She pushed away from the counter a little desperately to put some more space between them. She had to get shoes on her feet so her silly wayward, faulty, misguided, unhelpful parlor trick of a gift wasn’t feeling him and adding to the ferocious, almost desperate hunger rushing through her veins at his close proximity. The hell with that. She could find someone else to see to her sexual needs and not get her heart shredded.
Abruptly, she sank down on the little stool behind the counter and fished for her shoes. “I knew you were very tired, Player.” Deliberately she said his name, reminding herself what kind of a man he was. “I was fine with leaving. I went to the party as a sober driver, and Francine hadn’t texted me, but I went looking for her. As it turned it, she’d found a ride home, so it all worked out.”
Player glanced over his shoulder and immediately Alena came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist as she leaned over the counter toward Zyah. Zyah honestly couldn’t tell if she was a reinforcement for Player or if she had really come on her own, but the truth was, jealousy was a bitch and it reared its ugly head the moment Alena casually wrapped herself around Player.
“I forgot to ask. The club has a huge favor to ask of you, Zyah. It’s big.”
Zyah braced herself. Surely her job wouldn’t be contingent on dating Player. She wouldn’t do it. If he had made that one of the requirements, she was out. Walking away. She didn’t care if they needed the money. She would sell her stocks. Pull her retirement early. Whatever it took. It didn’t matter.
She forced her gaze up to meet Alena’s as she slid her foot into her shoe. “I’m listening.”
“Naturally, before you were hired, Code did a background check on you, and he’s very thorough. He found out about your grandmother, Anat. Not to mention, Inez talks about her all the time. She sounds like the coolest person ever born. So strong. We were all raised together. None of us ever had a grandmother. Well, Destroyer did, and his was awesome, but still, none of the rest of us.”
The moment Alena said Mama Anat was cool and strong, the tension drained out of Zyah to be replaced by pride, because her grandmother was both those things and a million more.
“What I’m getting at is we’d like to meet her. Not all of us at the same time, but if you wouldn’t have an objection and you don’t think she’d be afraid of us, we’d really like to meet her,” Alena continued.
Zyah frowned. “Why would she be afraid of you, other than if you all came at once? You could be a bit intimidating all together, I suppose.” They were big men with a ton of muscle. Definitely intimidating.
“We look rough, scarred,” Player supplied. “With a lot of tattoos.”
Zyah ignored him. “Mama Anat would love to meet all of you. At the moment she’s confined to bed or a wheelchair and she isn’t happy she can’t get around. She’s normally very active and she loves company.”
“Good,” Alena said. “We heard what happened to your grandmother. I hope she’s feeling better. I’m so glad you don’t mind. We thought, since Czar insists any employee closing at night has an escort home, that person would be the best one to meet your grandmother each time. That way she knows you’re safe on the way home and she’ll be happy about that and won’t mind them stopping in and saying hello.” She looked suddenly anxious. “Unless you think it’s too late for her to have visitors.”
The grocery store officially locked the doors at seven and she was supposed to be out of there by seven-thirty. Eight at the latest. Her grandmother would love the company. Zyah nodded. “Mama Anat will definitely be up. She’ll have music playing, and she’ll want whoever she meets to drink tea or coffee and eat fresh-baked cookies or cake. If there isn’t any, she’ll expect me to whip something up.”
“Can you bake?” Alena asked.
“It is a prerequisite in the Gamal household to learn all domestic arts.” She avoided looking at Player. In fact, she pretended he wasn’t there.
“Player will be escorting you home tonight. He’ll be the first to taste your baking, so I’ll be anxious to hear what he has to say about whatever your grandmother offers him.” Alena gave her a quick, genuine smile. “We’re always very truthful with one another. I’m the chef at the restaurant just up the street, and I’m always looking for good help. You need extra work, give me a call. I’ll see what you’ve got.”
Zyah almost didn’t hear the job offer, she was so busy panicking over the fact that Player would be following her home and then she’d have to introduce him to her grandmother. If she tried to come up with an excuse not to allow him into her house, she’d look less than gracious. Or worse, as if that one night had really mattered. Like it meant something and she was holding a grudge.