“No Trisha, not tonight. Can’t you see we’re jam packed in here?”
He watched Trisha look around again and this time she actually physically bumped into Lena, who turned her glare on her.
“Oh I’m sorry.” Trisha then spun back around and leaned over smiling at him, “Opps. Now I’m running into your customers.”
Mason saw the moment Lena heard and watched her shoulders stiffen and her back straighten. Oh shit, he was thinking, that was her grenade lobbying pose and Trisha and him were in the line of fire. Just as he was about to say something to her he saw Shelly walking over toward them. She looked at him, then Trisha and then lastly at her friend and he watched as the usually friendly doctor got a look on her face that almost matched Lena when she was pissed. Fantastic. Just what he needed, the only ally he had now hated him. Turning back to Trisha he said in a sterner voice. “You should leave Trisha I can’t get free tonight.”
She pouted then asked, “How about tomorrow night?”
He was about to say, how about no night, when he saw the writer from Delicious being escorted over to him by Wendy. He bit the inside of his cheek and willed himself to calm down, he was a professional and although this was turning out to be a huge clusterfuck, he could deal with it. He noticed Shelly had taken a seat beside her friend, who was still glaring at him in the hopes of him disintegrating into a pile of ash, and she was whispering something in her ear. Lena didn’t turn to face her, just arched an eyebrow and kept deadly silent.
“Mason.” Wendy said all smiles as she brought forward Peter Ryder from Delicious.
“Excuse me.” she said and finally, finally, saved him by pushing Trisha out of the way. Finally taking a hint Trisha waved, “Call me.”
Not likely, he thought, if he ever got out alive.
“Mason. What a wonderful place you have here.”
Smiling stiffly and wiping damp palms on his thighs he glanced over at Lena, who was still seated, back ramrod straight grimace in place eyes glaring at him.
“Thanks Peter. I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight?”
“Oh yes.” he said with a chuckle, “But not as much as you I’m sure. Who was the redhead?”
He winced and just when he thought things couldn’t get worse Lena threw her grenade.
“Oh. She’s number thirty four.”
He watched the train wreck unfold in slow motion as it slowed down to a complete crawl before plowing into him.
“Excuse me?” Peter asked with a laugh turning to face, who he assumed was, an attractive stranger. Lena smiled at him but her eyes stayed cold.
“The redhead. She’s number thirty four on his list. Didn’t you research him before you came?”
Peter glanced over to Mason who was now looking at Lena like she’d lost her mind. Shelly, who’d been seated beside her, stood up.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“Oh let me explain it for you. If you Google this fine man here it’ll show how many redheads, brunettes and blonds he’s had ahhh, what did you call it, a good night with. That lady was number thirty four.” she paused in her tirade for a moment then added, “For this year alone! Who knew someone could be so very talented to juggle that many women around.”
“Lena stop it.” he heard Shelly hiss under her breath but nothing was going to stop her now. He watched with silent fury as she coolly decimated his character in front of a god damn reporter.
“Oh and do you know this man well?” he heard Peter ask.
She smiled sweetly and looked over to him then back to the reporter. “Oh yes. I was with him on Wednesday night. You see. I was planning to be number thirty four, but I guess I got pushed out of the way.” and with that parting shot she bent down to reach for her purse and coat. Mason was still trying to wrap his brain around everything that’d just happened and how extremely pissed off he was when she started for the door. Shelly trailed behind her and he knew if he didn’t act now this would be it. Peter glanced at him with a confused look and Mason muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry.”
Knowing he was committing career suicide he ran around the bar and took off after Lena. She was just about out the door when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the door leading to the room upstairs. She looked up at him with eyes so cold he thought they would freeze him on the spot. He saw Shelly behind her stop and wait not knowing what to do. He looked at her and said through gritted teeth.
“Give us a minute Shelly.” then he dragged her up three steps and slammed the door shut and locked it with a deafening click.
“What the fuck was that all about?”
Lena watched as he climbed one step then turned to face her where she stood against the wall. She was up a step from him so she was effectively taller and right at that moment she was happy for even that much leverage.
“Screw you.” she spat at him, seething over the whole evening that’d gone to shit so quickly she couldn’t even begin to imagine when it’d been going right.
“Screw me?” he asked through clenched teeth, “Oh Lena trust me, you screwed me really good out there in the bar.”
She looked down at him and narrowed her eyes. “Oh I’m so sorry that I stopped you from taking a minute in the back with redhead number..”
“If you even mention a number, so help me God.”
Glaring at him she realized he’d stepped forward effectively pushing her against the wall. Then with slow concise words he asked. “Now tell me what you were doing out there?”
“It dawned on me what a colossal mistake this has all been.” she paused took a breath and felt her chest heave. “That’s right Langley. I saw the light in the space of five minutes with a redhead and some stranger called Peter.”
“If you’d shut your mouth for one second out there tonight I would’ve explained everything to you. But no, instead of waiting for a logical explanation, Dr O’Donnell flipped the fuck out and turned into a raging bitch. Do you know what you cost me tonight?”
Lena just wanted to leave. She was so mad and possibly more inebriated than she first thought, but this huge wall of a man wouldn’t get out of her way. So instead she snapped at him. “Seven minutes of heaven in the back closet.”
He moved quicker than she could blink and before she knew it he’d moved up a step and had a hand wrapped up in her hair and the other gripping her waist tight.
“Let go of me.” she spat at him. Instead of complying he just moved in even closer. He tugged her hair so she was now was looking up at him.
“Your little temper tantrum was in front of Peter Ryder, from Delicious magazine. He was here tonight to interview me and get us into the national market.” he paused and she felt his whole body shake against hers with restrained anger. “But instead of a piece on my food, customers and location, he’s probably going to write about how I fuck a different woman every night.”
Lena shook as he pushed against her. The hand at her waist slid down the curve of her hip and grabbed her ass as he hitched her up the wall and pushed his hips in tight to hold her there on tiptoes. She couldn’t breathe. In fact she couldn’t think. She couldn’t even remember why she so was pissed off and why she’d turned into such a raging lunatic. All she could think about was how hard his thick thighs and erection was as they pressed up intimately against her. The hand in her hair had gentled a little but it was still wound tight holding her still. He moved his pissed off face in close to her and she saw the anger shimmering in his eyes.