Stirring Up Trouble (Inspiring the Greek Billionaire) (13 page)

“Christopher’s here. We need to get out of here before he catches you with your pants down and me with my skirt up.” She choked out a laugh.

He looped his arms around her waist. “Hey, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

She couldn’t help it. She laughed harder. No, he’d done far worse than hurt her. He’d gotten her to fall in love with him. “No. I just don’t think the boss should get caught nailing the help.”

“I thought you weren’t technically an employee,” he reminded her.

“Semantics.” She smoothed out her hair and straightened her clothes. “The bread should be ready soon. You ready?”

“Always,” he mumbled against her neck. “I can’t wait until I can get you alone. There’s something I—”

The door to the closet opened, the sudden light of the kitchen blinding her. Christopher didn’t bat an eye at finding the two of them in a closet. Guess they hadn’t kept their relationship a secret as well as they’d thought.

“Braden was just showing me where he kept his . . . spices.”

Christopher stared with a slight smirk on his face.

She coughed. “Yes, well, I’ve got some work to do.”

She didn’t look back at Braden as she hurried out of the closet and up to the stage. She did overhear him telling the chef not to serve their bread to the customers, which confirmed he really believed she could pour her emotions into the food.

Even though he’d kept that tidbit of information from her, she realized the weight she’d carried for days had lightened. She was in love with Braden. And for the first time, it didn’t scare her.

CHAPTER 16

Oh, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful

in the contempt and anger of his lip!

William Shakespeare,
Twelfth Night,
act 3, scene 1

The restaurant was packed for lunch, every table occupied and a ten minute wait at the door.

Braden watched as Lola worked on a new song in the corner. Lightly strumming her guitar, she played quiet enough that it didn’t disturb their customers, but he heard it. It was beautiful. Haunting. Familiar. In his bones, he knew she’d composed the perfect melody to impress the music producer. Now he had to write the perfect lyrics to go with it and she’d win that record deal. Then leave for California.

He’d see her again. She’d come back for Portia’s wedding and for some of the holidays, but what they had together would be over. He’d have to pretend it didn’t kill him when he hugged her as a friend. She might even bring a boyfriend with her. And he’d have to tie his hands together not to beat the loser’s face in.

But even if she stayed, what could he offer her? He’d already racked up one failed marriage because he couldn’t handle commitment.

Lola didn’t just walk into a room—she exploded. She was a beacon of energy, fiery and passionate. As bright as she burned, you couldn’t turn away from her brilliance. He didn’t want to be the one to extinguish her light.

Jenny walked up the steps of the stage and whispered in Lola’s ear. Lola’s eyes widened and she nodded. His head waitress turned on the microphone. “Ladies and gentleman, I’m Jenny, your friendly waitress and today’s entertainment. For your viewing pleasure, I give you a very special dance.” She hooked her iPod to the speakers and the song,
Leave Your Hat On
blared throughout the restaurant.

What was she doing?

Lola stepped back but stayed on the stage, biting her lip and hopping up and down with nerves.
Why would she be nervous?

Everything suddenly became clear when Jenny removed her shirt.

Braden ran into the kitchen. “Christopher, I thought I told you not to serve the bread.”

His head chef was at the stove, sautéing chicken. “I didn’t. I gave it to our staff. Why? Was it bad?”

Braden growled and ran back into the dining room. Two of his other waitresses and a waiter had joined Jenny on the stage, each of them in a different stage of undress. Jenny was now stripped down to a black lacy thong.

Some of his patrons had left, but since the majority of the lunch crowd were businessmen, there were plenty of customers hooting and hollering for Jenny to finish her strip tease.

Lola was trying to talk some sense into Jenny, but it was as if she didn’t hear her. Lola stopped the music, but his head waitress continued her dance.

Braden called to the bartender, Stephan, for help in corralling Jenny and the others into the kitchen and out of sight.

They’d just stepped on the stage, when he heard the sirens.

Three police officers strolled through the front door with a smug looking Jon behind them. How the hell had he found out about this so quickly?

“Jenny, you need to get your clothes back on, or the nice policemen are going to arrest you for indecent exposure,” he said, trying to get her shirt over her head.

“Screw it,” said Stephan, grabbing Jenny by the waist, hoisting her over his shoulder and carrying her off to the kitchen. She didn’t seem to mind, a huge smile on her face.

The others on the stage must not have eaten as much bread because they started picking their clothes up off the floor and getting dressed, their cheeks stained with embarrassment.

Braden jumped off the stage and met the officers at the front of the restaurant. “Officers, can I get you a table or would you like to order a carry-out?”

“Are you the owner of this establishment?” the oldest looking officer asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“We received a call you were illegally running a strip club in here, which is against city ordinance. This is the second call in the last month we’ve received about inappropriate sexual conduct on the premises.”

Damn Jon.
Just as Braden thought, the man had been spying on him. But which one of his employees was feeding him the information?

He handed the officer his business card. “
Acropolis
is a restaurant and bar only. We do not, and will not, offer strip entertainment to our customers. This was all a big misunderstanding. Our waitress had an allergic reaction to a piece of bread and she acted out inappropriately. Now that she realizes she has this allergy, I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

The officer scratched his head. “I’ve never heard of an allergy that causes you to strip. You can consider this a warning. If we find any evidence that you’re running a strip club, we’ll shut you down immediately.”

He breathed easier. “Of course. That won’t be a problem. Please stop by anytime.”

The police officers turned and walked out, leaving a red-faced Jon behind.

“You might have fooled the police, but one call to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and you’ll be lucky you don’t lose your liquor license for this little stunt.”

“Nothing happened. Now get out of my restaurant. You’re not welcome here.” It was bad enough when Jon was simply his competitor, but Braden didn’t want him anywhere near Lola.

“Nothing happened?” Jon held out his iPhone. “Then what is this?”

It was a video of Jenny stripping on the stage. Shit, someone had recorded it and sent it to Jon. Why hadn’t he showed the cops?

“What do you want?” Braden asked, his hands clenched at his sides. He needed to stay in control or he’d lose everything he’d worked for.

“You know what I want. You out of business. This tape will ruin you. If I gave it to the cops, you’d get a slap on the wrist and a fine. But if it got into the hands of the liquor commission, you’d never run a restaurant in Michigan again.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“I thought you and I could come to an agreement. This is just business, Angelopoulos. I’m a good guy at heart. A family man. I’ll keep this video to myself if you convince Lola to sell me this property. I’ll buy it at full market value. Lola’s a great gal. I don’t want to screw her out of what she deserves. She’ll get enough money she won’t have to live on Ramen noodles while she’s traveling the country, I get the property, and you can open a restaurant somewhere else far away. You’ll sign a non-compete with me, stay out of the Greek food business, won’t open a restaurant within fifty miles of here, and I’ll keep this little video to myself.”

He smelled lavender only seconds before Lola came and stood next to him. “Jon, what are you doing here?”

“Hey, babe. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d come by and say hello. See how your studying’s been going.”

Braden turned to her. “You told him?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

She’d unwittingly provided Jon with the ammunition to put him out of business, but he didn’t blame her. Jon had used her and she’d fallen for it. He might lose
Acropolis
, but he’d protect her from this slime.

He took a deep breath and turned back to Jon. “Give me a day to think it over. I’ll be in touch with you.” Needing a moment to cool down, he ignored his staff and went straight to his office.

He sat in his chair and dropped his head in his hands. What the hell was he going to do? He’d given everything he had to this restaurant. If he didn’t have
Acropolis
, who was he? Just another rich boy living off his family’s money. His whole identity was tied up with this place.

His restaurant was his home, the employees his family. They relied on him for more than their paychecks. When he’d discovered Christopher drunk on the job, he didn’t fire him. He’d sent him to detox and to an outpatient recovery program. When Jenny had gotten sick with some unknown stomach ailment and needed tests she couldn’t afford, he bought health insurance policies for his employees. Now her diagnosed Crohn’s Disease was controlled by medicine. If
Acropolis
closed, what would happen to them? They wouldn’t be able to work for him if he opened a place an hour away. Some of them took the bus to work.

Pounding the desk with his fist, a piece of paper floated to the floor. He scooped it up. It was the sheet music to the song Lola had been working on before Jenny’s strip tease.

He needed to speak with her. Needed to hold her in his arms. Everything else disappeared when he was with her. He shouldn’t have left her with Jon, but he didn’t trust himself not to wipe the smug expression off his face with his fists.

Somehow, Jon had tricked her into disclosing the conditions of Alexander’s Will and had used it to his advantage. She wouldn’t have intentionally told him. Would she?

He left his office and walked through the kitchen, stopping when he heard moaning coming from the storage closet. His heart raced. Lola?

Christopher must have observed his apprehension because he held up his hand and shook his head. “It’s Stephan and Jenny. She was all over him and he’s been in love with the girl for years. Better in there than on the kitchen counters. That’s certainly not up to code.” He cracked a smile.

Stephan and Jenny? Good for them. If it took the bread for those two kids to get together, then at least something good came out of this mess.

“From now on, keep your girl out of my kitchen,” Christopher said. “Darn pheromone manipulation will close us down.” He winked at Braden and went back to work.

Braden didn’t know how Christopher had guessed it, but it didn’t surprise him. After all, he was from Greece. If anyone had encountered a Muse before, it would be him.

He continued on to the dining room, relieved to see it was business as usual. The lunch rush was over and only a few tables remained occupied. He spied Lola and Jon huddled together, speaking in hushed tones. He stayed along the wall, walking toward the front. Only a few feet away from Lola, he stepped behind a large plant.

“I’ll talk to him. Braden trusts me. He won’t suspect a thing. Just wait until I call you before you make your move, okay?”

Jon laughed and kissed Lola on the cheek. “I knew you’d come through for me. I’ve missed you.”

Braden’s chest tightened as he put the pieces of the puzzle together. That’s why she’d insisted on making the bread today. She’d set him up.

Lola said something else he couldn’t make out then Jon left. He slipped out from behind the plant and Lola turned around, her eyes widening and her hand going over her heart.

“Braden, you scared me.”

“How could you?” he spit out.

“What are you taking about?”

“You and Jon. You’ve been working with him.”

She moved closer to him, shaking her head. “No, it’s not what you think. I—”

He should’ve known better. He stepped back, not wanting her to touch him. Not trusting himself to stay strong when what he wanted to do was kiss the daylights out of her and pretend he didn’t know the truth. “I can’t believe I fell for it. You’re just like my mother. You’ll do anything to get what you want.”

Tears filled her eyes. “No, Braden. You don’t understand.”

How many times did his mother turn on the waterworks to manipulate her husbands? Too many times to count. “I understand. I understand better than you think. You might be like my mother, but I’m just like my father. I used you, too, Lola.”

Her beautiful skin turned pale as a ghost. “What?”

“I wanted the lease. I figured if I got you to fall in love with me you’d keep the property.”

She flinched. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. But you got one over on me, too, didn’t you? You told Jon everything. That’s why you wanted to make the bread today. You set me up, taped it, and sent it to him. How else would he and the cops have gotten here so quickly?”

The tears dried and her face grew cold. “I don’t know, Braden. Why don’t you tell me?”

“You called Jon and told him,” he shouted, not caring that everyone could hear them. “It wasn’t enough he’d get the property. He had to ensure that I couldn’t open up another
Acropolis
down the street. Now he’s got me by the balls. It’s over and I have you to thank.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn’t want to hear more lies. He couldn’t stand to have her near. “I want your stuff out of my house by the time I get home tonight.”

Her lips trembled and she dragged her fingers through her hair. “For your information, I never betrayed you. But you’re incapable of trusting anyone. You want to believe the worst so you don’t have to take responsibility for your behavior. Well, bravo. I must be the Muse of Dramatics because you fooled me. You deserve an Academy Award. I thought we had something special, but the first time you’re tested, you fail. I’ll get my things out of that cold, lonely space that you call home.”

She stalked to the stage to grab her guitar, coat, and purse and then stomped back to him, fury blazing in her eyes. “You might want to ask yourself how I taped Jenny from the front when I was standing on the stage. Behind. Her.” She shook her head and stormed out the front door.

He dropped his head as her words sank in. He’d lost it all.
Acropolis
. His dignity. And the woman he loved.