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“Did you give Riley the job? She’s not answering her phone.”
I let out a long breath. “Yes, I gave her the job. She’s not answering her phone because she’s behind the bar working right now.”
She snorts. “That’s never stopped you from talking on the phone.”
“I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want,” I remind her.
I can practically hear her roll her eyes. “You’re such an ass. I hope you’re nicer to her than you are to me.”
“Don’t hold your breath. Is that it? Can I get off the phone now?”
“Why are you so grumpy?”
“I’m not grumpy,” I lie.
“Sounds like it.”
“Well, I’m not. Okay?”
“Okay, fine.” She hangs up on me, and I instantly feel guilty.
She’s right. I am grumpy. I didn’t want to hire Riley, and it has nothing to do with how annoying she was growing up. It has everything to do with how beautiful she is and how I shouldn’t allow myself to touch her. Not only is she too young for me, but she’s my sister’s best friend and now, she’s my employee. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s not in the place to start anything. I remember hearing my dad and her dad talking years ago about how she ran off and married her high school boyfriend. She’s been gone up until now, so that leads me to believe something went sour with them. Is she divorced? Is she getting divorced? Are they just going through a hard time and have agreed to take some time apart? Is she even single? I have no idea, and I have no right to ask about her personal life because she’s my employee. No matter how badly I want to bend her over my desk, I have to keep my hands to myself.
I’m not used to having so much free time. I’m usually bartending or taking care of things around here. Things like putting in orders for liquor, making repairs, cleaning, or talking with the customers. But now that she’s out there, I want to be anywhere but. The problem is that I don’t have enough work to keep me busy in my office. I’m stuck. Do I go out there and deal, or do I sit here and act like I’m staying busy when it’s very obvious that I’m not?
I decide to leave for lunch. It’s something I rarely do, but I need to get out of here and away from her. I’m supposed to take the night shift tonight and that isn’t usually a big deal, but I feel extra agitated today so after lunch, I go home and catch up on some sleep until it’s time to come back in.
When I arrive, I’m surprised to find the bar fuller than before. John must have felt comfortable with her running the place because he’s nowhere to be found. I walk behind the bar as she finishes getting everyone’s last drink of her shift.
“Where’s John?” I ask, hoping he’s going to come and show her how to do the shift change.
“He took off,” she answers, opening a beer and handing it across the bar. “He said you could walk me through the shift change.”
I roll my eyes. Fucking great. “Alright,” I breathe out. “Finish setting up the guys, and we’ll go through it.”
It doesn’t take her long before she’s gotten everyone a fresh drink and is ready to change out. I walk her through counting down the money and setting up the drawer for the next shift. She seems to take to it rather quickly and before I know it, she’s gathering her things to leave while I’m signing everything over to me for the night. Even though I hate that she took the job, I have to admit how naturally it seems to come for her. If I could find one more person just like her, the bar would be set and could enjoy a lot more time off.
“I guess I’m going to take off. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asks, gathering her things to leave.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you here in the morning and walk you through opening the place.”
She offers a breathtaking smile. “Sounds good. See you then.” She starts for the door while the customers tell her goodbye.
The moment the door closes behind her, I turn to Tom. “Alright, so what did you think?”
He sips his beer and shrugs. “She seems like a good girl to me.”
“She did okay behind the bar?” I ask.
“She did great. Better than you, even.” He laughs.
I roll my eyes. “You think she has what it takes to put up with you guys every day?”
He chuckles. “I think so. We gave her a little bit of shit, and she gave it right back. Good sense of humor on that girl. Plus, she’s a looker.” he whistles, and several other men around him agree.
“Because that’s the important part,” I joke, shaking my head.
“I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have a beautiful girl waiting on me than another grumpy old man,” he teases.
