Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
I wipe the sweat off my brow. “No, I was too busy fighting for my life getting the mattress up the stairs. I’ve always wondered how I would die, but being smashed by a mattress never came to mind.”
Mindy chuckles and slaps her thighs. “Right? Okay, time for the rewards.” She stands, walks to the boxes, and grabs two coffee mugs. “These will have to do until the fancy china arrives.”
More like secondhand thrift shop dinnerware and stemware. I get up and help with the champagne. The cork pops and shoots out, slamming against the wall. “Opa!” Mindy hollers and hurries to pour the overflowing liquid into the mugs. I take a much-needed sip and keep going until it’s gone. Mindy dumps more into my cup, and I sip slower, taking in my new place. It definitely needs a lot of work. Some TLC. A strong deodorizer. But it’s mine.
“Cheers to finally being able to masturbate without worrying your mom or dad will walk in.” She clinks her mug to mine.
I shake my head. “How about, here’s to me getting a call back so I can quit my job and pursue the career I was meant to have.”
“If you did that, you’d have to quit the bar too, and I would never get to see you.”
“Wouldn’t my mother love that.” Mindy’s brows raise. “No, I don’t mean it like that. My mom loves you. What she doesn’t love is her daughter working at a bar. I think it gives her church friends something to whisper about behind her back.”
“Oh, the travesty of selling booze to the dregs of society.”
“Right?” I snort. “She’s convinced I need to settle into a cookie-cutter life—get married, give her tons of grandbabies, blah, blah, blah.”
Mindy groans. “That sounds atrocious.”
“Tell me about it. I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to be there someday, but I don’t see that for me right now. I have this burning desire to do something great. But here I am, stuck in a stuffy office with a stuffy boss, living for every ding from my phone and hoping it’s a potential job interview.”
“Girl, it’ll happen, I promise. Maybe you should go to the restaurant to talk to your old boss? Explain what happened.”
I walk over and plant myself on my couch. “Trust me, I tried. I couldn’t even get past the snooty hostess.”
Mindy sits next to me. “Want me to come with and distract her while you run for the kitchen?”
I snort. “If it were only that easy. The damage is already done. It’s that punk’s word over mine. And honestly, no matter who’s truly at fault, it doesn’t change the fact that it ruined their chances of another Michelin star.”
“There are other things in life.”
“Not for a chef.” I down the rest of my champagne, and Mindy fills me back up.
“Okay, fine. So, you keep at it. Something’s gonna fall into your lap. Meanwhile, what are you going to do about your current job?”
The million-dollar question. “Who knows? Keep my head on straight, my mouth shut, and be a compliant employee?”
Another groan. “Sounds as ratchet as being married with babies.”
“Well, my other option is to stand my ground. I swear, some of the things he says and does. . . it’s like he’s testing me.”
“How so?”
Shrugging, I say, “I don’t know. It’s how I catch him looking at me. It sounds silly, and I shouldn’t even be saying this. He has a girlfriend. Who is a complete knockout, by the way.”
Mindy nudges me. “Dude, so are you.”
“Thanks, but we don’t have to go there on this one. It’s. . . I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
“Okay, start with how he looks at you.”
“God. . .” I sigh, imagining those eyes, dark and hungry. “Like he wants to eat me alive.” I cover my eyes and chug my champagne. “How insane does that sound?”
Mindy shrugs. “Sounds pretty normal to me.”
I scoff. “Not when you’re a sexy, high-profile CEO of a company, not to mention completely unattainable. I’m an idiot and got wrapped up in the little signs. It shows how much I know about relationships. I don’t even know how to flirt, for Christ’s sake.”
She returns my scoff and waves her hand in my face. “Oh, give me a break. I’ve seen your tips at the end of the night. You know how to flirt.”
“Schmoozing customers is a little different than schmoozing the guy you’re interested in—”
“Oh, so now you’re interested?”
“No. There’s just something there I don’t know how to explain. I almost wish it would go away. He really is a massive jerk.”
“Hmmm. . .” Mindy sips her champagne.
“What?” It’s never a good thing when she starts hmmm-ing.
“Nothing. I just think maybe. . .”
She takes too long to reply. “Maybe what? Spit it out.”
“That you like him. And maybe he likes you too.”