Page 97 of Trust Me

I shrugged. “Remi needs help.”

He pulled his lip between his teeth. It was usually when he felt shy or awkward, but this time, there was a tight set to his brows.

“Stop worrying,” I scolded. “It’s just busy.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I notice things.”

Grabbing my keys off the hook, I left the apartment before he could respond. It only took a few minutes to get to the bar, and I took a deep breath while I prepared for what I’d walk into.

My keys fell from my hand as soon as I stepped in the door. The clang of them on the hard floor snapped me back to myself, and I quickly grabbed them before I rushed toward the counter.

“Hey!” I shouted. The guy behind the bar looked up in alarm, but he didn’t stop pouring the row of shots. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I work here.”

My eyes narrowed. Remi might’ve been an asshole, but I couldn’t imagine he’d stage this little stunt as a way to tell me I was fired. Judging by the raucous behavior going on, I didn’t think he had a hand in this at all.

“I work here,” I countered, marching around to the other side.

The guy swore and leapt over the surface, making sure to grab his drinks on the way.

“Nuh-uh,” I said. “Get the hell over here.”

I chased him over to the dart board and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. Finally accepting he’d been caught, he hung his head and let the drinks fall to the floor. The glass shattered, making me slam my teeth together.

Shaking my head, I dragged him to the door. I used my foot to push it open, then thrust him outside.

“You’re banned.”

“But I—”

I held up my finger to shut him up. “You’re lucky I don’t call the cops. Get the hell out of here. Don’t try my patience.”

It looked like he wanted to argue, but he seemed to think better of it. Once he was out of sight, I turned around and took in the state of the place. It was like a bunch of teenagers had been left unsupervised for the weekend.

“Where the fuck are you, Remi?” I muttered as I headed toward the back.

The sink was full of dishes and the basin was about to spill over. I rushed toward it and shut off the tap, then scanned the space. When I didn’t find him in the little office, I decided to check the last place he could be.

The walk-in made me shiver, but by some weird chance, Remi was sitting on the floor inside. He was scrolling on his phone with his hat pulled low, and he seemed intent on ignoring me.

“Remi.”

No response.

“Remi, what the hell’s happening?”

“Yeah, can you just take over? I know it’s a mess.”

“A mess? There was a guy using the bar as a self-serve station. Are you, like, having a panic attack or something?”

He shook his head sharply but didn’t respond. That wasn’t gonna work for me, so I marched over to him and yanked the hat off his head, removing any chance of protest. As if he realized there was no stopping me, he tipped his head back, leaning it against a shelf.

“Jesus,” I gasped. “Your face.”

“Pretty, huh?”