Page 17 of The Sidekick

“What?” I ask in surprise, although it makes sense. They always appear out of thin air when it’s time for their shifts or if there’s trouble. Now I know why. It isn’t a superpower at all.

“You didn’t know?” They both look a little concerned about my mental faculties.

“Sal is right. I’m oblivious to the real world,” I rub a hand over my face, exhausted with myself. No wonder no one likes me.

“You’re the only waitress that hasn’t snuck up there trying to get laid,” Max informs me gravely.

“Yeah, right,” I roll my eyes as I shrug off his arm and firmly march to the coffee pot in the break room.

I’m not surprised that the ladies like him. He’s that grumpy, brooding love interest who barely speaks and is mysterious. The fact that he’s proven he can actually talk cements it. He had me hooked before he started speaking to me, but the ego of this guy, thinking I’m some lap dog to trot upstairs for a good time. Better safe than sorry, I’m staying down here.

“You had no idea we lived upstairs?” Trevor asks suspiciously.

“No,” I start getting the pot ready for a brew, suddenly needing it more than ever. All the embarrassing things I did, thinking my boss was off the premises for the night, come back to haunt me, and I feel heat fill my cheeks. Surely, he would have said something if he knew. Here’s hoping he’s just as oblivious as I am.

“Is that why you’ve never been up for a visit?” Max asks and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

The thought sinks in, and I flounder. “You guys are seriously telling me that women just wander up there and lie in wait for you like hungry cougars?”

They both share a surprised look before breaking into laughter.

The waitresses talk about them both like they’re angels fallen from heaven. I'm sure Max rose from hell, so I know that analogy is wrong. And all of them have slept with them? One or both? What would it be like to have that kind of guts? Just demand what I want and forget the consequences?

I don’t want to be jealous, but I am. I’m not a prude, but hello, revolving door of hot ladies. They’re living their best life. Is that why all the other waitresses here are so gorgeous? How the heck did I get hired again?

“What are you thinking?” Trevor asks with a grin as I stand frozen, holding the coffee grounds. He props his hip on the table in the center of the room while he waits for my answer. He seems excited to discover my mind's mysteries for some reason.

“Just that you guys are living a fantasy life up there, and I had no idea,” I shake my head in wonder.

“A fantasy life?” Max asks with a surprised laugh.

“A nonstop parade of willing ladies?” I look at him with both eyebrows raised. “Lots of guys would kill to be in your position.”

“She never says what I expect,” Trevor smiles, and Max returns it with his own grin like they have a secret and aren’t going to let me in on it.

A knock on the door interrupts whatever Max was about to add, and I return to the coffee.

“We’ll be right back,” Trevor says as they walk away.

I’m left stewing in my thoughts. To be honest, a lot of them are uncharitable and jealousy-fueled, which embarrasses me. They’re both handsome and charming, Trevor more than surly Max. They could have anyone they want. I never got an invite upstairs. I probably never will, either. Unless it’s for coffee, apparently. Sometimes being a sidekick sucks.

I ignore the hush of voices outside the room as I fix myself a cup. It’s probably Diana and Sal, maybe Pat or Eileen. They’re the only ones I would expect to come in for this type of work. All the rest are a little more lazy and unreliable. I hate that I immediately try to insert the word Max used in my thoughts and have to brush it away. I think my mother has rolled over in her grave enough already. I don’t need help making the guilt worse.

When I step back into the main room, braced for a slew of horrifying memories, I’m halted by the present instead of the past.

Andi is here with every single person in her entourage. Boyfriends and bodyguards are all present and accounted for. Along with beautiful Diana and lovely Pat, both drooling at the sight of all the new men gathered together, looking grumpy. This smells like a setup.

“You want them gone, just say the word,” Max says from beside me. I was so stunned I never noticed him walk up.

“What are they doing here?” I quietly ask back without taking my eyes off the disaster that’s sure to happen. Heaven help those ladies if they try to make the moves on any of Andi’s boyfriends.

“They just showed up. I guess they’ve been waiting for you to come in so they could talk to you. Trevor told them he’d put them to work for the chance to talk to you. He has a lot of horrible things lined up for them.”

“Ok,” is all I can think to say as my shoulders slump down again. “I know we could use the help, but do you think he would mind letting me be somewhere away from them? This is hard enough without all of this on top of it.”

“Hey,” he turns to me with a frown. “This isn’t about needing help. This is about them earning the right to your friendship. I’ve watched you for a long time. You put everyone else before yourself, and that shit is going to stop right now. Tell me to kick them out.”

I gape at his angry tone in surprise. “I can’t do that. If Trevor told them to come in, he needs them!”

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