“Yeah, Hadley will figure it out. I told her she’d be fine here until she did the same thing,” I reply.
“Something else is bubbling along the surface. You have any idea what that could be?”
“Yep, not your fucking business.” I leave it at that.
“I get what you’re putting down. If she gets toasted, you want me to bring her to you, or will you pick her up?” Tyler asks.
“I’ll come get her. No sense in you making an extra trip after shutting the bar down. Keep your eye on her, yeah?”
“Never a problem, bud. I’m sure I’ll check in with you later.”
“No doubt.” We hang up, and I return to my perch at the edge of the balcony, watching the riverfront and people coming and going. It’s one of Hadley’s favorite pastimes. I miss doing it with her something fierce right now.
“Today is going to suck donkey balls,” I say out loud. Of course, there’s no one here to return the sentiment. With one last look, I turn around. It’s not as much fun without Hadley, and there’s always work I can do in my office if she’s not coming home any time soon. Which doesn’t seem like she will. I swear to God, if she spends the night at Tyler’s place, her ass will be getting spanked, and not how she liked it last night either. I shake my head. There’s no use in entertaining those thoughts right now. All they’ll do is leave me hard as a rock. This fucking woman, she’s going to give me a run for my money, that’s for sure.SevenHadleyI came to Tyler’s bar to get away from Cooper and the way he looked. I was scared, and what does Hadley Monroe do when she gets scared? She runs. I’m not sure how anyone can stand me. I can’t even stand myself. In a nutshell, I fucked up.
“I’m not saying you can’t work here. All I’m saying is you know the pay sucks. It’s only going to get worse when tourism dies down a little bit. You know you’re like my sister, Had, and if I wasn’t honest with you, I wouldn’t be a friend.” Tyler wipes down the bar top while talking to me. I walked in right at opening. Two of the regulars were in their corner of the bar, shooting the shit and drinking cheap beer.
“I know, but I can’t not work while I’m looking for another job. I have to at least pull my weight at Cooper’s. You know me, even with his offer to not worry about rent for a couple of months, I’m still going to worry. I’ve never not paid my own way, and I’m not going to start now.” I shiver. “What do you have the air conditioning on? One level below freezing?”
“The job is yours. Go grab a sweater from the stock. If you want, while you’re over there, you can clean it up. The other waitress who took your place is a mess, and that’s the least of my worries right now,” Tyler states. I turn my head trying to get a handle on why he’d allow something like that to slide.
“Don’t start.” I watch him walk away. His black shirt states that he’s staff, as if anyone doesn’t know that besides the tourists in this town. I roll my eyes before making myself walk to The Alibi’s merchandise corner. I know exactly why he’s not pushing the waitress to pull her weight; Tyler isn’t much of a lady’s man, but every once in a while, he gives in to temptation. Apparently this time, it was a waitress. That’s so unlike Tyler. This I have to see. He has a rule here that he states when he hires anyone, no fraternization with employees. I think I’ll stick around until she gets here. I grab a hoodie, throw it on over my top. I fix my ponytail—much like I should be fixing what happened between Cooper and me, but that’s for another time—and I tackle the mess.
“Holy crap, it’s like no one has done anything with this in months.” I scratch my head. This is bad even for Tyler.
“No one has,” a thin brunette with her hair up in a messy bun says. It’s then I realize who she is. This must be Tyler’s waitress he was talking about. No wonder he broke his own rules. She’s gorgeous. Not in the girl-next-door look. This girl knows she’s pretty and is definitely flaunting it.
“I can tell. I’m Hadley.” I hold my hand out, but she doesn’t shake it. Oh no, she does something I would never expect, she sneers at my hand as if I’m beneath her.
“Okay, then,” I breathe out before returning to my task. If she wants to be that way, so be it. Tyler can deal with her. I’m sure with me working a few shifts a week, our paths will cross, and I can tell you now, I won’t be looking forward to it.