Page 30 of The Afterthought

"I am a bit disappointed. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes. I need to have some type of respect from the other people here. I can't have them thinking I only got the job because I slept with the boss."

"But that's exactly why you got the job." He throws the glass back, downing the last of the drink and setting it down on the desk in front of him.

“Not funny,” I state.

He throws his hands up in defense. “If it makes you feel better, I’ve slept with most of the women who work for me.”

That definitely does not make me feel better, but I really need a job that provides a reliable source of money right now—for Chloe. He stands up slowly and walks over to me. His hand comes up, and the back of his finger trails across my skin from my ear down to my chin. He keeps moving it down to my chest, and I reach up to push his hand away.

"I mean it, Alec. It’s not happening again."

"Very well." He admits defeat and goes back to his chair.

"When can you start? Bruce has been working behind the bar, but he's terrible and has a tough time keeping his opinions to himself."

"I can start as soon as today if you want."

"Great. I'll show you around, and you can get comfortable behind the bar. I'll let you shadow Bruce for the rest of his shift, and then you can dive in from there. You have bartending experience, right? I don't have to worry about you mixing weird shit?"

"Yes, I have experience. I'll manage just fine." It's not a lie. I've worked in a bar a time or two when the jobs were slow coming in. It was always a quick way to make money under the table. There's always a bar somewhere looking to hire a pretty face.

"Great. Let's get this tour done. I actually have somewhere I need to be." He stands and leaves the room. I make a point to purposely leave my glass of vodka on his very nice wooden desk. I hope it leaves a ring in its wake, asshole.

We walk back out to the main room, and he points over to the two different stages and tells me briefly about them. I nod, taking it all in. When he turns to go toward the roped-off area, the man standing next to it pulls the rope aside to let us pass.

"These are our VIP rooms. You should never need to come back here for anything. If someone from back here needs a drink, one of the girls who works in these rooms will grab it from you at the bar."

"Got it."

I take in all the rooms we walk past—six in total, three on each side of the hallway. One of the doors is closed, so I only get a good look at five of them, and they are all the same: a pole, a couch, some cheap lighting, and a small table to place drinks on.

When we exit the VIP section, he brings me to the bar and introduces me to Bruce. I eagerly dive into each task he asks of me while Alec stands there watching. Once Bruce is convinced I know what I'm doing, he nods over to Alec.

Alec smiles. "Great. Now that you’re all set, I'll be on my way."

He turns without saying another word, leaving the club. I wasn't expecting to have to work today, so I pull out my phone to send a quick text to Chloe, letting her know that I won't be home until late and that there are leftovers in the fridge that she can eat for dinner. She texts me back with another one of her smart-ass remarks about how gross my food is, and for a brief moment, it seems like everything might actually fall into place. Maybe.

Chapter 15

Greyson

Igo back to her house, but she's not there. Chloe will be home from school soon, so Ava has to come home at some point, right? I decide to sit outside, parked across the street from her house, until she does.

Time passes, and nobody shows up. I begin to get more and more frustrated. Where the hell could she possibly be? She doesn’t have a job, and she’s only been in town a short while. Her only friend is Wrenly. I know the two of them aren’t together right now because she's with Kai.

When Chloe comes home from school and makes her way into the house alone, I decide enough is enough. I march right up to the front door. Her sister has to know where she is. I just need to have a conversation with her so that we can figure out how to make this work.

She says she hates me but hate and love aren't really that different. Both inspire passion. Both require you to think of that person often. My little shadow says she hates me, but I’ll just have to remind her exactly why that’s not true at all.

I politely knock on the door and wait for Chloe to answer. When it swings open, I can tell I’m not who she expected.

“Is your sister home?” I ask.

"No," she says.

"Do you know when she's going to be home?"

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