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“I handled it,” Hawk announced, placing a cup of coffee down in front of me before rounding the table to take Kadey’s vacated chair. Luckily, my daughter sometimes had the attention span of a goldfish, so halfway through her victory lap, she’d spotted her favorite cartoon playing, and now she was sprawled out on the floor.
My brow furrowed, and my head fell to the side. “What do you mean?”
He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. That was how I knew he’d done something he thought I might not like. He was ready for me to protest and ready to defend it. “I called Mitchell and told him you wouldn’t be in this week. You can’t get on stage with your leg like that. You need to keep off it and let it heal.”
Several responses shot to mind.
Who do you think you are?
That’s not up to you!
And how will I pay my bills?
I could feel my heart begin to race, my thoughts instantly going to my bank account, wondering how much I had left from last week and whether I could stretch it out because, honestly, he wasn’t wrong. Not only would it be painful, but I’m not going to make any money with a bandage around my leg.
Men don’t find that sexy.
They won’t pay.
“You done panicking now?”
I blinked a few times, bringing me back to the present where Hawk was staring at me with his brow raised, and the other two men beside him were simply smiling. “I have bills to pay. I’ve told you this before.”
Hawk nodded, and Bishop tossed some papers across to me. “That’s what these are for.”
My eyes scanned over them, my brow pinching harder the further I read down the page. “A job?”
“At our new place. We need a couple more bartenders.”
“And after last night, I know you’re good,” Bishop added.
Was this my way out? Making and serving drinks was something I actually enjoyed. I liked playing with flavors and talking to customers who weren’t dirty old men looking to touch my ass. “I can’t make as much pouring drinks as I do on stage,” I explained, looking back down at the contract I thought was probably too good to be true.
“We’ll pay you enough to make what you would stripping, plus you’ll get tips.”
“And Gem, too?”
Hawk looked to Bishop, who just shrugged. “Sure.”
“Why?”
That was my defenses speaking. The ones that reminded me how you couldn’t get something for nothing. This kind of shit didn’t come for free.
“Because that’s what you fucking deserve,” Hawk snapped, tilting his head like he was challenging me to argue. And honestly, I couldn’t. I’d been fighting for better for years, determined that Kadey wouldn’t grow up knowing what I had to do to keep us going. And so that one day, she could tell the teachers and kids at school what I do, without getting teased.
I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache start to form. “Can I… just think about it?”
Hawk nodded, getting up and holding his hand out to me. “I’ll help you get on the sofa, so you can spend some time with your girl.”
MISSY
“How dare you disrespect this family,” Dad lectured, shaking his head in absolute disappointment before he stormed off down the hall.
I jogged to keep up with him as he headed for the front door, yanking it open and tossing the duffel out onto the front porch. “You think you’re old enough to be out there spreading your legs, then you’re old enough to look after yourself.”
I planted my feet firmly, digging my toes into the dirt and tightening my grip.
It was a something I’d done more times than I could count.
