Page 34 of House of Bass

“Get out of the way. You’re obstructing paying customers,” the other girl grumbled.

“I asked a simple question, there was no need to be rude,” Harley snarled. Her body vibrated with barely restrained anger, ready to pounce if need be, ignoring the obvious stares from a couple of the customers who have decided to focus their attention on them.

She is stopped in her tracks when a familiar redhead opens the Staff Only door, it was the girl from the bar. Her auburn hair was tied up in a bun and she was not smiling at all, the deja vu that washed over her had Harley feeling a little warm despite the faint chill in the air. She immediately reeled back the anger that threatened to come out and gave her a small wave, “Hi.”

Her light golden olive brown skin was a little paler than the last time Harley saw her, the girl asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You work here too?”

“I’m the manager,” she explained. She arched a single eyebrow on her heart-shaped face, her face free from the scowl she wore like a badge of honour, “Is there a reason you’re disrupting my café?”

“I was asking your staff if you had any jobs but she was being so fucking snotty,” Harley explained. Till girl rolled her eyes and returned to the customers who had been waiting.

“Snotty?”

“Rude,” she clarified, forgetting not everyone knew Liverpudlian slang.

Auburn hair looked Harley up and down, silently assessing her; arms folded and hips cocked against the side of the counter as she listened to the explanation for the ruckus. Her face remained unreadable, then she said in a soft but firm voice, “Come with me.”

She headed towards the back of the cafe without waiting to see if Harley would follow, something in the way she carried herself lingered in Harley’s mind. It was dominating and assured, her confidence was real and nothing like the imitation Harley wore like a mask. She was shorter than Harley too, probably five-four maximum, and still, Harley followed. But made sure she gave the rude one the middle finger before she went along.

The door clicked shut behind them, quiet enough that only the sound of their breathing filled the air. “I’m sorry about what happened out there,” Harley blurted out, wanting to clear up any misconceptions right away. “I’m not really a leap first think later kind of person.”

“I believe you,” she said, softly.

“You do?”

She nodded, “I have no doubt Bloss started the argument, she’s like that with everyone.” She sat down and crossed her legs, “You said you needed a job? Do you actually have any experience, or am I supposed to let you work here just because you asked?”

Harley’s eyes narrowed to slits at the sharpness in her tone but answered her regardless, “I have worked my whole life. Any job you could think of.”

“List them.”

And she did, rattling off all the different places she’d worked at, without succumbing to the girl’s withering stare. After a few more questions about references, she declared, “If you want the job, you start this weekend. Give me your number so I can send you the rest of the details.”

Harley grinned immediately, an honest and bright one, that was considered uncommon for her, “Thank you, I’m a hard worker. I promise.”

Harley packed up her things, ready to leave, when she stopped her in her tracks by asking, “Should I be worried about the company you keep turning up here and starting shit?” The way she spoke was laced with a bitterness, Harley didn’t realise she was capable of having. The confusion palpable on her face, the girl expanded, “The Five Heirs: Bass, Thorne, Cox, Cohen and Akinson . I assume you’re well acquainted.”

Harley’s frown deepened as the realisation sunk in that she was referring to the night they met at the bar, “My personal life is none of your business, so I’m not sure why it would matter.”

She found herself feeling defensive over a girl she could hardly bring herself to call her sister, and whom she wasn’t even entirely sure she liked all the time. There was one thing she did know for certain, the only person who could talk shit about Annabel, was her. Her overbearing personality must’ve been rubbing off on her more than she realised.

“Those five are not allowed in here, not even the kindest of them. I intend to keep it that way,” the girl said, dripping with disdain. “I don’t need anyone walking in here all high and mighty, dragging the chaos that follows them everywhere along.” A pointed glare she shot Harley, made it obvious who she was referring to.

Except if she’d known a single thing about her, she would realise the last thing she wanted was to be around Annabel and her pack of idiots. She had hung out with them twice; first at the bar and second when Daniel and Devon came over two days ago. When Harley tried to leave, she noticed she had somehow been discreetly tied to the table without catching on by Annabel and therefore forced to play an intense game of scrabble with one hand. She was so strange, that girl.

Harley stepped closer to her, channelling the intimidation she had often been described to be and evenly said, “I just met her, I can't control what she does or doesn't do. I'm her sister, not her babysitter!” The words left her mouth before she could stop it and she gasped, the flicker of shock on the girl’s face told her she had heard the same.

Fuck fuck fuck.

She rushed to say, “You can’t tell anyone. Please.”

The reveal seemed to have stumped the girl, she didn't move until Harley was standing right in front of her and shook her shoulders. Harley was a little confused at the reaction she was having but chalked it up to it being due to the magnitude of the news. She then looked up at her, composing herself back to the person she was before she found out. She cleared her throat and said, “I won’t tell.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Harley said, letting out a small breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in, her shoulders easing as the tension left her.

“This won't affect my working here, will it?”