Page 24 of True Me

Chapter Thirteen

Rebel

WALKING INTO ENTICEmakes me feel on edge and as if I’m about to crawl out of my skin. Eagle, Cash, Titan, and Crow are with me as we enter the main room and my eyes open wide in disgust. The club is fucking dirty and hasn’t been cleaned while Eagle has been with me since losing my grandma. Everyone here has been taking advantage of his absence and it shows. Shaking my head, I make my way behind the bar and realize there are literally no clean glasses lined up waiting for me to use over the hours I’ll be working here. The shelves are almost completely empty as I move to the coolers where the beer is stored. Placing my hand on top of the bar, disgust fills me even more when my skin sticks to the surface. I look over my shoulder at Eagle and I can see the anger filling him as the guys and him look around the room. Eagle pulls out his phone and I know he’s about to fucking yell at everyone who works here with the exception of the men here to watch over me.

“I want everyone here. Now!” Eagle yells into his phone as I pull my hand from whatever is sticking to me and move to the small sink behind the bar that’s full of glasses, rinds from the lemons and limes, and other garbage.

Bags of garbage have been left behind the bar and I almost trip over one of them as I turn to go to the bathroom in Eagle’s office. He follows me down the hallway and unlocks his door for me as I rush to the bathroom to wash my hands. This is fucking gross!

When I’m done in the bathroom, I make my way back into Eagle’s office to find all the guys crowding the room and looking at me.

“Titan where the fuck were you when all this shit was bein’ left behind and not taken care of?” Eagle asks, his voice louder than normal as he sits in his chair and turns on the monitors that will pull up the cameras. I only know because I’m watching him from my spot just inside his office.

“I was makin’ sure everyone got the fuck outta here like I do every other fuckin’ night I work. Then I walked the girls out to their cars so no one fucked with them. One of the customers got handsy when he saw Sloan out back and I had to deal with that situation. Why don’t you fuckin’ ask Panther and Connor where the fuck they were?” Titan responds, anger in his own voice as he stares at Eagle from across the office.

“I already fuckin’ did,” Eagle states, holding his hand out for me to take before he pulls me down in his lap as we look at each monitor to ensure the cameras are working for the night. “Are you sure you wanna be here, Sweet Girl?”

“Yeah. I need to be here. There’s nothing for me to do at the clubhouse and I don’t really wanna be around the Fallen girls right now. They’re vile pieces of shit and are gonna have something to say to me because you two aren’t fucking with them anymore,” I tell him as I sink back into the warmth and safety of his body while Cash makes his way over to us and rests his hand on my shoulder.

“You can work at Fallen Ink instead, Doll. You don’t have to work the bar here,” he tries again even though we’ve had this conversation more times than I can count over the last four days.

“I know. I don’t really like being there though. Don’t get me wrong, I love being there and watching you work, but there’s not enough work to keep me busy so my mind is off of everything going on. Here, I know it’s going to be busy all night long and I won’t have time to think of anything when I’m behind the bar,” I answer him, burying my head in Eagle’s chest as the thoughts of my grandma start to fill my mind. “I better get to work. This shit needs to be cleaned up since the doors open in less than an hour now.”

“Everyone should be here soon. They’re gonna make sure this shit doesn’t happen again and that they pull their fuckin’ weight around here regardless of if I’m here or not. They should already know Titan is in charge when I’m not here and they took advantage of him bein’ busy and preoccupied at the end of the night,” Eagle says, some of his anger evaporating as he leans back in his chair and wraps his arms around me.

Pressing my lips to Eagle’s I give him a chaste kiss before getting off his lap and turning to face Cash. I give him the same chaste kiss as Eagle before leaving the office. Crow follows me from the room and sits at the bar as I make my way behind it to start gathering up the dirty dishes to put through the dishwasher in the back. As I trek back and forth with my arms full of glasses that need to be washed, I fill a bucket of water to clean the bar thoroughly before making my way back out. When I go behind the bar again, I see more people showing up and standing in front of the main stage. No one looks at me as I continue to clean and prepare the bar for when the door opens.

As I work, I feel eyes on me and know it’s that bitch from my first night here. She has a problem with me and wants the guys. I’ve seen her type more than once over the years and understand she’ll do whatever the hell she can to get her hands on Eagle and Cash. At least Eagle. Instead of giving her what she wants, I ignore the skank and continue working as I watch the rest of the guys come out from the back hallway and stand before everyone else. Panther joins the members of the club as Eagle looks at everyone.

“I don’t know what the fuck you guys think you’re doin’ when I’m not here, but this shit is not gonna fly. Titan is in charge when I can’t be here as it’s always been. This is not anythin’ new. If neither one of us are here, it’s Panther that’s in charge. We’ve all been busy with shit and haven’t been focused on here like we should have been. That doesnotgive any of you the right to fuckin’ slack off and not do your damn job! It is up to each and every single one of you to clean this club before you leave for the night. Instead, we walk in here today and the place is fuckin’ trashed.

“The bar should be stocked at the end of each night and the cooler filled with beer. Garbage should be taken out and gotten rid of. Every fuckin’ surface in this place should be wiped down and sanitized. No one’s skin should stick to a single surface in this damn place. If I ever see this shit happen again, I will fire every fuckin’ person on shift that night and hire an all new staff. Do you not realize that if the place isn’t clean, the company who comes in won’t do a fuckin’ thing here? But, we still have to pay them for comin’ out here when they didn’t need to. This is the first time I’ve had a problem with any of you pullin’ this stunt and I’m fuckin’ over it already. Oh, and you all need to be here two hours before shift tomorrow. We’re havin’ a mandatory meetin’ for more than this shit tonight. Anyone who doesn’t show up will be terminated immediately,” Eagle says, his voice the hardest I’ve ever heard it when he’s going off on someone about shit.

Right now, Eagle is a formidable force as he stands in front of everyone. His feet are spread shoulder-length apart with his arms folded over his chest. His muscles and veins are bulging with every single move he makes, causing his tan skin to ripple and his tattoos to look as if they’re moving. A scowl covers his face as he looks from one person to the next. His eyes don’t land on that skank though. He completely bypasses her as she tries to bat her lashes at him and I know she’s waiting to make her move. It’s written in her body language as she slowly moves closer to the front of the group.

“Don’t worry about her, darlin’,” Crow says, a smirk on his face as he keeps his attention on me and not what’s going on behind him. “Those skanks are a dime a dozen and mean absolutely nothin’ to the guys. Eagle knows what he has with you and isn’t about to lose you for any reason. He’s waited far too long for you. They both have.”

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