"No thanks."
"Suit yourself. I'm Jake by the way."
"Elle."
"Yeah, I kind of noticed that."
He smirked at me, gesturing to my name tag.
I stared at him, knowing I should go. He was wearing a club tie and jacket-kept on hand for those who couldn't be bothered to dress nicely enough. Usually that meant poor relations. But that's not exactly how I was reading him.
No, he didn't look like a poor relation at all.
What he looked like was a hawk in a dovecote. He looked lawless somehow. Not like the average stuck up stiff who came in here.
He looked raw. Rowdy.
Dangerous.
I shook myself. I was here to work, not moon over the guests. Especially rude ones who reeked of bourbon. No matter how blue their eyes were. Or how broad their shudders were-or-
"Eleanor Gavin! What is the meaning of this? You are needed upstairs on the floor."
Hell and damnation.
My stomach dropped at the sound of my supervisor's shrill voice.
Mr. Peabody had found me. This was not good. A lump formed in my stomach at the thought of telling Shirley I'd gotten fired. Hopefully it wouldn't reflect badly on my friend.
Never mind I had no other prospects for work. The band didn't pay. Not yet.
I knew it would though. It had to.
But instead of getting fired, I watched in awe as Mr. Blue Eyes turned around and made my supervisor turn stark white. The stodgy old fart actually looked intimidated.
I could have sworn I saw Mr. Peabody's mustache quiver.
"Mr. Delancey! I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you there. This is an employee only section. And there's no smoking on the grounds."
"My fault entirely. Eleanor came out here to tell me the same thing and I waylaid her."
I glanced at him in shock then covered quickly. He was handling Mr. Peabody like a pro! Thank the good lord in heaven!
I kept a composed look on my face, but inside my wheels were spinning. Jake Delancey had just done me a favor. He'd done me more than a favor, he'd saved my ass.
He was after something.
Don't be stupid Elle, you know what.
He was after me.
Hopefully he didn't expect anything in return for it.
"Alright Eleanor. You may return to your station. And Mr. Delancey, put that out if you don't mind."
"Of course."
I nodded regally and sailed past Mr. Peabody with my head held high. I could feel Jake's eyes on me as I walked back into the building.
Check that.
I could feel his eyes on my ass.
Oh yes, he was definitely interested in more than bumming a smoke.
If he did expect anything from me in return for covering, Mr. Blue Eyes Delancey would just have to get used to disappointment. I was not the sort of girl who put out for spoiled rich boys, no matter how handsome they were.
All the same, for some mysterious reason I found myself smiling the rest of the night.
Chapter Three
Jake
I stared into the gas fireplace. My brothers wanted to talk to me alone. So I was sitting here in the study, waiting for them to get on with it. It was marginally easier to pay attention now that we were home, without that sexy waitress to look at.
But barely.
I couldn't get her out of my head.
"Jake, are you listening?"
I swirled my glass, making the ice clink against the crystal.
"Uh huh."
"I told you he'd be difficult."
Daniel was bitching about me to Jackson. Nothing new there. The two of them were thick as thieves. I was the one on the outside. Always.
Nothing had changed.
Well, except that mom was gone. And our father was ill. No one would tell me how ill though. Or what was wrong with him. But since the old man had actually looked glad to see me when I'd showed up out of the blue, I could guess that it was pretty bad.
"Spit it out."
Jackson laughed and stood up to pour himself a drink. Then he turned and stared at me. I was starting to get a feeling that something more serious was on the table.
"It's about dad's will."
"Will? He's alive isn't he? That seems a bit premature."
Jackson ran his hands through his hair.
"He's dying Jake. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you."
I inhaled sharply. Then I took a drink. I realized I wasn't surprised.
I had known that on some level. The old man's skin had a slightly yellow tint to it. And he'd lost weight. Our father was always a big, tall, muscular man. Now he looked frail. It was more than just getting older.
He was wasting away.
No, I wasn't surprised at all.
So why did I feel like there was a rock sitting in my gut?
Jackson looked sincere though. He did look sorry. For once. I finished my drink in one swallow.
"Okay."
"He wants us to run Delancey Estates. Together."
My eyebrows shot up. Now, that was a surprise. Jackson and Daniel had been running things under our father's supervision for years. As far as I was concerned, that's the way it should be. The golden boys should do what they were born and bred to do.
Be golden.
"So run it. What's it got to do with me?"