Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Darlene: What did you do?
Hawk: I handled it.
Darlene: How?
Hawk: Let me know if she comes back.
He wasn’t interested in continuing talking, so he made his way back into the clubhouse. The men nodded in his direction, but no one dared talk to him, which was how he liked it. Making his way to his private room, he came to a stop when he saw Sandy inside, but she had a big old basket of laundry, which she was folding.
“Don’t mind me. I’m not here. Just doing the laundry and heading to Dan’s room next.” She held a bunch of laundry in her hands.
“Don’t worry about it.” He removed his leather cut, draping it over the chair in the corner. “I’ve got a question for you.”
“You have?”
“Yeah, say you caught my dad with another woman. It wasn’t what you thought, but it was all being read the wrong way. What would he have to do to make it up to you?”
Sandy laughed. “I don’t imagine your father would ever get caught in such a situation.”
He sighed. “Yeah, that’s my dad.”
“You’re having woman troubles?” Sandy asked.
He looked at Sandy, and he didn’t want to talk to her about his troubles, but she was the only one in the club he could trust. There was Darlene as well, but he didn’t want to get started with her.
“You could say that.”
“Your dad would have never gotten into that position, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t in the past. He always had a way with words. There are flowers, but if you’re not interested in anything long-term, then I also wouldn’t string this woman along.”
“You’re right,” Hawk said.
She lifted the laundry basket. “I’m glad to have been of some help.”
Sandy left his bedroom and once again his thoughts were back on Nikki. He didn’t know if he could even see her being a member of the club as his old lady. Did he want her as his old lady? Did he want to give her up? Fuck, no. He knew he didn’t want to give her up, and that meant he had no choice. He wanted her as his old lady, and he intended to make that happen.
****
Quitting her job had been hard, but David understood. There were no hard feelings, and he didn’t even ask her to work out the last of her shift.
Nikki didn’t like letting people down, but Hawk was right. Not about making him suffer. She didn’t want to make him suffer, but she also didn’t want this chance to go to waste. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She had already struggled to put herself through college and get a job. This was her chance to have both. To learn.
So, after lunchtime, she made her way to Darlene’s shop, parking in the back, where she was supposed to. Now that she didn’t have to hide Hawk away, she was able to be herself.
She made her way to the front of the shop, and Darlene was currently with a client, finishing up a blow-dry.
The moment Darlene looked at her, she smiled. “It’s about time you showed up. You want to grab a broom? I’m just finishing Francine’s hair, and then we’ll talk.”
Nikki smiled at the other staff and made her way to the back. Her hair was pinned back from wearing her cap this morning, but she quickly ruffled her fingers through the length. She didn’t have any makeup on, but she quickly pinched her cheeks to bring some color to her face.
Once that was done, she went to the cleaning closet, grabbed the broom, made her way toward the front of the shop, and starting working like she had never been gone.
She cleaned up the hair and tidied the trash cans. Before she made her way over, she called the course manager to let them know she would like to continue. Hawk had asked them to hold her spot. She didn’t know for sure if she was happy about his interference, but she wasn’t going to complain. This was her chance to have what she wanted.
Darlene finished with Francine and then took her to the back where her office was. It was a small office, and when she asked about it a few weeks ago, Darlene had told her she didn’t need a big office. The true magic was in the main shop as well as the stockroom. An office was for all the admin crap she had to do, which she hated.
“So, does this mean what I think it means?” Darlene asked.
“If it’s okay with you. I am so sorry about walking out of here that day. It was just a little too much, and I know it’s stupid—”
“It’s not stupid.” Darlene folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going to pretend to know what arrangement you and Hawk had, but I know you, Nikki, and I know that a quick hookup or sharing your guy with the club would not have been something you were into.”