Page 16 of New Rules
Choosing to ignore the loose question he left hanging there, I chose to ask another burning question in my mind. “So, you told all of them.”
It was more of a statement rather than a question, but he still nodded.
“I needed them to know since they want us to work together in a capacity that may be a bit complicated, given what happened last night.”
“What capacity is that?” I asked, happy to have had my military training to keep my voice neutral and calm, even though on the inside, I was feeling anything but.
He paused before answering, but his gaze never left mine. “Let’s bring the guys back in and have them explain.”
I had a feeling I may not like what their plan was if he wasn’t willing to share on his own.
I wasn’t ready for them to come back in yet. I had more questions I needed answered, but I also knew I needed to have something to focus my emotions on right now other than Ray.
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a curt nod, letting him know to bring the others back in but that this conversation wasn’t over.
As they all funneled back in, I watched as each one of their gazes scanned Ray and me up and down as though they were checking for injuries. I knew they wouldn’t have left me alone with him if they thought he might have hurt me, which meant they were more worried aboutmehurtinghim.
Good.
Let them worry. And let them think I was upset.
When everyone took their seats, it did not go unnoticed that Frank chose to sit between Ray and me. On the outside, I remained stoic, but on the inside, I chuckled a little at his move. I wasn’t sure if it was to protect his friend Ray or because he wanted a front-row seat in case I went apeshit.
Archer spoke first and laid out their plan step by step.
“You want me towhat?” I asked, making sure I’d heard correctly and giving them a chance to change their answer.
“We want you and Ray to pretend to be dating so that he can come in and hang out with you every night you’re on shift at the bar,” Archer repeated. “Tammy, I know this is weird, but I’d like you to be the bigger person here,” he urged, his tone polite but firm.
“Be the bigger person? I’m five foot three, Archer. I think you need to manage your expectations here. The only thing bigger about me is my attitude.”
I watched as Archer tried extremely hard to keep a straight face, and I saw the tick in Vince’s jaw, followed by the little twitch in Ray’s lip. Good. I needed to keep these men on their toes if I had any chance of surviving this crazy plan they had come up with.
“Ray is going to sit at the far corner of the bar so he can have eyes on most of the restaurant,” Vince explained. “However, most people don’t sit at the bar for hours on end, so his excuse will be to see you.”
“You really think someone would buy that?” I asked.
“Stella sat with me for hours on end when we first started seeing each other,” Axel mentioned.
He was right. Stella—his now fiancée—used to come by the bar to teach him random English phrases to help him improve his language skills.
“You really don’t think this was random, do you?” It was more of a rhetorical question, because all of this extra security wasn’t really necessary if it was a random burglar.
“It seems too much of a coincidence that they knew where all the outside cameras were and even several inside—save for the secret one you put behind the bar,” Wade explained.
“And the alarm system wasn’t tampered with,” Jack added. “This person is either insanely amazing at just guessing the code, or they already knew it before the break-in.”
“Which increases the odds of it happening again,” I surmised.
Archer nodded in response. “We’re going to change the alarm codes every few days for a while. Only the people opening and closing that day will know them.”
That meant they also hadn’t ruled out an employee being behind this. I knew they probably suspected Corey, but I just simply didn’t get that vibe from him.
In addition to his bar shifts, he was also a successful personal trainer at the gym down the street. Hell, he only worked one to two shifts at the pub per week because the gym kept him busy. He’d told me he liked working the bar, though, because it was how he often found new clients.
“What do ya say?” Vince asked.
I took a deep breath. I could do this.
