Seeking Vengeance: Callaghan Brothers, Book 4 by Abbie Zanders Read Free Book Online Page B

she did allow herself to fantasize, the men were always a little darker, a little bigger, and little more dangerous and unpredictable.   More like a certain hard-bodied bad boy with wickedness glowing in his crystal blue eyes and a cock the size of a ... ah, hell .  So not going there. 
    Across the massive desk, Jason seemed to be searching for the right words.  Clearly he had something to say and didn’t quite know how to say it.  As attractive as he was to watch, Nicki was too tired to play games.  She just wanted to go home and forgot this night ever happened.
    “Am I fired?” she burst out.
    He regarded her, his face interested but otherwise unreadable.  “That was quite a show you put on tonight.”  The words were spoken casually, but his eyes - a warm, chocolaty brown - revealed curiosity, and just maybe, amusement mixed with irritation. 
    Her eyes widened a bit.  He had seen?  Of course he had, she reprimanded herself; there were security monitors on the wall to the left of his desk.  Nicki had the presence to drop her chin a hair when she responded. 
    “That is what you pay me for, isn’t it?”
    Jason’s lips quirked slightly.  He looked way too comfortable in that chair, as if he knew something she didn’t.  She hated that feeling.  It never boded well. 
    “Ah, an overachiever,” he chuckled.  “Seems to me that was about more than money.”  He raised the glass to his lips again, never taking his eyes from her. 
    “It’s supposed to.  Seem like it, that is.” 
    The quirk turned into an outright smile.  “So you’re a consummate professional, is that it?  All about pleasing the customer?” 
    Nicki clenched her jaw, felt the heat rise in her cheeks.  It was a wonder she didn’t crack a tooth applying that much force. 
    “Are you telling me that’s a bad thing?” she ground out defensively.   
    “In one of the private viewing areas?  Hell no.  But out there among the masses?  Fuck yes.”
    His eyes flashed to the monitors again.  Hers followed.  The place was still packed.  She could see why that might be a cause for concern.  Any other night and they’d be steadily filing out after the big finale, hopefully with smiles on their faces and their pockets a lot lighter than when they came in.  But tonight there was a different kind of energy on the floor.  The men were more wired than usual, overanxious. 
    Jason leaned forward slightly and pressed a button on the sleek-looking black box at the edge of the desk.  “Ben?  Inform the ladies that we’ll pay time and a half for anyone willing to stick around for another hour, but keep them on the stage.  No more lap dances, no exceptions.  And tell Security to keep their eyes open.”
    After receiving a gruff acknowledgment, Jason turned his attention back to her.  “Look.  You’re a great dancer, Nicki, but I don’t need the hassles.  First your brother goes Rambo on a customer - ”
    “He was protecting me!” she interrupted.
    Jason shot her a warning glance.  “That’s what I pay Security for.”
    Color rose in her cheeks and flames danced in her eyes.  “Then maybe you don’t pay them enough, because they suck at it.”
    “They would have handled it, Nicki.  They wouldn’t have allowed any harm to come to you.”
    “Bullshit.”
    Jason exhaled heavily and rubbed his eyes.  He was clearly reaching the end of his patience.  That made two of them.
    “I am not arguing with you about this, Nicki.  You are not the first girl to get groped.  Call it an occupational hazard, if you will.  Surely you’ve had to deal with things like this before.” 
    He didn’t give her an opportunity to respond before continuing.  “I have a business to run.  What concerns me more is what occurred tonight.  That’s likely to cause me problems.  I can’t allow that to happen again.  It is one thing for your brother to go all knight-in-shining-armor.  Quite another for Sean Callaghan to do so.