey said, aware that, like with last night’s lump in her throat, her chest tightened whenever this subject came up. “Sadly, this is our last appointment, but have no worries at all. The lady replacing me is amazing.” Well, Zoey thought so. She’d only met her replacement once, but she seemed friendly.

Patty gave a heavy sigh, still patting Charlie on the head. “Well, if you ask Charlie and me, no one can replace you, but we wish you the absolute best.”

“Thanks, Patty.” Zoey gave her a quick hug and Charlie another kiss on the head before they headed off to the receptionist, Betty, to pay their bill. Moving away from Brooklyn would be hard. She really did love her job and her clients. Most of all, she wasn’t quite sure how she could live without Hazel and Elise. But Manhattan was too close, a harsh reminder of the NYU days she hadn’t been able to escape. She needed freedom from the pain. She wanted to be the woman who wanted love, who wanted children, who wanted that quiet life. All she had to do was find her again.

She returned to her room and set to cleaning it up to leave for the day. Charlie had been her last appointment, and tonight was a girls’ night. She quickly rinsed off, changed into skinny jeans, a black blouse, and black heels in the adjoining bathroom, and applied some darker makeup, throwing her hair up in a messy high ponytail before she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Have an awesome weekend, Betty,” she called as she headed for the door. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Bye, sweetie.” Betty gave a quick wave before turning back to her monitor.

Zoey focused on the front door again, noting how different she felt than the last time she’d left work. Stronger, maybe. Sexier, for sure. The shy girl from Sacramento had had sex in the most exclusive sex club in New York City. She laughed and shook her head to herself. Even she had a hard time believing it.

When she took a step outside, into the early evening, she nearly tripped at seeing Phoenix’s head of security, Archer, leaning against a big black truck. He was the one who’d interviewed her and met her on the night of the show. She’d liked him then. It worried her that he was here now.

He gave a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry if I’ve surprised you.”

She gathered herself enough not to stumble and hurried to his side, a million questions rushing through her mind. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes, of course,” Archer said with a soft smile she was sure was meant to reassure her. It didn’t work. As if he knew that, his voice softened. “Rhys would like to see you again and requests I bring you to Phoenix.” He hesitated. Then his expression went utterly gentle, which on a face with such striking features looked pretty dreamy. “Believe me, Rhys only wants to have the talk he requested last night. Nothing to worry about.”

“Ah…” She blinked, processed, and then managed, “Hold on a second. The man I was with last night was Rhys Harrington, the owner of Phoenix?”

Archer smirked. “Yes.”

She had to pick her jaw off the ground. What in the holy hell? She thought the masked man had been some random guy. Albeit, she didn’t know the ins and outs of the sex club. “Does Rhys always do the shows?”

“Not always, no,” Archer explained, his thumbs tucked into the pockets of his jeans. “But he always handles any sensitive ones, so he knows everything is being done correctly.”

Like a woman offering up her virginity, apparently.

Zoey blinked. Again. “Am I in trouble?”

Archer laughed softly. “No. Why would you be in