The Beautiful People Read Online Free PDF

me. Fortunately, he was busy and distracted in
the VIP Section; otherwise I wouldn’t make any tips.
    Weaving my way through
the crowd, I spotted Grant talking to a group sitting at a table in VIP. One of
the men in the group was staring at me. He was older and his beady, black eyes
were intense. His eyes combined with heavy jowls that hung off of his jaw
reminded me of a bulldog. His unwavering gaze made me uncomfortable. I looked
away, but couldn’t help but peer back to see if he was still staring. This time
the guy was talking to Grant and pointing at me. The fear on Grant’s face when
he saw me was terrifying. I’d rarely seen him afraid. He was always so sure of
himself. Shocked, I turned away and refused to hazard another glance.
    It was too busy the
rest of the night and I had forgotten all about it until I was walking over to Dominic’s
bar to count out my tips. The creepy guy was sitting on one of the stools and
talking to Dominic. I stopped short and contemplated turning around, but it was
too late because Dominic spotted me and waved. The guy swiveled around on his
stool to see who Dominic was waving at. He watched me walk the rest of the way
to the bar, making every step an extremely uncomfortable one. I had no choice
but to go up to Dominic.
    “Hi
Nat. Did you have a good night?”
    “I
did. Thanks for helping me out with my drink orders,” I answered, trying to
ignore the penetrating gaze of Mr. Creepy.
    “Natalie,
this is my uncle. Marco Grabano.” Dominic introduced me to Mr. Creepy. “Uncle Marco,
this is Natalie Ross, Grant’s sister.”
    Not wanting to, but not
wanting to be rude, I held my hand out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you Mr.
Cr – Mr. Grabano,” I said.
    “You
can call me Uncle Marco, doll,” he said in a gravelly voice. Instead of shaking
my hand, he bent over and kissed the top. “I’ve been anxious to meet Grant’s
sister. Apparently you got all the looks.” He winked before his x-ray eyes
scanned me again.
    I turned my head,
embarrassed, when I noticed Grant. He was sitting at the other end of the bar.
His jaws clenched and nostrils flared when he saw Marco’s kiss my hand. Concerned
Grant was going to do something ‘big brotherish”, I withdrew it and turned
towards Dominic. “Sorry, I have to go talk to Grant.” I nodded in Mr. Grabano’s
direction. I could feel his eyes on my ass as I turned and walked towards my
brother.
    “What
is with you?” I hissed at Grant as I got closer to where he was sitting.
    “I
don’t –I mean, I want…let’s talk about this later. I thought I told you to stay
away from Dominic.”
     I exhaled sharply. “Not
up for discussion, Grant.” There was a noticeable edge to my voice. “Now,
staying away from his uncle? That I can do,” I whispered this part, not wanting
‘Uncle Marco’ to overhear, “He weirds me out.”
    I noticed Grant was clenching
his jaw again. “He’s the co-owner of Crimson, Nat. He’s a very powerful man
here in Philly.”
    “Great,
so he’s my boss? Shit, I was kind of rude to him just now.”
    Grant leaned in close
to me. “I don’t think you can be rude to him, Nat. The way he is looking at you
right now, you could flip him off and he’d be just as enthralled.”
                “What?” I
jerked my head up to see what he was talking about, but Grant prevented me.
                “Don’t.
Jesus…” Grant paused. “You seem to have caught Mr. Grabano’s eye.  He wanted me
to arrange a meeting. But, I told him you’re my sister and not available.”
                “Ewww. But
why would he want to meet me? I mean, all the other waitresses, they’re
gorgeous!”
                “Natalie
now is not the time to delve into your low self-esteem issues, just listen to
me. Try to limit your interaction with Marco. I know he’s our boss,
technically, but he is used to getting his way and abusing his power. Catch my
drift?”