by Lexi Wilson
Ugh. She was going to be grilling me on my lack of involvement with Jamie at school. The subject had been a constant nag in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t interested in having my balls busted over it.
“Yep! Good to see you, too.”
I wanted to keep things quick and polite.
“I’d been worried you’d dropped off the face of the earth,” she said. “It’s usually Jamie’s grandmother that drops her off.”
“We’re a team effort,” I said.
“Hmm.” The noise suggested she wasn’t crazy about the arrangement.
“Well, I just wanted to remind you of the open house this weekend.”
“The…open house?”
“You didn’t forget, did you?”
Shit. I’d gotten so wrapped up in the losing my job thing that I’d spaced on Jamie’s open house.
“Oh, of course not.” I tapped my forehead. “Got my schedule right here.”
She offered a prim smile. “Good. And just so you know, it’s not only a one-person event. If you want to invite Jamie’s father, wherever he might be, you’re more than welcome.”
It was a little jab, but I didn’t react. A woman like Ms. Halper was the type who made no bones about the fact that she didn’t care for the idea single motherhood. It wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter, but that didn’t make a bit of difference to her, or people like her.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Well, I’ll let you get to it,” she said. “See you then!” She let go of the door and gave me a waggling-finger wave as she turned her attention back to the rest of the kids.
I drove off, letting out a sigh.
Of course I wanted to go to the open house. Jamie was my world, and I wanted to be a part of her life in whatever way I could. But events like that, being around other parents, ones who were actually couples, ones who didn’t have to rely on dirty dancing to put food on the table…they never failed to make me feel like I was unworthy.
I put that out of my mind as best I could. After all, I had the day ahead of me and I planned on spending it on the job hunt.
I drove around a bit, grabbing a coffee at a drive-thru and scoping the neighborhood out. Then, as I turned a corner, I spotted a restaurant whose name struck me as familiar.
“Olivia’s Diner.” I gave the matter some thought, trying to figure out where I’d heard that before.
Then it hit me – Olivia Warren had been a classmate of mine back in high school. We hadn’t been super tight, but we ran in the same circles and I specifically remembered her always talking about her dream of opening a restaurant. Years later, I’d spotted an ad online for it, her pretty, cheery face next to the name of the restaurant.
Without even a second thought, I pulled into the parking lot. A big smile spread across my face when I saw a small sign on the door that read “help wanted.”
My heart raced as I considered that this might be the break I was looking for. Waiting tables would be perfect, giving me some money for bills and a flexible schedule for Jamie.
I stepped into the place, which was homey and comfy, the smell of breakfast food thick in the air. Waitresses in cute outfits zipped here and there, refilling coffee and setting down plates of eggs and bacon and pancakes in front of their hungry customers.
“Table for one?” asked the hostess.
“Actually, I wanted to see if the owner was in. I’m a friend of hers from high school.”
“Your name?”
I gave it to her and she hurried off, disappearing through a back door. Minutes later, she appeared with Olivia herself, who broke in to a big smile as she saw me.
“Amber!” she exclaimed, rushing over and throwing her arms around me.
It was a good sign. Lucky for me, Olivia was one of those girls who was friends with everyone.
“Oh my God!” she shouted loudly enough to attract some attention. “I can’t believe it’s you!”
“It’s me!” I said.
“Come here, sit down with me and let’s catch up!”
We took a couple of seats at the counter, the waitress working behind it pouring us both a couple cups of coffee.
And then Olivia was off to the races. She told me all about her life since graduating, how she’d gotten married to her high school boyfriend and had a couple of kids, how she’d scraped and saved to open up her restaurant and finally did it a few years ago.
It was crazy hearing all of it, hearing how she’d managed to have the perfect little life, complete with husband and kids and a happy home, her dream job on top of all of it.
“And what about you?” she asked. “What’s been going on in your life?”
“Um…Well, I’ve got a little girl – her name’s Jamie.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’s so amazing! How old is she?”
“Eight. And she’s just perfect.”
“They all are, aren’t they?”
And that was it for the one bit of good news I had. She glanced down at my hand, her brow furrowing.
I knew what it was about right away – she was looking for a ring.
“And…her father?”
“Funny story about that,” I said. “When I got pregnant, turns out he didn’t have any interest in the slightest in being a dad. So, off he went.”
“Off he went’?” she asked, clearly confused. “As in, he’s not around?”
“Nope. Just me and my mom. But we make it work. There’s a lot of love in our house.”
She took my hand and smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear.” Olivia was being friendly about it, but I could sense the pity from a mile away. “And what about work? What’ve you been up to there?”
“Well…that’s kind of why I’m here. The place I’d been working, this…um, bar, let me go this last weekend.”
“Oh, no!” she said. “What happened?”
“Dispute with a customer. He thought it was OK to grab my butt in the middle of a shift, and I didn’t. And my boss sided with him.”
“That’s so freaking awful,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not the kind of environment we have here – we’ve always got the server’s back when it comes to inappropriate behavior.”
“That’s good to hear.” After I spoke the words, I spotted a man on the other side of the bar, overweight and middle-aged. He regarded me with a curious look, as if he’d seen me somewhere before.
Shit.
I positioned myself so Olivia was blocking his view.
“Anyway,” I said. “I was driving around looking for places to apply, and I spotted your diner.”
“You’re looking for a waitressing position?” she asked, her eyes lighting up again. “Oh my God, that’d be so fun! Imagine if we worked together.”
“I know, it’d be a blast, wouldn’t it?” OK, maybe we hadn’t been super tight in high school, but I could already sense Olivia would be a hell of a lot better of a boss than Lucien. There wasn’t likely to be any prostitution happening here.
“OK,” she said. “So…you said you worked at a bar?”
It wasn’t technically the truth. But there was a bar at Diamonds. And I had worked behind it a few times. Granted, I’d been wearing a thong and skimpy bra when I’d done it, but the principal was still the same.
“Right. Tons of experience in the service industry.
The guy who’d been looking at me peered at me from past Olivia’s head. I moved again, blocking his view.
“Well, that’s exactly what we’re looking for. And I take care of my staff. We do great business here, and I pass that along to you all. I offer a good hourly wage on top of tips, and full medical insurance. Oh! Also, I give you all a month off for vacation every year.”
“Holy…wow. Medical insurance and vacation?”
She smiled, proud. “I figure having a happy staff is the best way to keep good people around, you know?”
“That sounds perfect.”
“We do a pretty comprehensive interview process to, b
ut I think in your case we don’t need to worry about that. After all, we’re friends, right?”
“Totally right.”
The man moved his head again, still looking at me. I did the same, blocking him out once more.
“When can you start?”
“Today, if you want. Only thing is I have an open house at school this weekend, so I’d need that day off.”
She waved her hand through the air, as if it were a problem not even worth considering.
“Oh, don’t even worry about that. Pretty much all the girls here have kids, so we’re all used to things like that coming up. And if you ever have any emergencies, it’s no problem finding someone to cover your shift. We look out for each other, you know?”
The man peered again. Fear crept through me at the idea that he might recognize me.
“This is going to be so much fun!” she said again. “Welcome aboard! And why don’t you start tom-“
“Holy crap! Ariel!”
A gruff voice cut through the din of the restaurant.
The man pointed at me, putting his hand on the shoulder of the guy eating with him.
“That’s her! That’s the stripper at Diamonds I was telling you about!”
And just like that, I was busted.
“Diamonds?” asked Olivia.
“Oh man,” said the guy, shaking his head in disbelief. “You should see the way this girl moves on stage. Got cans like you wouldn’t believe.”
“What’s he talking about, Amber?” Olivia asked. “You worked at Diamonds? That’s a strip club, right?”
No sense in lying about it.
“It’s…a strip club.”
Olivia’s eyes lit up as she began to put it all together.
“So…when you said you worked at a ‘bar,’ that’s what you meant.”
“That’s…what I meant.”
She lowered her eyes. “I…I see.”
Over her shoulder, the man and his friend kept on talking excitedly.
Fucking pricks.
“Well, I…I don’t know if this is going to work, then. We’re kind of a family place, and if people hear we’ve got strippers working here…”
“Ex-stripper,” I said. “And I never got naked – just underwear.” The words sounded totally ridiculous coming out of my mouth, as if they made a difference.
“Listen, it was good seeing you, Amber. And you’re welcome back anytime. But as far as working here…”
“Don’t…don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s fine.”
“Um, good luck out there!” she said. “And come back soon, OK? Bring that little girl of yours.”
“I will.”
With that, we hugged one last time, and I shot a hard look to the men at the bar before leaving the place and hurrying in shame back to my car.
And once I was there, all I could do was cry.
I felt hopeless. Totally lost.
But right at that moment, my phone shook on the seat next to me.
It was a text from Nick.
“Still looking for work?”
Chapter 10
NICK
Part of me regretted the text as soon as I’d sent it.
No doubt it would make things very, very complicated.
“You’re not mad at me, right Mr. McQuaid?”
The voice of Sheri, my secretary –well, former secretary, spoke from behind me in my office. I continued to gaze out into the distance, the top-floor view of my office giving me a sweeping panorama of Los Angeles, the towers of downtown before me, the ocean in the distance.
“Why would I be mad?”
I turned, Sheri standing before me sheepishly. She was young and pretty, fresh out of college at UCLA.
But I wasn’t being totally truthful – I was upset she had to quit on such short notice.
“Because I can’t even give you my two weeks. This is my first job, but even with that I know that’s not a good thing to do.”
I shook my head, taking a seat on the edge of my desk.
She was nervous, as if I held her future in my hands.
Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. A bad reference from a man like me would be enough to sink her secretarial career before it even got off the ground.
“Sheri, tell me again why you’re quitting.”
“Because my husband got an offer for his dream job,” she said. “But it’s in Germany, and they want him there ASAP.”
“Your husband got his dream job. What kind of a boss would I be if I was upset with you for supporting your husband?”
“A…um, really strict one.”
“’Strict’ isn’t the right word. Try again.” I smiled, letting her know this wasn’t some kind of trick question.
She smiled right back. “You’d be kind of a jerk.”
“Right. And you’re correct – I’m not happy you’re leaving, but only because you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had and you’re going to leave big shoes to fill.”
Another smile followed, this one with a blush.
“Thanks, Mr. McQuaid.”
“It’s Nick. So no, don’t worry about burning a bridge. You’ve done such a good job since you’ve been here that I’m thrilled to be able to give you a good reference. You find a position and need someone to couch for you, give them my number. I’ll tell them they’d be idiots not to hire you.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Th…thank you so much!”
“My pleasure. Now, take the rest of the day off, go spend some time celebrating with your husband. Come back and clear out your desk whenever you can.”
She rushed over to me, throwing her skinny arms around my shoulders and giving me a hug.
“You’re the best boss, Mr. McQuiad.”
She smiled one last time before hurrying out of the office, shutting the door and leaving me alone.
“Fucking hell.” I said the words out loud, thinking of how much I’d have to take care of without a secretary to help.
But I didn’t have to worry for long. My phone buzzed on my desk, and I saw it was a call from Amber.
“Hello?” I asked. I held the phone to my ear, dropping into my office chair.
“Nick?” she asked. “It’s Amber.”
“You get my text?”
“I…I sure did. Are you serious about this?”
“What, you think I’d screw with you by offering you a job that I didn’t intent to actually give you?”
She chuckled, a trace of nervousness to her laugh. “No, it’s not that. I mean, I’m just surprised. Not to mention surprised that you have a secretary.”
“Why wouldn’t I have a secretary? I’m the CEO.”
“Sure you are.”
I laughed to myself at this reminder that she still thought I was pretending to be the CEO.
“I can prove it to you. Why don’t you come by the office and we can talk? You still have my card, right?”
“Sure do.”
“I’ll tell the front desk to expect you. Looking forward to seeing you soon.”
“Um, yeah. You too.” There was major uncertainty in her voice.
Then we hung up.
OK, I had to admit it was a good question. Why was I offering her such an important job?
I wanted to be sure, really grilling myself to be certain I wasn’t doing it because I thought she was gorgeous.
I mean, I did think she was gorgeous. But that couldn’t be the only reason for wanting her to work under me.
It didn’t take long for her to show up. A half hour after I spoke to her, I received a call from the front desk letting me know she was there. And ten minutes after that, a knock sounded on my door.
“Come in.”
She opened the door and stepped inside.
And she looked just as good as ever. I’d invited her there for business reasons, but the way she looked into those tight slacks, the buttons of her blouse straining her over chest…it got me thinking about things other than secretarial work.
Maybe it wasn’t so wise to keep her close to me. Would I be able to resist temptation?
“Holy crap,” she said, looking around. “This office…” She turned her eyes to me. “You really are the CEO, huh?”
I laughed, stepping over to the coffee machine and pouring us both a couple of cups.
“You really thought I was lying about that?” I asked, stepping over and handing her a mug. “A lie like that seems like asking for trouble.”
“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I guess it’s one of the pitfalls of the work I did. There’s no shortage of guys who’ll feed you whatever line it takes to get you to go out with them.”
“Well, I’m not that kind of guy.” I gestured to the chair across from the desk. “Have a seat.”
She did, her eyes still on the view behind me.
“You have to at least kind of see where I’m coming from, right? I mean, you were at a strip club, and you were shopping at that grocery store…”
I laughed, setting down my mug. “The strip club was my friend’s birthday – I don’t normally do stuff like that. And what does the grocery store have to do with anything?”
“I mean, don’t rich guys like you have personal shoppers to do that kind of stuff?”
Another laugh. “You’re not wrong. But I like to handle my own affairs whenever I can.”
“I’m was a stripper.”
I cocked my head to the side, confused. She just blurted the words out, totally bluntly and unprompted.”
“Ex…excuse me?” I asked.
“I was a stripper. That’s the job I had before this.”
“I…I know. That’s where we met, remember?”
She took a slow, deep breath. “Right. But I want to make sure you’re very aware of that before we go any further.”
“Don’t worry – I haven’t forgotten.”
I said the words truthfully, but perhaps not in the way I meant. With Amber there in front of me, I found myself thinking back over and over to her on stage at Diamonds, picturing the sight of her in nothing but her brain and that skimpy thong.
“OK. Good. The reason I’m bringing it up is because all the places I’ve gone to try to get a job don’t really seem all that big on hiring someone who used to work a job like that.”
“Are you serious? Why?”