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“Yeah, I kind of got that.” He crossed to the small table by the window, and picked up a plain manila file folder. “I know who you are.”
“Fuck!” If her cover was blown, she had to be out of here as soon as possible. “Why didn’t you tell me that an hour ago? I’ll never make it home without a paparazzi trail!” She stood and began pacing the room. “How did this happen? What did I do last night? Whatever it was, it was apparently bad enough to get me fired, but still that’s no reason to blow my cover. That’s like the lowest of low, especially if you consider that the paparazzi were the entire reason I melted down yesterday. Well, maybe not the entire reason, but they definitely made it worse.”
Pax crossed the room quickly with giant strides, grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her at arm’s length in front of him. “Diamond. Stop. I didn’t tell the paparazzi. Hell, I didn’t even tell Jason. And if you would calm down and stop accusing me of compromising you in every way possible, I can fill in a few of the missing pieces of your night last night, and tell you the real reason I’ve been here all night.”
She blinked up at him, tears of relief welling in her green eyes. “Really? I’m safe?”
“Totally safe, sweetheart. And if you’ll chill—I have a plan to keep you safe, and employed.”
“Oh. Okay.” She frowned, eyeing his giant arms that were still holding her hostage near the door. “You can let go of me now. I’ll calm down and listen.”
Pax dropped his arms, instead placing one giant hand on her upper back and guiding her towards the small table. “Sit.”
She did, and she thought he would sit opposite her, but he crossed the room, and rolled the room service cart over to her. “What’s your poison? I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood for so I ordered a bit of everything.”
She eyed the overflowing cart suspiciously as her stomach turned. “Coffee please, and toast.”
“That’s not breakfast.” He placed the requested items in front of her adding a bowl of fresh melon and a plate of bacon slices.
“Ugh. No.” she pushed the bacon across the table and frowned. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I did. While you were in the shower for an hour. An egg white omelet and a wheatgrass smoothie.”
“Ugh. A health nut.”
Finally, he sat down across from her, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed against his chest, legs stretched out underneath the table. “Eat.”
“I don’t want to eat. Can you just tell me what you have to say? Do you have a plan to get my job back?”
Pax scoffed at her. It was actually a full on laugh. “No. Once Jason makes up his mind about something, it’s done. There’s no going back. That man is as stubborn as a pack mule. At least when it comes to business decisions,” he added as an afterthought.
“Oh.” Diamond frowned, and picked up a piece of toast, nervously ripping the crust into tiny pieces.
“I need a new girl. We need some fresh meat to keep up interest and provide regular… entertainment.”
Her eyes blazed, and she dropped her toast, suppressing the urge to pick up her steaming hot coffee and throw it in his face. “I am not a whore! And furthermore, I’m not desperate. I have options you know, plenty of them.” She actually only had one that she knew of, but he didn’t need to know that.
Pax stood, towering over her. He looked about as angry as she felt. “What are you talking about? Nobody called you a whore or even insinuated as much. You need to chill, girl. You might still be a little bit drunk or something, because you are making zero sense.”
“Oh yeah? Pax’s girls? Ring a bell? Isn’t that basically what you just asked me to be?”
His eyebrows crinkled high into his forehead, and he frowned. “Well, yes. But it doesn’t mean what you seem to think it means. I don’t think we’re on quite the same page here.”
“Oh, really? Enlighten me then.”
“Only if you dial back the attitude.”
“Fine.” It was her turn to cross her arms. She copied his stance from earlier and looked at him crossly. “I’m listening.”
“Rojo, if you didn’t know, is a mild BDSM club with a focus on spanking. My girls dance the same as you did here. They don’t do anything else, other than serve the customers drinks and keep them happy and comfortable—and no, that doesn’t mean what you seem to think it means. The only difference is, well, for one thing, I take care of my girls. Comped rooms, paid meals, monthly allowance, health insurance, all that jazz. I also pay better than Jason, but don’t tell him I said that. My girls also follow my rules. They keep a curfew, they eat healthy, they work out, and they show up on time. I keep them on a short leash. I want them in tip-top shape at all time. The kind of stunt you pulled last night would not be tolerated.”
“Right I get it. You’d toss me out on my ass—just like Jason is.”
“No. My girls mess up and they deal with the consequences. If you had been mine last night—and that was a regular occurrence—yeah, I’d get rid of you. You’d be a liability, and I’d have no choice. But unlike Jason, I pay attention to things like extenuating circumstances, and according to the things I learned from your file, coupled with headlines in yesterday’s paper—for you, last night certainly qualified as such.”
Pax was making it really hard to hate him the way she wanted to, and she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. She couldn’t get past the idea that she was missing something. Something important.
“Thank you.” She was thankful for the kindness he was showing her, and the care he had apparently shown last night. “So, are you offering me a job?”
