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“Why are you letting her live here? If you think you can just try anything with her-”
I hold up my hand to silence him, not wanting him to finish that sentence. “She needed help. She wasn’t going to live with you or Ava. She would’ve ended up on the street or lived with a stranger who might have taken advantage.”
“I could have convinced her to stay with me.”
Seeing the worry in his eyes, I understand. “Look, you know Mia, and you know she would not have stayed with you. She’s a determined girl-”
“Don’t act like you know her.”
“I know enough. I know you care about her, but she’s not stupid. She’s just lost someone and needs time to figure everything out. Now, I’m not gonna do anything. I’m merely offering her a place to live while she figures out what she wants. I figure it’s safer that way.”
He holds my eyes with his, looking like he wants to believe me, but fear and worry are stopping him. Silence lingers between us, and I wonder who will break it first.
He expels a slow breath, his eyes turning sadder as he whispers, looking down the hall briefly before looking back at me, “Promise me you will look after her?”
“Nothing will ever happen to her,” I declare too quickly. “I promise.”
He holds my gaze again, before softening his eyes and giving me a single nod.
Mia spendsthe day in the room, only leaving to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. Even then, she does not speak to me. I attempted to ask her what she wanted for dinner, and I merely got a shrug before she retreated back to the room, closing the door and submerging the apartment back into silence.
By 6pm, I start to think she'll never leave as I sit on the couch with a movie I'm not even watching.
I consider going in there but fear she'll be getting changed or will scream at me and that would not be a good start to all of this. So instead, I give her some time.
Another five minutes drag by, until my phone suddenly chimes from my pocket. I pull it out, surprised to see Danny’s name staring back at me.
I answer and am met with the loud music of the bar downstairs, thankful that I can’t hear it from up here. “Hello?”
“Hey, kid, I need ya tonight!” he yells over the loud music, and I look down the hall to see no movement as I pick myself off the couch.
“I’ve got Mia here,” I explain, and Danny chuckles.
“What, she can’t be on her own?”
I tense, knowing there is no other way to suggest this. “Well, I was actually wondering-”
I don’t even finish the suggestion before Danny is laughing. “Let me guess, you want me to give her a job here?”
“How did you know?”
He continues to laugh. “I know you, kid.” He finishes laughing. “How much experience does she have?”
I consider lying, but know that won’t be great. He will quickly figure out how much experience she has and look to me, so I tell the truth. “None, but no one is giving her a chance. She needs a job, Danny, or she will have no way to live.” Silence meets me on the other line, and I decide to hit him where it hurts. “She just lost her parents, Danny.”
I hear sigh, followed by a groan, and I swear I can see him massaging the bridge of his nose as he says before hanging up, “You better be down here in five minutes because we are getting smashed.”
CHAPTER 17
MIA
I’ve seen plenty of movies where people work in bars likeCoyote Ugly, but there are no hot girls dancing on bars or a tough blonde namedLillgiving me orders.
Instead, I am standing behind a bar with the simple instruction to give the people what they want. After that, I am left to stand before a wall of drunken men shouting orders at me that I can't decipher.
I furrow my brow, feeling sweat dotting my forehead and the back of my neck as I cast a helpless look around for any assistance. I see the two other guys who work here at one end of the bar, pouring drink after drink and throwing them out to the crowd. Their crowd is getting smaller, whereas mine is getting bigger and crazier. I look to the other side and see my new boss Danny with Riley, doing the same thing, moving in rhythm with each other as they work to serve their customers.
I swallow a lump building in my throat as I strain to hear my crowd, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. I call over the crowd, “Maybe if you order one at a time.”
