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Bishop ground his jaw, the scruff underneath his cheeks making him seem a little bit harsher, a little rawer.
“Bishop?” I said his name softly, glancing around and seeing the only people who were focused on us were Pyper and the other waiter, Regan. Their eyes were wide as if this was totally not normal Bishop behavior. Or maybe they’d never experienced this side of him because they hadn’t been harassed by some drunken assholes.
Although I found that hard to believe, as this certainly wasn’t a one-off for waitstaff when having to deal with this shit.
“You four assholes need to leave.”
I actually shivered at the venom in Bishop’s voice when he said that low command.
I glanced over my shoulder to see All-American looking at his three buddies for backup. But his friends were looking away, clearly taking in the size of Bishop and the hard, unyielding tone and knowing they were no match.
Smart assholes.
“We are paying customers,” All-American slurred, holding up his beer as if that made his point.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are. You put your hands on an employee, and that’s automatic grounds for getting kicked the hell out.” Bishop gently pulled me to the side and behind him, as if he meant to protect and shield me.
“Aren’t you the bartender? Like who gave you authority to throw paying customers out?”
I heard the growl before All-American did. It was this deep vibration that slammed into my body. Bishop had his hand wrapped around the asshole’s shirt collar before I could even take a breath.
Bishop hauled All-American up and out of the seat, and snapped out, “You three, get the fuck out before I toss you out like your stupid fucking friend here.”
The three of them got up quickly, their stools scraping across the floor loudly. I was keenly aware of everyone in the bar quieting, the people watching us a heavy presence that surrounded me. I moved off to the side just as Bishop all but forced All-American to the door by his collar before tossing his ass out.
“Come into Lyrics again and I’ll beat your ass personally,” I heard Bishop murmur lowly, dangerously.
Once the front door was shut once more, there was a moment of silence right before a loud eruption of clapping and hooting and hollering came from the patrons.
Some might think Bishop would have looked smug after what he’d done and the reaction the customers gave him, but his expression was deep, that scowl still in place.
His head swung in my direction, and his eyes landed on me. I gasped from the intensity with which he stared at me, as if… I was his.
I felt my heart jump into my throat. And then Bishop was striding toward me, gesturing toward the hallway, and I followed instantly. I had no control over my body right now, as if my brain and every part of me knew that following this man to wherever he deemed was exactly what I had to do right now.
I could feel people watching us, but the volume in the room started to increase once more as the customers went back to what they were doing.
We stopped by his office door, and he turned to face me, breathing out roughly and lifting his hand to rub it over his jaw. For long seconds he didn’t speak, but I could see on his face, by his expression that he was thinking about what exactly to say, or maybe how to say whatever was on his mind.
“Are you okay?” he finally asked, his voice seeming deeper, most likely from his anger.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” I looked up at him, trying to read him, gauge what exactly he was feeling. He seemed really on edge. “Are you all right?”
He exhaled once more, and I saw the tension leave him before he gave me a small smile. “I am now.”
We held each other’s stares a little longer than was necessary, but everything else faded away except me standing in front of this man.
“I… I should probably get back to my tables.”
He gave a small nod, but his focus on me was so heated, so hard, as if he wanted to say something else but was holding himself back.
“Thank you for handling all that drama though. I swear I’m not a magnet for it.” I chuckled nervously. “It was starting to escalate, and I worried how far he’d push if you hadn’t stepped in.” I could see a muscle under his jaw ticking as if the very thought of All-American just pissed him off all over again.
“I wouldn’t have let it escalate.” He said it so matter-of-factly there was no doubt in my mind that he would have kept true to his word. “But I’m sorry you had to deal with that shit on your first night. That’s not typical patron behavior at Lyrics, not if I can help it.”
