Arranged love

CROSS

I PUSH OPEN Bones’s office door with a stack of papers in my hand but come to a stop when I see Jasmine and Alexa standing in front of his desk. The girls turn their heads to look at me over their shoulders.

“Alexa? What are you doing here?” I’m guessing it has to do with Kink. They are all partners now.

“Bones just gave Alexa a job at Glass,” Jasmine announces.

The smile drops off my face, and my eyes go from her to Alexa’s. “Excuse me?” I ask, blinking.

“It’s just for a couple of months,” Alexa says, turning to fully face me. “Hopefully,” she adds quickly.

“You can have the job for as long as you need it,” Bones states, walking back to sit behind his desk.

“Bones, may I speak to you for a second.” I made it sound like a question, but it wasn’t.

He leans back in his chair. “Ladies, if you would give us a moment, please.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alexa says, bowing her head and pushing blond hair behind her ear. “Thanks again, Bones.”

I step to the side, allowing them room to exit. Once they walk into the hallway, I slam the door shut and turn back to Bones. “What in the fuck are you doing?” I demand.NôvelDrama.Org © content.

He frowns, tilting his head to the side. “She came to me for help. You expected me to deny her?”

I step forward, pointing a finger at him. “And you thought that Glass, of all places, is where she is best suitable?” She’s not a fucking stripper.

“Listen, Cross. I was doing her and you a favor. I know you’re seeing her and thought I’d help her out. She came to me and asked for a job specifically at Glass. What was I supposed to do?”

I snort, ignoring the fact he recognized I’m seeing her. I thought he, of all people, would keep what I’m doing a secret. He’s the most secretive person I know. Bones is very private in everything he does. “Say ‘fuck no.'”

He sighs. “I told her yes, and I’m not going to fire her just because you don’t want her there. Alexa is an adult and can make her own decisions. If she wants to quit, then she’ll quit.” With that, he drops his eyes to his computer screen, dismissing me.

I slap the papers onto his desk and rush out of his office to find her and Jasmine standing in the hallway. I grip Alexa’s upper arm and pull her away. “I need to speak to you.”

“Cross-”

“Now,” I interrupt her protest, yanking her into my office and slamming the door shut behind us. “You will not work at Glass,” I state immediately.

She arches a brow, pushing a hip out. “Excuse me?”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I won’t allow it.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask for your permission then.” She laughs like I’m joking.

“It’s a fucking strip club!” I snap.

“If you would have asked, then you’d know I’m going to waitress or bartend, not dance naked!” she shouts.

She’s right, I didn’t know that, but that doesn’t mean it’s any better. I remove my Zippo from my pocket and start flipping it open and closed. “I don’t want you to …”

“This has nothing to do with you, Cross.” Her eyes glare at me, and her body is now stiff. Just like the fight we had at my house the other night.

“Why do you want to bartend at Glass all of a sudden?” She owns a fucking bar, for Christ’s sake, and she’s opening up a sex club. Why add Glass to her already full schedule?

“I’m closing Lucky’s down to remodel it,” she snaps, still pissy. “I need a job in the meantime.”

“Well, Glass is not it!”

Her nostrils flare. “I will work wherever I damn well please!”

I slam both of my fists on the desk. “No. You. Won’t.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because I won’t allow it!” It’s as simple as that. I used to practically live there with Grave. I know what kind of shit goes on there, and it’s a no for me. Even the waitresses and bartenders will go home with guys for the right price. I’m not saying Alexa’s that type of girl, but where there’s opportunity …

“You don’t get to make decisions for me!” she snaps.

“You’re my woman!” I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but by the way her face turns red, I can tell I’ve hit a nerve.

“Your woman?” she questions with a laugh that was not humorous.

Fuck! “You know what I mean.”

“Obviously, I don’t,” she argues. “Because we’re not exclusive, Cross. We’re not even dating.”

Her reasoning doesn’t sit well with me. “Are you saying you’re seeing someone else?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her already perky tits up even more, and looks away from me, staring out my floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase the Strip. Mitch enters my mind, and if he was right here in front of me, I’d knock his ass out just because I can.

“Alexa?” I snap.

“No!” she shouts. “But that doesn’t mean I’d turn a date down if offered.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” I growl.

She rolls her beautiful green eyes. “We said this was just sex. That it would be our secret. That way, when it’s over, no one would feel awkward when we hang out.”

I can’t argue that she’s wrong. But we’ve been fucking for what, a month now? She’s more to me than that. “And is that what this is to you?” I question.

She throws her hands out to her side before they hit her bare thighs. “What do you want me to say, Cross? That I like you?” She steps closer to me. “Hmm?” She takes another step closer. “Do you want me to confess my undying love for you so that you’ll feel superior over me …”

I grip her face in my hands and yank her forward, closing what little space is left between us, and kiss her. She opens her lips for me immediately, and I take the opportunity to deepen the kiss-my tongue dancing with hers. Her hands grip my T-shirt, and I press my hips into hers so she can feel how hard I am for her right now.

She pulls away all of a sudden. “Cross …”

“I’ll give you a job, but you have to quit Glass,” I offer before we go back to a yelling match that I know I can’t win. Those two days without her after I kicked her out of my house were miserable. I’m trying not to make that mistake again.

She frowns. “I own a bar. That’s what I know.”

I push some loose blond strands behind her ear. “I know. Grave runs one of the nightclubs here in Kingdom.” Who knows when he’ll come back? And if it’s soon, he’ll still want his nights free to spend time at home with his girl. “While he’s gone, I’ve taken it over. It’s yours.”

“What?” she asks, stepping back, and I let her go to give her the space.

“It’s yours. You can run it.” Kingdom really has whatever you could possibly need-it has three nightclubs, over ten restaurants. Twenty sports bars. Tattoo shop-Tit-for-Tat. A shopping mall that connects all four towers. Golf course, bowling alley, wedding chapel, five pools, and its own theater with ten screens. They play movies twenty-four seven. And not to mention the largest convention center. It sponsors anything from UFC fights to sold-out concerts.

“Cross. No. that’s not …”

“It’s a perfect solution. You can manage it. Your brother can work there too. However many employees you need to hire from Lucky’s, you can. We can always use more help.” I know she keeps a small staff at her bar. We have over sixty-five waitresses and thirty bartenders that are in rotation at Crown. We don’t have requirements on how often they work. Some are three nights a week, and others are five times a month. That’s why we employ so many.

She shakes her head. “Derek quit the bar. And he would never work for anything here at Kingdom. He thinks Bones is in with the Mafia.” She laughs but stops when I don’t and swallows nervously. Lowering her voice, she asks, “Is he?”

“Yes,” I say honestly.

She gasps, her eyes widening.

“We all are.” I don’t feel the need to lie to her. I trust Alexa. Plus, this is something that she could find online if she just did some research. I hate to admit that her lack of knowledge about the Kings and our friends hurts my feelings. I thought she’d have looked me up by now. And honestly, I’m surprised that April hasn’t already filled her in on this. Or Jasmine, for that matter. I know she’s hung out with Haven before. She’s met Luca. Not like he introduces himself as mafia royalty, but still. The information is right there if she wanted it.

She starts to pace. “Cross? This is … He was right.” Her hands fist. “I hate when Derek is right. Now what do I do? You’re friends with the Mafia.”

“Technically, you are too,” I add to her rambling.

“No, I’m not,” she says defensively, coming to a stop.

“Yes …” She shakes her head. “Haven.”