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Ian sees me before she does and his eyes widen, probably at the look on my face, directed at him no less. He’s probably only seen me this pissed off once or twice the entire time he’s worked for me and never felt the brunt of it.
“What the fuck is going on here?” I bark out, literally bark out like a goddamn pit bull. The growl that leaves my throat is raw and untethered.
“Hey, Mav, just showing the new girl the ropes. Trial basis, ya know? This is a friend of mine, October. She’s got the right attitude to be behind bar, and you know we can never have enough bartenders in our back pock—” I cut him off.
“Ian, shut the fuck up. I’m speaking to October. Let me repeat it for you, O. What the fuck is going on here? Didn’t I fucking tell you no?” Her eyes narrow and her claws are about to come out.
“O? Oh, holy fuck. How the fuck did I miss this?” Ian is mumbling to himself. I don’t speak about my daughter often to my employees here, usually referring to her as O instead of her full name.
“Mav, I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t, andshedidn’t say fuck all.” He cuts a sharp look at October, and she just shrugs at him.
“Sorry, not sorry. I wanted a job and neither one of you were going to give it me unless I wiggled my way in. So here I am, one of your employees. Now, can I get back to work, or are you going to be a raging asshole and fire me? Your own daughter. I mean, I guess I could always ask Monica for a job…” She trails off and I know what she’s doing. Setting bait and even with the knowledge that she’s baiting me, I still take it.
“You fucking bother me. You know goddamn well you’re not about to go work at Flesh and Fiddle. Christ, I can feel my stress levels rising and an ulcer coming on. You live to torture me; I swear to fuck.” I can feel myself pacing up and down the length of my bar.
“In my fucking office, now.” I walk away, expecting her to follow me.
“Uh, sure. Let me get Naila to watch the bar,” I hear Ian say, but I turn and glare at him.
“Not you. O, my office. Move your ass. And you?” I point at my goddamn right-hand man here, “Don’t even think about watching her ass as she walks away.”
He throws his hands up before turning around, knowing what’s good for him as O comes out from behind the dark wood separating us.
It’s only when we’re behind a closed door that I start ranting and raving. Mostly to myself, but she can hear me.
“Are you done? Or do you need some alone time to pull it together?” She throws my own words at me. Words I used countless times when she was younger and having one of her teenage meltdowns.
Never grounded. Just time to pull it together. Self-regulate your emotions and then come speak to me as an adult. Pot meets kettle. Great, I love this for me.
Taking a deep breath, “Why are you not answering your phone?” Let me start off simple.
“It’s in my purse behind the bar. I’m working and this is a hands-on job. I figured the most professional thing would be to keep my phone put away while I served customers and learned some of the ins and outs. It’s not a desk job where I can have it out, within reason. I figured I’d just catch up with whatever when I took a break.”
Logically, everything she’s saying makes sense. It is professional, and she’s right. I wouldn’t want my employees glued to their phones. Everyone knows I prefer them to be kept in their lockers unless there’s something going on. Sick kid? Keep your phone on you. Something wrong with a family member? Keep your phone on you. I don’t care, if it’s important to you, then keep your phone on you.
“I don’t want you working here, but you’re here, and I know you’ll hold to your word and go work for Monica, and we both know I’ll never let that happen. Is it money? If it is, you know I’d help you out,” I tell her, trying to gentle my tone.
“No, it’s not money, Dad. I just, I’m bored. I’ve been busting my ass applying for jobs and killing time between that by watching TV, reading, and hanging out with Just when she can. I need something to fill my time and I mean, the extra cash is nice, but I’m not hurting for it.” The melancholy in her voice hits me in the gut.
“Ian wants into your panties. Under no fucking circumstances is that going to happen. I fucking mean it.” I’ll fucking kill him. Or I’ll have someone else do it. Eh, maybe just the clean-up, depends on how dirty I want to get.
“Iandoes not want into my panties.Ianis also Fiona’s ex and there is a clear line there. Plus,Ianisn’t the right age for me. So, while he’s pretty to look at, I don’t plan on banging him on top of the bar.” She just had to fucking put that image in my head. I swear if anyone is fucking on the bar, it’s me, and if I found out anyone else has, I’ll burn it and rebuild it.
“Exactly. He’s too old for you. I’m glad you can see reason here. I’m going to let you stay but on a trial basis, O. Just until you find something else. I mean it. Come in, work the bar, and stay out of trouble. I don’t want to have to fire you, but I will. Business is business and you are my daughter. I’m already breaking my own damn rules here.” I grumble, but the smile that spreads across her face when I tell her she can stay and work is enough to temper my anger and annoyance at this whole situation.
She comes up, throwing her arms around me, and I wrap my own around her, hugging her close. Leaning up on her tiptoes to reach my six-two frame, she presses a kiss to my left cheek.
“Thanks, Daddy. I’m going to go back to work now.” I reluctantly let her go, and she’s walking back out of the door before stopping once more.
Looking back over her shoulder, she leaves one parting shot at me, “Ian isn’t too old for me. He isn’t oldenoughfor me. I think I’m looking for an age gap romance just like one of my books. Just filling you in on my life.” She cackles before closing the door behind her, and as I yell out, “OCTOBER LEIGH!”
CHAPTER5
OCTOBER
“So anyway, he completely flipped his shit on me, and he thinks Ian’s trying to get into my panties. Literally what he said. And then…” Justina just hums at me, looking at me without blinking, as I rant away about my dad and everything else going on in my fucked-up world.
“Ian would totally get into your panties if things were different, so I mean, I can’t really be mad at Daddy Davis for what he said.”
