Hidden Depths
Ghost

The day went quickly. Bryan and I got along immediately, and spent a fair amount of time checking out the men at the club. He made me laugh as he blatantly flirted with men in front of their wives. That first day he got four phone numbers and several notes. Being more nervous around men than I had expected made it hard to smile and be friendly.

The next week passed and I started feeling safer and more confident that Blake was gone. I didn’t scan the parking lot every time I left the house. I started opening up more at work. Anytime someone got to handsy I was quickly defended by Bryan, one of the bouncers, or Dalton.

Dalton was only there for short periods of time. Yet somehow he was always aware of when I needed a hand and quickly stepped in. At times I would catch him watching me from across the room. I often wondered if it was because, as he had said, the boss wanted him to make sure I was fitting in. The possibility it was his own personal interest was more than I could handle at the time.

“He’s not bad.” Bryan said that Friday when he noticed me watching Dalton.

“What?” I asked innocently.

He rolled his hazel eyes and flipped his hand in the air, “The man you are eye fucking, girl. No judgments here, Dalton is fine as hell. Although personally Seth is more my type.”

I literally dropped the drink I was making and spun to gawk at him. “Who?”

“Seth. That’s Mr. Marinos first name. He’s the boss, Dalton’s business partner.” Byran said, obliviously. “Now he’s a fine looking man.”

I felt like the whole club had shifted. So many things suddenly made sense. Why I had been hired without an interview. Why the boss was mysteriously never around when I was. I felt like screaming, but was grateful that at least I hadn’t blabbed about Maddison to anyone.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Dalton asked, appearing on the other side of the bar.

I nodded slowly before rounding the counter. I ignored Bryan winking at me as we passed. I was contemplating my options. So far working under Seth hadn’t had an affect on the job, and I needed the money. However, I was only a week in and it could get worse.

“Are you okay?” Dalton asked when we were outside the back door.

“You work for Seth Marino?” I retorted.

He sighed, running his hand over his face. “He didn’t want you to know. Said you wouldn’t take the job if you did.”

I laughed without humor. “Oh yeah what else did he tell you about me?”

“That you are strong, independent, and stubborn as a mule.” He hesitated and I crossed my arms waiting for him to finish. “That he regrets sleeping with you more than anything else he has done, and that it wasn’t worth your friendship.”

I was silent as I bit back tears, “Oh really. Did he tell everyone here my fucking life story?!”

“No, he told me his story. You just happened to be a part of it.” He clarified, “If it helps at all I have known Seth for years and I have never seen him show regret until he ran into you in the lobby at TechCore.”

“It’s way too late for regret.” I snapped, “I need this job until I replace something better, but you tell Seth to stay the fuck out of my life.”

I shoved past him bumping shoulders harder than I intended. I fought not to scream as he grabbed my arm stopping me. His blue eyes were calm but I could hardly breathe. His grip was not painful but too strong to pull away from.

“Let me go.” My voice squeaked and I tried to pull away again.

I flinched away badly as he reached up towards my face. He gently ran his fingers over the scabbed over cut in my hairline.

“He could help you, if you need it.” He let both his hands drop.

Then he walked away leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable. It took me a couple of minutes to calm my racing heart enough to go inside. I just wanted to go home. Staring at the clock I realized I had four hours left. I thought of Maddison and pushed through the rest of the day.

The next day Seth showed up at work. He smiled sadly and nodded at me, but otherwise ignored me. Bryan swooned over him, fanning himself, and effectively making me laugh. Seth glanced over at the sound and smiled a real smile. One that was practically a ghost from my childhood, reminding me how much I missed his friendship.

Maddison was loving having Emma watch her. I had to admit I was impressed with her punctuality. I got a text the same time every night letting me know Maddy had gotten her medication. I had never had a babysitter do that, but I was suddenly sure it would be a requirement from now on.

Another week passed before anything new happened. I was at work, fighting to stay awake after a long night with Maddison, when Seth came up to the bar.

“So, how are you liking the job?” He asked innocently.

“It’s fine.” I replied shortly.

“What do I have to do to get you to talk to me again?” He asked desperately after a short pause.

“There’s nothing to talk about Seth.” I sighed.

“So you don’t miss me at all?” He asked, pain flashing across his face.

“Seth, you have no clue what you did to me. Of course I miss you. You were my person for a long time but…” I hesitated then sighed. “I can’t trust you anymore.”

“Then give me the chance to gain that trust again, Chels.” He almost pleaded, glancing around.

“I don’t know.” I sighed, fighting back tears. I could see his regret clear as day, but that didn’t fix everything.

“I’m not asking for anything but friendship. I don’t date, and I promise to keep my conquests to myself around you.” He offered.

“I don’t care who you sleep with Seth, that never bugged me. If you want to do this though, I have a rule.” I finally relented then continued after he nodded. “You can’t ask anything about my personal life.”

He frowned, shocked for a second. Then understanding and anger crossed his face in a flash. I was sure Dalton had told Seth his assumptions. Surprisingly I was glad. The more time they spent speculating about that the less time they had to replace out about Maddy.

“Okay.” Seth finally agreed after a long minute. “I only ask in return that if you need help you tell either Dalton or myself. I’ll tell him to keep any secret you tell him.”

“What? He has to tell you everything?” I asked incredulously.

Seth rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well not really, but standardly he does report to me.”

“I thought you were partners?”

“It’s complicated. I thought we said no personal questions.” He sighed annoyed.

“This is work related.” I argued.

“I forgot how pushy you are.” He grumbled. “How about this? I don’t ask you personal questions, you don’t ask me work related questions. Then we don’t have to lie to each other.”

I looked him over, noting once again how fancy and expensive everything looked. He wore black slacks with a black button down. The suit jacket he wore was black as well with intricate stitching along the collar. It matched the stitching on his black tie. Even the way he styled his hair now screamed of power and money. His dark blue eyes were more haunted than I remembered.

I shuttered as a thought struck me. Was it possible I didn’t want to know about his businesses? Something told me he was offering all he could, and possibly more than I wanted. With that thought in mind I nodded slowly. Mentally I decided I had to keep a safe distance between Maddison and myself, and both Seth and Dalton.