AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hear the bell above the door chime, indicating that a patron has walked in.
Carla.
“Ugh,” I mumble to myself as I turn away, pretending to be busy behind my workstation.
Travis is on tap service tonight, and there’s not much else for me to do until closing time since most of our patrons prefer their beer fresh. I serve the occasional whiskey and food orders, but that’s about it.
I don’t like the look on her overly tanned face as she approaches the bar.
“You!” she snaps, pointing an angry finger at me. “You need to keep your filthy paws off my man.”
Whoa. “Wait, what?” I reply, my eyebrows popping up in genuine surprise.
Carla gets closer to the bar, the rage in her eyes pulsing louder than the music on the stereo surround sound. I look around, wondering if anybody else is aware of what’s going on. Travis is pouring beer, the prospects are arguing over their game, and the girls keep trying to tempt them. Paddy’s still preoccupied with telling his glory days stories.
I see other club members chatting across the bar, nestled in their wood and leather booths, stiff drinks under their noses. But nobody seems to care. Honestly, I don’t know why they should. Whatever Carla’s beef is with me, I’m sure it’s just a big misunderstanding.
“I see how you look at him!” Carla says, her shiny pink lips twisted with disgust. “Struttin’ your big boobs in his face all the time. What, do you think I’m blind?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I calmly reply. “I’m just here doing my job.”
“Orion is mine! I’m gonna be his old lady. Everybody here knows it,” she says.
I don’t recall Orion being that fond of her, but I’ve heard Travis mention that Carla may be somewhat delusional where he’s concerned. She’s still a patron of the clubhouse, though, and I need to remain calm and professional until I’m told not to.
“I apologize, Carla, but there’s been a misunderstanding,” I say with a flat smile. “I have no interest in Orion or any of this club’s members, for that matter. My father is a former Iron Horse, and I’m just working the bar for the summer.”
She narrows her eyes at me as I fight back the urge to smack her across the face with the whiskey bottle in my hand. I’m gripping it tightly enough that I could just swing it and end this. “I’ve heard about your old man. Big money, huh? You think you can just waltz in here and buy yourself a seat at their table?” she tries to taunt me.
I’m starting to think that Carla’s not exactly the brightest bulb on the tree. “Excuse me?” I ask, my breath leaving my body in sheer surprise at such audacity. “Carla, respectfully, you don’t know me. And you certainly don’t know my father, either. I have been nothing but courteous up to this point, but you’re starting to cross a line.”
“With or without your daddy’s money, you’re still just a twenty-something skank itching for Orion’s attention,” Carla says. “I see you for who you are. We grown women can sniff the ho’s out a lot faster than the men. And you, honey, you fucking reek. Keep your paws off my man, or I will cut them off.”
“You know what?” I chuckle darkly, my carefully honed manners fading into the background. “From what I’ve seen, Orion has turned you down one too many times. It’s not my fault you’re too stupid to take the hint.”
“You know nothing. He’s just busy. We spoke earlier on the phone,” she shoots back, insecurity twinkling under those big, thick, fake eyelashes. “He’s coming over for drinks now.”
“It’s his bar; of course, he’s coming over for drinks,” I reply bluntly. “But since you’re so convinced that I’m some kind of competition, I might as well just go ahead and screw his lights out.”
Carla’s face drops, and the world around us disappears. I no longer hear or see anyone past that startled expression of hers. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to see that she’s so easy to rattle. Maybe I am being a tad mean and petty at this point, but she asked for it. And if there is one thing I will never do in this life, it’s succumb to the pressure and the threats of a frustrated, small-minded bully.
“In fact, I think I’m gonna screw all three of them,” I add with a wry smile. “I’m sure all of us will thoroughly enjoy it. I think they’ll welcome sharing an old lady for life since none of you spineless, trick-turning jokes have the guts to really handle them the way they deserve to be handled.”
“What the fuck would you know about hooking up with the three of them?” Carla mutters. “You have no idea what work that takes.”
“Oh, but I look forward to the hard labor. And given how careful they’ve been around me, turning the likes of you down since I came to work here, Carla, I think I’ll have no trouble there whatsoever.” I lean forward and give her a hard look—the hardest I can summon. “I suggest you stay the fuck away from me. Or I will keep my word and take your precious Orion before you can even blink.”
Orion’s voice cuts through the background noise, sharp and loud enough to make my skin tighten. “Well, this is quite the conversation I’ve walked into, isn’t it?”
Holy shit.
I freeze, but I dare not show my horror to Carla. She’s just as terrified, likely wondering how much of this conversation Orion actually heard. I cannot move. I can only turn my head slowly to find him standing to my left, on the other side of my workstation, one eyebrow arched upward and amusement sparkling in the black depths of his eyes. When he smiles, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes deepen. “Hey, boss,” I manage, my voice barely a whisper.
“I suggest you both knock it off before our customers start tuning in as if we just dropped a new episode from their favorite trashy soap opera,” Orion replies, bluntly enough to knock the air out of my lungs.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
But he’s not as bothered about me as he is about Carla, giving her one hell of a glare. “And I suggest you stop harassing the bar staff, unless you want to get tossed out of here.”
