In the Blink of An Eye by Jerry Baggett (ebook reader for surface pro TXT) 📕

sand and salt. Come on in and get cleaned up. We can grab a quick lunch and come right back to your place for the afternoon.” She knew what he had in mind.

She held his gaze for several seconds, not appreciating his authoritative tone. “You should have called me. This is my day off, my only day to myself, and I haven’t finished my workout, Steven. I don’t want to give that up today.” She’d expected a more emotional greeting.

“You know I have very little time to spend with you,” he said. “I thought you’d be glad to see me.”

She felt he was cajoling her, but tried to stay pleasant. “Yes. I know that, and I am glad to see you.” She waited for a strolling couple to walk on by. “I have a list of things to do this afternoon and I’m already behind in my workout, even without catching a few waves with my board.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arms’ length. “What’s going on, Samantha? Things haven’t been the same for weeks now. I’m crazy about you, and I feel like you care for me.” He dropped his hands. “We’re still on for Tuesday evening, aren’t we?”

“Of course, Steven. Sometimes I feel like I’m involved with a married man, stealing time away from his family. We get together only when it’s convenient for you. I don’t like feeling that way. You can understand that.” Actually, she was tired of being taken for granted and wouldn’t put up with that very long, in any relationship. She didn’t like disappointing Steven, but knew he’d be over it by the time they saw each other in the clinic.

 

Chapter 5

“Bring the girl on in, let’s see what she has to say,” Harvey Marino said. Two big men placed the woman in a straight-backed chair in front of Marino. “You’re a good bartender, Maria. How long have you worked at the Jolly Fisherman’s Club?”

“Nearly five months, sir.”

“Why did you feel you could get away with short-changing the bar register?”

“I only took a few dollars, Mr. Marino. My momma and my little boy are both sick. You know it’s expensive going to doctors and I don’t have help with our living expenses. After I paid the doctor, I didn’t have enough left to pay the rent. The owner comes by personally to pick up the money.

“Don’t hand me that sob story, Maria. You’ve been tapping the till for over a month now. We won’t have you supporting a boyfriend on the side. Don’t think you can ever lie to me. You know I always find out what’s happening in my clubs.”

“My boyfriend got fired from his job. He took all the tip money out of my purse and ran off. He won’t be around anymore, Mr. Marino. Please don’t fire me.”

He removed his cigar and coughed hard before continuing. “You are a good-looking woman, with sex dripping off you like sweat. You’re the kind of woman that keeps our customers coming back, Maria. We like you working the bar. What do you think I should do to you?”

“I could pay you back out of my salary, you know, what I get from the club. Maybe I could get by on my tip money for a few weeks.”

“You don’t even know how much money you stole, do you?”

She started crying, shaking her head from side to side. “No, sir, I don’t.”

Marino slammed his hand down on the desk. “In the last five weeks, you’ve peeled off one thousand two hundred dollars cash, stuffing it into your pocket. You know we keep up with everything going into the cash register. I’ve killed people for less than that.”

She stood up and looked toward the door, saw it was blocked and sat back down. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything you want. I have to take care of my little boy and my mom.”

“Let me think. Perhaps some of our customers would be able to pay that debt off for you. Listen carefully. This is a way out. You agree to entertain some men upstairs with the other girls and we’ll see what happens from there. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” Maria hesitated, then nodded her head up and down. “Speak up, Maria. You know what’s going on upstairs. Do you agree to that?”

She looked up. “Yes, sir. Will I be able to keep my job as a bartender?”

He stood up and raised his voice. “If you steal money again it will cost you dearly, one finger off your hand for every fifty dollars you take from me, understood? That’s our agreement. Obey the club rules and you will be fine.”

***

The nurse used her special key to unlock the rear door to the Jolly Fisherman’s Club. She pushed the door open with her foot. Always conscious of her surroundings, she held it long enough to look over the area behind the building. It was early evening, the place not yet open. She wanted to leave again without being noticed.

She knocked at Harvey’s private office. The electric lock snapped open immediately. She knew a bank of camera monitors lined the upper wall in front of Marino.

Her eyes locked onto his as she eased herself into a chair across from him. “Your girls are all together? I’m tired this evening, could use a drink.” He reached behind him, poured two fingers of Makers Mark for each, and they exchanged a few words of small talk.

She studied the man. She’d always enjoyed his expensive liquor. Her concern – the tremendous leverage he held over her. They’d worked together for over twenty years, but that would make no difference. She figured him to be in his sixties, strong and vibrant. His full head of dark hair had started thinning and becoming grayer since the