AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And she was quoting Martin Luther King, Jr.. I was struck for the millionth time by the fact that she could’ve been doing anything other than manning a bar with her life.
Maybe it was hypocritical. We both had Ivy League-level degrees, and while she bartended, I managed a restaurant.
Two sides of the same coin.
Tessie tugged on the edge of Ariana’s skin-tight dress. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“You keep scrunching your nose all funny.”
“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart.” She placed a hand on Tessie’s shoulder. “I’ve been carrying ice all day. My back is just a little sore.”
Guilt surged through my veins.
Distance, Bastian. Distance.
Being an asshole counted, right?
“Put some ice on it.” I nodded toward the ice bucket and laughed. “Looks like you’ve got plenty.”
I settled a hand on Tessie’s lower back and led her to my office.
She was scowling by the time we stepped foot past the doorway.
I cocked a brow. “What?”
She crossed her arms. “You are such a jerk!”
“Because I expect my employees to do their job?”
It bothered Ma that I talked to Tessie like she was an adult, but I wasn’t in the habit of babying people. That included my sister.
“You don’t have to be mean about it! I bet Everett doesn’t know how mean you are!” She speared my gut, turned around, and headed out the door.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
“I’ll be back.”
Had the age of adulthood changed since I was a kid?
I shook my head and, unable to help myself, pressed the button for the security monitors to rise. Ariana was halfway up the basement stairs, carrying another massive load of ice.
Did I feel guilty? Unfortunately.
Feelings felt as dumb as they sounded.
But then I leaned against my chair, the ache in my back noticeable as Tessie returned and scrambled onto that damn unicorn chair. The ergonomic unicorn chair that my ass was supposed to be planted on, sans cone, frosting, and spaghetti.
Tessie removed plastic wrap from the straw of her juice pouch and poked the top of the cardboard with her straw.
“You shouldn’t be drinking that.”
“Why not?”
“Too many preservatives and added sugar.”
A smile teased her lips. “Are you going to tell on me?”
