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ELEVEN
Cole
I sawRaya sitting at the bar when we walked in, and the first thing I did was duck away so she didn’t feel the need to talk to me. Not that I really wanted to talk to her, either. She’d already asked me out to have a drink with her, and I refused. Now that the two of us were here, I wasn’t sure how to react. I was glad Ham was with me. He didn’t know her, and we could easily head to the other side of the room before talking about what happened.
“You nearly ran into me back there,” Ham said. “Everything okay?”
“Not exactly,” I said with a sigh. “That’s the woman I’m working for right now.”
I gave a nod in the two women’s direction, and Ham was less than subtle about looking over his shoulder to see who it was I was talking about. I already told him how good looking Raya was, so it didn’t take him long to spot her. I was also surprised to see she was sitting with that nurse I had to deal with when I was in the ER.
Knowing Raya as I did now, I could see why the two of them were friends. They definitely made it clear they had their minds made up about certain things, and they weren’t about to change them for anything. Like Raya with the horses, or the fact Wrenley kept shoving pills down my throat that were allegedly supposed to help with my leg.
Sure, painkillers were painkillers, but my leg still hurt, and I was down to the point I was just taking over the counter medication. On the other hand, Raya was giving me a death glare, and I got the strongest impression she didn’t want me there.
“She is a hottie,” Ham said with a simple nod. It was just the way he did things, as though everything he encountered in life was just another easiest thing in the world for him. He never seemed to be out of control, and I appreciated that about him.
But, I didn’t know what to do about the fact Raya was there, let alone that she was sitting with the nurse I knew hated me. This wasn’t the way to gain any favors, I could sense that. But still. We were here now, and I wasn’t going to go over to bother either of the women. Ham and I had every right to be in the same bar as Raya and her friends. It’s not like I knew she was going to be here tonight, or I might have taken up Ham on his offer to go into the city to find something to drink.
Not that that sounded any better, but still.
“I feel like I ought to do something that will show her I don’t mean any harm,” I told my friend.
“Why don’t you send them over a couple drinks?” he suggested. “If you send it to both of them, you’re not hitting on either one, and if that’s the nurse you said you were a dick to, it might be a good gesture. I don’t know. Women can be weird about that.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” I agreed. “Alright, I’ll be right back.”
I headed to the bar counter and ordered both women a drink, making it clear to the bartender this was something I was doing just out of being nice, and I wasn’t expecting anything more from the women.
“If you could deliver the message, I would very much appreciate it,” I told him. “I know both of them already, and I want them to know this is just me being nice.”
“Gotcha,” the man said with a nod. I paid for the drinks and headed back to the table, sitting with Ham and hoping I didn’t just do something that would be considered a huge mistake. I needed the money I was getting from working for Raya, and I didn’t want her to take this as me hitting on her and fire me over it.
Not that I would have a problem with telling her to her face I was doing it to be nice. I didn’t get the impression I was in much danger of Raya thinking I was hitting on her, but again, I didn’t want to make it appear as though I was. I figured the two would enjoy the drinks, and that would be the end of that. Maybe I would get a better greeting when I got to work on Monday rather than her just telling me what she wanted me to do that day or making some comment about work.
“Sorry, guys, but they’re not interested in the drinks,” the bartender suddenly appeared by our table, both of the drinks I’d just purchased in hand.
“Really?” I asked in surprise. “And you told them it was just a gesture of goodwill?”
“I told them, but the one in the black shirt says she has her own money and pays for her own drinks, and to tell you word for word that is her answer if you asked me about it further,” he said. “I take it that you know each other pretty well.”
I smiled, wanting to tell him that I barely knew the woman, but she was a bit of a psycho at work. But, I held my tongue. Now, I was pissed off. I didn’t want to say something I regretted, especially if this was the kind of bartender who would go and tell them what I said.
“Very well,” I told him. “Will you leave them here then? I’m sure we can find someone who’ll drink them.”
“Sorry about that.” The bartender put the drinks on the table and gave me a sympathetic look. “I see this sort of thing happen all the time, and I’m glad you are so good natured about it. I often have to remove people from the bar because of the way they react when they’re rejected.”
“Nah, it’s all cool, man,” I told him. “Like I said, it’s not like they’re going to waste.”
“Very good,” he said with a nod.
He turned and walked back to the counter to help other customers, and I grabbed both drinks as I rose from my seat.
“Where are you going with those?” Ham asked.
“I’m going to find out what her deal is with me,” I announced. “I bought her these drinks as a goodwill gesture to smooth things over at work, and she sends them back? Seems like a bit of a slap in the face if you ask me, and I’m not having it.”
“I mean, it’s not like we can’t drink them ourselves,” Ham said. “You aren’t trying to shoot your shot with anyone, so I don’t see what the big deal is. Your boss didn’t want to take a drink you sent to her. Big deal. You’re not going to have to worry about it in a matter of a couple weeks I’d say, right?”
