Page 43 of Bought For Us

“Two of them happen to be a restaurant and a club. And we just so happen to be hiring at both.”

“Really?” I ask. “You're not just making up some job to give me, are you?” I raise a brow.

“And risk you chewing my head off like last night?” Zack scoffs light heartedly. “Never.”

“So, take your pick. What one would you like?” Kimmy asks.

I just left a job of surviving a bunch of creepy men who didn’t know how to keep their hands to themselves. If I went with bartending, I’d have to deal with drunk people, but I’d have a barrier between us.

“Both pay really well. None of that minimum wage bullshit.” Zack says. “I believe in paying my people good money. Both are high-end classy places.”

“I mean, that wasn’t something I was worried about, but good to know.” I smile. “I’d love to try my hand at bartending again.”

Zack nods. “Job’s yours. And if you ever need a night off or to call in sick, I know your boss would be okay with that.” He winks.

And then it sinks in. I’m working for Zack. I’m living with my boss. And his wife. Who I used to be in love with. And still might have strong feelings for.

This ought to be interesting.

Chapter 15

Cora

Today is my first day working at Zack’s club. Or I should say night. I wanted to start immediately the next day. Why sit around and wait?

But, they both insisted since a lot has happened in the past week with me moving here and the auction. They wanted me to take a week to settle in before jumping into something new.

A whole week sitting on my ass while they worked sounded like a horrible idea. Too much time on my hands to over think. And I knew I would.

So, I agreed to a few days and I’d start Wednesday night.

The past few days haven’t been too bad. I’ve been mostly dealing with the banks, finding out what cards needed to be paid off first. The bank's financial adviser said it was best to pay my outstanding debt first, and worry about my father’s later so I can start building back my credit. Not sure how many years it’s going to take me, though. I can’t finance a house or car, evenif I wanted to.

Eventually, I’ll get a car, save up to buy it outright. One less thing to worry about.

It took a huge weight off my shoulders getting all the paperwork showing I was clear. That all the damage he did to me has been taken care of. But it doesn’t fix the scars he left behind.

That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting work, saving up and paying the rest off. It’s going to take a few years, but if I really work hard, I should be able to do it. I’ve already set up with the bank to take most of my checks straight to paying things off.

“You look cute,” Kimmy says as I stand, looking at myself in the body length mirror.

“Are you sure?” I ask, running my hands down my body. I’ve never felt so formal before. Yes, my past uniforms have been black, but I just bought things from Walmart. These are a Kimmy original.

“Yes,” she says, stepping into the room. My eyes meet hers in the mirror and my belly flutters. We’ve been practically inseparable whenever she’s home. She’s been coming into my room, crawling in my bed where we will spend hours talking, laughing and it’s been like a dream. A dream I never want to wake up from.

But it’s also left me with conflicting feelings. She’s trying to be my friend, and here I am falling hard and fast for her again.

Am I that starved for love that I’ve made myself feel something so strong for the two of them in under a week. Am I thinking too much into it? Are these feelings even real or is it my mind making things up.

“Cora?”

My eyes blink, Kimmy’s face coming back into focus and I realize I zoned out. “Sorry.” My cheeks flush.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I smile and nod. “Just in my own head. Nerves I guess. I’ve never worked at a high-end place before and these clothes.” I look down.

“You don’t like them?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.

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