Page 32 of Shades of Loyalty
Except talk to Jennifer.
The knock on the door startles her, but when she recognizes my face, her tense posture relaxes. As much as I hate seeing her uncomfortable here, I love knowing that she’s comfortable with me. Only with me. It’s so fucking satisfying.
“How’s work going?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe and admiring her beauty. She’s just wearing a simple nurse’s uniform, the kind you’d see in any local hospital, but fuck, she looks beautiful in it. Her hair’s tied up, her sleeves rolled back, and I can’t stop looking at her hands.
Blame the porn industry for making me fantasize about her treating me when I’m hurt. I’m a goddamn asshole, I know.
A sigh is the only response I get from her. “It’s… fine.”
She quickly goes back to cleaning her tools, making me arch a brow in confusion.
“Fine, huh? Doesn’t sound like it, to say it nicely,” I say.
“Well, it’s just…” She hesitates for a moment. “I wouldn’t have imagined how much work this would be.”
“Meaning?” I ask. This job doesn’t usually contain much work. Our men are well-trained, and physical fights are rare these days. I don’t get her point.
“Your men keep coming by and complain about the dumbest things just to meet me. Honestly, I try to take this seriously, and they’re acting like teenage boys!”
I grin. Right. I almost forgot. “To be fair, most of them are single. And I’m not sure about the virginity rate among my men.”
She looks at me, horrified. “You’re joking.”
I stay quiet. Let her stew in it. “Right?” she mumbles, clearly unsure now.
“More or less,” I finally reply, smirking. “I’m sorry if they’re bothering you. I’ll make sure they stop. They usually take my threats very seriously. I wonderwhy.” It’s a joke. I don’t hurt my men, really. But it doesn’t surprise me that she, of course, doesn’t understand my sarcasm when it comes to this topic.
Jennifer’s expression stays neutral for a few moments before she rolls her eyes and grins. “You don’t have to threaten them, Daniel. Just… Tell them that I have a busy schedule, and they should only come see me when they really need to. I mean it.”
I smile at her, glad that she takes her job this serious. Such a good girl.“Alright, I’ll talk to them. But Jennifer… do you like it here regardless? Anything you need? I can get it for you, you know.”
She thinks about my question as she steps closer, leaving her tools on the table.
“It’s not generally bad. I don’t need anything special, I just… I barely get to spend time with my daughter, you know? I miss her a lot.”
“And you don’t have any time for yourself either, I’m assuming?” I add.
She shrugs. “It’s been like this for years. I’m a single mother, Daniel. What do you expect?”
“I expect you to take care of yourself, pretty.”
“It’s not that easy, trust me.”
A quiet sigh escapes her lips before somebody walks into the room. I turn around, already smirking the second I see his blonde hair.
“Hayden, my guy,” I grin. “What areyouup to?”
He rolls his eyes. “Fuck you, Daniel.”
“I know you want to,” I shoot back, grinning.
This time, he grins back at me, but I can tell there’s a hint of nervousness behind it. “Listen. Julian fucked something up.”
My smirk, however, instantly disappears at the mention of his name, my mind playing all the shit he could have done to my family on repeat. Like every fucking time. God, I hate this guy.
“What the fuck did he do?” I ask.
And the answer? It fucking fills me with a rage I rarely even feel nowadays.
