Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
A ce stormed into the back of Jacks, his mind racing a thousand miles a minute with the fuckery that was the situation of the moment. What were the odds that Millie would show up here, looking for a job? Kismet might be a small town, but it wasn’t so small that things like this happened every day. Not like they were living in those cheesy rom coms his mother loved to watch during the holidays.
“Is there a reason for this clandestine sidebar,” Charlie’s voice lilted into the room, bright with a hint of underlying sarcasm.
“We can’t hire her,” he said, turning to face his siblings. They stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder. A visible front against him.
“She’s the best candidate for the job,” Del said matter-of-factly.
“She has extensive food industry experience,” Charlie agreed.
BJ nodded. “She has the skills and flexibility that we require. We can’t not hire her.”
Et Tu, twin?
Ace sucked in a deep breath, knowing his family was right, but still, something deep inside him told him if they hired Millie his life would change forever. Ace liked his life just fine the way it was. His mother was happy, his siblings were happy, the business was flourishing. He didn’t need any more in life. Too much of a good thing always led to disaster. Millie might be perfect on paper for the job, but he’d also caught her breaking into his car.
It was an honest mistake.
True, but there was just…something keeping him from saying yes.
Del shook his head with a small sigh. A sigh Ace recognized because he’d given it to his little brother many times over the years. Didn’t feel good to be on the receiving end of it.
“Look, Ace, I know you don’t like her—”
“I don’t know her,” he interrupted quickly. He’d had one—very unpleasant—exchange with Millie before she sashayed into his bar, charming the pants off his siblings.
“But,” Del continued. “We need someone now and Millie is the best option. Frankly, she’s the only option.”
As much as he hated to admit it, Del was right. Ace knew they needed another staff person, someone with the flexibility to fill in for any job. Millie had those skills. Thanks to her resume he knew she was twenty-eight, so she was old enough to make drinks too. She was the perfect solution.
So why did he have this sinking feeling in his gut?
“Ace,” BJ said softly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
He sucked in a deep breath, locking eyes with his twin as he took comfort in the reassurance BJ was giving him. He might be the pessimist to his brother’s optimism, but together they balanced each other out perfectly.
Charlie let out a small groan of annoyance. “You know I really hate it when you two do that Jedi mind twin shit. The rest of us would like to be a part of the conversation too.”
BJ grinned. Ace couldn’t stop the small smile from ticking up the corner of his lips either. They couldn’t have true conversations without words, but his sister was right. They did have a connection he didn’t share with his other siblings.
Sucking down a big chunk of pride, Ace shook his head. “I’m sorry. You’re all right. Millie is the best and only person for the job. I shouldn’t let the…incident this morning cloud my judgment.”
Or the fact that she called him a personality lacking ass.
“Let’s show her around and see if she wants the job.”
Del grinned. “Making the right decision, Acehole.”
He raised one finger, giving his smartass little brother his meanest stare. “Don’t call me that or I’ll tell Cassie you ate her last bin of ice cream.
“That’s not even true!” Del glared.
Ace shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can be very convincing.”
Del muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like you are an acehole . Ace chuckled and moved past his siblings toward the swinging door that led out to the bar.
“Come on, let’s do this.”
He ignored the burning in his gut, warning him to do anything but this, and made his way back into the bar where Millie was sitting at the table, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. When she saw him, she smiled, a knowing little grin that hit him directly in the chest with its devious beauty. This woman had him constantly spinning.
“Would you like a tour of the place?” he growled out with as much politeness as he could muster.
“Absolutely, thank you.”
She rose from the table, the pale blue flowy top swishing with her movement. He had no idea what a top like that was called. It had short sleeves that just covered her shoulders. The fabric crisscrossed over her breasts, which he tried not to focus on seeing as how he would be her boss soon and that was completely inappropriate. The bottom of the shirt flared out almost like a skirt, resting above her sunny yellow, skin-tight yoga pants.
He was a simple man. Jeans and T-shirts were his standard uniform. Looking at Millie with her bright wardrobe, shocking blue hair, bracelets, multiple rings in both ears, a stud in her nose, and some type of necklace with a…was that a rock in a bag around her neck? He shook his head, thinking how they couldn’t be more opposite.
And now we have to work together. Oh joy.
At least as boss he wouldn’t be spending too much direct time working with her. Delegation had its perks.
Del took over the tour as he had the most interaction with the day to day running of the bar and restaurant. He followed behind at a slower pace as Millie oooed and ahhhed over every little thing. Their walk in was so spacious compared to some of her other jobs. Their dishwasher was state of the art. The organization of the bar was fantastic for maximum efficiency. Each compliment had his siblings preening more and more under her barrage of compliments.
The woman was laying it on thick.
Only…
She seemed sincere. Like she was actually excited to work here. He knew they had a top-notch business, he and his siblings worked damn hard to make it so, but he’d never seen someone so…enthusiastic about a food industry job. Her sunny attitude only served to make the cloud over his head darker and he had no idea why or what the hell to do about it.
“The energy in the place is amazing,” she smiled up at BJ.
Ace felt a pang of…not jealousy. Definitely not jealousy. Annoyance, yes, that was it.
“We have put our heart and soul into this place,” his twin said with a gentle smile.
“It shows.” She took a deep breath, splaying her hands out as if she were feeling the air. “This place is filled with positive vibes.”
Charlie raised her brow. “Are you an astrology girlie, Millie?”
Millie laughed. The sound did strange things to his body. Things he ignored because this whole day was batshit and he would not read into anything.
“Not really. I could never get a handle on rising moon signs and sinking suns or whatever, but I do believe in the power of energy. Good and bad stuff is going to happen because, you know, life. But the more positive energy you put out there the more good things come to you. That’s my motto.”
A ridiculous motto. He held back an eye roll at her statement. As if you could change the shit factory that was life by just thinking happy thoughts. Ace gave up that delusion when he was a kid, along with believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.
“But I do offer readings.”
“Readings?” the question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.
She smiled over at him. A dimmer smile than the ones she’d been giving his siblings all afternoon.
“Tarot readings. Have my cards with me at all times in case you’re interested.” She patted the colorful boho bag slung over her shoulder.
A snort of derisive laughter left him. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Shocker,” she said with an eye roll.
Del and Charlie covered their mouths with their hands, but he could still hear their muffled laughter. Fucking hell this was going to be a nightmare working with her. He’d had to check the schedule every week to make sure he stayed in the back when she was on shift. A boss hiding from an employee. How the fuck was that right? If they weren’t so desperate, he’d tell her to hit the road.
But they were so here he was.
“If you do…tarot readings,” he could barely get the ridiculous words past his lips. “Why do you need this job?”
She stared at him, her smile kicking up on one corner of her lips. “One job? In this economy? I like having multiple income streams for various reasons that are my own. But I promise it won’t affect my abilities here.”
“Of course not, Millie,” Del said, a spark lighting in his eyes. “Hey, you know what. We could even have you do readings here for, like, events and stuff. You’d be compensated of course, but how cool would that be?”
Fantastic. She wasn’t even officially hired yet and Millie was filling his siblings’ heads with utter nonsense.
“Well, Millie, my brothers and I think you’d be a wonderful addition to the Jacks team if you’re interested.”
Millie smiled at Charlie. “Yes definitely.”
“Can you start tomorrow?” Del asked with a small grimace. “Because we need help asap.”
“Del.” He glared at his youngest brother. Yes, they were desperate, but they didn’t need to share that with their new hire. It was unprofessional. Made them look bad. Not that he cared how he looked to Millie. It was the principle of the thing.
“I can start today if you need.”
“Tomorrow is fine,” he grumbled, earning a sigh from his siblings and a snorted chuckle from Millie.
Charlie moved to Millie’s side and motioned to the distillery room door with her hand. “If you want to come with me to the back, I can help you fill out all the paperwork and tax forms, so you’re all set to jump right in tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Millie turned to him, placing a soft hand on his arm and gracing him with a serious expression. “I promise I’m a very hard worker, Ace. I won’t let you down, trust me.”
Then she graced him with a smile. A real one. One so bright it lit up her entire face, hell the entire room somehow. Her steel gray eyes warmed, that upturned nose wiggling slightly as she scrunched it up before giving him a wink that hit directly in the center of his gut like a sucker punch.
He stood there, too stunned to speak as she followed his sister through the swinging door to the back. He felt the presence of his brothers on either side of him as he stared at the swinging door.
“She’s going to be good for Jacks,” Del said. “I can feel it.”
“She’s a good hire,” BJ agreed. “This feels right.”
His brothers each patted him on the back before heading to the back themselves, leaving Ace standing in the middle of the empty bar, alone with his thoughts. He had no idea if Millie would be good or bad for Jacks. What he did know is his life just got a hell of a lot more complicated.