"Well I,"
Kyle spoke from behind me. "I spoke with Daman about her, Dace. Ella's never worked behind a bar, but Daman thinks her innocence will be an asset."
Dace set cool eyes on Kyle and a muscle in his hard jaw twitched. Maybe he was as dangerous as Dee made him out to be. "You think setting her behind a bar for horny fucks to hit on her all night and pressure her into leaving with them will be an asset for this club?" He looked down at me with glaring eyes and shook his head in disgust. I shrunk under his gaze and hated myself for it. "She won't be an asset to Impact. She'll be a fucking liability when she gets raped outside the back doors."
"Dace," Kyle started to speak but icy eyes filled to the brim with sizzling anger halted his plea.
"Forget it. She's not working here." With that, Dace turned around and walked into the crowed.
I watched his broad shoulders plow through the mass without apology as he made his way to the bar. I felt cold and frozen in place. He didn't remember me and he wasn't going to hire me. What the hell had I done? I hadn't even said a word.
"Shit El," Kyle moaned behind me. "I'm sorry."
"What?" I forced myself back into the here and now.
"You quit your job and didn't even get hired." He ran a hand through his mass of hair. "Can you get it back?"
"No," I shook my head as realization set in. I quit my job without the security of another and now I had nothing. There was no way I could make my rent bills if I walked out of here tonight jobless. I was completely screwed and I would soon be homeless if I didn't pull my act together and work for what I wanted.
I set my eyes on Dace's dark form leaning against the bar and felt determination swell in my chest. He was the only thing standing between me and living. He was the only hurdle I had left to jump between making my bills or sleeping on the streets. There was no way I was allowing him to strip me of hope without one hell of a fight.
"I'll be right back, Kyle." I slid off the stool.
"Where are you going?" He sounded panicked and I set determined eyes on him.
"I've got this." I smiled. "I need this job and I'm not walking out of here without it."
"You can't change Dace Demi's mind, El." He shook his head.
"Watch me." I dared.
I set my eyes on my target and pushed determinedly through the mob. As I drew closer to Dace, I felt the familiar electrified pull of energy that seemed to thrive between us and I thought for a moment that maybe he felt it too. His shoulders tensed and his body stiffened, but he didn't look back at me. Was it possible he was just as aware of me as I was of him?
"Dace," I spoke his name coolly once I was finally standing beside him.
"What do you want?" He growled in a low barrel tone. I knew I should have been intimidated, but there was obviously something wrong with my senses because I felt the same sensation of safety I'd felt around him earlier. It prevailed over any and all warning bells sounding in my mind.
"I want a job." I stated factually before continuing. "No, I need a job."
At my tone of utter willpower - or maybe it was despair he heard, but it didn't matter because I had his attention. His hard cobalt eyes were trained on me and although his jaw was set stubbornly, he wasn't speaking or demanding I leave.
"Go on." He spoke with authority and when I didn't flinch, I was proud of myself.
"I quit my job today for this one. I know it was rash and senseless, but I did it. I have an apartment I can't afford and my fridge is empty apart from two and a half tubs of yogurt. I can barely pay my cell phone bill and I am trying desperately two rub dimes together at the end of the month to save for my next and final year of school." I sighed. "I'm only asking for a job. I won't be a liability and if it would make you feel better, I'll take a self defense class."
Dace smirked. "A girl like you doesn't have a daddy to run to with her bills?"
My throat felt tight. "He's gone."
Dace didn't even flinch at my comment. His eyes were cold as ever and there was no pity in their depths. For some reason, it was a refreshing sight. I was sick of the constant sympathy. "And mom?"
"She went with my dad." I replied tightly. It was still hard to talk about them like this - their deaths were still so fresh.
"What about that shiny new car you have?" Dace asked and my heart jumped. He remembered me.
"That shiny new car was the last gift my father bought me." My tone was chillingly cold. "It's paid off."
"I see." He nodded. "And you've never worked a bar before?"
"No."
"So I would have to train you?" He eyed me up and down and I knew he was trying to make me uncomfortable. It wasn't going to work.