by K. M. Scott
“Ladies, my brothers didn’t bother to tell me there was a private party for tonight, so you’re hearing about it for the first time like I am. We’ll do fine, like we always do, so let’s show Cash and Kane that this is the part of Club X that makes this place what it is. Showtime is in one hour!”
Everyone around me cheered and hollered, and I turned to see Lola clapping. God, she really did like being his cheerleader!
“So since we need to show our best stuff, tonight Shay will be heading up the front bar, along with Mika. I want to see you two up on the lifts too. The members love that. Lola will be heading up the back bar, along with Kerry. The rest of you know what to do, so it’s the status quo for you. And my bottle service girls, I want to see you sell the goods. Now let’s show my brothers how this place really runs!”
More cheers and hoots filled my ears, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lola’s expression filled with disappointment. Why the fuck was Stefan putting Mika up front, where she didn’t belong, and shoving Lola, his best bartender, to the back bar?
Everyone moved to their positions, and Lola turned toward me. “I guess I’ll see you later, Shay. Watch yourself with her.”
She walked off in her usual perky fashion, but I knew she felt like Stefan’s assignments meant a demotion for her. He stood at the front bar talking up Mika, which I imagined would be what my entire night would be like, and I made my way over to him.
“Hey, what’s with putting Lola in the back? She and I work well together. It’s not like she’s a bar-back. She’s your best bartender here.”
“Not that I have to get your permission for anything I do, but I wanted her back there with Kerry because she needs to get up to speed. Why do you care anyway? Mika’s just as good.”
Now I definitely knew he was up to something with that bitch. Turning my back to her so she couldn’t hear me, I leaned in toward him and said, “No, she isn’t. She also doesn’t get along with anyone, especially Lola and me. You just made my night ten times harder, Stefan.”
“Well, then I guess you better get figuring out how to make Mika like you,” he said in that snide voice that made me want to push his face in.
With a sneer, I turned away and mumbled, “Maybe if I fucked her and played favorites with her she’d like me better.”
Rounding the corner of the front bar, I felt Stefan behind me. I spun around and backed up, unnerved by his angry look. Leaning down, he said in my ear, “Shay, you’d do much better here if you were more like Mika.”
“And I let you sexually harass me so I could steal a position that should be someone else’s because she’s better? No, thanks. But at least I know you aren’t all about your libido. You put me as first bartender up here, and I haven’t slept with you yet.”
That last word slipped out and I watched Stefan’s eyes lit up. Fuck! I tried to brush it off, but it was too late. He’d heard it, and I knew all he saw now were green lights where I was concerned. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing. My plan to outplay him didn’t revolve around playing hard to get. No, it revolved around what would happen after I got him just where I wanted him.
“Yet? Shay Callahan, I think you’re warming up to me. Not that I ever doubted you would.”
I couldn’t help my natural reaction to his exhibition of swagger. My eyebrows shot up and I snapped back, “Only in your fantasies, Stefan. I’ll be the one who forever got away.”
He flashed me that sexy grin I had to admit made him look incredibly hot and leaned down close to my face. “Just so you know, I’m even better than I am when you fantasize about me.”
My mind went blank as the sight of him so close to me made my head get fuzzy. Maybe it was his gorgeous brown eyes staring directly into mine, or maybe it was that delicious smelling cologne lightly winding around me as I stood there in front of him, but at that moment I had no witty comeback, no snappy barb to counter his cockiness.
He didn’t miss a beat, though. “And I’ve succeeded in making you speechless, Shay. I even impress myself.”
With that, he backed away, still grinning the smile of a victor, and headed into his office. I wanted to march right in there after him and read him the riot act of every feminist writing I’d ever read, but my feet remained planted in their spot and my head felt like some kind of haze had washed over my brain.
Mika’s ordering the front bar’s wait staff around behind me like some Gestapo brought me back to reality, and I busied myself with getting our area ready for when the party began in less than an hour. Unfortunately, Stefan’s belief in Mika’s abilities didn’t mean she could actually do the job as well as Lola, and it didn’t take long for things to fall apart at the front bar. Spilled drinks, mixed up orders, and rudeness to the members seemed to be all she was capable of. For hours, I struggled to clean up her messes only to have more piled on.
As Stefan had ordered, I made sure to climb on the lifts behind the bar to show off my assets to the members a few times. The same bottles that sat perched at the top of the wall actually could be found under the bar, but as he knew, the members loved to see us ride up and down in our sexy little skirts and shorts. Nothing like having men and women clap because you can stand in three inch heels on a tiny platform moving toward the ceiling.
As if that was some skill I should be proud of.
Mika seemed to enjoy balancing precariously on the lifts and used them whenever possible, but each time she jumped on them, she was as clumsy as she was nasty and when she wasn’t dripping liquor onto me, she was dropping entire bottles on the floor. It didn’t take long before the area behind the bar felt like a war zone.
Looking up after she let a hundred dollar bottle of scotch sail past me and shatter into a million pieces at my feet, I barked, “Watch yourself, Mika! We sell alcohol here, not wear it.”
She whipped me the finger and snapped, “Fuck you!”
She was all class. As I dried the scotch from my legs, a member leaned over the bar and said, “She’s all thumbs back there, Shay. Be careful. I think she’s trying to kill you.”
Finally, just before midnight, I couldn’t take any more of Mika or her shit. Pushing her out of the way as she screwed up yet another mixed drink order, I snapped, “Why don’t you find some ice or something and I’ll take care of these people.”
“Fuck you, Shay! I don’t have to take your shit any more than I have to take Lola’s. Stefan will hear about this.”
I stared her down for a moment as I threw out the mess she’d made of a Malibu Bay Breeze. “Well, when you’re mouth isn’t full, be sure to tell him I said you suck at this job. I hope you’re better at what you do for him.”
She stormed away as the members huddled around the bar clapped and laughed, and for the first time that night, I felt like I didn’t hate working at Club X. Handing the man his drink who’d ordered the Breeze for his girlfriend, I smiled. “It’s an incredibly complicated drink, you know.”
As he leaned toward me, he laughed and stuffed money in my tip jar. “You’re the best, Shay. Love your style!”
He may have loved my style, but by night’s end I knew Stefan didn’t. Mika never returned to the front bar, leaving me alone to handle things, which I did, but as the crowds began to thin, Stefan stormed up to me with a look in his eyes that told me the time for playful banter was long gone.
“My office. Now!” he ordered as Mika stood a few feet behind him smiling like she’d won some contest of wills.
“Stefan, I have no one to man the bar,” I answered as I poured a glass of scotch on the rocks for the man who stood right in front of me.
“Lola’s coming up to take your place. My office. Now!” he barked.
I saw her as she walked behind the bar, her face ashen. “I’m here, Shay. Don’t worry.”
Turning away from Stefan, I quietly said to her, “Are you okay? You look white as a ghost. Did he yell at you too?”
She took my hands in hers and squeezed them. “No, no. I’m just worried about you.
Kerry told me that Mika has been filling Stefan’s head with lies all night. I don’t want to see you get fired.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry, Lola. I can handle myself. And by the way, whatever Mika told him I said is probably true. She sucks at this and I let her know.”
Lola giggled, but her smile quickly faded as the sight of Stefan standing in front of us frightened her.
“Shay, now!”
I gave Lola a quick wink to let her know everything would be fine and followed Stefan and Mika into his office. It became obvious immediately that Mika had the upper hand. Standing next to his desk as he sat behind it, she looked like some goddamned first lady of Club X perched there wearing that smug face of hers.
“Shay, I can’t have bartenders doing what you did tonight.”
Was he serious? Did he really intend on sitting there and backing Mika? I said nothing, sure if I opened my mouth that whatever I said would make matters worse. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mika smirk, like she knew the outcome of this meeting would be all in her favor.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” he asked, his voice full of an edge I didn’t know Stefan had.
“I don’t have anything to say that you want to hear, boss. You’ve already made your mind up and have no interest in hearing what I have to say.”
“See? She’s such a bitch!” Mika whined. Pushing on his arm, she added, “Just fire her. I can take the front bar and do a great job if I don’t have to deal with her shit.”
Stefan jerked his shoulder to get away from her, but I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. I leapt out of my chair and began saying what had been on my mind all night. “A great job? Are you fucking kidding? You couldn’t find your ass with both hands. You’re nothing compared to Lola, who should never be anywhere but the front bar. All you’re good for is what you two do in here, and I doubt you’re even very good at that!”
Stefan’s eyes grew wide at my outburst. “Shay!”
Mika came at me, screaming, “Who do you think you are? I’m a better bartender than you any day!”
I didn’t move quickly enough, and she caught my cheek with her nails, scratching all the way from the corner of my eye to my jawline. Stunned, I staggered back as she continued coming at me until I ran into the wall behind me. Stefan darted around his desk to grab her, but she was like a wild animal and got me once more before he could take hold of her hands.
“Mika! Stop!” he bellowed, but she kept swinging at me, even as he held her tighter.
“Let me go! I’m going to scratch the bitch’s face off!”
Hiding my face to protect myself, I heard him say something to her about waiting outside for him and then they were gone. I lowered my hands and saw blood on my fingertips from where I’d touched my face. In all the years I’d worked in bars, never before had anyone attacked me like that. Drunks were usually too disoriented to do much harm, and even if co-workers didn’t like me, they never jumped me like Mika just had.
I sat back down and tried to calm myself. Taking a few deep breaths, I looked down at my hands and saw them shaking uncontrollably. All of a sudden, my emotions became jumbled and before I knew it, the tears were rolling down my face mixing with my blood and creating a pale red liquid that dropped onto my white shirt.
Stefan returned and sat down behind his desk with a stunned look on his face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was upset I’d gotten hurt. But that wasn’t his style.
“She’s going to demand that I fire you, and I’m probably not going to have a choice.”
My anger burned inside me and made me want to cry again. Before I let him see me shed a tear over him or his bullshit, I stood up and told him what I thought of the whole damn mess. “Maybe if you weren’t fucking her you’d be able to stand up for someone who deserves it. I get it. You don’t want another sexual harassment suit. I hear you’re an expert on them. Fine. I’ll save you the trouble. I quit.”
I spun on my heels and headed for the door, but Stefan caught up to me before I could leave. “Shay, wait. You don’t have to go.”
His brown eyes stared down at me with concern. What was he so worried about? “It’s okay, Stefan. You’ve never done anything with me that should make you worry. Look after your girlfriend. You’ve got more to lose with her than with me.”
The truth of what I’d said registered on his face, and his hand slid from my shoulder. I knew he had no choice. The way he behaved with all his other employees made his decision for him.
“I’m sorry.”
I opened the door and shook my head. “Whatever, Stefan. You turned out to be just what I knew you were from the moment I met you. Have a nice life.”
* * *
EVEN THOUGH I knew what waited for me at the weekly meeting with my brothers, I showed up on time and ready to work. For three days I’d felt like shit about losing Shay behind the bar, and Mika hadn’t made my decision to let her go any easier. My bar needed Lola and Shay, but if I pissed off Mika, I knew what would come next was the all-too-familiar lawsuit.
Cash wore a look of amazement when I strolled into his office before one. As I took my seat in front of his desk, his mouth fell open. “I didn’t think we’d see you today, at least not this early.”
“Yeah. Well, your lectures finally got through this thick skull of mine.”
His expression changed to one that showed me he didn’t believe a word I said. “Really? Well, five years doesn’t seem like too long to learn a lesson.”
Kane walked in just as Cash finished his verbal jab and sat down next to me. “Nice of you to join us, Stef. And on a day when you’re going to get your ass handed to you too. Channeling your inner masochist today?”
“Don’t start, Kane. I’m here. Appreciate it for what it’s worth.”
My half-brother raised one eyebrow and stared at me. “Touchy. Problems in your area getting you down, Stefan?”
The fucker knew what had happened with Shay and had waited until our weekly meeting to bust my chops about it. Why couldn’t I have been an only child?
I shot him a look and turned back to face Cash. “Well, let’s get this show on the road. I’m eager to see what I’ve been missing at all these meetings.”
“Wait a second. I missed something. What’s Kane talking about with problems in the bar? Is something going on?”
Looking away, I mumbled, “No.”
“Since you did that thing you always did when you were little and tried to lie, I know there’s something wrong. You might as well tell us, Stefan, so we can discuss it and figure out a solution.”
Discussing it was the last thing I wanted to do. Discussing it meant that I’d have to listen to the two of them lecture me once again on how I shouldn’t sleep with my bar staff. Thanks, but I already figured that out.
“There’s nothing to discuss, Cash. Two of my bartenders had a problem at the private party last week and I had to handle it. That’s all.”
“That’s not what I hear,” Kane said in that snide voice that made me want to hit him. “I hear that shitty bartender Mika took a shot at Shay, and you let Shay go.”
“Well, you heard wrong.”
Cash’s eyes darted back and forth between Kane and me like he was watching a tennis match. When neither of us offered any more information, he asked, “Well? What happened if what Kane heard isn’t right?”
“There was a problem between Mika and Shay at the front bar. A misunderstanding more than anything else. I spoke to them and settled it, but Mika got a little excited and ended up scratching Shay. Nothing big.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kane lean back and smile. “He’s conveniently leaving out the part where Shay was bleeding from this scratch and quit.”
“Is this true, Stefan? Did Mika actually attack her? Did Shay quit?” Cash asked, his voice getting more impatient by the second.
“It wasn’t an attack so much as she was excited and her hand caught Shay’s cheek.”
&nb
sp; “Jesus Christ, Stefan! And then, after Mika attacked Shay, you let Shay quit? Have you lost your mind?”
“Maybe if he wasn’t fucking the attacker Shay would have fared better,” Kane said with a chuckle.
I turned toward Kane and let my anger explode. “You’re just pissed off because of our bet! You don’t give a fuck about my bartenders and their problems, which by the way are nothing compared to what my people and I do to make this bar a success.”
“What bet?” I heard Cash ask as I stared Kane down.
“Why don’t you tell him, Kane? Tell Cash how you made a bet with me that involved your area of the club.”
Kane’s face twisted into an expression of disgust. Turning to face Cash, he explained, “Stefan and I made a bet about Shay. He believed he could get her to fall for him and I bet against him. He seems to think that because I agreed to putting my part of the club on the line in this bet that you’ll be angrier about that than his sleeping with yet another bartender, a shitty one at that, and losing a good one because he couldn’t defend her or risk another lawsuit from the girl he’s fucking.” When Kane finished, he turned to look at me and sneered. “Sound about right, Stef? I hope I didn’t miss anything.”
“Fuck you, Kane.”
“Enough!” Cash bellowed. “Stefan, as much as I know I should care that you two are making bets about you sleeping with yet another bartender, the immediate problem is that you let one of our employees get attacked by another employee and then let her quit. That’s a whole different kind of lawsuit. Why didn’t you discipline Mika?”
Kane laughed out loud at Cash’s mention of discipline. This was why I didn’t bother attending these goddamned meetings.
“I told her she couldn’t do that. She knows. She was just excited about something Shay said.”
Cash pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’m not going to bother asking what Shay said to upset Mika so much, but regardless, we can’t have bartenders attacking one another. Mika needs to come see me immediately, Stefan. As for Shay, I suggest you find a way to get her back.”