AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You okay?” Garrett asks from in front of me, and I realize I’ve been sitting at this table for much longer than I should have been.
Hopping up, I plaster on a cheerful smile. “For sure, boss. Sorry about that.”
“You’re fine, Em. I’m more worried about whatever the suit said to you to make your face drop like it did.”
A boss like Garrett is what most people wish for. He truly cares about his employees and even though he isn’t one to be comfortable with heart-to-hearts, there are moments you can see the softer side of him.
“Just a jackass who came into my life recently.”
Garrett’s eyes soften as he studies my face. “If he comes back in here, he’s not welcome. This is a jackass-free zone, aside from that Maddox guy you seem to like.”
A laugh sneaks out of me. Garrett has never been a fan of Maddox’s after a drunken striptease on one of the tables that ended in Camden and Levi having to haul a half-naked and feisty Maddox out of the bar. Garrett still glares at Maddox anytime he comes in, even though this happened over a year ago.
Garrett goes back to doing his manager duties while I check in with my group on the patio and take away empty plates and cups. They’re finishing off the rest of the bucket of beer and closing out their tab, which means I’ve lost my only table, and the night will be even slower. Hopefully, we get some more people in tonight so I can zone out and forget about the conversation I had with Conrad’s father for just a few hours.
* * *
The restof my shift picks up some as the night goes on, and I get a few tables of customers. Waiting on patrons helps to distract me from the mess of an ultimatum Howard Dugray gave me tonight. This man has ruined my relationship once before and here he is again, set out to completely destroy it.
Conrad texted me tonight, asking if I would come stay at the house, but with everything that went on with his dad, I don’t want to be around him when my mind is somewhere else. He would be able to tell something is wrong, and I have so much to think about.
On the drive to my apartment, my mind gets lost in the two decisions I have. Staying with Conrad not only takes away the safety he has of his inheritance, but those job connections he planned to use over the summer are in jeopardy now. Losing those opportunities would crush him and without the job security he’d have if he followed through with his father’s demands, this leaves Conrad’s future up in the air.
Part of me thinks I shouldn’t even be considering Mr. Dugray’s option of breaking it off with Conrad because that would be like tearing my heart apart again, and knowing that I would hurt him in the process puts weight in my stomach. He has laid his heart out to me and chosen our relationship over his family.
What I want more than anything is for Conrad to have a happy life, whether that is with me or not. Though it would hurt me more than anything, letting him go to succeed in the life that was meant for him may be the better option.
The drive to my apartment is a blur, and when I open the door, the sound of the TV playing in the living room greets me. Blaire had the night off and needed the time to study for her upcoming exams. After dumping my bag and shoes by the front door, I make my way into the apartment. The place is dark except for the soft glow from the TV. Blaire is curled up on the couch with a throw blanket tucked around her body.
She looks up at me when I plop down on the opposite couch. “Based on the look on your face, I’m going to assume it was either a slow shift or you dealt with some real jerks tonight.”
My mind goes straight to Howard Dugray, who could be categorized as the biggest jackass of all time. “A little bit of both,” I whisper to my best friend.
Blaire eyes me warily as she sits up. “Everything okay?”
While I did debate internally if I should tell Blaire about what happened with Conrad’s father, I ultimately came to the conclusion that I needed to talk to someone about this. Holding it in would tear me apart more than it already is.
“Conrad’s father showed up at the bar and basically threatened Conrad’s future unless I end our relationship.”
Her mouth pops open. “What do you mean?”
For the next twenty minutes, I tell Blaire about my entire conversation with Conrad’s father, and her facial expressions shift from shock to anger to sadness because she knows no matter what decision I make, Conrad will be hurt as a result.
“What are you going to do?” she asks me after we sit in silence for a minute.
Taking a deep breath, I look down at my hands that have been toying with the blanket covering my lap. “I have no idea.”
35
CONRAD
“Why did you never tell us this shit hurt so bad?” I grumble to Levi when I come out to the front of the tattoo shop.
The bastard laughs. “Never took you for a wimp.”
“Call me a wimp all you want, but my arm is on fire from that shit.”
When Levi brought us to the tattoo shop where he gets work done, never did I think getting a tattoo would be something I wanted, but here we are. There was a drawing in Levi’s artist’s book that I was interested in. He had some time available today because of a cancelation, and I did something I thought I would never do and permanently marked my skin.
