THREE
AXEL
Tammy: Ruthie said you wanna pick up a few shifts working the bar. Is that true?
Me: Ruthie was thinking it will help me with my English.
Tammy: Have you ever bartended before?
Me: No.
Tammy: Have you ever worked at a restaurant or bar before?
Me: No.
Tammy: This is going to be fun.
Tammy: If you’ve got time tomorrow, come on by and I’ll talk you through what you would need to do and then you can decide if it’s something you really want to do.
I may not know all my English phrases, but I wasn’t ignorant of sarcasm. I knew Tammy was likely thinking that adding me to the team was the least fun thing, but I appreciated her giving me a chance.
Me: Thank you. Is 10am okay?
Tammy: That’s perfect. See you then. Oh, and bring some of those pastries Ruthie said you have in the office.
Last night, after I had gotten home from work, Tammy and I had had that text exchange about working at the bar, and I was happy for the distraction.
A distraction I needed, because ever since I had left the bakery yesterday afternoon, I had done nothing but think of the beautiful woman who owned that bakery.
I told myself I was just being nice when I sent Stella that text after Jack and I had left her bakery, but I knew deep down it was because I wanted another excuse to talk with her.
Jack and I had talked during the car ride back to the office and confirmed our plan with Archer after we got back. It was simple. I would find out who this Braden person was and where he lived, and we would pay him a visit. We would tell him to back off, or we would be filing a restraining order for harassment on behalf of our client.
After doing a base search, I realized I needed more information. Neither Stella nor anyone on her staff knew where Braden worked, and he always paid cash when he came to her store, so I didn’t even have his last name. Her security cameras also only went back seven days, which meant I couldn’t find him. The letters had been mailed to Scandinavian Sweets, never brought in person.
I shot off another text to Stella asking her if I could stop by to get some more information.
Me: I have a few more questions. Is there a good time tomorrow to stop by?
Stella: Yeah. We usually have a lull around 10am if you want to stop by then. If not, I’ll be there all day, so you can come by anytime.
Me: I have another appointment in the morning, but I could be there around 3pm if that is okay?
Stella: That sounds great. I’ll see you then!
The next day, I was walking into the office to get a few things done before I met Tammy at the Watering Hole pub in thirty minutes.
“Good morning, Ruthie,” I yelled as I walked into our building.
“Morning, Axel,” Ruthie called out from behind her desk. “Thanks for bringing me extra goodies from the bakery yesterday!”
Our Ranger Shield Security office was located in a mixed-use multi-story building just outside Atlanta. The first floor of the building was split, with the left side belonging to Ranger Shield Security’s front lobby and reception space—where Ruthie worked alongside Vince’s wife Cat, who usually sat in one of our large meeting rooms behind Ruthie’s desk. On the right side of the building was the Watering Hole pub-slash-restaurant.
“No problem,” I told her. “I’m going back later today, so I will bring you more.”
“You’ve always been my favorite!” she yelled back to me, and I smiled.
“I will tell your husband that!” I teased, hearing her laugh as I walked by.
