Page 5 of One Last Wish

“With Richard leaving this week and Mary still being on probation, I’ll need to recruit another member of staff. I’m not sure if you’ll get anyone other than Theo that will work the midnight shift, though. I can add a little more for a night rate, but not much.”

“That’s fine. Theo and I should be able to run it. If it goes well, we can plan the rest from there. I’ll have a look at some popular releases and work out a date to host our first one.”

“If this event goes well, Alora, I’ll speak to the head office about a promotion for you. You really do have some good leadership skills.” And that would cement me to this place forever.Ground, swallow me up now, please.

“Thank you, Malcolm.” My boss was a similar age to my father. Sometimes when I looked at him, I wondered what my dad would have looked like now. Maybe he’d have a bit of a receding hairline like Malcolm. My dad probably wouldn't have quite the belly my boss had, though.

I’d have to pay a visit to his grave at some point. It had been a while. He was out in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Maybe I’d do it on one of my days off in a few weeks.

“Alora, some of the new books are damaged.” Daisy snapped me from my thoughts, standing with her hands on her hips.

“Okay, you take over the till. I’ll go and take a look.” This really should have been Malcolm’s job, but he left me to do a lot of things these days. I already acted like his assistant manager and he knew it!

It was nice being out back. I took my time sorting out the damaged books, repacking them, ready to send back to the publisher.

Images from my dream last night flashed through my mind as I picked a few empty boxes up. Had I really been screaming? I found it difficult to believe, but I did remember a moment in that dream where I’d been paralyzed, too scared to move. Had I screamed then?

My hand began to tingle. Gazing down at it, I froze.What the fuck?It seemed to have a dull glow surrounding it. I looked around, confused. Maybe the light in here was reflecting off it? Shaking my hand, I looked back down. My skin was now the same ice white colour it had always been. Maybe I needed glasses. My eyes had always been a little sensitive to light.

Crap, I really hoped I wasn’t going crazy!

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“DOWN ALL THOSE SHOTS!” Evelyn ordered. “If you can stand after those, you win!”

We’d been in Clover Bar for hours, slowly getting drunk. She’d come straight from work, like I had after I’d changed my work top. Manhattan had some of the best, low-key bars. Clover Bar was a favourite of ours, with its Irish pub charm. We had planned to go to a nightclub down the road, but we were too drunk for that now.

I downed my last shot, slammed it onto the bar, and stood holding my arms up in the air in victory.

“Where do you put it all...a small thing like you?” the barman behind the counter asked, smirking. “How are you getting home inthatstate? I don’t mind walking you back, if you wait until my shift is over. It finishes in an hour.” He’d been flirting with me all evening. The guy had tattoos, but didn’t seem enough of a bad boy for me.

“Oh, you don’t stand a chance. She’s been dreaming of her own Shadow Daddy forweeks!” Evelyn slurred, draping her arm over my shoulder. “I’ll get her home safe, anyway.” I wasn’t sure Evelyn knew where home was.

“Can I at least get your number?” he pleaded, leaning against the bar. The guy was dark, tall and stocky, but he didn’t do it for me.

“Not tonight.” Pushing off the bar, I grabbed Evelyn’s hand. “Let’s dance.” The dance floor was small, but it didn’t matter as we swayed to the music. It was difficult not to notice all the men checking Evelyn out. We rubbed up and down each other. In this state, you’d think we were best friends. It was all an act, though. The alcohol made us feel closer than we actually were.

A guy tried to grab her around the hips, but I pulled her out of his reach. “Come on, sexy!” The drunk asshole shouted as I moved us away from him. We were young enough to be his daughters!

“I love your hair!” Another guy wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest, taking a strand of my hair between his fingers. “I don’t see many young women going for this colour. Isn’t it a bitoldfor you?” When I elbowed him hard in the chest, he released me.

“That’s hernaturalcolour, asshole! Her eyebrows may be dark, but she doesn’t dye her hair.” Evelyn hiccupped. “Don’t you knowanything?” Wow! She was drunker than me. I don’t think she even knew where we were. Why was she talking about my eyebrows, though?

“Oh, come on, baby. Don’t play hard to get,” Mr. Grabby purred, eye fucking me.Yuck!“I don’t care what colour your hair is. That’s not what I’m interested in.”

“A word of advice! Don’t grab a woman thatisn’tinterested, and I’m not your fuckingbaby!” I seethed, pushing at his chest. I may have been a small thing, but I had some strength behind me. He wobbled a little before almost stumbling backwards. I’d had enough of this shit. Evelyn and I needed to head home. The dickhead was still calling us as I dragged Evelyn away.

The cold air on my face felt good after the stuffiness in the bar. Evelyn was wandering all over the place, stumbling as she tried to walk. I had to admit, once the night air hit me outside, I realised I was a little tipsy myself. I might have had one shot too many.

“Let’s head back over the bridge,” I commented to Evelyn, who was trying to chat up a guy waiting for a hotdog. It was past midnight now, and was fairly quiet for Manhattan.

“But I want a hotdog!” she pouted, resting her head on the guy's shoulder. “You’ll buy me one, right?”

“You can have whatever you want, beautiful,” he chuckled.

“Evelyn! You don’t even know him! Come on,” I sighed, pulling her away from the random guy. He wasn’t even her type! She’d thank me for that save in the morning.

“Yo...Y...You are no fuuunnn!” she slurred as I led her towards the bridge. “Let me at least get his number!” She fumbled around, trying to find her phone in her bag.

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