ROXIE
She's wild, carefree and sassy...
His total opposite.
She drives him crazy...
And yet, she's the only woman he wants.
CHAPTER 2
Roxie
“Holy shit on a stick, your girl Madison is well connected,” Bobby said as he gazed lustfully at Liam. He’d arrived at work ten minutes ago and had hardly taken his eyes off the man ever since.
I thrust the broom at him. “Stop eye fucking him and go and make yourself useful. We’ve got glass that needs to be swept up.”
A devious grin spread across his face as he took the broom from me. “Yes ma’am.”
I watched him go, wondering what the hell he was up to. Bobby operated from one angle only; do anything and everything to get the guy in bed. The look he’d just given me told me he was up to no good. Oh well, it was Liam’s problem now, not mine. And maybe, if Bobby annoyed the shit out of him, he would pack up and leave.
My other hairdresser, Tahlia, breezed in just as Bobby began his little performance for Liam. She gawked at him as she walked through the shop and managed to hold in her laughter until she reached the back room where I was.
“Oh my God, Bobby has no shame,” she said, as she shook her head in disbelief.
I eyed him, and she was right. He’d turned his task of sweeping up glass into a kind of dance and was sashaying his way around the shop, bending and shaking his ass in front of Liam as he went. Liam seemed oblivious to it though which I needed to rectify if my plan of Bobby scaring him off was going to have any chance at success.
“I think you’ve got an admirer,” I pointed out as I made my way to where he was.
He’d been engrossed with something on his phone but looked up at me as soon as I spoke. “Sorry?”
I nodded my head in Bobby’s direction. “You’ve inspired him.”
Liam’s gaze followed mine and he spent a moment watching Bobby as he gyrated his hips and puckered his lips in a kissing motion. Not an ounce of surprise registered on Liam’s face before he turned back to me and murmured, “Perhaps some of his enthusiasm for me could rub off on you.”
Well, holy fuck, now I was the one who was surprised. And not only at what he’d said but also at the shot of desire that coursed through me. But I stood my ground; this man would not get to me. “The only enthusiasm I’m feeling is for you to go back to your boss and tell him that I’ve got this situation under control.”
“It looks like we’ve got some work to do on your enthusiasm levels then, sweetheart, because this situation is not under control and I’m not leaving.”
His tone was commanding; the kind you didn’t dare mess with, but I wasn’t one to be messed with either. I was just about to tell him exactly where to go when Bobby interrupted.
“Oh my, I do love a bossy man,” he sighed, while taking a break from sweeping. He ogled Liam instead. “I, for one, am glad you’re not leaving, Mr. Bend-Me-Over-And-F -”
“Bobby!” I hissed, “For once in your life, zip that mouth.” Bobby and I commenced non-verbal communication; the type where we said what had to be said with our eyes and flicks of our head. After two years of working together, we had this down pat and knew exactly what the other was saying.
After our quick dialogue, Bobby turned in a huff and stomped out to the back room. I gave my attention back to Liam who was now casually leaning against the front counter, feet crossed at the ankles and chin in hand. His amused eyes were focused solely on me.
“What?” I snapped. I didn’t like the fact that he found this funny because I sure as hell didn’t.
He lifted his chin in Bobby’s direction. “You should go easy on him; he’s just looking out for your best interests.”
“Some part of that statement might be true but mostly, Bobby just wants you to stick around because you’re hot.” My mouth opened before my mind had a chance to even think about what I was saying. Story of my life. I mentally berated myself for my honesty.
Liam chuckled. “So you do have some enthusiasm for me?” His eyes twinkled with mischief and it had to be said, when Liam stopped being so serious, his hotness rating went through the roof.
His new playful mood flustered me and I dealt with it the only way I knew how; cranky Roxie took over. “Just because I think you’re hot doesn't mean I’m enthusiastic about you sticking around. Tell me what you need from me and then we can all get on with our work.”
He assessed me for another moment or so and then pushed off from the counter where he was resting. His serious face was back on. “I need to know if you’re aware of anyone who may have been following you or if you’ve been harassed by anyone lately.”
“Why?”
“Because if you have been followed or harassed, they might be the ones doing this.”
“No.”
His forehead creased. “What do you mean, no?”
“No, I haven’t been followed or harassed.”
He thought about that for another moment before asking, “Are you seeing anyone?”
“What does that have to do with this?” He was really starting to irritate me with all these personal questions.
“I’m just trying to get the background here, Roxie. I believe these break-ins have to do with either you or one of your staff so I need to know who is in your lives who might be responsible for them.”
As much as it irked me to admit it, he did have a point. I had my own suspicions but after this last break-in, I was beginning to doubt myself. “When you say, am I seeing anyone, what exactly does that mean?”
He looked puzzled. “Last I knew, it meant are you dating anyone.”
“No.”
He opened his mouth but quickly shut it again and paused before continuing, “Okay, you’re not dating anyone but are you involved with anyone in another capacity?”
“Do you mean, am I fucking anyone?”
His eyebrows arched. “Yes, are you fucking anyone or are you spending time in any way with anyone,” he said with a slight shake of his head. I was pretty sure from the look on his face that I’d managed to frustrate him. Score one to me.
“Why yes, Liam, I am. I fucked a guy three nights ago and I also fucked him early last week,” I informed him in my sugar sweet voice I reserved for when people really pissed me off.
The fucker didn’t even blink. “I’m going to need a name.”
“Well, I don’t have a name. I never stopped to ask him.”
He blinked.
Score two to me.
I smiled sweetly at him and waited for his response.
Finally, he muttered, “Fuck.”
Score three to me.
We stared at each other for a minute or so and then he said, “Well, you’re going to have to find him because I need to know who he is.”
My eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right? I have no idea who he is or where he is.”
He smirked at me. “Yeah you do; we just have to go back to wherever you found him before you screwed him.”
The bastard. He knew what I was doing and now he was playing with me.
“Ah, no. There’s no we in this, Liam. I’ll go back by myself and find him.”
He shook his head. “No, sweetheart, we’ll both go. If you think I’m letting you out of my sight during this investigation, you can think again.”
My mouth dropped open.
Score one, two and three to Liam.
***
Liam
Jesus Christ, she was something else. The little minx was fucking me around and doing a damn good job at it.
My instructions for this job had been clear: get in and get out fast. Zane was sure he knew who was behind the break-ins at Roxie’s hair salon so when Scott had called in a favour he hadn’t hesitated to agree to it. However, I’d just spent the last hour going over this particular break-in with a fine tooth comb and I was convinced this was the work of someone else, not the crew that Zane thought. I was also sure that Roxie had an idea of who was committing these break-ins. Why she was keeping that to herself, I was yet to figure out.
She was currently glaring at me after I’d just informed her I’d be going with her to find this guy she’d slept with. Fuck. I had no idea why I’d said I would go with her and I also had no clue why she hadn’t challenged me on it because she sure as fuck had challenged me on everything else this morning.
Bobby broke the tension between us. “Sweet cakes, your first client will be here in about ten minutes. You right to do it or do you want me to take over?” He winked at me and then suggested, “I could always take over here with Liam while you look after the clients.”
I had to hand it to him; he was persistent. A good quality to have, but it wouldn’t get him far with me on this; I was one hundred percent a pussy man.
“I think that Liam and I are finished here.” She looked back at me. “Is that right?”
“For now. I’ve gotta take off to get to another job but I’ll be back when you close so that you and I can take care of the matter we just discussed.”
“You want to do that tonight?”
I nodded. “We need to find him as soon as possible.”
Bobby was confused. “Who do you need to find?”
I didn’t answer him but rather waited for Roxie to tell him; it wasn’t my business to share her personal information.
She glared at me again; what for, I wasn’t sure. “Apparently we need to find that guy I slept with the other night. Liam’s convinced he might be the one breaking in.”
Women and their exaggerations never failed to shit me. “I never said that, but I would like to clear him from the investigation,” I said calmly; much more calmly than I was feeling it on the inside.
My phone rang which made my fucking moment; I needed a break from Roxie and her attitude.
It was Zane. “Liam, you nearly finished with the hairdresser?”
“Yeah, but it’s not Red’s crew doing these break-ins so I’m going to have to spend some more time on this one.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, “Was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“I’m just about to leave and head over to the other job you emailed.”
“Good, I told them you’d be there in about twenty.”
“I’ll call you once I’m finished that one and let you know how it goes,” I promised and we ended the call. I’d been working for Zane for about three years now and we had an easy work relationship; our thinking patterns were fairly similar which meant we didn’t have to explain ourselves too much and there were pretty much no miscommunications. Just the way I liked it.
I turned back to Roxie but she’d left me and it looked like she was getting ready for her client. This gave me a reprieve from her smart mouth; it also gave me a moment to rake my gaze over her. She was unlike any woman I’d ever met; in looks and attitude. She was so far from my type it wasn’t funny, and yet, the bulge in my jeans disagreed. Roxie had long hair that was a mix of pink and purple, and a face full of makeup; far more makeup than I usually liked on a woman. Her arms were covered in colour tattoos, as was the part of her chest exposed above her tank top. And Christ, there were even more fucking tattoos on her neck. I wasn’t a fan of tattoos on a woman; didn’t find them attractive at all. She had on the tightest black jeans known to mankind and a loose, black tank top that flashed more of her breasts than I’d ever want a woman of mine to flash. And those heels she was wearing? How the hell a hairdresser stood for eight or more hours a day in heels that high was beyond me.
Zane had told me that Scott and his boys weren’t keen to work with her on this but that his sister had bugged them to help her. After spending as little as ten minutes with her, I could see why they felt that way. She was difficult, and full of attitude, but there was something else there; something I hadn’t put my finger on yet but I’d work it out. Not to fucking mention the fact that her challenging nature turned me the fuck on. God knew why, because it also frustrated the hell out of me. Tonight would be interesting to say the least.
