Page 6 of Challenged by the Single Dad

Instantly, his demeanor shifted. It was like someone had just told him his dog died and Chloe was the one who ran it over. “Just a sec,” he grumbled before heading back to the kitchen through a swinging door.

Chloe swallowed and glanced around the restaurant dining room. It was modern, but also homey. High vaulted ceilings made the place feel bigger than it really was, but the exposed beams of dark wood added to the rustic, almost masculine feeling she was sure they were going for. The floor was hardwood and in good condition, if not a little scratched up. They had several booths, but also lots of tables of varying sizes. Everything was wood. There was even a beautiful patio with a gorgeous water view. The tables had umbrellas and there were a few large, free-standing heaters scattered around so people could still dine outside even in the cooler weather.

The door swung back open and Man Bun, plus another guy, stepped out. The second guy wore a black chef’s coat and had on a black apron. His smile was big and genuine. “Hi. Chloe?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

The front door behind her opened and another man that was taller than the other two and with a big, well-taken care of beard, stepped in. He wore glasses and had broad shoulders and thick thighs. He flashed her a carefree smile and stuck out his hand. “Hi. I’m Jagger.”

“And I’m Wyatt,” said the chef. “This here is Dom. We’re three of the five owners of the restaurant and we’ll be conducting your interview.”

Jesus. If being interviewed wasn’t nerve-wracking enough, now she had to sit across from three of the most handsome men she’d ever laid eyes on?

“Renée?” Wyatt called over to one of the servers who was busy rolling cutlery and napkins at the far end of the bar. “Do you mind manning the bar for Dom while we conduct an interview?”

The young woman smiled. “Totally.” She hopped down off her stool and stepped behind the bar just as a customer approached and asked for another pint.

“I can get that,” Dom said.

“No,” Wyatt said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Let Renée do it.”

Dom growled.

“We’ll go over to this booth in the corner so we’re not distracted or overheard,” Wyatt said, holding out his arm to direct them where to go.

She took a seat, and the three men slid in on the other side facing her.

Jagger had her résumé printed out and in his hand. He glanced down at it on the table. “Very impressive résumé. A lot of bartending and serving experience.”

She smiled and nodded. “I started serving in high school. Then did that and bartending all through college.”

“And it says here you attended college at the University of North Dakota?” Wyatt asked, glancing at her résumé. “And received a degree in teaching?”

Chloe nodded some more. “Yes. I have both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education.”

“So why the hell do you want to be a bartender?” Dom said, his tone dripping with irritation. “Why not go and teach? Do what you are educated to do. We have a teacher shortage in this country.”

Wyatt and Jagger both shot Dom pissed off looks.

Chloe’s cheeks got hot. “I, uh … I did teach for a while. For a long time, actually. But I had some bigeventshappen in my life, and I wasn’t able to be there fully for my students. So it was in everyone’s best interest for me to step away from teaching.”

“I’m sorry,” Wyatt said. “For whatever you went through. And that was … very brave of you to realize you couldn’t be there for your students the way you wanted to and to step away. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t,” Chloe croaked out.

“There is a fairly significant time gap on your résumé though,” Jagger pointed out. “Basically, from when you stopped teaching until now. Any particular reason?”

She should have expected questions like this, but could she really have prepared herself? Maybe emotionally. But even then, it still would have hit her heart like a freight train the way it was now.

“I have been a bit of a nomad,” she finally said. “Traveling the country, working odd jobs here and there. I was in my camper van for a while, just camping and picking fruit on farms, or casual under-the-table labor jobs. But my van was sandwiched between two trucks a few weeks ago when one of those trucks didn’t put their e-brake on while parked on a steep hill in San Francisco, and now my van is no more.”

“Shit,” Jagger murmured. “That sucks.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, none of those places were really worth mentioning. I bartended some weddings and other events, in addition to picking fruit in Yakima and Ojai. I picked grapes in Napa for a few weeks and did some casual cleaning shifts at an old folk’s home in Bolder.” She leaned forward and pointed to the long list of names and numbers on the bottom of the résumé. “Those are all the people I’ve worked short-term for. They’ll all say the same thing. That I’m a great employee.” Her gaze drifted to Dom who looked thoroughly unimpressed. “I don’t have a criminal record or any outstanding warrants.”

“And you’re not going to bail on us in two weeks … why?” Dom asked. “You’ve said so yourself, that’s your MO. That’s what you do. Why should we hire you and train you, just to lose you in two weeks?”

She’d been anticipating this question. “I’m tired of being on the move. I want to set down some roots. Even if they’re shallow ones to start.”

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