Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (inspirational novels .txt) 📗

a week without seeing Nona and the animals. Gathering my papers together, I reviewed my presentation one last time and put a couple finishing touches on it before going to bed.

“MISS DAUGHTRY,” RYAN Pruitt greeted me from across the hall.

As he came closer, my instincts told me he was too slick. I knew those feelings had been influenced by my father’s distrust of him, but everything about this man seemed overly put-together. The florescent lights were on, and his light-brown hair looked stiff and brittle, as though he used too much gel. His black dress shirt had two buttons open at the top, but the twinkling diamond cuff-links at his wrists were a bit much for a Friday afternoon with nobody in the club.

It floored me when I found out the business my father was silently invested in was a dance club. He’d diversified over the many years of my childhood and now adulthood, mostly moving into commercial real estate. I didn’t know the details of his investment with Ryan, but knowing Dad was suspicious of him strengthened my impression Ryan would hide it well.

I held my hand out, and Ryan shook it.

“You’re prompt. An excellent sign. Unfortunately, you’re the only employee for today’s orientation.”

I smiled. “I’m not surprised. I mean, you didn’t have any other open positions, right?”

He smiled back, but it didn’t reflect in his eyes or sound in his voice. “Right. Anyway, let’s get started. The most important policy we have is no fraternization. This is to protect employees as much as our patrons. Other than that, I think everything else is common sense and self-explanatory.”

I followed him to a small office tucked in the back of the cavernous building. He left me with a two-inch binder containing the employee handbook, and Rhonda, the woman who had been balancing the books.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi, yourself. I shouldn’t share this with you, but since my last day is coming up, I don’t care. Ryan didn’t want to bring you on board, but he knew your father would step in if he didn’t.”

I was afraid of that and had said as much to Dad right after I sent my resume. He assured me it wouldn’t be an issue.

“Well, I’m not looking for special treatment,” I muttered.

She shot me a saucy grin. “Wouldn’t get it from me even if you did. No matter who the hell you are.”

I chuckled at her frank tone. “Good. So, do you use Quickbooks or some other software?”

“College girl knows about Quickbooks, huh?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “I volunteer at an animal shelter and help with their books. So, I know my way around the software.”

She nodded, and her gaze shifted from assessing to approving. “Well, we use something else. It’s designed to help with the alcohol sales, but at the end of the day it’s not too far off from what you’ve seen in Quickbooks.”

I dragged a chair next to her and spent the next two hours learning the software. I knew I wouldn’t be able to determine if Dad’s suspicions were solid or not on the first day, but a thrill stole over me. I had no desire to be a PI, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

10Personal Bubble

Cassie

TWO WEEKS LATER, I found myself working without the help of Rhonda. Even though I thought I knew the software pretty well, I ran into problems left and right. My goal had been to get out of the building at seven, but before I knew it, the time in the corner of my computer screen read quarter to nine. The club opened at nine, but the hipsters and ‘real’ customers didn’t show up until closer to ten.

With a sigh, I realized I had another hour of work to go.

“That won’t be so bad. I’ll get out of here before the crowd,” I muttered to myself.

“Miss Daughtry, are you still here?” Ryan asked from the doorway.

“Yes, sir,” I called.

I stood from my desk and turned to him. “I should be out of here in another hour, maybe less.”

A glint hit his eye and his lips tipped up, but then he schooled his features. “All right. If you have any questions, you can reach out for help.”

I shot him a feeble smile. “That’s all right, sir. Just some computer updates and stuff slowed me down earlier.”

He slowly tipped his chin up to nod, but I sensed his skepticism.

Once he left, I sat down and went back to work. I tried to keep an open mind, but my every instinct said something wasn’t right about Ryan.

Nearly an hour later, I finally saved my work and powered down my PC. I had been guzzling water like a woman in the desert, and my bladder demanded I visit the restroom.

During the day, using the club bathroom wasn’t a big deal. No different from any other office environment, except now that the club was open to patrons, I worried I’d have to wait in a line.

Luckily, I walked in just as another woman walked out, smacking her lips, which appeared to be fresh with lipstick.

I scurried into a stall and took care of business. As I washed my hands, four women came in chattering with one another.

“I can’t believe y’all talked me into coming here. We don’t even know who the DJ is tonight. If this doesn’t work out, one of you owes me my cover charge!”

Hearing their conversation reminded me why I so seldom went to clubs. My infrequent club-hopping always showed in times like these. The glossing of lips in the bathroom and gossiping among girlfriends. I was no good at it, and I never understood why the DJ at a club made any difference.

Well, unless that DJ was Gabe.

I had been to GILT twice when he was the DJ, and as I expected, his musical prowess shined through in every track he played and how he blended one into the next. Anyone else though? I wasn’t so sure I would care who