AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Claire manages to stay away from me for the rest of the night, but I watch her every chance I can get. Apparently, I'm a sadist who likes putting temptation right in my path when I know I can never reach out and touch it.
Every smile she directs to someone else makes me see red, although I'd never shove a guy away from her. She wouldn't appreciate the chivalry, and from the way she works the room, she doesn't need it.
The woman wasn't being exactly honest when she said she used to work in a bar. I have no doubt she ran whatever bar she worked in before.
She spins and twirls to keep from bumping into people, and when a couple of college guys get a little too rowdy, she somehow manages to get them to clean up the mess they made, all while laughing and joking with her. I have no doubt the blond guy smiling up at her from his place on the floor, as he picks up broken pieces of a beer bottle, is in his own version of heaven, simply because she's smiling down at him the way that she is.
"Are you going to take those to the back or not?" Maggie asks.
I look down at the tray full of dirty beer glasses, feeling like I just got caught doing something wrong.
"Fuck," I mutter, then have to apologize. "Sorry."
"Maybe fix that face of yours while you're back there. I don't need you scaring off my customers."
I notice my scowl in the glass behind the bar before making it to the hallway leading to the kitchen.
"I can get that, bossman," Trevor says as I approach the dishwasher.
I almost fight the man for the tray when he takes it out of my hands. I need some distance, and I know better than to think that I'm capable of going back out there and not looking in Claire's direction.
I feel like the shittiest human in the world. Apparently, the woman needs a second job, and it's not her fault that she's so pretty. It's not like I can ask her to somehow look worse. Besides, I doubt it would even be possible for her, and thinking of her with a little dirt on her face and messy hair puts my mind in places it has no damn business traveling to. All of these problems are my issues, and it's something I need to get a better handle on. Punishing her and, in turn, losing Maggie, just can't happen.
Knowing that I'll just be in Maggie's way behind the bar if I head back out there, I turn to the right, out of the kitchen, and take the narrow hallway down to the office.
I remember why I spend so little time in here when I open the door and flip on the light. The room is tiny, and there's no vent in here for heat or air conditioning. It's winter time now so it's not so bad in here, but in the summer, this room is unbearable. I always count down the till and do my paperwork while standing behind the bar to avoid the misery this place brings.
When I bought the bar a little over five years ago, I never worried about the business side of it. I just wanted a place where my friends could come and chill, a place where the expectations are low and there's no pressure to just cut loose and have a good time. But with that side of things, I also inherited the bills, inventory, hiring, and a million other things I never considered.
It took me over a year to get a routine down that works for me, and I know that Claire being in the same building will blow that all to hell.
I sit at the desk, more than a little overwhelmed with the mess in front of me, but staying in this tiny, musty room is better than being in the bar and watching her earn her tips.
I know what it takes for waitresses to make good money working at a bar, and it says a lot about the people coming in who put them in those positions. Good service isn't enough any longer, but I make sure to pay my waitresses well. They make more than basic minimum wage, although I haven't hired someone yet who doesn't want to supplement their income with tips.
"I'm gonna go ahead and get out of here."
I snap my head up to see Maggie standing in the open doorway.
"Everything is ready for your shutdown," she says with a smile.
"Can you send Claire back here?" I ask before standing. "No. I'll see her out there."
Maggie watches me as I walk toward her. "Claire left over an hour ago. Said she'd be back on Tuesday."
I grind my teeth as I leave the office.
Chapter 4
Claire
I check on Larkin before leaving the living room. She's playing with toys while a popular kids' show plays quietly on the television.
The small duplex allows me to hear every sound made inside, and, to my minor annoyance, almost everything that goes on next door.
I walk into my bathroom so I can get ready for yet another shift at The Hairy Frog.
Walker had said that he was going to talk to me after my first shift. I was certain he was going to insist I didn't come back, but we haven't spoken since. I've worked three more shifts in the last two weeks, and not once has he asked me to leave.
