Chapter 9
“I’m really sorry. Business is slow right now, otherwise I’d consider taking on extra help. It’s tough out there, kid. Hope you find something,” the old guy behind the counter says, giving me a sad smile.
“Yeah, me too. Thanks anyway.” I push off the counter and head for the exit, the bell above the door ringing above my head as I step outside the hardware store.
I lean up against the outside of the building and heave a sigh wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do now.
I peer down the row of store fronts on this side of the street before looking across to the butchers, the hairdressers, the clothes store and the coffee shop.
I’ve been to every single one—minus the tattoo shop a couple of doors down from me for obvious reasons—and not one business is hiring.
I came into this with so much hope and with every place I visited this morning, that hope drained away with every rejection.
How can nobody be hiring?
There’s a few places I haven’t tried, but I think I’ve met my quota of rejection today.
I’ve been meaning to text Sofia all day, but every time I typed out a message it always came out wrong. I feel like shit with how we left things last night and I’ve barely slept from thinking about it.
I dig out my phone and begin typing, hitting send before I can change my mind.
A message pings through almost instantly.
A smile pulls at my mouth, tears of relief filling my eyes as I reply back.
She must sense my apprehension because after waiting for a few minutes with no response, those three little dots appear at the bottom of my screen, followed by a text a few seconds later.
My stomach lurches at the mention of his name, my mind returning to our less than pleasant encounter last night after the fight, and the last thing I want to do today is go for round two.
I consider it for a moment before typing back.
Only a few of the tables are occupied as I step inside, and with the bar largely empty, it gives me a chance to have a look around, something I wasn’t able to do last night.
The bare brick walls are covered with framed photos of motorcycles, posters and various other bike related memorabilia.
Naked bulbs hang down from the thick wooden beams on the ceiling, creating an atmosphere that’s warm and cosy.
The booths against the far wall are full quilted black leather, the tables solid oak.
Fi is sat at the bar on one of the high stools, swirling her straw around the glass in front of her. She looks up when I move closer, giving me a smile that settles some of the apprehension inside.
I slide onto the stool beside her. “Hey.”
“Hey, babe.” She must see something on my face because she reels me in for a hug, squeezing me tight.
I hug her back even tighter, unable to stop the tears from falling.
“I’m so sorry about yesterday, the things I said to you were awful and I’ve been up half the night thinking about it.
Killian rubbed me up the wrong way and I was angry, but that’s no excuse.
I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” I rush out, barely coming up for air.
“Babe, you’re getting snot and slobber all over my shirt.”
I snort a laugh, pulling back and wiping my tears away with my sleeve. “Sorry,” I sniff.
“It’s okay. I guess it’s payback for when I threw up all over yours at Josh Reed’s house party when we were fifteen, remember?”
“How could I forget? Couldn’t get the smell out of my nose for weeks.”
She throws her head back and laughs, and I struggle to hold back mine, her laugh has always been too infectious to resist.
“So you really don’t hate me?” I ask.
“You’re my best friend, dummy. One silly argument isn’t gonna make me love you any less.
You’re my ride or die, bitch. Always.” She leans in and plants a kiss to my cheek.
“While we’re on the subject, I’m sorry too.
I asked you to come and hang out with me and I spent most of my time with Mac. I’m a shitty friend.”
“No you’re not. You’re just in love and have a boyfriend who adores you.”
“That’s no excuse. I promise it won’t happen again. It was still a bad call to bring you here in the first place but Mac insisted.”
“He did?” That’s weird.
I go to ask her why when I’m cut short.
“Didn’t expect to see you back here so soon, sugar.” Jett beams, drying a wine glass with a cloth on the other side of the bar.
“I’m full of surprises.”
“I don’t doubt that.” He winks. “Soda?”
“Please,” I reply, stifling a yawn.
“You okay, babe? You look exhausted,” Fi asks.
“I’ve been to every store on Main Street, every cafe and diner, the library, the dog groomers, even the cemetery and nobody is hiring. I swear, if I stay in that house any longer than I have to, I’ll scream.”
“Shit, babe. Things that bad at home?”
“You’ve met my dad,” I deadpan.
That’s the only explanation she needed. “Gotcha.”
“He called me a whore.”
She slams down her drink. “He what?”
“Took one look at what I was wearing last night and said I looked like a whore, so that was the cherry on top of my already perfect evening.”
“How the fuck can he say that? You looked gorgeous! God, Your dad’s such an asshole.”
“You can say that again,” Jett comments, placing my drink down on the bar in front of me.
“You not his biggest fan either?”
“He’s had it out for us for as long as I can remember.
He hates the MC. Thinks we’re scum. Safe to say he’s not too popular around here.
” Jett rests an elbow on the bar top opposite me.
“You uh… say you’re looking for a job? Couldn’t help overhearing but I could use an extra pair of hands around here if you’re interested? ”
“I’ve never worked in a bar before.” In fact I’ve never worked anywhere before.
“Well, it just so happens that I’m an excellent teacher. Seriously, you’d be great.”
“And you’ll hire me, just like that? I have no experience.”
“You need a job, I need an extra body behind the bar to help serve drinks. One of my waitresses just quit and I don’t have time to go through all the interview shit. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
“Eva quit? What did you do to this one?” Fi asks.
“Might’ve accidentally fallen into bed with her sister. Oops.”
Fi makes a noise resembling disgust. “You asshole! I liked Eva.”
“I liked her too.”
Fi turns to me. “Go for it, babe. What other options do you have? I suppose as long as you don’t jump into bed with him, you’ll be fine.”
“No chance of that.”
He slaps his palm to his chest, stumbling back a step like I pushed him. “Oof, just tear my still beating heart out of my chest, why don’t ya?”
I bite back my smile.
“Come on,” Jett encourages.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Fi adds.
“Um, I get arrested for attempted murder when I put poison in Killian’s drink?”
“You let me handle Kill, sugar. You won’t have any more problems with him, I promise.” Jett assures me.
“Quit making excuses. Take the job,” Fi orders.
Working here would mean crossing paths with Killian Hunt on a regular basis, something I’m eager to avoid but I’m shit out of luck finding work anywhere else. And at this point in time, I can’t afford to be picky.
“Okay, fine, I’ll give it a go,” I concede.
Jett’s smile widens. “You free now? It’s early afternoon so it won’t get much busier that this, perfect opportunity for a trial run.”
“Sure, why not?”
And just like that, things are finally starting to look up.