“How does tonight sound?” I needed the money and I needed it now. I had two text books to buy and I needed to pay the first installment to the college in two weeks.
Kat’s grin broadened. “Great! I like bartending in the middle of the day, but, fuck. I am getting way too old for that shit.”
Kat was thirteen years older than me, and really, in her prime. She was gorgeous and in great shape. This had nothing to do with her being too tired, and definitely nothing to do with her age. She knew I needed the money, and she was making excuses to help me along. It hurt my pride, but I was thankful for her. College was expensive.
Scholarships covered most of my tuition, but I still have activity fees, textbooks, and a large portion of my room and board to cover.
Kat always needed bartenders, but when I told her I was interested, she hired me without even an interview. Better still, her main bartender was going to night school, so she needed someone to cover nights and weekends. Prime time.
“I’ll have everything set up for you tonight. Be here at quarter six. You’ll work an eight.”
“Great.”
“Just watch John Burnett. Bigger guy in his late twenties. Jagoff is a grab-ass.”
I listened to her give me the rundown of the night crew and felt a flush of gratitude. Kat had never let me down. She had even offered to pay my tuition upfront, but that was too much.
I wouldn’t take that from her. I would never be beholden to anyone again.
Aidan
When Rage warned me not to touch his lady I thought he was joking. Looking at the woman in front of me, though, I knew he was dead serious.
I preferred to keep my remaining leg. That didn’t mean that my hand didn’t itch. “Layla” was fucking beautiful.
It took me a moment to realize she was talking. “What can I help you with?” she was asking.
I shut my jaw and tried to remember why I was there in the first place. A job.
“Ma’am, I’m Aidan Crowne, reporting for work.” I didn’t intend slip back into soldier speak, but it was a natural part of me,
“Ah, you are the man Cullen talked about.”
Confused, I parroted the name back to her. “Cullen?”
“Uh, Rage. Sorry.” She blushed. “I’m Layla.”
Yes, she was.
She shuffled through a stack of papers, then looked up and smiled “You are early, ready to work. I like that.”
She was clearly the office manager, or the head of the operation, or something. “You – uh – work here?”
She smiled and explained, “I’m the book keeper for the Club. Donna McKenna, my Aunt, is the office manager. She’s out, on family leave. So for now you’ll have to deal with me.”
I could deal with that, and gladly.
“I have W-2’s that need to be filled out. You a felon?” she asked, almost conversationally.
“No ma’am.”
“Good, good. Got experience?”
“91B. Wheeled Vehicle Specialist, ma’am. Mechanic. Army.”
“Great. And your… disability, if it interferes –”
“It won’t.” I almost snarled it. I’d heard that question too many times. I wasn’t coming all the fucking way up here to be told there was no work for me.
Her brow furrowed just slightly at the change in my voice, but she was used to aggression. There was no fear in her eyes. And no judgment. She just nodded to me and said, “If you’re having any trouble with it, let me know. We’ll make accommodations. If you need to take time off for it, you’ll need to fill out FMLA paperwork. It’s not a big deal, but I want to make sure you don’t ignore it. You seem like you know how to work, no matter what.”
When I nodded, her eyes sparkled. Oh hell, yes. I would work. I kept my eyes down to keep out of trouble.
“I won’t have you getting hurt on the job, you hear me? If you do, it’ll cost us more money than if you take care of yourself. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She could read me already. Damn. No wonder Rage scooped her up. Gorgeous and she didn’t take shit.
“One last thing. I ain’t no one’s ma’am, you hear me? I’m Layla. Just plain old Layla.”
I couldn’t help it. I looked her in the eyes then and grinned.
She returned it without thinking twice. They always did. This one still wasn’t going to take shit, though.
“Get on to Cullen,” she said, shooing me out. “He’ll like that your early, but don’t piss him off.”
I thought about my old Chief. Son of a bitch was a guy you really didn’t want a fuck around with. I had a feeling Rage was the same way. I wasn’t going to fuck with him, and I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t even going to flirt with Layla. No matter how bad I wanted to.