“Me too,” Courtney seconded. “I sleep better alone, anyway.”
“Speaking of sleeping,” Anne said, gesturing to a waiter passing by. “Did you hear Carmen Weinstein got caught by her husband with one of the pool boys?”
Courtney squeaked excitedly, “Seriously?”
“That is so tacky,” Georgia decided. “At least have an affair with a doctor or a lawyer or someone with a respectable job. How on earth would some lowlife be able to show you a good time?”
That was an easy answer after meeting Connor. He’d make you so hot you would beg him to put his cock wherever he wanted to.
Jessa’s eyes slid over the slender build of their waiter. She’d seen him before. He had curly dark hair and bright blue eyes, a dimple in his left cheek and a nice set of abdominal muscles. He’d been good looking before. So why did he seem so…boyish now?
Probably because compared to Connor he wasn’t man enough to have pubic hair.
The girls were still gossiping in hushed tones about the torrid affair between one of their casual acquaintances and the club pool boy. But Jessa wasn’t the only one preoccupied.
Kitty hadn’t made a single comment. Her pale blue eyes were locked on Jessa. The expression on her face could’ve frozen water. Jessa began to perspire beneath the whirring fans. She could only imagine what Kitty and the others would say if they knew she’d taken a job in a seedy downtown bar called Phoenix Rising. To say nothing of the things Jessa had been doing with the bar’s owner. Her stock would drop so low the Club would cancel her membership before her fees came due.
“So what have you been doing with all this unexpected free time, Jessa?” Kitty asked in a deceptively mild tone.
Georgia admired her immaculate manicure. “You’ve missed brunch twice.”
“And you didn’t make the Rotary meeting last night either.” Courtney pointed out.
Jessa’s annoyance was quickly spiraling out of control. These were her friends. Or they were supposed to be her friends. Maybe this was what was wrong with her life. Shouldn’t they accept her no matter what she’d decided to do about her marriage or her career choice?
“Actually, I missed the Rotary meeting because I was working.”
“You got a job?” Courtney acted as though Jessa had just told them she’d been diagnosed with cancer.
Anne looked genuinely interested, “Really, where?”
“At a bar downtown,” Jessa announced with relish.
“A bar?” Kitty wanted clarification.
Georgia blinked several times. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am.”
There was absolute silence.
Anne finally found her voice. “What kind of place is it?”
Jessa shrugged and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. How would you describe Connor’s bar to people like this? Compared to their little club it was a cesspool. It was dirty and raw. And the people were real. Not a single pasteboard cut out sat at the bar and ordered a drink from Alex or took a seat at one of the tables and gave Jessa’s ass an appreciative glance before ordering a round of beers.
“It’s a real bar,” Jessa finally answered.
“Wow, when do you work?”
“Nights, mostly. But I’ve got to go in soon because we open up around noon.”
“People start drinking at noon?” Georgia was horrified by what she considered a massive breach in protocol.
“If they work nights at the factory, it’s the perfect time to start drinking,” Jessa reasoned.
“Maybe we could come visit some night,” Anne ventured eagerly. “That would be kind of fun. Like a ladies’ night out.”
Kitty finally found her voice. “So where is this bar, Jessa?”
Jessa lifted her eyes and met Kitty’s icy stare. “It’s right in the middle of downtown. A place called Phoenix Rising.”
“Maybe we’ll pay you a visit some night, Jessa Kincaid.”
Jessa couldn’t even muster a smile. “I’m sure you’d have a great time.”
* * *
Where the hell was she?
It was half past noon and Jessa hadn’t shown up for work. Alex didn’t seem disturbed in the least. But why would he be? To him she was just another waitress, just another potential piece of ass. Connor hadn’t managed to reduce her to that yet.
“She’ll be here, Connor,” Alex murmured from across the room. “It wouldn’t be like her to quit without a word.”
But some barely acknowledged sliver of fear needled Connor. What if she’d decided not to come back because of him? What if she were repulsed by what they’d shared on the bar the night before?