Page 20 of Wrecked By You
And if my camouflage failed, you could bet your ass I’d be ready to run.
Chapter8
Johannes
And just when you think you’ve turned
a corner, you get whacked in the face.
A week had passedsince Ella’s first shift, and she’d settled in well. Last night, she hadn’t been on the schedule, which had given me the opportunity to visit my club in San Francisco. In a normal month, I spent maybe forty percent of my time at Level Nine. The last month I’d increased that to fifty percent, mainly down to my determination to win the covetedHottest Nightspotaward. But since I’d employed Ella, I’d upped my time spent here to eighty percent. Couldn’t have the new girl ruining my chances of winning, although from what I’d witnessed so far, I had nothing to worry about.
She was hardworking and a natural behind the bar, and the clientele seemed to like her. Some a little too much, which always caused a burning sensation in my chest, though none of them had overstepped the mark enough for me to send in security.
I put my unusual reaction to male customers getting a little overfamiliar with Ella down to a commitment to offer a safe working environment for all my employees, but especially the women. Alcohol made some men braver—or more idiotic—than normal, and inappropriate behavior or making staff members feel unsafe or uneasy was intolerable to me. Ella wasn’t any different from the rest. She was new, that was all. That was why I’d altered my working patterns. Once she settled in, I’d revert to normal.
Taking up my usual vantage point, which gave me an entire view of the club, I sipped from a bottle of water and scanned the crowd. Busy night for a Thursday, but according to the figures for the last few months, attendance on Thursdays had slowly crept up and was now almost ninety percent of a weekend night. Couldn’t complain about those statistics, although I’d always strive for more.
My gaze kept straying to Ella as she dashed up and down the long bar, ensuring she treated every customer like a rock star, offering them a broad smile and a bit of chitchat before moving on to the next. I couldn’t fault her work rate, and apart from that first night, which I put down to nerves, she hadn’t broken a single glass. And she’d grown in confidence, too.
For a long time after Sadie, I’d doubted my instincts. After all, I’d placed my trust in someone who had almost gotten me killed. Taking a chance on Ella had been a leap of faith, a risk I wouldn’t have felt confident making a few months ago, especially given the importance of Level Nine to the Kingcaid nightclub brand.
Yet so far, Ella had surpassed my expectations and given me a sliver of hope that maybe I could begin to trust my instincts once more. I couldn’t figure out why her, why Ella, but I’d take it. There were times over the past six years where I’d thought I’d never claw my way out of the deep, dark hole Sadie had pushed me into, but perhaps there was a chink of light, a chance, however small, of rediscovering the man I’d once been.
A scuffle broke out on the dance floor. I gestured to my security team to move in and break it up. Seconds later, they’d dealt with the issue and removed the offenders. They’d receive a lifetime ban for their troubles. There were several things I didn’t tolerate at my clubs, violence being one of them. The other was drugs. If anyone was found taking drugs in any of my establishments, my staff knew to call the police. We had a zero-tolerance policy for any form of substance abuse. Sure, we served alcohol, but if a customer took it too far and got completely hammered to the point they were falling over or abusing the staff or other patrons, my security immediately removed them.
I found my gaze pulled back to the bar once more. Ella was deep in conversation with a young guy in his early to mid-twenties. She nodded, smiled, and then handed him a bottle of beer. He caught her wrist and tugged her toward him. She lost her balance and stumbled.
Rage ignited in my stomach.
Fuck no. You picked on the wrong woman, asshole.
I shoved through the crowd and grabbed the guy by the scruff of the neck. “Get your fucking hands off her.”
“Johannes, it’s fine. I’ve got this.”
“No one touches my employees without their permission and gets away with it.” I shoved the guy away from me. “Out.”
“Johannes!” Ella snapped. “I said I’ve got this.”
“Hey, man.” The guy raised his hands beside his head. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Ed, one of my security team, dashed over, but before he could haul the soon-to-be-banned customer from my club, Ella appeared and put herself between him and me, and the man.
“Johannes, IsaidI had it under control. Please, allow me to do my job.”
My eyes flew wide, my lips parting in shock, both at her reaction to what had happened and at her reaction to me. I wasn’t used to people questioning my decisions.
“He put his hands on you. I don’t stand for that in my club.”
“He didn’t mean to. He just wanted to talk and couldn’t hear me properly over the noise.”
She was yelling now, and I couldn’t say with absolute certainty that the noise was the reason.
“I really didn’t mean any trouble,” the guy said. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“See?” Ella shooed me away with a flick of her wrist. “It’s all under control.” She turned to face the customer. “That’s fifteen dollars. For the beer.” She held out her hand.
My jaw dropped.