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“Nothing, I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “I assume you’re the owner.”
He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he stared. The kind that made people nervous, as if he could see beyond any outward appearance and read one’s soul. Dahlia cleared her throat and awkwardly smiled.
“I am.”
Dahlia nodded, gearing up for her full disclosure. “Can I just explain how this all happened?”
Nash snickered once again. Dahlia stared up at him, wondering if he was trying to get her in trouble. How could anyone find humor in this situation? She considered using Trey as some type of buffer in the situation. It was obvious he knew Nash. Maybe namedropping would get her out of this clusterfuck. But it would come with consequences. They’d basically stolen the passes from the club. That was one conversation Dahlia would prefer to avoid with Trey.
“I know this looks bad, but neither I nor Sloane was trying to steal from you, I promise. We would never do that.”
He raised his brows.
“Um, so we both work at the Bowery downtown.” She knitted her brows, leaning forward. “Do you know that club?”
Nash snorted and turned his back, but she had the distinct feeling he was laughing. Again! At least one person was amused by this whole fiasco. She turned her attention back to the owner.
He took a slow sip from his glass. “I’m familiar.”
She giggled. It was nervous and shaky. “Of course. That’s how the Bowery has passes, right?” She cleared her throat. “So, anyway, um, apparently passes are given to certain employees. It’s a rating system, as I’ve been told, if you sell a certain amount of alcohol. It’s a great incentive.”
“You earned it?”
Shit!
“Not exactly. Sloane, she’s the manager, so she’s never in the running, and I just started as a barback, so it’ll be awhile before I get any perks.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.” The man took a long, slow drag from his cigar, eyeing Dahlia. There was an aura about him as if he could read her thoughts. Maybe that was the reason she blurted it out.
“Well, fair isn’t how many people would describe my boss.” She snickered. “Aggressive, hostile, and unpredictable pretty much sums him up.”
The second the words spilled out, she winced. Why did I say that? Dahlia glanced around the room. None of the security paid her any mind, but Nash appeared amused.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
The owner settled in his seat, carefully eyeing her. “Why’s that? Were you lying?”
Dahlia started to shake her head and immediately froze. Admitting she wasn’t lying was like saying it all over again.
His face hardened. “Two types of people in this world. Those who double down on the truth and those who back down. Which one are you?”
“I fall somewhere in the middle.” Dahlia drew in a shaky breath, intent on getting the subject back on course. “As I was saying about the passes…”
“You stole them.”
Shit!
“Yes.” Dahlia raised her hands. “But not maliciously. Sloane and I didn’t have any plans, and she has access to the passes. I know this looks bad, but we’ll pay for all our drinks. In fact, I’ll pay for everything.”
“You willing to pay the cover charge, the drinks, and the VIP concierge?”
“Absolutely.”
The owner looked over at Nash.
“Five seventy-five.”
What. The. Fuck?
