Chapter 12 #2
I nod, repositioning myself in front of the till.
I’ve gone over the starters and mains and have moved onto side dishes when an obnoxiously loud laugh distracts me.
Looking up, I realise the grating, high-pitched sound is coming from the blonde sitting opposite Austin.
Molly, if I’m remembering her name right, looks to be about my age, maybe a couple of years younger, and it’s painfully obvious that she’s into our boss.
She’s conveniently ‘just happened’ to find herself right beside Austin throughout every stage of our training, batting her long lashes and tossing her thick mane of honey-blonde hair so hard I was afraid she might strain something.
I’m all for being confident and going after what you want, but we’re supposed to be working—she can flirt with the grump on her own time.
Mei, another server I met earlier, catches my eye from next to her and pulls a face as Molly laughs again and Austin asks if she needs some more water.
My lips twitch in amusement when, within the space of a second, she immediately stops laughing, recalculates and demurely thanks him while fluttering her lashes so hard they’re in danger of flying off.
“Sam, could you pass Molly that jug, please?” he asks. I bite my lip to repress the laugh that wants to escape at the look on Molly’s face when the chef wordlessly passes her the jug of water and Austin turns to the guy on his left, ignoring her completely.
Normally, I’d feel bad for Molly—the object of her affections is completely oblivious to her efforts, and that’s rough.
Yet any sympathy I may have had for her vanished the moment I sat down and overheard her bitching with one of the bartenders about what people were wearing while giving my jeans and t-shirt a dirty look.
Seriously, we’re at a staff meeting, not London Fashion Week—what did she expect?
At least aside from Molly and her bartender friend, everyone else seems great. My only real problem is Austin. I had hoped to win him over today and make working for him less uncomfortable, but there’s no hope of that happening now.
Abby reappears just as I finish looking over the drink screen, and we practice for another ten minutes while the rest of the staff relax and enjoy their lunch.
“You’re ready.” Abby grins.
“Maybe we should do one more—”
“Austin, come over here,” she calls out.
I shoot her a ‘what the fuck’ look that she ignores.
“I take it this means you know what you’re doing now?”
What a dick. I smile sweetly, glad I’ve spent the better part of the last decade dealing with much more intimidating people that this guy. “Why don’t you test me and find out?”
When I’m able to input everything Austin rapidly fires out quickly and without mistakes, he simply folds his arms and nods. “Good. Mum, why don’t you grab some food—I need to talk to Cassie for a minute.”
Abby leaves, and I immediately go on the defensive. “Listen, I passed your test—”
Austin calmly holds up a hand to silence me. Is it wrong that I kind of want to smack it?
“Are you going to take this job seriously?”
“What?” I ask, wondering if I missed something while distracted by my violent daydreams.
He looks up as if begging a higher power to grant him patience. “Are you going to take this seriously? If not, tell me now because if you won’t put in the effort, then I’d rather you leave instead of giving my customers a bad experience.”
Ouch. My cheeks flame, and my wounded pride screams that this isn’t fair, that I should give him a piece of my mind.
Luckily, years of training and reminders to be nice have the words dying in my throat.
I remind myself that this place means a lot to him—Abby said he’s the third generation of Bowmans running the bar and that he’s waited years for the opportunity.
If I’d not lied about having experience as a server, he might have been more patient with me.
“Look, I understand why you don’t like me, even though you don’t even know me—that’s fine.
But one thing you should know is that I don’t do things halfway.
I’ll do something properly or not at all.
It might not have seemed like it to you, but I was trying my best. Like I said, I’m a little rusty, but I’ll get the hang of things if you give me a chance. ”
Silence hangs between us as Austin’s eyes search mine. He must find whatever he’s looking for because his combative posture relaxes and he unfolds his arms from across his broad chest. “What size shirt do you wear?”
“What?” I ask, confused by the sudden change of subject.
“For your uniform. I’ve got extra t-shirts in the office. I’ll bring you some, but I need to know what size to grab.”
“Small if it needs to be fitted, medium if it can be loose.”
“As long as you’re wearing something with the bar’s logo on, I don’t care what the fit is. Which will you be most comfortable in?”
His question makes my head spin. He’s acting like this is no big deal—it shouldn’t be—but when was the last time someone asked me what I wanted?
What I was comfortable with instead of asking my team and assuming their answers would align with my preferences, which was rarely the case.
Even Ant, as wonderful as he is, has to take charge when it comes to my safety.
He at least does his best to go with what I want, but at the end of the day he’s my bodyguard first and my friend second.
My throat grows thick with emotion. Who knew the grumpy giant was capable of being thoughtful? “Medium, please.”
He nods. “I’ll bring you a few t-shirts and an apron from the back. Sit down and have some lunch if there’s any left.”
Aaand he ruined it.
A few people have already finished eating and are migrating over to one of the pool tables as I step out from behind the bar.
Mei waves me over to sit in the newly vacated spot beside her when I approach the table.
“Here, I saved you some,” she says, handing me a plate of food.
“I don’t know what you like, so I grabbed a bit of everything. ”
“I see that.” Grateful, I accept the mountain of food. “Thank you, really.”
“You’re welcome. Did you get your till training squared away?”
I’m about to reply when Molly butts into our conversation, leaning around Mei to address me. “Why were you talking to Austin?”
“He wanted to test me on the till and find out my size so he could get my uniform.”
She gives me a quick once-over before meeting my gaze. “Small, I assume?” she asks while pointedly glancing back down at my boobs.
Bitch. Pretending not to understand the jab, I keep my face blank as I reply, “Nope, I prefer a looser fit.” Done with whatever this conversation is, I gather a forkful of mixed greens in garlic and herb butter and shovel them into my mouth.
Mei snorts and angles her body so it creates a wall between Molly and me. “Anyway,” she says, drawing out the word and rolling her brown eyes. “Your till training?”
I take a moment to finish chewing, then reply, “All sorted.”
“Good. I don’t know what’s up with Austin today. He’s usually a great boss, but that was kind of harsh.”
“You worked here before the renovation?”
“Yeah. Believe me, all this was long overdue,” she replies, gesturing to our surroundings. “So, what’s the deal between you and the boss man?”
“I take it you’ve heard about what happened to the outdoor seating?”
“Of course, it’s all over town. Some idiot tourist crashed into the—” Her eyes bug out. “Oh my God. You’re the idiot tourist?” She winces, likely assuming I’ll take offence at being called an idiot, but I shrug it off.