by Lucy Score
I sighed. “Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it.”
“Kinda nice to have company for once. When’s your next shift?”
I bit my lip. “I’m not sure. This might be a one-and-done. My new boss doesn’t seem to like me.”
She laughed softly. “Give him time.”
I realized my babysitting fairy godmother had predicted this and wondered what she knew that I didn’t.
“This ain’t social hour. Get your ass off the phone, Daisy.”
I gritted my teeth at Knox’s interruption. “Your grandson says hi.”
Liza chuckled. “Tell him to kiss my ass and to pick up a rotisserie chicken for me tomorrow. I’ll see ya when ya get home,” she said.
“Thanks again. I owe you. Bye.”
I turned and found Knox looming over me like a sexy turkey vulture. “Your grandmother says kiss her ass and bring her a rotisserie chicken.”
“Why are you on the phone with my grandma on your first and last bar shift?”
“Because she’s watching my eleven-year-old niece so I can earn money for groceries and back-to-school clothes, you uncharitable oaf!”
“Figures,” he muttered.
“Lay off, Knox,” Silver said as she shook two cocktail shakers at once. “You know being a dick costs you in turnover.”
“I want this one to turn over,” he insisted. “Why don’t you hide in the kitchen and text like everyone else?”
“Because I don’t have a cell phone,” I reminded him.
“Who in the fuck doesn’t have a cell phone?”
“Someone who lost hers in a tragic rest stop accident,” I shot back. “I’d love to continue this stimulating conversation, but I need to help Max turn over some tables.”
“You tell him, Not Tina,” Hinkel McCord crowed from his barstool.
Knox looked like he was going to pick him up and hurl him through the door. I took a cleansing breath and did what I did best—stuffed all of my feelings into a little box with a tight lid. “Is there something you need before I go back to work?”
His eyes narrowed at my polite tone. We stared each other down until we were interrupted.
“There she is,” a familiar voice boomed over the din.
“Justice!” My cafe-owning future husband had his arm around a beautiful woman.
“I brought the wife so she could meet my fiancée,” Justice joked.
“Wait’ll Muriel hears about this,” Hinkel cackled, whipping out his phone.
“I’m Tallulah,” she said, leaning over the bar to offer her hand. “Hubs told me all about your first day in town.”
She was tall with a cascade of long braids down her back. She was wearing a St. John Garage t-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. “Sorry I missed your first time in the cafe. Heard it was quite a show.”
“This one hasn’t been half bad either,” Hinkel interjected.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tallulah,” I said. “I’m sorry for proposing to your husband, but the man makes coffee that angels sing about.”
“Don’t I know it,” she agreed.
“Where’s your section? We’re here to patronize you,” Justice said.
Knox rolled his eyes.
“Don’t mind him,” Silver said, elbowing the boss out of the way. “He’s just pissy because Nay hasn’t screwed up yet.”
I wanted to kiss her for giving me a nickname other than Not Tina.
“He gave me one shift and no mistakes,” I explained, not caring that he was standing behind me.
“Knox Morgan,” Tallulah chided. “That’s not how we welcome new Knockemouts. Where’s your sense of community?”
“Go away, Tally,” Knox grumbled, but there was no heat to it.
“Naomi, I’ll have your darkest, strongest beer,” Tallulah said. “And the hubs here will have a piña colada with whipped cream.”
Justice rubbed his palms together in anticipation. “And we’ll split an order of the pulled pork flatbread. Extra jalapeños.”
“No sour cream,” Tallulah interjected.
“You got it,” I said with a wink. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring your drinks right out.”
“You gonna write that down?” Knox asked as the couple wove their way through the crowd.
I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Nope.”
He looked at his watch and smirked. “You won’t even make it to the end of the shift at this rate.”
“I’ll be happy to prove you wrong.”
“In that case, you just got yourself another table.”
He pointed to a rowdy table in the corner where an older man with a potbelly and a cowboy hat appeared to be holding court.
“Don’t do that to her on her first night, Knoxy,” Max chided him.
“If she’s so confident she can handle it, no use letting her wade around in the kiddie pool. Gotta throw her in the deep end.”
“There’s a difference between sink or swim when you introduce sharks,” Silver argued.
TWELVE
A RIDE HOME
Knox
I had paperwork to do, but I was more interested in the impending crash and burn of my newest employee.
Naomi strutted her high-class ass right on up to the table like an idealistic kindergarten teacher on her first day. I hated Wylie Ogden for good reason, but I didn’t mind using him to prove my point.
She didn’t belong here. And if I had to prove that by dangling her in front of a wolf, then so be it.
Wylie’s squinty little eyes zeroed in on her, and his tongue darted out between his lips. He knew the rules. Knew I wouldn’t hesitate to toss his ass out of here if he so much as touched one of my employees. But that didn’t stop him from being a creepy old man.
“What’s your problem with Not Tina?” Silver asked, punching the button on the blender and pouring vodka into three rocks glasses.
I didn’t reply. Answering questions only encouraged conversations.
I watched as Wylie lavished Naomi with his pervy brand of attention without feeling the least bit guilty.
She wasn’t my type on any plane of existence. Hell, even in jeans and a Honky Tonk t-shirt, she still looked high-class and high-maintenance. She wouldn’t settle for a few nights between the sheets.
She was the kind of woman with expectations. With long-term plans. With honey-do lists and would you minds and can you pleases.
Normally I could ignore an attraction to a woman who wasn’t my type.
Maybe I needed a break? It had been a while since I’d taken a few days off, had some fun, gotten laid.
I did the math, winced.
It had been more than a while.
That’s what I needed. A few days away. Maybe I’d hit the beach. Read a few fucking novels. Drink a few beers out of someone else’s inventory. Find a good lay with no strings or expectations.
I ignored the knee-jerk “meh.”
After hitting forty, I’d noticed an alarming ambivalence when it came to the hunt. Laziness most likely. The hunt, the narrowing of the field, the flirtation. What had once been entertaining started to seem like a lot of work for just a night or two.
But I’d work up the energy, work off the sexual frustration. Then I could come back here and not feel compelled to jerk off every time I saw Naomi Witt.
Matter settled, I poured myself a water from the soda gun and watched Naomi try to leave the table only to be stopped by Wylie. The fucker actually grabbed her by the wrist.
“Oooooh, shit,” Silver said under her breath as I came off the barstool.
“Goddammit,” I muttered as I made my way across the bar.
“Now don’t you dally, Naomi,” Wylie was saying. “The boys and I sure like lookin’ at your face.”
“Among other things,” one of his idiotic friends said, sending the table into spasms of laughter.
I’d expected her to be clawing her way free, but Naomi was smiling. “I knew you boys were going to be trouble,” she teased lightly.
“There a problem?” I snapped.
Wylie’s hand fell away from Naomi’s wrist, and I didn’t miss the fact that she immediately took a step back.
“Problem?” Wylie said. “I don’t see no problem.”
“Wylie and his friends were introducing themselves,” Naomi said. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
With a parting glare in my direction, she sauntered back to the bar.
I stepped into Wylie’s line of sight, ruining his view of her departing ass.
“You know the rules, Ogden.”
“Boy, I was running this town when you were nothing but a spark in your daddy’s eyes.”
“Don’t run shit now, do you?” I said. “But this place? This is mine. And if you wanna be able to drink here, you’ll keep your goddamn hands to yourself.”
“I don’t appreciate the insinuations, boy.”
“And I don’t appreciate having to serve your crooked ass. Guess we’re even.”
I left him and his cronies and went in search of Naomi. I found her at the POS by the bar.
Chewing on her lower lip, she didn’t bother glancing up from the screen where she carefully entered an order. From the Sex on the Beach and Flaming Orgasm, I guessed it was Wylie’s table of morons.
“You hit me with a fucking tray for talkin’ shit, but you let that sweaty asshole put his hand on you?”
“I don’t have time to point out the fact that you told me if I upset one table you were firing me, so you’ll have to settle for this,” she said, holding up her middle finger in my face.
Hinkel McCord and Tallulah burst out laughing.
“Y’all aren’t gettin’ dinner and a show,” I warned before turning back to Naomi.
“Dammit. Where’s the substitute button?” she muttered.
I reached around her and paged through the options to the right one. Having her caged between me and the screen was making my libido malfunction.
To be contrary, I didn’t step back while she keyed in the rest of the order. When she was finished, Naomi turned to look at me. “You sent me over there on purpose, knowing what would happen. I didn’t react the way you wanted me to. Get over it.”
“I sent you over there so you’d be creeped out by Wylie, not so he could put his fucking hands on you. If he does it again, I wanna know.”
She laughed. Right in my face. “Yeah. Sure, Viking. I’ll come running.”
“Drinks up, Nay,” Silver called.
“Gotta go, boss,” Naomi said with the kind of fake, bright politeness she’d used on Wylie. It made me want to punch a hole in the wall.
Ten minutes later, I was still thinking about punching something when my brother strolled through the door. His gaze went directly to Naomi, who was delivering a second round of drinks to the St. Johns.
About a second later, he’d clocked Wylie at the table. The two exchanged a long stare before Nash headed my way.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Sherry crowed. My soon-to-be-fired business manager had come out of the office to watch the Naomi show.
Nash dragged his eyes away from Naomi’s ass and flashed her an easy grin. “How’s it goin’, Fi?” he asked.
“Never a dull moment. You here to see the new girl?” she asked slyly, shooting me a look.
“Thought I’d drop in and see how Naomi’s first day is going,” he said.
“You and half the fucking town,” Max said as she breezed by with a tray of drinks.
“She’s doing great,” Sherry told him. “Despite some head-butting with management.”
Nash glanced my way. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“Hi, Nash,” Naomi chirped as she passed us on her way to the bar.
He nodded. “Naomi.”
Sherry elbowed me in the gut. “Somebody’s got a crush,” she sang.
I grunted. Two somebodies had a crush, and if I had anything to say about it, neither of us was going to get the girl.
“Pull up a stool, Chief,” Silver said.
Nash took her up on the offer and sat at the corner closest to the server station.
“On call or off for the night?” Silver asked.
“Officially off.”
“Beer it is,” she said with a little salute.
“Don’t you have payroll to approve?” Sherry asked innocently as I hovered behind my brother.
“Maybe I already did it,” I hedged, watching as Naomi approached Wylie’s table again.
“I get an alert when it’s been submitted, smartass.”
Tattletale technology. “I’ll get to it. Don’t you have businesses to manage?”
“Right now, I’ve got a man to manage. Quit being a dick to Naomi. She’s good. The customers like her. The staff likes her. Your brother likes her. You’re the only one with a problem.”
“My place. I get to have a problem if I wanna have a problem.” I sounded like a fucking toddler denied a cookie.
Sherry slapped a hand to my cheek and squeezed. Hard. “Boss, you’re a perpetual ass, but this isn’t like you. You never paid attention to new hires before. Why start now?”
Naomi breezed by again, and it pissed me off that I watched her every step of the way.
“Come here often?” Naomi asked, giving my brother a full wattage smile as she trayed up another round of drinks.
“Thought I’d drop by and give you the good news.”
“What good news?” she asked, looking hopeful.
“I cleared up your little grand theft auto misunderstanding.”
You would have thought my brother had just whipped out a solid gold 10-inch dick with the way Naomi flew into him and wrapped him in a hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!” she chanted.
“No man-handling the customers,” I snarled.
She rolled her eyes at me and gave Nash a peck on the cheek that made me want to set my own brother on fire.
“Also figured I’d see if you wanted a lift home after your shift,” he offered.
Fuck me.
She didn’t have a car. She probably rode her goddamn bike here and planned to ride it home after closing. In the dark.
Over my dead fucking body.
“That is so sweet of you to offer,” Naomi said.
“Not necessary,” I said, butting into the conversation. “She’s already got a ride. Sherry’ll take her.”
“Sorry, Knox. I’m off in ten,” my business manager said smugly.
“Then so’s she.”
“I can’t close out my tables and do my side work in ten minutes,” Naomi argued. “Max is showing me how to close in case you don’t fire me after tonight.”
“Fine. Then I’m driving you home.”
“I’m sure you have better things to do than to drive a needy pain in the ass home.”
“Burn,” Fi whispered gleefully.
“I’m driving you home. Law and Order lives right upstairs. You’re out of his way. It’d be an inconvenience to him to haul your ass home.”
I knew I’d pushed the right button when Naomi’s smile faltered.
“I don’t mind,” Nash insisted.
But Naomi shook her head. “As much as it pains me to admit, your brother is right. It’ll be late, and I’m out of your way.”
Nash opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “I’m driving her.”
I could probably keep my mouth shut and my hands off her for the five-minute drive.
“In that case, you got a minute?” he asked Naomi.
“You can have her for ten minutes,” Max said, pushing Naomi at my brother.
She laughed and held up a hand. “Actually, I have tables I need to get to. Do you need something, Nash?”
He glanced my way. “D.C. cops found your car today,” he said.
Her face lit up. “That’s great news.”
Nash winced and shook his head. “Sorry, honey. It’s not. They found it at a chop shop in pieces.”
Naomi’s shoulders slumped. “What about Tina?”
/> “No sign of her.”
She looked even more dejected, and I was just about to order her to quit worrying when Nash reached out and tipped her chin up. “Don’t let this get you down, honey. You’re in Knockemout. We take care of our own.”
Once my handsy fucking brother and Wylie Ogden left, I locked myself in my office and focused on paperwork rather than watching Daisy bravely smile her way into the hearts of Knockemout.
Business was good. And I knew how important staff was to that bottom line. But Jesus. Working with Naomi day in and day out? How long would it take before she’d spout off something smart, and I’d pin her to a wall and kiss her just to shut her up?
I kept an eye on the security monitor while I worked my way through the list of stuff Fi needed me to do.
Payroll submitted. Liquor order finalized. Emails returned. And I’d finally gotten around to working on the ads. It was midnight, closing time, and I was beyond ready to call it a night.
“Come on, Waylon,” I called.
The dog bounded out of his bed.
We found the bar empty of patrons.
“Decent night tonight,” Silver called from the register where she was scanning the day’s report.
“How decent?” I asked, doing my best to ignore Naomi and Max as they rolled utensils into napkins and laughed about something. Waylon charged over to them to demand affection.
“Good enough for shots,” Silver said.
“Did someone say shots?” Max called.
I had a deal with the staff. Every time we beat the previous week’s sales the entire shift earned shots.
She slid the report across the bar to me, and I flipped to the bottom line. Damn. It had been a good night.
“Maybe new girl’s our lucky charm,” she said.
“Nothing about her is lucky,” I insisted.
“You still owe us.”
I sighed. “Fine. Line ’em up. Teremana.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Let’s go, ladies.”
Naomi cocked her head, but Max jumped out of her seat. “I knew it was a good night. Fat tips too. Come on,” she said, pulling Naomi to her feet.