Chapter 7

“Do you need any help with those?” Rick called out from the doorway.

Mia lifted her head over the stacked boxes that were blocking her view of the door. Apart from the question, there was nothing in his demeanor that suggested he was even remotely interested in helping her lift heavy boxes from the back storage room to the front of the bar.

She was certain it was one of those offers people made just to be kind, but don’t really expect to take them up on it. He was probably expecting her to say ‘no, it’s fine, I got it.’ He was about to be in for a shock.

Mia gave him a broad smile. “Really? Gee… thanks.” 

And just as she had suspected, Rick hesitated at the door, his eyes widening. “Oh. Right... sure.”

She stifled a laugh and carried two heavy boxes over to him. It was really nothing she couldn’t handle on her own, but he had offered. Who was she to pass up the offer?

Rick grimaced once she released the boxes into his hands. It must have been the weight. She could bet he was wondering how she had lifted them so easily over to him. He adjusted his hold on the boxes and started walking back towards the front of the bar.

Ten minutes later, Mia joined him with two other boxes in her arms. He didn’t even offer to help her put them down. She cleared her throat to disguise the chuckle that almost escaped.

A few seconds went by in silence. Then he spoke. “What happened to your admirer? I didn’t see him last night. Is he coming today?”

That explained why Rick, of all people, had followed her into the back room and offered to help her, Mia thought. She knew exactly who he was asking about, but she gave him a blank look. “What admirer?”

Rick started packing the bottles of beer in the fridge, a clear sign he wasn’t ready to leave her area of work. She stifled a growl. Her wolf snarled within her, irritated.

Oblivious to her mood, Rick carried on. “That guy who came here for two nights. Stayed even after we were closed... ring a bell?”

Sarcastically she shrugged and answered. “None at all. Sounds like every other Jim and Jack in this place.”

“Oh, come on, Mia. You know I’m asking about the handsome tall guy with a leather jacket.”

Mia stopped writing in her notebook and glared at Rick. “If I say I know who you are talking about, will you cut it out and drop the subject?”

“Eish, what crawled up your ass?” Joy murmured, coming over to the counter with Ben following a step behind. Great, just what she needed; all three of her coworkers asking questions she had no desire to answer.

Rick beamed, clearly excited to have backup. “Hey, Joy, I was just asking Mia about her new admirer.”

“You mean the bodyguard? The guy looked like he could work like a door bouncer or something.” Ben chuckled.

Joy playfully slapped Ben on his shoulder. “Oh, shut up. You are just jealous the guy is into Mia and doesn’t swing your way.”

Rick laughed. He forgot he had been stocking up the fridge with beer for that night’s shift. He folded his arms and leaned against the counter. Waggling his eyebrows, he told his friend, “Ben, count that as a blessing. I caught a glance of the guy’s package... he would have ripped you in half.”

Mia had really been trying to ignore the entire conversation, but that last bit got her attention and she had to ask. “Rick, how on earth did you see his package?” She couldn’t deny the anger that was tingling in her veins. Her wolf didn’t like the idea of anyone looking at Asher that way.

He shrugged like there was absolutely nothing weird about the entire conversation. “In the restroom. It was just a quick glance.”

All his coworkers stared at him in disbelief for a moment before Ben started laughing. “You are sick!”

“Don’t judge. If you were there, you would have done worse than just take a peek.”

Mia shook her head and tuned out the rest of the conversation. If she listened to more, she risked her anger getting out of control. That couldn’t happen. She was at least grateful that they were not expecting her to say anything. Or answer questions about Asher’s whereabouts.

She didn’t know where he could be. And even though she had practically told him to get lost the night before, she had waited for him to show up the entire night. Even when she had locked up the bar and left through the back door, she had almost expected to find him waiting in the dark by his bike, but he hadn’t been there.

She wouldn’t admit it, but she did wonder if she would ever see him again. Her wolf certainly didn’t like the idea of never seeing Asher Deaven ever again. In fact, the mere thought that he was gone for good got the animal antsy. 

Hours later, halfway through her shift, her wolf was more than antsy. He hadn’t shown up and his absence was becoming a physical pain. Mia growled low in her throat. This was what she had been avoiding. This was why she never wanted to get close to Asher. She had sensed they had some sort of connection from the very first second she had seen him. Now he was gone, and she was fighting her wolf for control. Shit.

*** 

The mountain of files on his desk mocked him. Asher had been at it for eighteen hours straight, and it looked like he hadn’t made a dent in the pile.

Damn. Wasn’t it said, once you were a billionaire, life got easier? He mused. Whoever said that needed to be slapped for lying. The more accurate version should be, the more money you made, the harder you worked. The fewer hours you slept.

True, thousands of dollars were made every hour without him even lifting a finger, but he still had to do so much to ensure those thousands of dollars kept coming.

He had over five thousand employees who depended on the continuity of his investments. The mountain of paperwork on his desk ensured that continuity. Perhaps he needed to delegate more, he thought. Problem was, he always wanted to make sure everything was to his satisfaction. And he was a firm believer in the saying, ‘if you want something done well, do it yourself.’

He placed his elbows on the desk and dropped his head in his hands. “Arg!” It wasn’t even the workload that was frustrating him so much, if he was honest with himself. It was his mind that kept wondering back to a sexy bartender with caramel colored eyes.

He glanced at his wristwatch. It was just past eleven; he knew she would still be in the bar working. A wave of protectiveness hit him, closely followed by another of possessiveness. God, he had it bad. 

Silence surrounded him. He was alone in the office, putting in extra hours to catch up on things. Except, instead of focusing on the documents detailing million dollar deals, he was daydreaming about a young lady who had made it clear she didn’t want his attention.

If he had any sense, he would forget the woman. Asher stood from his chair and went to stand by the glass wall overlooking the city. Various lights illuminated the dark night below. He stared and remembered how Red eyes bar didn’t have a single security light outside or around its premises. 

Asher shook his head. It was beginning to look like he was fighting a losing battle; he realized he had lost all his sense when he first laid eyes on her. He was crazy for her, crazy and craving for a woman he didn’t even know. It was total madness.