Page 28 of Unforgettable

I knew it wasn’t the answer they were expecting, and they both looked at me like I’d kicked a puppy. It was almost enough to make me reconsider. Almost.

“You both have obviously come to terms with all of this, but I need a… a little more time to think about it.”

“We understand,” Reed said quietly.

“We’ll wait. We’ve waited this long,” Josh added.

They were both so dejected but attempted small smiles like they weren’t upset about my initial denial. And it was on the tip of my tongue to change my mind until a fuming Adam busted through the door, letting it slam closed behind him.

“Hey, what the hell happened?” I called after him. He hesitated in the hallway that led back toward his bedroom and bathroom. He tugged off the black beanie and scrubbed a frustrated hand through his messy hair.

“I didn’t get the job,” he said through clenched teeth as he finally turned around.

“Well, that happens sometimes.”

He scoffed and shook his head at me. “No, I was supposed to get the job. My buddy said I had the job and that the interview was just protocol. Turns out the job he told me about wasn’t an option since I have no previous experience in a shop. They ended up offering me some shitty job cleaning up around the place for twelve an hour. I told them to shove it.”

I groaned and felt my stomach flip. “But it was a job. It’s more than you have now, and you could have had money coming in while you looked for something that was a better fit.”

“I’m worth more than that, Amanda. I’m not going to sell myself short. Are you telling me I should be working for twelve dollars an hour? I know I’m not fancy like you and have a college degree, but I deserve more than that.”

“Adam, I didn’t mean—”

“Look, I will find a job, okay? You can get off my back.” His tone became more defensive, and I knew we were edging close to full-blown argument territory. I backed off, holding up my hands in surrender because I knew it had been a hard few days for him. His entire life had been uprooted.

Reed stepped around the island and slid onto the barstool to my right as Josh leaned against the counter on my other side, casually crossing his arms over his chest. Their eyes bounced from me to my brother, likely waiting for one of us to say something else, but I was done talking if it was going to cause Adam to blow up.

“You could come work for me.” It was Josh that spoke up out of nowhere.

“What?” both Adam and I said in unison.

“Yeah, I mean, it would only be part time, but I need a barback to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights. I could pay you about twelve an hour plus tips. It would also give you the option to eventually become a bartender if you wanted to.”

My mouth agape, I looked from Josh, who had his eyes trained on Adam, to my brother, who appeared to be contemplating the offer.

“You could also work for me,” Reed spoke up from my other side. “I need a front desk guy to check people in and register new members. You’d also answer the phones, but it’s not that bad of a job. You also get free access to the gym when you’re off the clock. It’d be part time, too, just from eight in the morning until two p.m. on the weekdays. But I could do fifteen an hour.”

My head swiveled back and forth between the two men, completely stunned by their sudden offers.

“You’re both serious?” I asked, and they both nodded with straight faces. So, I turned back to Adam. “What do you think?”

“I guess that would work for now. I’m not promising that it’ll be forever, though. Sorry, but I don’t want to work in a gym or a bar for the rest of my life.”

Josh laughed. “Wasn’t my plan either, but hey, I run the place now, so it’s not all bad. I’ll text you and we can figure out a time to start training.”

“That works for me.” Adam looked at Reed.

“Same here. I need to look at the schedule.”

Adam nodded and turned to leave but hesitated, glancing back over his shoulders. “Thanks, guys.”

“Yeah, man.”

“Of course.”

Once I heard the click of the bathroom door and the water turn on in the shower, I looked back and forth at the guys. “Where the hell did that come from? You both have open positions?”

They shrugged, which wasn’t enough of an answer for me. “No, seriously, don’t do any favors for me or him. If you don’t have an opening, then he will find something else. He’s also not the easiest nor the best employee. And offering him jobs isn’t going to further ingratiate yourselves with me—it’s not going to sway me or make me say yes to your dates.”

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