Shit Jack, you need a break.
I'd been working non-stop for nearly five hours, and it wasn't even noon. I grabbed my phone and walked upstairs, texting all the staff members for a meeting tonight, followed by a few quiet drinks, on the way. It was my little way of thanking them for all the work they were going to be doing tomorrow night. Besides, it was a good way for the guys to get to know the new girl.
Fuck, Harmony was going to kill me when she found out she hadn't been invited.
* * *
I watched as Alex walked in, my arms crossed, leaning against the bar impatiently. "Where is she?"
"She's on her way, and is that any way to say hello? Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" He smirked.
"I learned all my manners from my father," I said dryly. Only Alex could understand the irony of that comment. He laughed and shook his head.
"If that's true, then you're fucked," he chuckled. He tapped his fingers on the counter impatiently. "Gimme a beer."
I reached over the bar, grabbed two glasses and placed one under the tap. Once it was full, I handed it to Alex and filled my own glass. Apart from the odd wisecrack, we rarely spoke about our parents. Our father hadn’t reached out to either of us in the past three years, and our mother, what was the point? She’d abandoned us when we were young and never attempted contact.
"Is it wise for the owner to drink right before an interview?" He shook his head and tsked, giving me the same attitude I'd given him the other day.
"Fuck off, Alex," I grumbled, taking a sip. He just laughed.
"Oh, here she is."
I looked in the direction of the door. My eyes widened as I took in her long auburn hair and tall slim figure, and that sexy little smirk.
"Alex," I began tersely. "Please tell me that's not Rose from yesterday."
"Well . . .” he began. I tuned him out as it hit me, like a bucket of ice cold water had been tipped over my head. It wasn't the song that I couldn't get out of my head, it was her. I had been thinking about her since yesterday. Her face had been branded into my memory; I wasn’t able to distinguish if I had really met her the day prior or if she was just the face of a fantasy that had warped and wired its way through my twisted thoughts. I'd convinced myself it was that fucking song that I couldn't get out of my head, but it had nothing to do with that. It was all about her.
"Alex . . .” I began, trying my damnedest to sound pissed. But it was useless. Even I could tell my voice was strained and unbelievable.
Quickly, I tried to think of any reason I could not to hire this beauty. Maybe it was because she made me feel . . . something yesterday; and something now. What, I'm not sure exactly, but it had been a long time since anyone had made me feel anything at all. Yesterday I had let my guard down, because she was someone I’d never be seeing again. Or so I’d thought.
"What? Look, she checked herself out," he sighed, his eyes pleading. "She needs help Jack, but I can't help her if she's not around. And she needs a job."
"So you want me to hire her so you can fix her?" I asked incredulously. "I'm running a bar, not a fucking charity!" I hissed. The worst thing was, she was still a better option than Harmony, even with my confused, warped, fucked up feelings. What the hell did that say about my relationship?
Alex shrugged. "Look, can we finish this later?" he whispered, as she approached the bar. She looked at me suspiciously, her dark eyes narrowing, recognizing, remembering. My pulse quickened, leaving me feeling like I do in that moment after a long hard run where you're gasping for breath. Maybe she hadn't felt the same connection I had? The scariest thing was I don't know what terrified me more—If she had or hadn't felt something.
"You didn't tell me it was with your brother," she said to Alex. My head pricked up. She sounded pissed off. How could she be pissed? She should be considering herself lucky I was even considering hiring her! I forced myself to calm down as I tried to block all the thoughts about this girl that were firing through my brain.
"What's the difference?" Alex asked, throwing his hands up in expiration. "You need a job, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes at him, then me, then finally nodded. "Okay. Interview her," Alex said, turning to me before grabbing his beer and walking over to the oversized armchairs near the stage.
I wondered how many codes of ethics he was breaking, bringing her here so he could “help” her. I snorted. He wanted to “help” himself to her, I was sure of it. Nobody goes to that much trouble without an agenda.
I turned my attention back to Rose. She stood next to the bar, looking uncomfortable.
"Maybe I should just go," she muttered. I didn’t blame her. I’d gone from relaxed happy Jack to a completely different person.
I sighed. "It's fine. You're here now, we might as well see what you have." I motioned to one of the tables. "Look, I’m sorry. Seeing you took me by surprise. Can we start over here?” I stuck out my hand. “Hi Rose, nice to meet you. Take a seat. Coffee or something? Beer?"
“Nice to meet you too.” Her shoulders relaxed as she took my hand, her soft skin grazing over mine. Instinctively, I pulled back, my fingers tingling from her touch. Had she felt that? I followed her over to the table. I tried not to think about how good her ass looked in those jeans. Or how striking her hair looked against the aqua shirt she was wearing. The shirt was just sheer enough that I could make out the outline of her bra . . . Dammit, Jack!
I sat down, her resume in my hand. I scanned it. No experience. Twenty-two. No address, and an incomplete college degree. Her lack of experience alone was enough for me not to hire her, but that didn't give me the rush of relief I was expecting to feel. Instead I felt nervous, like I wanted to hire her, like I wanted her around me every day. I had my out and I wasn't going to use it; where that left me, I had no fucking idea.
"You have no experience," I said, commented. Like that matters. You knew you were going to hire her the moment she walked in the room.
"I'm a fast learner. Anything you want me to do, I'll do it." She spoke confidently, and though there was nothing sexual about her statement, my mind filled with all the wonderful dirty things I wanted this girl to do to me.
Oh god, this isn't going to work.
"Won’t this interfere with your classes?" I said, almost desperately, like I wanted her to realize this was a bad idea.
She blushed, looking down at the table. "I had to defer after my . . ." her voice trailed off.
Shit. God, I was an idiot sometimes. The girl had just gotten out of a psych facility, and I was asking her about her classes? Way to make her feel like a loony.
"I'm sorry, I forgot you, uh, where you were," I said, fumbling my words. "We open tomorrow night," I said finally, as her face broke into a smile. "The other staff should be here soon, if you're able to stick around to meet them. We will be having a few drinks, and running over some things. Is that okay?"
She nodded. "Thanks so much for giving me a chance." She smiled, her eyes twinkling as she wet her lips, an innocent action that sent my body into overdrive. I stifled a groan as my now hard cock pressed impatiently against my boxers. Those lips. Those fucking lips . . .
"Sure," I replied, not meeting her eyes. "Why don't you go and wait over with Alex? I gotta do a few last minute things before the other guys get here." She nodded, giving me another smile. My cock throbbed even harder.
I grabbed a stack of papers and began shuffling through them, unable to move, and sure as hell not brave enough to stand up. My hands were shaking as I leafed through her resume. It was like I needed more—I had to know everything I could about her. Who was she? Why was she in a psych facility? Why did my body ache with every look she threw my way?
Fuck. What the hell was I doing?
What I needed to do was focus. Focus on what was important in this moment. This bar and the following night. Everything else right now needed to fuck off out of my head before I lost it. I'd needed a waitress and now I had one, problem solved. That's all there was to it. She was a means to an
end and nothing else. I laughed. I couldn't even convince myself of that.
Slamming my palm down on the papers, I leaned across the bar and grabbed an employee form and a pen. Alex was eyeing me strangely as I made my way over to them, which made me nervous. My brother knew me better than anyone, and if he thought something was up, he'd grind me down until he got what he wanted.
"Here" I handed her the form. "You'll need to fill these out, and a tax form. Do you want a drink or something?" She shook her head and took the pen from my fingers. I jumped as her fingers brushed against mine, her gaze burning right through me. My heart began to pound. Shit, now I was repeating myself.
Go on Jack. Ask her again if she wants a drink, and make yourself look even more fucking ridiculous.
"Thanks." She propped the papers on top of a magazine that lay on a nearby table and began to fill them out, running her fingers through her thick, beautiful hair. I still couldn't decide if it was red, or brown—or something else entirely. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. Just like the rest of her. I sighed softly.
She glanced up at me, awkwardly. "Was there something else?"
Fuck. I'd been standing there like a dickhead, just staring at her. Even Alex was giving me a weird look. His expression had gone from concerned to suspicious.
"Sorry." I turned and walked back over to the bar, feeling like a tool. I felt like the creepy guy hanging around the women’s underwear department at Bloomingdales. Digging out my phone, I texted Harmony.
Come over if you want. Having a meeting, then a few drinks.
Having Harmony around was an invitation for trouble, but it was a better option than me making an idiot of myself in front of Rose. Wasn’t it?
* * *
I busied myself over at the bar until I saw the guys walking in. Relief flooded through me. Why the hell was I so nervous? So I was attracted to some chick it didn't mean I was going to fuck her. My eyes widened. Why had my mind gone straight there? Did I want to fuck her? I eyed her, sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other, that beautiful hair that I just wanted to run my fingers through. I bet it was soft and silky . . . I dragged my mind away from her. I focused on the guys—Ash, Darcy and Benj—as they walked over to the bar.
"’Sup, Jackie?" Ash said, looking around. "Looking good." He nodded enthusiastically. His gaze fell on Rose as she walked over with Alex.
"Hello," he said, in a tone I recognized well. He was like a shark onto the scent of blood. I mean, I know I used to be a player, but I was never that bad.
"Ash." I raised my eyebrows when he looked my way. "This is Rose, our new waitress."
Ash nodded and took a step back, grinning like he understood. He understood shit.
"Rose, this is Ash; our bar manager, Darcy; one of our other waitresses, and Benj. He will be heading up our security." Benj and Darcy both smiled at Rose.
"No Harmony, then?" Ash grinned, his eyes twinkling. He was goading me. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my forehead. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. My fingers still tingled from her touch earlier.
"She's on her way over for a drink, and no, she won't be working here," I said, glaring at him. He shrugged innocently. Darcy was giggling behind her hand. I shot her a look too. Her face dropped and she snuggled closer into Benj. I felt a sense of satisfaction. At least someone respected my authority.
"Okay. So tomorrow, I'll need all of you here at six. We open at eight. I have Fluid Movement playing eight until ten, and then just a deejay after that. You girls will be carrying around trays of finger food, and I'll be helping at the bar. I've got the casual staff coming in too, because I'm not exactly sure how many people to expect."
"What is the capacity of this place?" Rose asked.
Her voice hit me like a freight train. The thumping in my heart returned, leaving me feeling like a schoolboy, crushing on the pretty girl in class.
I cleared my throat. "Four hundred. Don't worry," I chuckled as her eyes widened. "Tomorrow is invitation only. We're expecting around two-fifty, I think?" She nodded, looking relieved, the color slowly returning to her pale cheeks.
I handed the bar roster to Ash. He nodded as he read over it.
"All looks fine," he murmured.
"How many hours were you wanting to work?" I asked Rose, hunched over my notepad.
She shrugged. "I'm happy to work as much as you want me to. You can have me every day if you need me."
Ash sniggered. Both Rose and I turned to glare at him.
"What are you, five?" asked Rose, raising an eyebrow. Ash blushed and mumbled an apology. God, a girl who could reduce Ash to a blubbering mess. When would this madness end?
The door clicked, and I turned to see Harmony marching toward us. She didn't look happy as her eyes latched on to Rose. I groaned inwardly. In what universe was inviting her here—to meet the girl I'd effectively hired as her replacement—a good idea? Fucking idiot, Jack!
"Who are you?" she practically sneered at Rose, ignoring the rest of us.
Chapter Five
Rose
One time when I was twelve, a boy I was in love with asked me to meet him behind the assembly hall at school. When I got there, he was making out with some other girl. I was shattered and embarrassed that I thought this boy had liked me. My life had gone from fairy tale dreamy to worthless in the space of ten seconds.
That’s kind of how I felt right now.
Not that Jack had given me any reason to believe he liked me, but after our conversation in the hospital . . . and the way he looked at me . . . I had built up our connection in my mind so much that seeing this girl hanging off him like a freaking monkey snapped something in my heart. I forced myself to smile at her when all I really wanted to do was take those little fake nails of hers and gouge her eyes out.
Extreme? Maybe, but at least I’m honest. To myself, anyway.
“I’m Rose. Jack just hired me to work here.” I stuck out my hand. She looked at it like I was contagious or something, and for the briefest moment I wondered if she knew about me, and where I’d been. I shook the thought from my head.
No. Neither Alex nor Jack would betray my trust like that.
This girl was just a bitch, and the fact that she saw me as such a threat to her “man” left me with some hope. Maybe, just maybe, our moment hadn’t been just in my head.
Realizing that she wasn’t going to shake my hand, I pulled it back. Jack looked at me apologetically.
My god, that face. Those amazing dark eyes that just drew me into him. Even with bitch-face right there, I fought the urge to curl my fingers around the nape of his neck and kiss that mouth. He looked like the type of guy who knew how to kiss a woman.
“Oh, he did?” she snarled, turning her glare to Jack.
He shrugged. “Alex found her,” he muttered, not meeting her eyes.
“And let me guess, you hired her because she’s such a hard worker?” she sneered. She turned back to me. “Keep your little hands off my fucking boyfriend, okay? Don’t look at him, don’t touch him, don’t even think about him when you’re lying alone at night in your bed, touching yourself. Okay?”
My mouth dropped open in shock. She could not be serious. Who says that?
“Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t know me, so don’t pretend you know what I’m thinking,” I spat out. She glared at Jack, as if waiting for him to defend her. He looked as shocked as everyone else in the room. My heart raced as the silence became even quieter, until Harmony stamped her foot like a two-year-old not getting her way.
“Well, don’t let me interrupt your little meeting. Baby?” she said sweetly to Jack. “I’ll be in your bed.” She walked over to the staircase. When she reached the first step, she turned back to me, her eyes narrowing. “Keep out of my way. And trust me honey, you don't want to mess with me.” She started up the stars. Before I knew it, I was responding.
"Oh, honey . . .” I mimicked. She turned and glared at me. “. . . Your insecurities are showing." I look
ed back to Jack and my eyes swept over his chest, stopping briefly at the fly of his jeans. With a devilish smile, I turned back to her. "And thanks for the suggestion. Now I know what I'll be doing in the bathtub tonight." I winked at her.
She gasped and then flounced up the stairs, her heels clicking loudly with each step, followed by the slam of the door. No sooner than it had shut, a collective sigh of relief filled the room.
“Well, she seems lovely,” I joked, trying to break the silence. It worked. Darcy started to howl with laughter and the guys all shook their heads, like they felt sorry for Jack.
“Oh, we are going to get along fine.” Darcy giggled, grabbing my hand. “Do you want a drink? Jack, is that okay?” she said, turning to him. He nodded and waved his hand. Turning back to me, she smiled. “Wine? Beer? Soda?”
“I’ll have a wine. White. Dry, if you have it.”
Darcy chatted as she poured us both a glass of wine. I instantly liked her. She was friendly and not at all catty, the complete opposite of the whirlwind that just flew upstairs. Jack’s girlfriend. The fact that he was taken upset me, but the fact that he was with her baffled me.
I glanced back at Jack. His eyes were on me, and he made no attempt to hide that fact. I swallowed the lump that was in my throat and stared back at him. Our eyes locked for a moment, until he turned away. I breathed out, trying to keep my composure. I will not turn to mush, I will not turn to mush.
Beautiful Rose Page 4