7
The brush runs through my hair, and I stare absently into the mirror while my thoughts drift to Xavier. Ever since he dropped me off last night, I’ve had him on the brain. I know we’re just friends, but I have this unyielding desire to be more than that. The problem is, I know what he wants from me, but I’m afraid to go there because I don’t think I can give myself over to him just one time and be okay with him walking away. I know I’ll want more, and he’s not the relationship type.
I’m afraid of getting my heart broken.
“Come on, Anna, we’re going to be late. If there’s one thing Andy hates, it’s tardiness, so hurry your cute ass up. You want to make a good impression on your first day,” Quinn calls from her bedroom—our bedroom now.
I finish pulling my hair up into a high ponytail and rush out of the bathroom. “I’m ready.”
She appraises my outfit—black shorts that read “Staff” across the butt and a bright green shirt with “Property of Larry” across my chest. “You look great!”
I tug at the shorts, wishing they were a little longer. “I’m not so sure about this outfit, Quinn. It’s not very me.”
She grabs her keys off the dresser. “Isn’t that the point? I thought you wanted to do the opposite of what you’d normally do.”
I frown. “It is, but it’s all a little much to get used to at one time.”
She wraps her slender arm around my shoulders as we walk toward the front door. “I promise it won’t be so bad. All the girls dress like this. Trust me. You’ll be thanking me when you’re counting your tips.”
Quinn drives us to work in her Honda, and fills me in about the job and what I can expect. I nod in all the correct places, trying to pretend I’m not a complete mess inside. My nerves are in overdrive. Who knew starting a job would make me feel like a crazy person?
We pull into the parking lot of Larry’s, and I stare at the brick building, anxious to get inside while simultaneously wishing I could run away.
Quinn must sense my unease, because she pats my arm. “Don’t worry. You’re going to do great.”
I give her a small smile. “Thanks. I’ll try not to let you down.”
The moment we walk in through the back door, clearly marked “Employees Only” my nose is assaulted with the smell of fried, greasy food. Bodies flit around the tight kitchen so quickly I’m not sure where to point my gaze first. Two guys, wearing green t-shirts with the same slogan as mine, wave to Quinn from behind the grill. I fully expect my cousin to be polite and greet our coworkers, but instead she raises her left hand as we pass and flips them the middle finger.
“Quinn, baby, don’t be like that,” the taller of the two guys whines.
She doesn’t even glance in his direction, and the cook frowns. I’m not sure who he is, but he’s cute with floppy brown hair and boyish good looks.
It appears Quinn hasn’t told me everything about this place.
The blond cook beside the one who just spoke to Quinn allows his eyes to roam over my body, spending a noticeable amount of time on my chest.
“Did you bring us fresh meat, Quinnie?”
“F*ck off, Tyler. Don’t even think about it. Anna is off-limits.” She stops dead in her tracks and directs an evil stare at the brown-haired cook. “That means you too, Brock. You come near her or me, I’ll shank you where you stand.”
Tyler holds up his hands in surrender. “Damn, Quinnie, who pissed in your Wheaties?”
She narrows her eyes at the two men. “Ask your butt-buddy.”
Tyler immediately whips his head in Brock’s direction and gives his arm a small shove. “Did you two break up? A f*cking warning would’ve been nice, dude.”
Brock shrugs, like he can’t come up with a better explanation than that.
My eyes widen. She never even mentioned a boyfriend to me before, and by the sounds of things, the breakup was pretty recent. Even Tyler, who seems to know them both appears stunned, like the news is shocking.
“Unbelievable!” Quinn mutters before tearing through the kitchen.
“Quinn, wait!” Brock calls after as he chases her through the door, leaving me alone in the kitchen with Tyler.
He flips the meat sizzling on the grill and shakes his head, a strand of his shaggy blond hair falling in his eyes. “Those two are nuts. I can’t keep up.”
Curious, I ask, “Have they been together long?”
Tyler lifts one shoulder in a noncommittal answer. “On and off for the past couple of months, I guess.” He looks up at me, a flick of recognition flaring in his brown eyes. “You’re her cousin, right? The one from Seattle or something?”
“Portland,” I correct him. “I’m Anna.”
He laughs. “The name I got—right around when Quinnie was warning me to stay away from you.”
I laugh too, feeling strangely at ease with the guy. He seems harmless, and he must be pretty close to my own age. I can see Tyler and me being friends. Working here might actually be fun, and not the terrifying place I expected it to be.
Feeling the need to fill the dead air lingering between us, I attempt to make small talk. “Have you been here long?”
“Close to a year. Quinnie and Brock have been here longer. Brock’s my cousin,” he adds.
“Glad to hear I’m not the only one who had a little inside help getting a job,” I tease.
Tyler rakes his eyes over me again and then shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. “I don’t think you would’ve had a problem without your cousin’s help.”
From out of nowhere a short, balding man smacks Tyler on the back of the head. “No hitting on our new employees.”
“Ouch! Jesus, Andy, I was only being friendly,” Tyler wails.
“Flirt on your own time. You.” Andy turns his attention to me and I hold my breath ready for a word of warning as well. “You’re Quinn’s sister, Annie, right?”
“It’s Anna, and I’m her cousin,” I correct him.
“Whatever.” He points to himself. “I’m Andy, welcome aboard. We’re short-staffed today, so I’m afraid there won’t be much time for training. I’m going to give you some tables.”
He stalks toward the door to the left and when I don’t immediately follow behind him, he raises his eyebrows at me. “Well, come on.” He waves at me to follow him. “We don’t have all day. Dinner rush is in two hours, and you have a lot to learn before I toss you out there.”
I follow Andy into what appears to be his office, although I swear it feels more like a storage closet with all the supplies stacked around his tiny, metal desk.
He opens the desk drawer to the right and pulls out a couple of papers. He slaps them down on the desk, along with a pen, and then pours four antacid tablets into his hand, and popping them in his mouth. “This is an official application and a W2 form. Fill them both out, make sure you mark your tax-withholding information down correctly, and lastly, sign our accountability form.”
All of that sounds pretty standard except for the last one. “What’s the accountability form for?”
“It’s our theft policy here at Larry’s. We’re a small, family-owned business, and my father, Larry, came up with it to help protect us if we suspect an employee of stealing from us. It basically says if we suspect an employee is stealing in any manner, they will be terminated with no questions asked.”
“Sounds fair enough.”
“Good. Glad you’re on the same page. Leave the papers on the desk once you complete them, and then go find Quinn. Tell her to start you on dinner prep.”
And just as quickly as he appeared, Andy’s gone again, leaving me no time to ask any questions at all.
I sit down at the desk and make quick work of the paperwork. Seeing as I’m only twenty-one years old, with absolutely zero work history, there’s really not much for me to write down. The tax form trips me up a bit, but after reading it carefully, I figure it out.
I stack the papers neatly on Andy’s desk and head back out into the kitchen. Brock is back at the grill next to Tyler, but Quinn is nowhere to be seen.
Tyler glances up at me and smiles. I’m sure he notices the clueless expression on my face. “Hey, Anna. You lost?”
I nod. “Can you tell me where I can find Quinn? Andy told me to find her when I was through with the paperwork he gave me.”
Brock jerks his head toward the dining area. “She’s on the floor.”
“Thanks.” I turn to head that way when Brock’s voice stops me.
“Tell her I’m sorry, would you? And that I admit I’m a complete idiot and that she was right. She won’t listen to me.” His brown eyes appear pained, and he seems sincere.
“Sure thing.”
Whatever’s going on between them feels very intense, and that’s a mystery I need to get to the bottom of. I push through the swinging kitchen door, wondering why Quinn didn’t tell me about Brock before, and find myself in a dimly lit pub. Dark-green berber carpet stretches from wall to wall, while tables and booths fill the rest of the space. Behind the expansive wooden bar is a hardwood floor and a window that opens to the kitchen. A couple of plates of prepared burgers and fries sit under a heat lamp, waiting to be served.
A tall redhead with slender arms and legs stands behind the bar, drying beer mugs before stacking them underneath the bar. She’s beautiful in that non-traditional sort of way, and I immediately consider how great her tips must be with boobs as big as hers.
When she catches me openly watching her, she rolls her eyes. “You the new girl?”
I nod and walk over to introduce myself, wanting to make a better impression with her than I had with the two cooks and my boss. “Hi. I’m Anna.”
Her green eyes flick down to my extended hand, but she makes no attempt to reciprocate the greeting. “Look, I don’t train newbies, I don’t give pointers, I don’t share my tables, and the bar seating is mine. Above all, stay the hell away from my regulars. If you’re looking for a friend, don’t come sniffing in my direction. If you want to keep your job here, just learn to stay out of my way because Andy listens to everything I say. Got it?”
I swallow hard, not missing her blatant disdain, or the fact that she seems to run this place. It doesn’t take a lot to realize that she’s one woman I don’t want to piss off.
“Got it.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Good.”
Just then Quinn approaches the bar and her brown eyes flit from me to the redhead and then back again. Her pretty pink lips twist before her gaze snaps toward the unfriendly bartender. “Alice, don’t be a f*cking bitch. Anna’s cool, so lighten up.”
Alice folds her thin arms across her chest. “Don’t expect me to cut her any slack just because she’s related to you, Quinn.”
“I’m not asking for any favors. I just want you to act like a human being instead of a demon bitch from hell. Try and pretend you have a heart for a change, would you? It’s her first day. Soon enough she’ll learn to stay away from your evil ass.”
I’m quietly impressed by the way Quinn goes right back at her, not allowing her to push her around in the slightest.
Alice rolls her eyes and returns to drying the mugs. “Whatever, Quinn. Just makes sure she knows the rules.”
Quinn waves her off dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. You’re the queen bee, and the rest of us are lowly peons. I think she can handle it.” She moves behind the bar and picks up the waiting burgers, placing them on her tray before turning toward me. “Come on, Anna, let’s get you trained up.”
“Thanks for that,” I tell her the moment we walk away.
“No problem. Alice is all bark. Don’t let her get to you.”
I smile. “I’ll try my best.” I snap my fingers, suddenly remembering Brock’s message. “Oh, Brock wanted me to tell you that he’s a complete idiot, and he’s sorry.”
Her lips twist. “He did, did he? Well, he’s got the idiot part right. Not sure what I ever saw in that clown.”
“How come you didn’t tell me about him?” I question.
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Mom doesn’t even know about him. It’s like what we shared, I wasn’t ready to share with the rest of the world or something. I felt like people would judge me for wanting to date a fry cook.”
I touch her arm. “Who cares what people think? If you’re into him, and he treats you well, that’s all that matters, right?”
She sighs. “I know, you’re right.”
For the next hour I follow my cousin around, attempting to learn everything I can. As we work, I relentlessly try to extract more information about her and Brock, but she’s tight-lipped about the situation, still not ready to share more with me yet, so I respect her boundaries. Quinn’s great at her job, and she’s a thorough teacher, but all the information she’s throwing at me is enough to make my head spin. Who knew there was so much more to this job than just memorizing menus and bringing customers their correct food orders?
“Dinner rush will start soon. Andy wants you to take a few tables tonight since we had a waitress quit,” Quinn says as she wipes down a table. “Any guesses why she quit?”
I snicker after I glance over at the bar. “Enough said.” Alice is busy flirting with a couple customers sitting at the bar and doesn’t notice my stare. “Is she always so mean?”
Quinn laughs. “It’s okay to call her a bitch, Anna. Uncle Simon isn’t here to bust your chops.”
“You’re right.” I nod and laugh with her. “She’s a major bitch.”
She gives my arm a nudge. “Atta girl. The sooner you learn not to take her shit, the better off you’ll be. Andy doesn’t listen to her half as much as she thinks. He only puts up with her because he f*cks her from time to time when he and his wife go through a dry spell.”
“Eww.”
The image of my new boss and Alice getting it on turns my stomach a bit. Andy isn’t exactly hideous, but not the type I would figure Alice to go for. “Why does she do that?”
Quinn shrugs. “Alice is a slut. She sleeps with anyone she thinks has a little bit of money.”
I grimace. “How can she allow them to use her like that?”
She gives me a pointed look. “She’s using them just as much as they’re using her. Have you seen what she drives? No one can afford a brand-spanking new Mustang on our salary. Those things are like thirty grand.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Some guy gave her that just for sleeping with him?”
Quinn laughs. “Sex done right can make a man do just about anything. Your vagina is your strongest weapon—always remember that. It can make any man putty in your hands.” She grins when something catches her eye. “Speaking of man-putty, I see a delectable piece of man-meat now. I think it’s time to give you your very first customer.”
I scrunch my brow as I try, unsuccessfully, to read her face. Quinn nods toward the bar and I point my gaze in that direction just in time to see Xavier take a seat. Alice immediately dashes over to him, leaning across the bar so he can get a direct shot of her cleavage down her v-neck t-shirt.
“You better go save him before Alice tries to stake her claim,” Quinn says.
“I can’t go over there. She’ll kill me,” I complain. “Besides, he might not even be here to see me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Get real, Anna. Of course he’s here for you. Now, go get your man.”
I clutch the pad tightly in my hand as I walk over to where Alice is attempting to engage Xavier in some flirty conversation. Her gaze immediately cuts toward me, and I swear a chill runs down my spine as I take in her fiery stare. I swallow hard, silently praying I’m not making a total fool of myself and that he actually might want to talk to me again. After the way he rode off last night, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again.
The moment his blue eyes meet mine, my breath catches. It’s almost enough to stop me dead in my tracks. I can’t read whether or not he’s glad to see me, but I take another couple of steps forward to reach the end of the bar.
“You need something, newbie?” Alice says with ice in her voice. “You know this is my section, right. I’m sure Quinn explained the boundaries to you.”
I nod, biting my lip at the same time. Going up against Alice for Xavier’s attention wasn’t exactly the plan, but I can’t back away without letting her know that he’s not hers for the taking. Which makes no sense because he’s not exactly mine either.
I shift my nervous gaze to Xavier, and I notice he’s no longer looking at me, but glaring at Alice, who is oblivious as she stares at me through narrowed eyes. He hadn’t missed the snide tone in her voice either.
Xavier pushes back from the bar, and Alice flicks her gaze in his direction. “Looks like I sat in the wrong section then.”
Xavier takes my hand off the bar and pulls me behind him, leaving Alice to stand there with her mouth agape as we head toward Quinn’s section. I risk a glance back, and she’s glaring at me.
Uh-oh. I think I’ve just made an enemy.
Quinn’s mouth twists as she tries to hide her smile as we approach. “Funny seeing you here, X.”
He gives her a slow nod like they’ve spoken before. “Quinn.”
Xavier stops at the corner booth. “Is this your section?”
“Yes. It’s one of the only four tables Andy gave me to start with today,” I answer, and he slides into the seat. He raises his eyebrows and gestures toward the seat across from him. I shake my head. “I can’t. We just came off a break.”
He grabs the menu from the end of the table. “So, what’s good here?”
I pull my pad and pen from my back pocket. “Burgers seem to be really popular today.”
Xavier folds the menu and says, “I’ll take three of them and a water.”
I lift my brow as I write that down and repeat the same question I’ve heard Quinn repeat all day. “Okay, do you want some pink or no pink in your hamburgers?”
“Some pink, but I don’t need anything on them, including the buns.”
I laugh as I think about what he ordered last night when he took me to the diner. “All part of your bulking diet?”
He smiles, and I swear my knees grow a little weak. “You’re a quick learner. You don’t need a job, do you?”
I tear a sheet off the notepad and stuff it back into my pocket. “And work for you? No way. Besides, I think I’m going to like it here.”
His large hand drapes over his heart. “That stings, beautiful. I thought we were becoming such good friends.”
“We are friends and I want it to stay that way, which is why I could never work for you. I have a feeling you’re a diva, and I’d be suppressing murderous tendencies before the week was over,” I tease.
He smirks. “I’m far from a diva.”
“You say that now, but I think having two people constantly working for you makes you seem a little needy. So, like I said, DEE-VAH.”
“If you worked for me, I promise you’d like it, and it’d be a whole lot more fun and lucrative than the little service gig you’ve landed yourself here.”
I think about the fifteen dollars in tips Quinn has shared with me sitting in my pocket, and the minimum wage that’s wracking up on the clock, and I can’t help but be curious. “How much more?”
“The PA position pays fifty grand a year,” he says matter-of-factly. “And if you want the job, it’s yours.”
Oh, that’s tempting. Working with Xavier every day, getting to stare at him as much as I want while I get paid well for it—that’s a single girl’s dream job. It sounds perfect, but I’m sure that’s what Deena thought when he offered her the same position…right before she slept with him. And look where that got her. I can’t allow that to be me.
I won’t allow that to be me.
I slide the slip of paper between my fingers to distract myself from staring into those baby-blue eyes of his. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I can.”
He drums his fingers on the table in front of him, and it’s almost as if he read my mind because he asks, “Is it because of Deena?”
My gaze jerks up to meet his. “No.”
The corner of his mouth pulls down into a one-sided frown. “It wouldn’t be like that between us, you know.”
I twist my lips. “Is that what you told her when she started too?”
For some strange reason the thought of him with another woman causes a painful burn in the pit of my stomach, and I can’t stand looking at him a second longer.
I turn to walk away, but his hand darts out and grabs my wrist, holding me in place. “I would never treat you like that. Deena knew what she was getting into. She knew there would never be anything real between us, and she chose to give it up to me anyway. Our agreement with one another was crystal clear.”
I flinch. “So that makes it okay?”
“She consented, Anna. I never promised her a wedding ring.” I can hear the defensiveness in his voice.
“But you’ll promise me one?” The question leaves my mouth so quickly, it even surprises me.
He lets go of my hand. “A ring is something I’d never promise anyone. I’m not the marrying type.”
I know it’s stupid, but the small hope that had built inside of me that something between Xavier and me would eventually happen—no matter how much I fought it—just got crushed to smithereens. I know he’s a player, and even Quinn says the tabloids link him to dating several women at the same time, but I can’t snuff out this stupid connection I feel with him. But if it’s never going to be serious between us, I wish he’d just leave me alone and quit tormenting me with the idea that he might actually see me as more than just an easy lay.
I swallow hard, attempting to steady my voice. “I’ll have your food out to you as soon as it’s ready.”
“Anna…”
I don’t turn around because I know if I look at him, I’ll crack. Knowing you’ll never have something you really want is a terrible feeling, and something I wouldn’t wish on my own worst enemy.