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“Perfect.”
Mack disappeared through the door so Damon took the opportunity to look around the bar a bit. She hadn’t agreed to take him on as bouncer but she didn’t say no either so there was still a chance. If he didn’t find something to do in town, he wouldn’t know whether he’d like being there. Before he left the bar, he’d inquire about a place to stay.
She seemed proud of her bar and deservedly so. Damon had been to his fair share of watering holes in his travels across the country and while this one was definitely a country bar, it was well kept and seemed like a popular place. She had a steady stream of traffic in and out the door. She was right though. The wrong kind of drunks breaking up the place would take up her profits quickly. In that regard, he could help.
“Knock, knock.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“You looked to be far off somewhere. Hope it was a nice vacation spot.”
“Truthfully I was just thinking about your bar. You have a good business going.”
“Yeah it does pretty well.”
She set a food platter down in front of him and grabbed a set of utensils from under the bar.
“Thanks Mack, it looks good.”
“It’s one of our most popular. Hope you like it.”
He took his first bit of the breaded mushroom and his eyes wanted to roll back in his head. They were flavorful and juicy. This woman knew what she was doing.
“By that look, I’d say you’re happy with it?”
He was speechless, all he wanted to do was shove more food into his mouth. He could only shake his head in agreement with her.
“Well since your mouth is full and you can’t argue back, I have an offer for you. If you are still interested in security for this place, I’d love to have you. Bar is open at four in the afternoon and closes at two in the morning during the week, four on the weekends. Before you say anything, I can’t have you working for nothing in return, whether you need anything or not so I’m prepared to offer you all your meals in exchange.”
“I’ll take it.”
He didn’t have to think twice. The less he had to cook, the better off he would be.
“I do have one question though.”
“What’s that?”
“Is there somewhere in town I can stay? I haven’t been anywhere to see if there are hotels.”
“Oh, yeah I didn’t think about that. We do have a few places but I think I can help you with that too. There’s a twin bed in my office in the back. There’s a small wardrobe as well for your things. I know it’s not much but you’re welcome to it. There’s a private bathroom as well with a shower.”
“That would work great.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s a bed, I don’t need much more than that.”
“Okay then, it’s yours. I guess I won’t need to hunt you down when it’s time to work. There’s a back door you can use to come and go and I think I have an extra key I can give you. Remind me before closing tonight.”
“Thanks boss lady.” He put on his best cheesy grin, hoping he wouldn’t offend her.
“You can call me Mack, everybody does.”
Two
Mack was tired. For some reason the day had been long and draining. The bar was hella busy which was a good thing and it’d been happening more the last few weeks. It definitely kept her on her toes all night. While she hadn’t planned on hiring a bouncer, surprisingly, she felt relief at knowing he was watching over things. She never knew she’d put so much time into focusing her attention on the general crowd until she didn’t have to do it.
A small thought crossed her mind and called for a moment of concern…she didn’t know anything about the guy she’d hired, right off the street. She liked to think her bear instincts were keen when it came to judging people though. He didn’t give off a threat vibe. Probably the other reason she was comfortable with him was that she knew he was a bear just like her. Mack didn’t know if he realized it about her, but she could tell. It was in his scent.
