RISK(8)

"An exception?" She shakes her head. "You're not authorized to grant exceptions, Ellie."

The finality in her tone is unmistakable. I'm not going to win this battle. I'm not sure I want to. This job pays shit. I live in a bachelor suite with no air conditioning, intermittent hot water and a neighbor who plays a medley of classical music early every morning. I love Mozart. I'm a big fan of Beethoven. I just don't want to hear it as soon as I come home from my shift when all I'm seeking is a few hours of sleep.

"Why fire me tonight?" I ask because Ms. Griffin doesn't strike me as the type to publicly shame people if it can be avoided. "Couldn't you have done this tomorrow? In private?"

"That was my original intention," she says with a half-grin. "I was going to have my assistant call you in the morning so we could handle this then, but I noticed you on my way into the club. I thought why not get it over with now?"

I sigh, heavily. Instead of enjoying Adley's last night in Vegas, I now have an unemployment cloud hanging over my head.

Way to rain on my party parade, Ms. Griffin.

"It looks like I'm heading to New York with you, Adley." I look right at my best friend. "If you know where I can score a job, I'm there."

"I have a job for you." Crew Benton steps closer, his open hand reaching for me. "It's nice to meet you, Ellie Madden. You're officially hired."

***

I shake his hand again, not sure if this time it's a simple hello, nice to meet you, or if I'm making a deal with the devil. The man looks like sin. I can't even imagine what the job he's offering entails.

I draw the line at pet sitting an iguana or wearing a sandwich board while walking around Times Square. I've done both of those things and I know when repeating history is a mistake.

"It looks like you're all set, Ellie," Ms. Griffin says, obvious relief in her tone. "I can offer a recommendation if need be. Ellie is an exemplary employee when she isn't writing her own rule book."

I smile at her. I sense she's done me a favor. The only reason I'm still in this city is because there's a very slim chance that I might land a job with the Las Vegas Police Department. It's looking increasingly less likely that will ever happen. I have no ties left here. My life is back in New York City. It's where I belong.

She nervously murmurs an awkward goodbye before she darts toward the entrance of the club.

"When can you start?" Crew watches Ms. Griffin walk away before he turns to me with a smile. "We'll cover the cost of your flight back to Manhattan and we'll supply a moving allowance."

Generous, maybe too generous considering I have no idea what I'll be doing once I land in New York.

"What kind of job is it?" I rub my chin. "I appreciate the offer, sir, but I need to know what you'll want me to do for you."

"My name is Crew. You'll call me Crew. No sir bullshit."

I nod. "No sir bullshit. Got it."

"We need a head of security at our flagship store. You'll be setting new protocol in place for our loss prevention team. You're perfect for the job."

"What store?" I raise a brow.

He bites back a smile. "I'm Crew Benton, Ellie. I'm the Chief Operating Officer of Matiz Cosmetics. Nolan is the CEO. We want you to work in our store on Fifth Avenue."





Chapter 6


Nolan




What the f*ck just happened?

Crew just offered the sexy redhead a job. Not just any job. The job we've been trying to fill for the past four months. He gave the almost six-figure-a-year job of head loss prevention officer to a casino security guard who just got her ass fired.

"Hold up." I raise my hand in the air. "Wait."

I own the goddamn company. Crew has a small percentage of Matiz Cosmetics shares in his pocket. He handles the front-end of the business, putting himself out there for the press when they want an exposé on what our new product line entails. I'm running the entire show behind the scenes.

I don't handle new hires. Crew doesn't either, but he witnessed the same thing I did. He saw Ellie take control of a man who towered above her. She wasn't taking any shit from that *. There was no way in hell she was going to let him mistreat another woman. It took balls to do what she did. The fact that she did it while wearing a skin tight black dress, only makes it that much more impressive.

I scrub my hands over my face, desperate for the clarity I possessed a mere three hours ago. Since Ellie plopped her firm round ass in my lap at the restaurant, my brain has ceased to function in any manner that's the least bit helpful to me. That has to stop now. Matiz is my company. This is where I take back control of this f*cked up night.

"We need to discuss this, Crew." I step toward where he's standing with Ellie. "Let's not offer anything before we find out if Ellie is qualified."

Ellie's back stiffens at my words. The more I stare at her profile, the more I doubt she's the girl I've been looking for.

"Are you f*cking serious?" Crew asks with a smirk. "You saw what I saw, Nolan. She took that guy to the floor. You're the one who called me when you left the restaurant because she caught Shelby red-handed with a stolen wallet."