Page 23 of The Hideout

“No, I’m not trying to pry.” Juliet suddenly seemed flustered, and now Paige was beginning to realise that she had been asking her out on a date. Holy fuck. In what world could that possibly happen? “You know, never mind. F-forget I asked.” She backed away, holding up a hand. “I’ll be in the office if you need anything.”

“Juliet—”

The buzzer on the main door interrupted whatever the hell Paige was planning to say. But that could only be a good thing since she had no idea what she wanted to say. Juliet turned, giving Paige the perfect opportunity to admire her boss. She wore black, high-waisted fitted pants, a white sleeveless blouse tucked into them, and impressive heels. Paige shuddered. This woman couldn’t have possibly asked Paige to go for ‘a drink’.

“It’s the new server.” Juliet, her cheeks bright red, turned back to Paige and then eyed the stairwell. “Let’s hope she’s a good fit.”

“Yeah.” Paige cleared her throat and got down from her stool. She stood against the bar, smiling when a woman a little younger than her walked through the door.

“Hi. It’s Cara, yes?”

Cara took Juliet’s hand, her eyes drifting over Juliet before she’d opened her mouth to confirm who she was. “That’s me. I’m so excited to be here. This place is fab.”

“Thanks. I’ll take you through to the office in a moment.”

Paige watched Cara as she placed a hand on Juliet’s shoulder. Could this woman be any more of an arse-licker? Ugh. “Sure. Lead the way.”

“Well, first, this is my incredible mixologist,” Juliet said, turning her attention to Paige. But Paige just lifted a hand and smiled. “Paige, this is Cara.”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you.”

“Mixologist? Isn’t that just a fancy name for ‘I can make a cocktail look cool’?” Cara shoved her hands in her pockets, giving off that cocky air Paige hated.

Paige pushed off the bar, laughing. “Sure. Usually said by people who can’t make a decent cocktail.” She winked, passing Cara by, and headed for the storeroom. “I’ll be out here checking on the stock if you need me, Juliet.”

Not willing to entertain someone who liked to make smart arse comments during a first meeting, Paige puffed out her cheeks and forced the heavy metal door open. Not only had Cara tried to diminish Paige’s job role here, Paige had also fucked up and turned down Juliet.

Well, today is just one huge balls up!

* * *

Juliet inconspicuously watched Paige interact with Cara, her shoulders tense as Cara moved things around behind the bar. If this working relationship was going to cause issues, Juliet might have to reconsider one of their positions. It wouldn’t be Paige who she pulled to one side, not in a million years, but she had to give Cara a chance. Still, Juliet was fairly confident Paige could handle herself behind the bar. She wasn’t one of the best for no reason. She also had to admit she found it highly arousing watching Paige take control of her space. Because that’s exactly what it was. Paige’s space. For a long time to come, hopefully.

Paige turned her watch towards herself, saying something to Cara as she threw a thumb over her shoulder. She caught Juliet’s attention from the other side of the bar, leaning over as Juliet suddenly focused on the paperwork and iPad on the table. Almost caught! “You want coffee?”

“If you’re making some, I’d love one.”

“Usual espresso, or?”

Juliet beamed a smile. “Espresso would be great.”

Paige nodded, turning her back on Juliet. She’d expected the atmosphere to be a little unsettled this evening, but it didn’t appear to be. Yes, Paige seemed on edge about Cara and what she was doing to her pristine bar setup, but between her and Juliet, things were calm.

When Juliet had asked Paige out for a drink earlier, she hadn’t exactly expected her to agree. But in that moment, when Juliet had realised Paige wasn’t into her in any way at all, she hadn’t quite known what to do with herself. Being with Rachel was casual. It felt like nothing more than some friends having fun. But when she was alone with Paige, Juliet felt entirely different. She could picture them having dinner together, talking about future plans. She thought about Paige’s enthusiasm in terms of being here and wanting to involve herself in ideas for the bar. Paige felt real. She felt genuine. She was interesting and intelligent, and they had things in common.

But the only thing tonight had shown Juliet was that while she was more than happy flirting in bars and whatnot, it appeared she had no idea how to ask a woman out on a date.

Would it always be so hard?

Paige rounded the counter with two espresso cups, placing one down on the table in front of Juliet. “I’m going to take my break now while it’s quiet. I’ll only be five minutes.”

“Five minutes isn’t a break, Paige. Five minutes is barely enough time to use the bathroom and breathe.” Juliet looked at Paige over the rim of her reading glasses.

“Five minutes is all I need. I’m going to take this outside if that’s okay? Could do with a bit of fresh air.”

Juliet nodded. “Sure. I was going to ask if you’d like to sit here with me but of course. You do what you need to do.”

Paige chewed the corner of her lip, hesitating between the couch and the exit.

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