Seeking Justice (3 page)

Lara Bruen’s office is back the way Holly led me earlier on our way to my interview. As we make our way, we see several individuals who I assume are employees from the way they are dressed. They greet Holly and smile with friendly ease at me. Holly points out her office and Liam Justice’s office catty-corner across the hall from hers. Two massive wooden doors bar entrance to his private domain, and I wonder when I’ll get to meet the elusive Mr. Justice. I glance around and ponder which of the other doors might lead to the private club. The little bit of research I had time to read about sex clubs, suggests a main room for members to engage in sexual activities with each other. I shudder, hoping I never have to see any of that.

“Lara is our notary and records gal. She keeps all the membership files and health records current and up to date.”

Health records?

“Sounds like an important job. How long has Lara worked here?”

“Ten years, and she’s very adept at what she does.” Holly smiles and knocks lightly against an open doorway.

“Hi, Lara.” I follow Holly into the room. “This is Cait Shaw, she’s our new hostess. Cait, this is Lara.”

Lara, who looks to be in her fifties with soft graying hair, glances up from her computer with a distracted smile. “Welcome, Cait. I hope you’ll enjoy working here.”

“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you, Lara.”

“We need to get Cait’s signature on a few things,” Holly says as she flips through her file and pulls out the NDA form, laying it on Lara’s desk. Lara hands me a pen, and I glance over the agreement before signing. I guess it doesn’t really matter, because regardless of what it says I’m signing it.

As Lara signs and does her official duties, Holly leads me to a smaller table in the room. We sit on damask covered chairs to go through the rest of the paperwork. This room follows much of the same décor as the other rooms I have seen with their dark gleaming woodwork but this one has paneled walls, deep, plush carpeting, and a high fresco painted ceiling. It is simply lovely.

I sneak a quick look at the tall antique file cabinets that line one wall. That’s a lot of storage space. I imagine that Lara keeps a lot of member information on her computer too.

After signing all the new hire paperwork, we say goodbye to Lara, and Holly leads me to her office.

“Lara seems nice.”

“She’s a peach. We’ll all have to go in for a drink after work soon.”

“In?”

“It’s a private joke, what we say when we’re having drinks here at the nightclub, very handy.” She grins.

Holly’s office is larger than Lara’s and has a fireplace with a gorgeous hand carved mantle. She also has a painted fresco ceiling but of a different design, more pastel colors.

She motions for me to sit in one of the chairs before her desk. “Would you like something to drink, iced tea?”

“No, thank you, I’m good.”

“Well, what do you think so far?” Holly asks as she sits behind her desk.

I turn and let my eyes travel around the room again. So far, nothing is as I imagined it to be. There’s nothing sleazy about any of this. Of course, there is a lot I haven’t seen.

“I think this is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in, and it will be heaven working here.” The funny thing is I mostly mean it. The place is gorgeous, and the atmosphere seems upbeat. Everyone, I’ve seen or met, seems happy and friendly. Except maybe for Blue Eyes and he just seems… I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

“I’m glad to hear you say that because what I’m going to tell you about Justice House may… surprise you.” I try for an interested expression. “The Justice, to a great extent, is extremely elite, but we pride ourselves on being more than an upscale club. We have a 5-star restaurant, a state of the art spa and fitness center. Our nightclub, while smaller than most around town, is extremely popular, and Liam has a highly coveted wine cellar. We offer many benefits that other clubs don’t even think about offering.”

Yeah, like kinky sex.

“Our members pay a yearly fee for all of these exclusive perks; therefore we cater to
all
of their needs.” I wonder why she just doesn’t say it. “Our upper floor consists of rooms equipped to meet the diverse needs of our members.” She speaks slowly. “Each room is appointed a particular theme and—”

“The Justice is a sex club,” I say bluntly, hoping she doesn’t think I figured it out too easily, but I just can’t pretend any longer. I can only go so far on my acting skills.

She takes a moment, and I think she’s nervous. “I don’t want it to scare you away,” she admits.

“Why are you afraid this will scare me away?”

“Cait, you just seem so young and…” She fans her hands out.

“I’m not that young, Holly, I’m twenty-four.”

Her grin spreads across her face. “I know. Your birthdate’s listed on your job application.”

Which Valerie filled out.

“Holly, as long as I don’t have to participate, I have no problem with what consenting adults do.”

She gives a choked laugh. “No, your participation is not required. Your position as one of our hosts means you only deal with our members in the restaurant and nightclub. The Justice has strict rules separating floors.” She smiles and I give her one back. “Do you have any questions?”

“Just one for now. How many members does The Justice have?”

She purses her lips. “Umm… around twenty-one hundred.”

“You have two thousand freaking members?” I blurt.

She laughs at my reaction. “They don’t all come to Justice House at the same time, Cait.”

“I should hope not.” My mind does a quick calculation.
Holy hell!
That’s a lot of money coming into this place. I’m beginning to understand why Valerie is so interested in Mr. Liam Justice.

“A good number of our members are out of state and another healthy portion lives outside the country.”

“Wow.”

Holly laughs again. “Okay, I’ll show you around, and we’ll get your locker located.” She pulls open a drawer, pulls out a set of keys and removes one, sliding it across the desk to me. “One thing we didn’t discuss, was the fact you wrote on your application that you could begin work immediately.”

“Yes.”

“Tomorrow’s not too soon?”

“No. I’ve already finished out my notice at The Carriage House.”

“That’s great because next week is going to be crazy around here. There’s an Entertainment Expo happening, which will bring in out of town members,” she says as we head out of her office to the hallway. “The rest of this week you’ll train with Tansy while Joni and I continue covering the other shift. Joni is head of our waiting staff and, needless to say, she and I have our own duties, so we’re more than ready for you to be able to take over your shift.”

“Hostesses wear black and white. You can wear all black but not all white. Slacks are permissible, but Liam prefers dresses. If you need an advance to buy something to wear, that’s not a problem.”

“Thanks, but I wear a lot of black, so I’ll be fine.”

She glances at me. “I imagine you look good in black with all of that dark hair. You have beautiful hair, by the way.”

I’m touched by her kind words. “Thank you.” I wave my hand toward her. “You don’t look so bad in black either.” She grins at me, and I feel a little uncomfortable with the knowledge that a few weeks from now she will probably hate me. That’s sad because I have a feeling that Holly and I could become good friends.

We head for the restaurant, with Holly pointing out the purpose of different rooms. We pass several members along the way, some dressed casually, some not so casually and some dressed in business apparel. Holly stops to speak to each of them and introduce me.

The dining room is busier at this time of day as servers bustle about seeing to the readiness of everything for the evening meal. Holly’s telling me an amusing story as we move toward the bar. The smile slides right off my face though when I see the handsome blue-eyed man.

“Liam?” Holly says softly.

What?
No. Freaking. Way!

He turns slowly on his bar stool, and I see a spark of surprise in those incredible blue eyes. What? Did he think I’d run when I learned what type of club the Justice House really is?

“I’d like to introduce our new hostess, Caitlyn Shaw. She goes by Cait.”

We stop right in front of him, and he suddenly moves his long legs out on either side of mine. I’m not that close, but close enough that I am now standing between his legs. Nervous anyway at discovering that
he
is Liam Justice, I’m immediately overwhelmed by his scent and close proximity. I want to take a step back, but I can’t seem to function. He stares at me with those intense blue eyes, and he doesn’t look happy. I realize now what that little headshake meant earlier. He doesn’t want me here.

“Caitlyn, I am Liam Justice.” Whereas Holly’s voice has only a hint of a southern drawl, this guy’s voice is like slow, sweet molasses. He holds out his hand to me, and I just stare at it. I don’t want to touch him. It might be hazardous to my state of mind. This guy just does something for me and standing this close to him…

He reaches out and grasps my hand, pulling me closer. My thigh brushes against his, and I jump. He grins at my discomfort, and I try to pull my hand free, but his hold tightens. “I am your new… master.”

I give him a long blink, and he laughs outright.
Oh my…

“Liam! Don’t tease Cait,” Holly scolds. “Ignore him, Cait.”

“What?” He gives her a grin. “I am the master of Justice House.” I tug my hand, but he’s not letting go, and those blue eyes swing back to me, sliding over my body. I know my color has heightened at his inappropriate behavior because I feel my face heat.

“Leon,” Holly calls, and the bartender steps over to us. I’m only aware of this from my peripheral vision as I can’t seem to tear my gaze from the man that still grips my hand. Every feature on his face is perfect. A blend of masculine and sensual. He’s lightly tanned and… just healthy looking. He also radiates a strength and power that’s appealing but also a little intimidating.

He leans toward me as he gives a tug on my hand forcing me to take a step forward. “Do I make you nervous, Miss Shaw?” His voice is soft, sensual even.

With a will of its own, my gaze drops to his beautifully sculpted mouth, and I wonder how it would feel on mine.

Good grief, Cait! Get a grip.
I can’t remember ever being this attracted to a man.
No!
I am not attracted to him; he is the subject of my investigation. It’s just… he is too damn good looking. With resolve, I take a step back and jerk my hand from his.

“No, Mr. Justice, you don’t make me nervous.”

One side of his mouth slowly lifts and then goes into a full-blown smile.

Oh hell—
His smile takes my breath away, and I’m shocked to feel a tingling in my lower extremities. I wonder how many hearts he’s broken with that smile.

He stands and steps close enough that I have to tip my head back to see his face, and his expression has me wanting to take another step back, but I stand firm.

Rule number one—don’t let them intimidate you.

He reaches out to run his finger down my arm, taking hold of my hand again. I gasp softly at his audacity and the hot burn that trails down my arm.

“You are a very beautiful girl, Miss Shaw.” His lopsided grin is lascivious as he raises my hand to his lips. I try to tug my hand away, knowing what he’s about to do, but he clamps down with his fingers. His hot mouth moves over my knuckles, and it’s all I can do to not pool into a puddle right at his feet.

I search blue eyes that bore into mine, trying to grasp what’s going on here. I glance over at Holly, who’s watching our exchange, her brow wrinkled with a frown.

My attention is suddenly drawn to a muscular dark haired guy as he walks into the bar area.

“Liam, I need to talk to you.”

Liam at once drops my hand, taking a step back.

“Is it going to irritate me,” he asks the big guy. I glance up to see his eyes on me once again.

“Probably.”

Liam’s eyes drop to my chest and then travel down my body. I’m startled when my nipples tighten, pushing hard against my bra. I quickly cross my arms over my chest before he can see how he affects me, but I catch his smirk. Okay. So he knows he has an effect on me.

He steps around me. “Okay, Mike let’s talk.” As he walks by Holly, I hear him say, “She won’t last two weeks.” He walks on, and I glare at his back.

What was that?
Was he testing me in some way?

Holly mutters softly under her breath, “Damn dominant male.”

I glance at her, looking back to where Justice and the other man stand talking. “And here I thought he was just an arrogant ass.”

Holy gasps, quickly looking at me. I uncomfortably realize I’ve just said my thoughts out loud. Holly and the bartender roar with laughter.

“Oh, Cait, you and I are going to get along just fine,” she informs me as she struggles to compose herself. Liam turns to look at us, and this seems to set her off again.

The bartender chuckles and holds his hand out to me. “Hi, Cait, I’m Leon.” I detect a slight foreign accent in his voice.

I return his friendly smile. “Hi, Leon.”

“Cait is starting tomorrow, and she’ll be working with Tansy the rest of the week,” Holly says.

“Well, we’re glad to have you. Welcome,” Leon says, shaking my hand.

Mr. Liam Justice isn’t pleased for me to be here, evidently. After the little stunt he just pulled, I would love to tell him to shove his job where the sun doesn’t shine. I would too if I didn’t want to continue working at Query Magazine.

“Leon will be a good source of help, Cait. He knows all the members.”

“Anytime,” he says, and I give him a grateful smile.

“I also have a directory with all the members’ photos and specifics that you can take a look at,” Holly adds.

“How about a drink ladies?” Leon asks.

“Maybe later, after work,” Holly says.

“How about you, Ms. Cait?” He winks at me.