Three Days (The Private Club #1)(3)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Patsy, it’s Greyson. We have a new girl. She’s in my office. Come and get her, please.” His voice was gruff as he spoke into the phone and sat back down again. “You can go back into the hallway and wait. She’ll be along to collect you in a minute.”

“Okay.” I turned away, feeling embarrassed and rejected. Get a grip, Meg. You’re way too smart and secure for these teenage-girl feelings. It had been a long time since I had such an immediate reaction to a guy.

“Oh, and Meg—I’d be careful about letting people you know Brandon Hastings.” His voice was quiet. “There are some folks around here that knew him quite well, and let’s just say that if they knew you were well acquainted with him, you could find your time here fairly contentious.”

I walked through the door without responding or looking back. My heart was beating rapidly, and all I wanted to do was run away and never come back. I didn’t like Greyson and I didn’t like this club. If I were honest, my curiosity was piqued about the club and the job, but a part of me didn’t really want to know. My entire body was screaming at me to run like wildfire. But I didn’t. I needed to find out what Brandon’s involvement with the club had been. I needed to find out the truth for Katie before she fully committed to him. Every fiber of my being told me that Greyson Twining was bad news, and I was now worried that Brandon Hastings was even worse.

I sat there for a few seconds before I started growing angry. I jumped up and went back into his office. Greyson looked up at me with a surprised frown, and I could see from his expression that he was angry.

“What are you doing in here?” His words were dismissive and he looked toward the open door. “I told you to go and wait outside.”

“I know what you said.” I glared at him and walked towards his desk. “I just wanted to tell you that I don’t expect you to violate my space again. I don’t want you touching me or kissing me or doing anything to me. Do you understand?” The words spewed out of my mouth in a hurry and I stared at him anxiously, expecting him to be angry. I was surprised to see his eyes glittering and his lips twitching. “Do you understand?” I asked again, glaring at him.

“I understand.” He nodded. I stood there tensely, waiting for the ball to drop and for Greyson to stand up and push me against the wall and put me in my place. I was tingling, waiting in sweet anticipation for him to try to overpower me. I could picture myself slapping him and pushing him away.

“Anything else?” He held his pen in the air and stared at me expectantly.

“No.” I shook my head, disappointed that I wasn’t going to get the showdown that I wanted.

“Okay, then you can go back out and wait for Patsy.” His voice was dismissive, and I felt even worse than I had before. I turned around slowly and walked back to the door, feeling like an idiot.

“Oh, and Meg.” His voice was deceptively soft behind me. I paused to listen but didn’t turn back around to face him. “I’m going to honor your wishes. The next time my lips meet yours will be because you begged me to kiss you. It will be because you couldn’t go another second without the feel of my hands caressing your body.” He paused for a second, and I remained where I was, standing to see if he was going to say anything else. “And when you beg me to take you, hard and fast, I won’t say no. In fact, I’ll pound you so hard that you’ll wonder where your body ends and mine begins.”

I swallowed hard, and it took everything in me to not turn around and face him. I waited for a few more seconds, but silence filled the air. I quickly exited the room and closed the door behind me. I leaned back and closed my eyes, but all I could see in my mind was Greyson. Tall, dominant, elusive Greyson. It was at that moment that I knew I was in trouble.

Chapter 2

"What’s your name?" Her voice was disinterested as she looked me over.

"Meg." I tried smiling at her.

"Starla." She flipped her long, raven-black hair and opened a door.

"Nice to meet you, Starla."

"No, you’re going to go by Starla. Meg’s too plain, too girl-next-door. Men don’t want a Meg. You’re Starla from now on."

"Oh." I paused and debated whether or not I should say something. I was still annoyed and frustrated at Greyson’s dismissal, and I didn’t appreciate her condescending tone.

"And if you’re sticking with blond, you should think about tanning. You look washed out. If you want to stick with the pale look, I suggest you go strawberry red. And then maybe you can keep Meg."

"I’m a natural blonde."

"Sure, doll." She ushered me into the small, dark room. "This is your room. You’ll be sharing it with the other new girl. She’s not here yet."

"Sharing?"

"Yeah, sharing. This is a trial period. If Greyson likes you, you’ll get your own room. For now, you get to choose a bunk."

"I don’t need a room, I have my own apartment." I looked around the room distastefully.

"Then why are you here?"

"For a job." I sighed and looked away from her gaze. I felt out of place and even more uncomfortable than before. "I needed a job."

"And the club is the first place you thought to look?"

"I thought it would be easy money to bartend and allow me to look for another law position in the daytime."

"Law?"

"I’m a lawyer."

"Oh, fancy-schmancy." She laughed bitterly. "Now you’re just one of the girls, Starla."

"I’m Meg," I whispered, but I don’t think she heard me. "Does the training start tomorrow?"

"Training?" she frowned.

"I don’t have much experience bartending."

"I wouldn’t worry about that!" She burst out laughing and looked me over. "It seems to me you have the requisite skills for the job." She stared at my scantily-covered br**sts and nodded. "I guess all your lawyer skills are going to come in handy."

"What does that mean?" My voice rose.

"What?" Her eyes narrowed and she looked at me in surprise.

"Your comment means what?" I gave her a sharp look. "Look, I don’t know you and you don’t know me, so I’m going to assume that you’re not being a bitch on purpose. Maybe you just had a bad day?" I took a deep breath and was about to continue when I watched the expression on her face change.

"You’re not as pathetic as you look, are you?" She smiled, and I could see a new respect in her eyes.