Page 7 of The Main Event

And just like that, I was the boss.

I liked the feeling.

3

THREE

He was far too handsome. Like … criminally so. He looked like a fallen angel.

That’s all that kept going through my head as I sat on the stool next to him and did my best not to sweat through my bra.

“Um … I plan parties,” I replied, internally kicking myself for not jazzing it up. I was supposed to be proving I was invaluable. I was fairly certain my response wasn’t going to earn the accolades I was looking for.

“Daisy does way more than that,” Levi insisted as he slid a pink drink with maraschino cherries in front of me. “She’s invaluable to the bottom line here at the Hunter Hotel. Her parties are raved about. People come from Boston for them.”

Tammy snorted from the other side of Jax, but I did my best to not react. She was never going to be the president of my fan club. In fact, there were times when I was convinced she flat out loathed me. I didn’t understand why—I happened to think I was a delight—but her glares were impossible to ignore most days.

Rather than focus on Tammy, I calmly sipped my drink and focused on the problem at hand. “Planning parties isn’t as easy as you’re assuming,” I said.

“I’m not assuming anything,” Jax countered. “I’m looking for facts.” His eyes moved to my drink. The pinkness of it seemed so bright next to the white napkin Levi had handed me. “Don’t you think it’s a little early in the day for that?”

I didn’t immediately grasp what he was saying. When I did figure it out, annoyance bubbled up and grabbed me by the throat before I could tamp it down. “It’s a Shirley Temple.”

“It’s still early,” Jax insisted. “Did my grandfather allow you to drink on the job?”

“It’s grenadine and 7-Up,” Levi interjected. I could tell he was as annoyed as I felt. “The cherries are just a garnish because she loves them.”

“Idolove them,” I agreed.

“Grenadine is a sugary syrup, no alcohol, in case you’re wondering,” Levi added when Jax didn’t immediately respond.

Jax rubbed his hands over his pants, seemingly debating what he was going to say. When he spoke again, it was with no little amount of regret. “I am very sorry. I just assumed… I mean, this is a bar … um…”

“It’s fine.” I waved off his apology. “I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking these at any Sweet Sixteens we throw. The girls want to feel as if they’re drinking something exotic even though alcohol is obviously off the menu for anybody who isn’t an adult. We don’t call it a Shirley Temple, of course. That name would mean nothing to today’s kids.”

I seemingly had Jax’s attention now because he cocked his head. “What do you call it?”

“We change the name depending on the party,” I replied. “If it’s a Halloween Party, we often call it something like Witch’s Brew. If it’s a standard birthday party with no theme, we’ll go with something like Ambrosia.”

“Daisy has gone all out for the teenage parties,” Levi volunteered. We’d been best friends forever, so he was my one-man hype squad at this point. “She researched online and found this thing called luster dust. It’s shiny and you put a bit in the drinks, and it changes the color. She also got these.” He held up one of the light-up ice cubes I had to order monthly these days.

“What’s that?” Jax asked on a furrowed brow.

Levi tossed the ice cube into my drink to demonstrate. It immediately lit up and started changing colors.

“Huh.” A small smile played across Jax’s face. “That’s interesting. Those are probably expensive, though.”

“They’re not so bad,” I replied quickly. “The first time I used them they were way more expensive than was likely smart. I ordered them from Amazon. We go through a wholesaler now. A box of twelve costs us three bucks. That price is included in the package when we present it to the parents.”

“It’s kind of ingenious,” Jax mused. “Teenage girls like glittery stuff, so this all makes sense.”

I was annoyed despite my determination to be upbeat and wow my new boss. “Yes, us females are often distracted by shiny things,” I readily agreed in sarcastic fashion.

From his spot behind the bar, where he was desperately trying to keep things from careening over a cliff, Levi shot me a warning look. He wanted me to stay at the Hunter Hotel because we enjoyed working together. In truth, I didn’t want to leave. I loved my job.

My new boss left a lot to be desired, though. He might have looked like an angel, but he was acting like the devil.

“I didn’t mean anything derogatory,” Jax assured me. “I was just … thinking out loud.” He sipped his iced tea before opening the folder Tammy had given him as I sat down. “You make pretty good money, but it says here you basically only work weekends.”

---