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I let out a sigh and threw my handbag into its usual spot. “Who worked today?” I asked Fiona. “This place is a disaster.”
“Theo worked the bar himself to cut labor costs.”
“And now he’ll pay someone else to clean up after him.” I threw my hair into a messy bun and glanced at the floors covered in trash. Theo stepped around the corner of the bar and our eyes met.
“Hey, Penny, the liquor order needs to be put away,” he called out to me. “Can you get to it?” He brushed past me with a case of Amstel Light in his hands and set it down along the bar to refill the cooler. “Also, the bar could use a little cleaning before the dinner rush.”
I rolled my eyes to Fiona as she laughed. “Normally, the person working the day shift takes care of the liquor order,” I said as he removed bottles. “You would know this, if you knew anything about a bar.” Frustrated with how he always left the bar in complete disarray, I huffed out an agitated breath.
His arm stilled and he turned his head slowly my way. A muscle ticked in his jaw. Hard flints in his eyes followed my movement as I slowly bent down into a squat and flourished my arm to grab the receiving order clipboard from the lower shelf. “Wouldn’t want to hurt my back.” I smiled and stalked off toward the kitchen to take care of the order after he rolled his eyes.
As I put away a few bottles of Tanqueray in the liquor cabinet, I realized Theo would never take me seriously.
I’d never be moved from a lowly worker into a position of power. Maybe my father was right. Maybe bartending was a dead end job.
But, right now it was a means to an end. A stepping stone to a bigger dream.
I worked diligently to put away the cases of liquor. As each bottle hit the shelves, my hatred built like a full force hurricane.
When I finally finished, I ventured behind the bar to find every liquor bottle in the wrong place. Dirty bar glasses lined the wash sink, and it appeared as if Theo didn’t clean a thing.
“This bar is trashed,” I said, glancing at the fruit tray with no freshly cut fruit for the cocktails.
“Yeah.” Bottles clinked as he filled the cooler.
“Why didn’t you cut any fruit for the night shift?” He leaned up, finally giving me his attention, and I pointed to the tray as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Can’t you do it?”
I didn’t like his tone and I grew frustrated with his lack of teamwork. “I guess I’ll have to,” I said, snatching up the empty tray. “Usually the bartender for the day shift does it though.”
“Well, I’m not a bartender, I’m the boss.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed you’re n
ot a very good bartender. Fiona,” I called out, “could you get me a pen and paper? We may need another sign. Theo here is the boss.” The words slid out before I could stop them.
I moved to go past him and he reached out an arm blocking me. “Are you kidding? I’m not here to do your busy work, Penny.” He leveled me with a patronizing stare. “That’s what I pay you for.”
My face turned hot as I thought about what he said. Busy work? My workload had doubled because of him and I fought down my anger not to blow up. I wanted to mouth off more to him but didn’t want to risk pushing him too far.
I went to the kitchen and slammed down the tray. Grabbing a cutting board and knife, I got to work, chopping out my frustration. While slaving away, I sliced into the tip of my middle finger and dropped the knife.
This was all Theo’s fault. Lord of the Signs.
I ran my finger under the faucet and again my thoughts flew to Theo and his forehead I wanted so badly to flick.
After bandaging myself up and finishing off the fruit, I returned to the bar. Theo waited with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What took you so long? I need to get out of here for the night.”
“Sorry, I cut my finger.” I stuck my middle bandaged finger up to him in a fuck you type of way.
“Practice makes perfect. Maybe you should be the only person to cut all the fruit from now on.”
“You can’t make me do that.”
He stalked closer as I lowered my finger. “I can make you do whatever I want. You want to know why?”
