Start a War (Saint View Psychos #1)(50)

She dragged her gaze away from the TV when my movement caught her attention. “Disney! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your kiddie germ factory?” She jumped down off the bar and skipped over to hug me.

I hugged her back. “The kiddie germ factory is no more.”

Her eyes went huge. “You blew it up?”

I snorted on my laughter. “What on earth? Who hurt you, Rebel? ‘Cause it’s really twisted that that is where your mind went.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little, and she shook her head. “Trust me, you do not want to know about my hidden traumas and how they shaped my twisted mind. We’d be here all day. But just to clarify. You don’t have a penchant for explosives that I should watch out for?”

“I can confirm that I do not have a stash of TNT in the trunk of my car. No.”

She giggled. “Okay, so fine, maybe I shouldn’t guess what happened to the daycare and you should just tell me.”

“The truth is much less interesting. I got fired. So here I am, ready to work. Not that there seems to be much work to be had. It’s dead in here.”

Rebel’s mouth dropped open. “You’re gonna work? Here? With us?”

“Sure. Why not? I do own the place, so I figure I should probably get involved.”

Rebel let out a screech of excitement and grabbed my hands, dancing around with me in excitement. “Oh my God, yes! We’re gonna have the best time! You are gonna make so much money at the parties. Like, those guys are gonna take one look at your tits and they are gonna be shoving hundred-dollar bills in your cleavage.”

It took me a moment to process what she’d said, but when I did, shock jolted through me. When I’d said I wanted to work here, I hadn’t even considered the parties. I’d been thinking more about working here during the day, maybe getting some new meals on the menu and some lunchtime two-for-one specials.

The parties were a different kettle of fish altogether. I couldn’t do those. Rebel had been fully nude by the time the party ended last weekend. So had half the room, both staff and guests, so it hadn’t seemed out of place at all. But I couldn’t do what she did.

“Bliss isn’t doing that.”

Nash’s voice was hard and clipped. A barked-out command of authority.

Rebel and I both glanced over and found him leaning on the doorway of his office, his gaze pinned firmly on me.

“Uh, nobody asked you, Boss Man. Her club. She can work where she likes.”

Nash didn’t respond. His dark gaze never left mine. “No, Bliss.”

Maybe I was still irritated from my earlier argument with Nichelle. I was definitely still angry with Josie for dismissing me as easily as she had, even though I’d worked with her day in and day out for seven years and I’d almost thought us friends. I was definitely still furious with Caleb for more reasons than I could count on one hand.

Everybody in my life seemed to think they knew what was best for me. Even Axel and my father, though well-meaning, had stifled me. As had the fear. There was always so much fear, in everything I did, or didn’t do.

“Be good, Bliss. Don’t give them a reason to send you back.”

“You’ll be at my company dinner on Saturday night. You will smile.”

“When you marry Caleb, things will turn around.”

I couldn’t let another man tell me what to do. Not even one who had my best interests at heart. “That’s not your decision to make, Nash.”

Quick as lightning, he was in front of me, towering over me, his glare hot. “Do you even know what you’re saying? You saw one percent of what a Psychos party is.”

One percent? I’d watched a woman get railed by three men while a crowd of people watched. I’d seen someone snort coke off a woman’s inner thigh before licking her pussy like it was a chaser. What the hell else was there?

I wasn’t going to ask and prove his point that I was in over my head. Instead, I straightened my shoulders and stood to my full height. “I want to learn this place from the ground up. From the cleaner and the cooks to whatever else there is. You keep telling me I know nothing about the business—”

“You don’t,” he growled.

“All the more reason for me to find out. Like it or not, Nash, I own this place. I’m your boss now, and you can either get on board or you can leave.” My fingers trembled as the words fell out of my mouth. I tucked them into fists, praying he wouldn’t notice.

“Dis,” Rebel said quietly.

But Nash and I were too busy glaring at each other.

I wanted to back down, but I couldn’t. Not if I wanted these people to respect me. I had to take my place, even if that meant coming down on Nash the way I was now.

I hated it.

But things had to change. Bethany-Melissa would get eaten alive here. I needed to be Bliss to survive. I needed Nash to stop looking at me like I was a child. And I needed to stop giving him reasons to do that.

Maybe if I were nude, with other men desiring me, Nash could no longer see me as anything but a grown woman.

He took another step in so my chest brushed his. “You grew up in private schools where your dress had to cover your knees. You probably had a fucking debutante ball, didn’t you? Axel would roll over in his grave if I let you do this.”

I stood my ground. “There is no letting me. You don’t own me. And I’m not Axel’s little sister anymore.”