House of Paine - A Full Length Bad Boy Novel by Kylie Walker Read Free Book Online

you sure honey? It won’t be too hard?”
    Paige gave her a sad smile and said, “It’s going to be hard no matter what.” That was honest. She wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
    “Okay then,” the woman said, “I’m Faith by the way.”
    “Nice to meet you Faith. Thank you for this.”
    Paige filled out the paperwork that Faith asked her to fill out and paid her the rent for the month of June. Faith wouldn’t take the deposit since Paige was going to be cleaning the apartment out. When they finished, Paige slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way up the stairs. She saw the crime scene tape before she reached the landing. She stood there at the top of the stairs and looked at the door for a long time before propelling herself slowly forward. When she got there, she put the key Faith gave her in the door and pushed it open. She stood there again looking inside at the bare walls and minimal furniture. Greg told her before that there were no personal items out because of his work being undercover. It made her sadder to think about him dying in such an impersonal place. With tears already in her eyes, she finally worked up the nerve to break the tape that still blocked the door. When she finally stepped in and closed the door behind her, the first thing she saw was the man-shaped chalk drawing on the floor. She dropped her bag and dropped to her knees. Curling up near the spot in a fetal position, she lay there and cried for her brother. “I love you, Greg. I promise you…your death will not be in vain.”

Chapter 8
 
    Less than a week later, Paige had her first night on the job as manager of the 500 club. Kelsey showed her around the bottom floor and into an office near the back which Kelsey told her would be hers.
    “Are you here a lot Kelsey?” Paige asked her.
    “I’d rather not be,” she said. “My father owns a corporation that I do the accounts for as well. I’ve been here a lot just because we haven’t had a manager lately.”
    “Well then, I will do a good job so you can get back to your own work.”
    Kelsey smiled, “Good. Thanks. I’m going to have you work with Nick, the bartender the rest of the night. I’d like to have you get used to the whole club and how it all runs.”
    “Sure, that sounds great,” Paige said.
    Kelsey took her out and introduced her to the bartender she had seen the day she came in to apply for the job. He was probably around Paige’s age with blonde hair; blue eyes and a baby face that made him look about twelve. His body was a different story, however. He wasn’t very tall, maybe five nine at the most, but his shoulders were broad and she could see through his t-shirt how hard his chest was. He was also covered from shoulder to wrist with tattoos. Paige wondered if she was the only one working here without them.
    “Have you tended bar before?” Nick asked her after Kelsey left.
    “Yeah, it was one of my first jobs,” she said. “But I’m a little rusty.”
    “That’s okay. When we start getting busier later there will be three of us. We’ll all show you what we’re doing. We’re a pretty friendly group.”
    “Sounds good, thanks.”
    Paige worked with Nick for about an hour before the other two bartenders came in. While they were setting up, Nick left Paige in charge of their station while he went to use the restroom. She was facing the counter when she suddenly felt a hand on her ass. She turned around quickly and came face to face with Caine.
    He grinned. “Hey there, how’s your first night going?”
    Paige was somewhat in shock that he would be so aggressive and then act so nonchalant about it. “It’s…um…” He laughed. He was standing way too close. She could smell his breath which thankfully smelled like mint.
    “That good huh?” He said with his face down close to hers. “If you need anything at all, you make sure you let me know, okay?”
    Paige only nodded. She hadn’t been prepared for that. She watched as he stopped