Chapter 3
Josie lowered her voice. "Watch out for Keith tonight. There's something funny going on."
Absently, I nodded. If she only knew the half of it.
We were standing at the waitress station. She was throwing together a couple of salads while I topped a tray of sundaes with whipped cream and cherries.
I gave Josie a sideways glance. Her auburn hair was way too big, her tight white blouse showed too much cleavage, and her flared pink skirt was a couple inches too short to be considered decent. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of those little bobby socks that, if anything, made the rest of her getup seem that much more obscene.
But who was I to judge? I was dressed exactly the same way. Except tonight, I wore clunky red bracelets on each wrist. The bracelets clashed with the rest of the outfit, but I couldn't afford to care. It was either that, or explain away the red, raw skin where the handcuffs had been not so long ago.
Maybe I shouldn't have tugged so hard against them. It's not like it had done any good. If Lawton hadn't finally unlocked them after realizing his epic screw-up, I'd probably still be trapped in his basement, watching him watch me.
In my mind's eye, I could still see him standing there, his eyes flat and his jaw set. The way he looked at me, I'd never forget. It was burned into my brain like the time my Mom called me a slut in fifth grade for holding hands with Shawn Proctor.
Like she was in any position to judge.
"We were taking bets," Josie was saying. "Odds of you getting fired were running five to one."
I tried to smile. "Which way did you bet?"
If I were Josie, I'd totally bet against me. I'd already been on probation. I'd been hours late for my shift. I wasn't exactly the manager's pet. No doubt, I was supposed to be fired.
Saved by a backseat blowjob and an itchy camera finger. Well, that was one for the record books.
But who was I kidding? Eventually, Keith would find some way to get rid of me. If he couldn’t do it directly, he'd have to get creative. It was only a matter of time.
"It was because of the flu," Josie was saying.
I squinted over at her. "Huh?"
"The flu," she said. "It's still making the rounds, so I figured you'd be safe another week at least." She grinned. "I made fifty bucks. Sonya was so pissed."
"Nice to know she's rooting for me," I said.
"Eh, don't take it personal. She's having a rough day. She's only been here since lunch."
"Twelve hours?" I said. In the world of waitressing, that was a lifetime. "Why so long?"
"She's covering for some girl on the day shift. Even me, I should've been gone hours ago." She winced. "My feet are totally killing me."
"Who are you covering for?" I asked.
"Well, you, actually. When you didn't show up, Keith told me I had to stay. He didn't even ask. He just barked out an order, like a drill sergeant or something."
"Oh. Sorry." I felt the color rise to my cheeks. "But I'm here now. Can't you go home?"
She shook her head. "We're still short. Listen to this. Before you got here, Jasmine threw up in the parking lot."
"Our parking lot?" I could totally sympathize. I felt like throwing up too. But in my case, it had nothing to do with the flu. Still, poor Jasmine.
"Oh yeah," Josie said. "Right outside the front door. It was pretty disgusting, actually. So get this. Keith hears about it, and he totally flips out."
I rolled my eyes. "Like that's a surprise."
"No kidding," Josie said. "So he goes outside, and he practically drags her back to his office. And guess what he does next?"
"What?"
Josie was grinning. "The moron threatens to fire her."
I stared at Josie. As someone who'd been on the firing line myself, I saw no reason to smile.
"Oh, don't give me that look," she said. "You haven't heard the funny part. So Jasmine starts crying. And she gets so worked up, get this. She throws up again. But this time –" Josie's smile widened "– it's on Keith."
I felt the first tug of a real smile. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. He had to change his pants and everything. You should've seen him. He was madder than hell until –" Josie's smile faded "– some blonde in this super-tight dress shows up asking for him."
My smile faded too. Brittney the Skank. It had to be. I was almost afraid to ask. "So what happened then?"
"So Keith and Blondie, they're in his office maybe five, ten minutes. And when they come out, Keith's looking all happy. It was kind of creepy, actually."
Creepy? She should've seen the squid. I stifled a shudder and nodded for Josie to continue.
"So Keith walks her out, and he's gone forever." She snorted. "It's like they went to some cheap hotel or something."
Yeah, I thought. A pine-scented hotel on wheels.
Working on autopilot, I added the last cherry to the sundaes. I glanced down for a final check. "Oh crap," I said. "Look at these things." They were half melted already. I picked up the tray. "Save that thought. I'll be right back."
Josie grabbed my arm. "Wait," she said. "There's a reason I'm telling you all this."
Something in her voice sent alarm bells ringing. Slowly I returned the tray to the counter. I turned to face her. "What is it?"
Josie glanced around. "The blonde? The way I hear it, she's gonna be your replacement."