I don’t have a response to their last barb, so I hitch my bag and purse over my shoulder and start to push past them. Thankfully, they step aside and when I look up, I come to a screeching halt.
Jerico is standing there, his eyes blazing with fury and I’m not sure how it’s possible, but he looks even bigger. Even though he glares over my shoulder at the women I’d just walked past, I’m still intimidated as shit by the fury that radiates from him.
“Wendy, Calista, Leigh.” He says each of their names, and I’m stunned at how calm he sounds despite the expression on his face. “You’re all fired. Effectively immediately.”
“What?” Leigh gasps in shock. “You can’t do that.”
“I can and I did,” Jerico says brusquely. “Now get dressed and vacate the premises. Your final paycheck will be mailed to you.”
Wendy and Calista’s heads drop, their faces crestfallen as they walk past Jerico. But Leigh is a little spitfire. She growls at Jerico as she struts past him, “You’re a dick.”
Jerico laughs at her, and it sounds cruel and amused. To add insult to the injury he just handed out as the ladies go to their lockers, he says, “And for the record… I think rather than finding out what Trista has to keep me coming back, you should be asking yourselves what you didn’t have that made you just a one-time fuck.”
I wince, because that was crude. Calista and Wendy’s shoulders sag, and they don’t waste time getting their things. Leigh mumbles under her breath but loud enough to be heard. “Such a fucking dick.”
Jerico turns his gaze to mine, his eyes now soft and possibly empathetic. I don’t want any part of it, especially not in front of these women. I jet past him and run out of the locker room, intent on getting the hell out of there before any more attacks come my way.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Jerico says as he grabs me by the elbow just as I enter the hallway. He turns me around and starts to march me toward his office. I feel like a kid being taken to the principal’s office again, and I wonder if I’ll get paddled.
Now why the fuck did I just think that?
Once we’re inside, he releases his hold on me and asks, “Are you okay?”
My eyes narrow as I hiss at him. “I’m completely humiliated. Otherwise, I’m okay. I can’t believe you fired them for that.”
“Why not?’ he asks as he pushes his hands casually into the pockets of pants. “I’m the boss. They were being bitches to you. I kind of thought you might be happy about it.”
“You do realize I’m going to be the club’s pariah now?” I snap at him. “It’s clear people don’t like me because I have your attention, but now they’re really going to hate me when they find out you fired those girls because they were a little catty with your current flavor of the month.”
“That’s not what you are.” He looks pained and troubled, but I’m not sure why. He’s the one with relationship boundaries.
“That’s exactly what I am,” I say softly, but the force of my reminder hits him hard. This deal is only for a month.
He looks at me warily, but he inclines his head in acknowledgment. “What would you have me do?”
Without thought, I jerk my head toward the door. “Go back and rescind their termination.”
Jerico’s eyes go wide with surprise, and I can see instant denial in them. I bet he’s a man who never goes back on a decision once it’s made. We enter a stare-off, and I cross my arms for stubborn effect.
Finally, he blows out a huff of resignation and drawls, “Fine. I’ll go tell them now.”
“Good,” I say with a snippy attitude. I’m not sure why since he just gave me what I asked for, but that’s how it comes out.
This causes his eyes to darken and his lips to curl. “I expect gratitude for this tonight, not attitude.”
I roll my eyes at him, but I don’t have a problem showing him some gratitude. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.
CHAPTER 21
Jerico
I can’t remember the last time I’ve fucked the same woman monogamously. Obviously, I was monogamous with Michelle, but since her it has been nothing but one-night stands. Since the club opened, it’s just impersonal, kinky fucks. Prior to Michelle, I never had overly serious relationships because I was young and didn’t want one.
It’s been almost a week since I fired those three bitches and Trista made me rehire them. We’ve been carnal with each other every single night since so I know she’s not too mad at me. I was a little pissed at her though, making me take those girls back on. I never change my mind once a decision has been made like that because inconsistency smacks of weakness. Right now, those three women not only think I’m pussy whipped, but they also think I’m soft on my employees and business dealings. And fuck if I can figure out why I gave in to Trista on that. She was clearly distressed to be harassed by those girls, but even more so that I fired them. My original intent was to protect her, but I apparently made things worse. The thing that sucks about it is I normally wouldn’t give a shit about something like that. I wouldn’t have cared Trista was cornered, and I certainly wouldn’t have come in to her rescue. I most definitely am not the type of guy who would fire someone and then go to them moments later and take it back.
These thoughts plague my mind as I stare with mild erotic interest, as well as an undercurrent of distaste, at my computer screen. It’s video of Trista and me on The Deck last night. I don’t need the replay to remind me of the vivid details.
Of how I stalked toward her in The Social Room and pulled her from the hostess stand without a word. She didn’t resist, but I noticed her worrying at her lower lip nervously. I damn well know it’s because she was wondering what everyone was thinking of her. I made one concession when I hit the hallway lobby and asked her, “Do you want this?”
She didn’t hesitate in her response, but it was tentative. A light nod of her head, although I could still see the worry in her eyes about backlash.
“Are you sure?” I repeated. Even though my dick was already hard with anticipation of what I was going to do, I gave her another chance to say “no”.
Her words were clear and convincing so I accepted them, even though they made me feel weird at the same time. She’d said, “Yes, I want this. Besides, we have ten days left on our deal, then I won’t have to show my face in here again.”
“Are you that embarrassed?” I asked her, my gut churning that perhaps I was fucking her up in the head by doing things with her publicly.
She immediately shook her head. “Only to the extent of dealing with those looks from coworkers. It would be different if I didn’t work here.”
It had relieved me I wasn’t corrupting her, but it also reminded me… our time together was limited.