CHAPTER ONE

(SIENNA)

"I need to speak with the owner."

"Ma'am I've heard that one before, get in line."

"No, you don't understand, I don't care about getting into your club I just need to speak to him; now." The bouncer started at me with his arms crossed eyeing me up and down. I could tell from the smug look on his face he didn't believe me and didn't even think I belonged at the hottest club in town.

Well he was right, but only about one thing, I didn't belong at Obsession. I didn't even want to be at this club, but I needed to talk to the guy who owned this place and I wasn't leaving until it happened. I was pretty sure the safety of my best friend depended on it and the owner was the only person I could think of who could handle the situation.

My friend Lucy had worked at Obsession for 3 years as a bartender and waitress and loved it. The entire place was everything that she needed to stay happy when it came to work. Fancy surroundings, great music, good tips, great coworkers, and from what she had told me a great boss too. I had even been to the place a few times before so that we could hang out and have a girl's night, I just didn't do it often. Social situations made me feel a bit awkward unless I had time to get to know people, and when you get down to it I am just a home body.

Lucy was having trouble with a bartender who had recently started working at Obsession about six months ago. She had been telling me about the multiple times he had tried to get her to go out with him and how aggressive he was about it. She never thought it was a big deal and laughed it off. She felt flattered but not threatened since it occurred at work and there were plenty of people around. He never seemed to be at the club when I came by, like he knew I was looking for him, but I figured it was always just bad timing since there was no way he could have known I even existed. I decided to take matters into my own hands, the reason I needed to speak to the owner, when Lucy called me two nights ago freaking out saying that the man who had been hitting on her followed her home.

As I stared back at the bouncer, who at any other moment in time I would have been open mouthed and wide eyed at, I heard the other people in line waiting to get into the club yelling at me to get to the back of the line, to get out of here, and the occasional dirt bag telling me to show some skin and I may get in a little faster. I had drove here straight from work, having stayed late to meet a deadline, and was in my accountant standard issue work clothes; a pencil skirt, silk blouse, and heels. I found what I was wearing attractive and sexy in a classy way; but for a place like this made me look like the health inspector.

"The owner is busy and unless you have an appointment with him there isn't anything I can do for you." The bouncer said widening his stance even more beside the door. He may be attractive but the look on his face made me want to slap it right off. Which I guess he could tell, hence the stance widening.

"This isn't some ploy to get in! And I know you have some kind of cell phone or something that is directly connected to him to tell him all about what is going on at all times. I've been here before, my friend has worked here for years, and I know you can call him down here so don't act like your hands are tied, I'm not buying it." I went to walk past him and before I even made a step he had my arm and was pulling me back.

"Now listen here you aren't going in and you better…"

"Marcus." What was obviously his name coming from somewhere on his hip caused him to pause in his anger towards me and grab what I now noticed was a phone.

"Yeah boss."

"I told you." I beamed up at him with my own smug look. His eyes narrowed at me as he waited for the man on the other end to reply.

"Before you cause a scene and the lady you're holding tries to take down a man twice her size let her in and Jackson will escort her to my office."

Marcus' eyes narrowed even more at me and my grin only got bigger. As he pressed a button on the side of the phone and brought it up to his mouth he let go of my arm and took a step back. "Got it, sending her in now."

I didn't wait for him to say anything else and walked through the front door.

The sound of the music barely had time to register in my brain before another man grabbed my arm and was dragging me through the tables and towards the back of the club, though I'm sure if you asked him he would have said he was just "escorting" me to his boss's office. All I saw was the back of him as I tried to keep up. I was a tall girl and didn't wear heels often but tonight I had them on and this guy was still six inches taller than me and god only knew if he was walking this fast on purpose.

Obsession had the finest food in town along with a killer set up and amazing dance floor and bar. It was probably the reason it had lasted so long and was the "it" spot to be. All the diners who had been seated for their dinner stared as I all but ran past them.

After nearly face planting trying to take the steps leading down to the dance floor we finally came to a stop and my escort let go and turned toward me. If I hadn't been recovering from our run here I would have taken a step back at the look he gave me. His eyes were almost as dark as the night and the intensity coming from them was more intimidating than anything I could remember.

"I...umm…I'm sorry…"I was apologizing like an idiot for absolutely no reason just in the hopes that maybe he would dial it down a notch. I wasn't afraid of him but I never wanted to get on his bad side, that was for sure, and I felt like I was close to being there. Everyone at this place needed a chill pill.

He was still staring at me and that's when I noticed he held open a door that led to a flight of stairs that I could only assume led to the office that overlooked this entire place. You could see a large blacked out window from the dance floor and I had always wondered who was watching everyone from up there.

"Oh, thank you" still nothing, he just continued staring. "I'm Sienna, and I can only assume you're Jackson right?"

He nodded his head at me and then looked back toward the door.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Jackson." With that I walked through the door and away from Mr. Intense and made my way up the steps. I heard the door close behind me and wondered, if those were the men that worked for the owner than whom in the world was I about to meet when I got to the top?

I knocked on the door and immediately heard "Come In."

With the door behind me closed, the music had all but disappeared and every syllable of that simple command made shivers run down my back.

I opened the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs and walked into an office that took my breath away. The walls were a deep sapphire, almost black if you weren't paying attention, with a large dark wood desk in the center of the room. I over looked the two large chairs and massive desk chair and stared at the wall full of monitors to the right of the desk. They displayed various areas of the club as well as the outside entrance and exit and places I wasn't even sure I could find. The wall behind the desk was floor to ceiling book shelves that housed more books than I could count. There were small accents of color everywhere and it was all centered by that desk. Why did I like that desk so much? My eyes jerked away from the center of the room when I heard a throat clear and they landed on the man that I now knew was the reason the desk was even made.

He was standing in front the massive window that overlooked the inside of the club, but I couldn't take my eyes off him, even with all the activity going on behind and below. His eyes were ice blue and his dark hair was almost touching his collar but somehow not messy looking. My eyes traveled over his full lips and strong jaw covered in stubble and landed on the button up shirt that matched his walls.

"You wanted to speak with me?" My eyes flew back to his face in enough time to catch the smirk on his mouth.

Tall Dark and conceited, the latter finally snapping me out of it, was no longer my favorite thing in the room. The desk was safer, sturdy; I didn't feel like a silly teenager when I looked at it.

"I..., yes I did. I'm Sienna." I said walking towards him with my hand held out to shake.

He gripped my hand in his and nodded his head. "Nice to meet you Sienna, I'm Nathaniel, Neil for short; have a seat." I barely had time to process the strength and warmth of his hand before he let go and walked over and sat down at my new favorite piece of furniture.

"Thank you." I stammered trying to get a grip and act like the woman who just a few minutes ago was about to get in a brawl with the bouncer downstairs. I took a seat and looked up from the floor and into his awaiting face. If I didn't know any better I think I saw humor in his eyes when I straightened my shoulders. Had he noticed that? He noticed that. This was getting worse and worse.

"I need to talk to you about one of your workers. Well, two of your workers, but I only know one of their names. Do you know Lucy Strays?"

"Yes, she's one of my best employees." He leaned back in his chair and rested one of his hands on his desk. "Did she do something to you?"

"No absolutely not, she's a friend. She doesn't know I'm here and at this point I could care less; I'm actually going to call her and tell her I was here the second I leave."

He slightly raised his eyebrows and shifted forward in his chair "Well, by all means, continue Mrs.?"

"Gates."

"Mrs. Gates."

"Just Sienna please, Mrs. Gates always reminds me of a news reporter." I smiled slightly as I remembered how my mother would always laugh when I would walk through the house announcing the weather and how she would always say my name was perfect. That smile quickly left when High school taught me that attention from a crowd of people, no matter how small, didn't end well for me.

"Fair enough, continue Sienna." His eyes seemed to soften a bit at my attempt at humor.

"There is a man you hired about six months ago; he's tall, blonde hair, brown eyes, works as a bartender a few nights a week; at least that's what Lucy told me. He has been giving her trouble and it is at a point that I am actually quite worried about her."

This caught Neil's interest and I saw his eyes grow intense and his body tighten, it was a subtle change but nothing else gave him away. "That's John Hawthorne, I noticed he had eyes for Lucy and had asked her out a couple times but what man doesn't try to take out a beautiful woman?"

I felt a twinge of jealousy at his statement and for the life of me didn't know why. Well I knew why, I wanted a man like him to call me beautiful; I needed help. I shifted in my chair and continued.

"And that's what I thought too when Lucy was telling me about his attempts; but things are escalating. He's cornered her in supply rooms, grabbed at her when she walked by, left her very forward messages on her phone and just last night she called me freaking out because she saw him across the street from her apartment."

"Did she call the police?" his voice had gotten very serious.

"I tried to make her and even threatened to drag her to the police station myself but by the time I got there…I don't know why but she'd deiced she was seeing things, that it wasn't him."

"And you don't believe her."

"Exactly, I've never met this guy, John, but just from what she has told me I've always been creeped out. And if you could have heard her when she called me, how scared she was, she was certain it was him. I don't know what made her change her mind but frankly I have a terrible feeling about this."

"You're coming to me because you think I can handle this situation better than the police?"

"Yes, they won't take my word for it and it's not up to me to get a restraining order. I've heard rumors and I thought"

"Rumors?" He cut me off mid-sentence.

"Yes rumors. I don't know if they are true, but rumors that you are, I don't know I guess you could say feared in this town, respected, have pull with a lot of important people. I don't know of anyone else who could look into this for me."

Neil stared at me as the silence stretched in the room. I kept my mouth shut hoping that whatever he was thinking would end up being what I really needed at that moment. I jumped when he finally moved and leaned forward and grabbed the phone off his desk.

"Jackson, bring John Hawthorne to my office. Yes now, and make sure you stick around when you get him here."

"He's here?!" I stood up from my seat and looked at the door.

"You wanted me to handle this Sienna and I'm handling it."

"But I never thought" I trailed off as I turned and looked back at Neil.

"You're safe as long as I'm here. We will get to the bottom of this. Don't worry." The look on his face said there wasn't even another option besides this entire situation being taken care of tonight. He looked furious, and now that I had come down from my three second freak out and internal panic attack I noticed how his eyes had changed color. The ice blue they were when I entered was replaced by a color matching his shirt and walls and if I hadn't have heard the door downstairs opening I might have noticed there was a subtle glow to them as well.