Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
"I'm letting her finish this shift, but she won't be back."
Maggie stands in front of me, staring at me until I drop my eyes down to hers.
"If you fire her, then I'm gone too."
"I can't fire her if she doesn't work here," I argue.
"I'm not going to repeat myself, Walker Conley. I can't keep working these hectic shifts. I can barely keep my eyes open in class because they're exhausting me so badly." I see the reality in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. Listen, I'll—"
"You'll let her keep working. She's the best you've hired in six months."
"I didn't hire her," I repeat, but I know arguing semantics won't matter. Maggie has put her foot down and, as unprepared as I am to lose her in under a year, I sure as hell can't move that timetable up to tonight.
"I'm not agreeing to anything," I tell her, but a smile spreads across her face as if she already knows what my decision is going to be.
Claire manages to stay away from me for the rest of the night, but I watch her every chance I can get. Apparently, I'm a sadist who likes putting temptation right in my path when I know I can never reach out and touch it.
Every smile she directs to someone else makes me see red, although I'd never shove a guy away from her. She wouldn't appreciate the chivalry, and from the way she works the room, she doesn't need it.
The woman wasn't being exactly honest when she said she used to work in a bar. I have no doubt she ran whatever bar she worked in before.
She spins and twirls to keep from bumping into people, and when a couple of college guys get a little too rowdy, she somehow manages to get them to clean up the mess they made, all while laughing and joking with her. I have no doubt the blond guy smiling up at her from his place on the floor, as he picks up broken pieces of a beer bottle, is in his own version of heaven, simply because she's smiling down at him the way that she is.
"Are you going to take those to the back or not?" Maggie asks.
I look down at the tray full of dirty beer glasses, feeling like I just got caught doing something wrong.
"Fuck," I mutter, then have to apologize. "Sorry."
"Maybe fix that face of yours while you're back there. I don't need you scaring off my customers."
I notice my scowl in the glass behind the bar before making it to the hallway leading to the kitchen.
"I can get that, bossman," Trevor says as I approach the dishwasher.
I almost fight the man for the tray when he takes it out of my hands. I need some distance, and I know better than to think that I'm capable of going back out there and not looking in Claire's direction.
I feel like the shittiest human in the world. Apparently, the woman needs a second job, and it's not her fault that she's so pretty. It's not like I can ask her to somehow look worse. Besides, I doubt it would even be possible for her, and thinking of her with a little dirt on her face and messy hair puts my mind in places it has no damn business traveling to. All of these problems are my issues, and it's something I need to get a better handle on. Punishing her and, in turn, losing Maggie, just can't happen.
Knowing that I'll just be in Maggie's way behind the bar if I head back out there, I turn to the right, out of the kitchen, and take the narrow hallway down to the office.
I remember why I spend so little time in here when I open the door and flip on the light. The room is tiny, and there's no vent in here for heat or air conditioning. It's winter time now so it's not so bad in here, but in the summer, this room is unbearable. I always count down the till and do my paperwork while standing behind the bar to avoid the misery this place brings.
When I bought the bar a little over five years ago, I never worried about the business side of it. I just wanted a place where my friends could come and chill, a place where the expectations are low and there's no pressure to just cut loose and have a good time. But with that side of things, I also inherited the bills, inventory, hiring, and a million other things I never considered.
It took me over a year to get a routine down that works for me, and I know that Claire being in the same building will blow that all to hell.
I sit at the desk, more than a little overwhelmed with the mess in front of me, but staying in this tiny, musty room is better than being in the bar and watching her earn her tips.