Forgotten Dawn (Forgotten Book 2)

Chapter 21

Jerry clapped Chad and Rico on the shoulder. "Boys, we are about to make a lot of money. If sales go up, there will be a raise in it for everyone."

"Damn straight. More customers means more work," Rico threw over his shoulder as he left to check the bathrooms.

"I want to get this rolled out as fast as possible, so I'm going to call Doug in for tomorrow. If he can make it, I want you to get the live shots you need throughout the night," Jerry told Chad as they weaved their way through the dining tables.

"Sounds good. I'll get the rest of these edits done by tomorrow. We should be ready to make a decision on prints by next weekend. That'll give you a week to get the girls' contracts sorted and the vendors in line."

"I was worried Sunny was going to put my balls in vice over this," Jerry laughed.

"She definitely drives a hard bargain," Chad grinned. "How long has she worked here?"

"Since she was 18 and aged out of the system. She's a smart girl, and I always thought it would just be temporary, but she's never once talked about doing anything else."

By the time the two men reached the office, the waitresses had already clocked out and gone through the kitchen to be walked out by Chef. The dancers were waiting at the back door for the all clear. Chad opened the door to a torrential downpour. Anna placed an umbrella in his hand before he could step out into it. With a nod of thanks, he opened it and stepped out into the brightly lit parking lot. He wove between the vehicles, and when he was sure nobody was lurking, he used Anna's umbrella to walk each of the women to their cars.

Jerry and Rico both ran past him as he went back inside for Anna. He handed her umbrella back to her. "Don't forget, I'm following you home."

"That really isn't necessary."

"It is for my peace of mind. Let's go." He stepped out into the rain and was instantly soaked.

"Idiot," Anna laughed, before following him out and holding the umbrella over him. She walked with him to the driver's side of his truck.

"I thought I was supposed to be escorting you to your car, not the other way around."

"Well, one of us came prepared, and the other didn't."

Chad could feel the heat radiating off of her body as she stood against his side. He stared down at her smiling face. "You know you are stunning when you smile."

Her face fell, and she stepped back. "Don't."

She was right. It wasn't fair to her to make comments like that. "Sorry. I...," his eyes dropped to his truck tire behind her. "You have got to be kidding me!" he growled. He stepped past her and knelt in a puddle of water beside his flat tire. He stood and walked to the back of his truck to find that one flat as well. Thankfully, he found the two on the passenger side were fine.

Anna had followed him around and was now holding the umbrella over him again. "Wow, you must have driven over something on your way in."

"Or something." He knew good and well he hadn't driven over anything, but he didn't want to scare her. He could see the slashes in the sidewall of both flat tires. Someone did this. And of course, there were no cameras to identify who it was. "I only have one spare."

"I'll give you a ride to your hotel," she offered.

"I don't want you going home alone."

"I'll be fine."

"Let me borrow your car. That way, I can drop you off. Then, I can get up early in the morning and take care of my truck. When I finish, I'll bring your car back to you, and we can ride to work together."

Anna stared at him. The cold rain had soaked him through, and he shivered as he waited for her decision. "Fine, but you aren't getting into my car soaked. Back inside, we'll get you a towel." She spun on her heel and left him following after her. She typed in the security code and led him inside to the dressing room.

The air conditioning of the building hit him, causing him to shiver more. "I think it's going to take more than a towel to get me dry," he said, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

"Go get in the shower and toss your clothes out," she waved to the bathroom door in the corner of the dressing room.

Chad arched a brow, but went inside. The bathroom was small with a toilet, pedestal sink, and shower stall with a frosted glass door. Anna had followed him inside. "Are you joining me?"

"Of course not. Get in the shower and take off your clothes. Wring them out the best you can and toss them out. You can take a hot shower, while I try to get them dry. I'll bring you a towel."

"Yes, ma'am." Not bothering to wait for Anna to leave the room, Chad immediately toed off his boots and removed his socks, which were thankfully still dry. He stepped into the shower stall and stripped his wet t-shirt off. He wrung as much water out as he could before tossing it over the stall door, where it hit the tiles with a smacking sound. He did the same with his jeans and boxers before turning on the hot spray of the shower.

At first, he just let the hot water rain down on him, slowly warming him up. There were several built-in shelves in the corner of the stall that held a variety of soaps, shampoos, and conditioners. All of them marketed to women. Choosing the least feminine bottles he could find, he washed away the longest day he had had in a long time.