Page 8 of Accidental Proposal

“That was an excellent answer.”

“I think I know what he offered you, since you’re dressed the way you are,” Garrett said, looking over at me briefly then back at the road. We were getting closer to the club.

“Hey! I am not what you think I am. I’m a bartender at the club.” He was quiet for a few minutes.

“Oh, that explains why you are so different than the other rich girls I’ve had to drive around.”

“Other rich girls?”

“Yeah. I thought you were some daddy’s girl who got everything she wanted. I was wrong.” He shrugged.

“Well, thanks I guess,” I said, getting where he was coming from. To anyone else, I probably looked like I was a spoiled rich kid having a driver and such a big house. Little did everyone know that I was actually the poor-no-house kid.

“We’re here,” he said suddenly and pulled to a stop in front of the club. I rolled my eyes at him but smiled. We would get along just fine. He started unbuckling his seatbelt to come and open my door, but I put my hand over his to stop him.

“I can get my own door.”

“What time do you get off?” Garrett asked. I hesitated, not wanting to make him take me home so late.

“I get off at one. If it’s too late for you, I can just get a cab.” I was silently hoping it wouldn’t be a big deal, since I didn’t even know the address to Liam’s house.

“No, it’s not a big deal. I’ll be right here at one,” he said with a smile. With a “thank you” and a smile, I opened the door and stepped outside. With a wave to Garrett, I headed to the employee entrance. I knocked on the door three times, and it opened up to Tom standing there once again.

“Hey, Tom,” I said, setting my bag on a hook.

“Hey, Jenna. Who did you wave to in that black car that dropped you off?” Tom asked, shutting the door.

“It was a friend,” I said, which wasn’t too big of a lie. “How long are you working?”

“Until eleven. I got a girl at home who needs some attention,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Eww, that’s disgusting,” I said, scrunching up my nose. “Since I probably won’t be seeing you before you get off, I wanted to tell you something,” I said. I knew I just had to get this over with, quick like a Band-Aid. “Today is my last day.”

I watched as his expression morphed into confusion.

“Why? You’re not running off with some boyfriend, are you?”

“No, I’m not.” I held back my laughter. “I’m actually going to go back home and…go to school,” I lied. I knew I shouldn’t have done that, and I hated that I had to. I just knew that if Tom knew about me and Liam’s deal, he wouldn’t be happy with me. Plus, he didn’t know that I didn’t have any parents or that I lived in New York by myself.

“Really? Good for you, kid!” He grinned at me as he walked over to hug me. “Be good, okay? Don’t cause your parents too much trouble, and don’t get in trouble at college. You’re there to learn,” Tom said sternly, pulling away and wagging his finger at me. I rolled my eyes.

“I will,Dad. Thank you, Tom, for everything you’ve done for me while I’ve been here. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Jenna. If you’re ever back in New York, come by and say hi. I know Kendra would love to see ya.”

“I will. Bye, Tommy.” Before I could start crying, I hugged his big frame one last time before I left to go to work.This is going to be a long night.

Unfortunately, it was. From the moment I walked to the bar, I was swarmed with people yelling me their drink orders. The club was packed tonight, even though it was only Thursday. When the girls did their thing at the top of the hour, we still had people lining up for drinks. Although we were busy, time didn’t seem to go by faster. Instead, it seemed to go slower. The clock was slowly inching its way to ten when finally people stopped coming up to the counter and us bartenders got a brief break. I knew Candy was off at eleven, so now was the best time to tell her. I was going to really miss working with her, because she seemed to get me. We both had been through hard times, totally different things, but it still brought us closer.

“Hey, Candy, can I talk to you for a moment?” I called over to her. She was on the other side of the bar, sent me a nod, and worked her way over to where I was in the corner, where I knew no one could hear us.

“What’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you tonight is my last night. I know it’s so sudden, and I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t need to.” I stood there, waiting for her to blow up almost like Sophia had, but instead I saw her nod.

“You have to do what you have to do,” she said, patting my arm.Wait? What was that?

“Wait. You’re not mad at me or going to yell at me about why I’m leaving?” I was not expecting this reaction at all.

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