Page 24 of Instinct & New Identity

God, this guy was brilliant.Iwas really happy we’d brought him on to join us.

I sawValget up from the other half of the table and walk over to where the guys were, and she stopped in front ofWade.

“Wade, right?” she asked a little timidly, which did not fit the womanIhad gotten to know the last two days, so my ears perked up.

“That’s right,” he replied.

“Ellie told me you own this place and also that you might be looking for another server and well,I’mactually looking for a job, soIwas curious how much experience someone might need for the job you need to fill?” she asked, talking rapidly with a hint of nerves but standing tall, nonetheless.

“Val, why don’t you get settled in more first,”Catwhispered loudly over the table.

“Because this will help me get settled by learning the area, getting to know people who live here, and also for once earning a paycheck soIcan help contribute,” she snapped back at her sister, her irritation starting to grow.Sheheld up her hand, clearly seeing that her sister was about to interrupt, before speaking again. “No,Cat,Iknow what you’re going to say.Thisplace is as safe asI’mgoing to get.Vinceand the guys will be right next door, and likely you too, sinceVinceseems so hell-bent on having you work in that building.Plus,ElliesaidWadestill works in here from time to time, so that helps too.”

“I don’t have trouble following me anymore, butIused to,”Ellieinterrupted. “Butbecause of that trouble,Wadeinstalled a whole bunch of cameras in here to cover all areas, and he also works out of the back office wheneverI’mon shift.”

Ellie was right.Afew months ago, her abusive ex had kidnapped her from right here at the pub, and almost killed her.Withoutthe extra cameras installed, we may not have found her in time.Sincethen,AxelandDiegoinstalled extra cameras, motion-sensing lights, and locks in several locations around the building.

“Plus,Tammyis here, and she is a freaking badass in her own right, so you would be totally safe here,”Ellieadded, and again, she was right.Tammywas one of the main bartenders here, and formerArmy, so she could handle just about any trouble that walked in here.

Val, smiling and dismissing her sister, turned back toWadewith more grit in her voice.

“So,Wade, about that job?”

Wade smiled back and told her to follow him to his office to get an application.Valwas practically shrieking and giggling the whole way.

I turned toCatand saw her nervous gaze followingValto the back of the restaurant.

“Cat,”Icalled to get her attention, and her attention shifted to me. “Youokay?”

She sighed. “Ithonestly probably is one of the safer jobs for her to have, butIalso don’t understand why she has to rush into it so quickly.”

“Has she ever had a job before?”Iasked, curious now.

“I hired her on at my company so she has an employment record, but no,”Catexplained. “TheMarshalswouldn’t let us get jobs initially for safety reasons.Then, asIwas going to college online,Ialso started up my business.SinceIbarely had any clients in the beginning,Iwas able to do both.Bythe timeIgraduated,Ihad a steady influx of clients.IhiredValon as my assistant while she started going to online school, too, but she’s always wanted to work in a job around other people.She’sa way bigger extrovert thanIam.”Catsmiled sadly andIknew she felt guilty thatValhad never really had the opportunity to make a lot of friends.

“If you work out of the office with me,Ican pull up any of the pub cameras on my computer if you want to check on her,”Ruthieoffered, andCat’sface relaxed a bit.

“Thanks.Thatmight help a little, butIdon’t want you doing that too much when you have better things to do.Ijust have to stop being so protective and let her get the job,”Catreplied.

“Oh, it’s no hassle.Iusually pull them up once or twice a day anyway to look at the male eye candy that comes into the pub,”Ruthiesaid with a grin. “Beingthis close to the military base, you get a lot of really good men to look at.”

“I can confirm that is very true.”Ellielaughed, andRuthiewinked atCat, eliciting a genuine smile.

I heard growling next to me and turned to seeJack’sface in a scowl as he glared atRuthie.Wadementioned to me a few weeks ago he thoughtEllie’sbrother might have the hots forRuthie, but she seemed to be either in denial or completely uninterested.Ihadn’t thought much about it until now, butWadenever missed a thing.Itwas part of what had made him such a good sergeant and leader while we were overseas.

Val andWadecame back to the table, ordered our meals, and enjoyed some banter amongst everyone.Afterwe finished eating, the guys andRuthieheaded back to the office next door andEllieheaded to the grocery store before her shift at the pub that night.WadetoldValhe would process her paperwork and have her shadow the lunch shift either tomorrow or the day after.Cat’sexpression was muted, butVallooked ecstatic.

“Alright, ladies.Let’shead over to theRangerShieldSecuritypart of the building, shall we?”Igot up from my seat and had them follow me.

As we walked out the front door of theWateringHole, we headed to the other side of the building, where the separate entrance for bothRangerShieldSecurityand the apartments were located.Whenyou first walked inside, there was a small entryway lobby with a small main hallway going forward to an elevator and our main office to the security business was to the left.

We walked left to the glass door withRangerShieldSecurityimprinted on the wall beside the door.Insidethis space was what we used as the front office and reception space.Itwasn’t a large area, but it had a nice-sized receptionist desk whereRuthiesat and a few chairs off to the side for people to wait.BehindRuthie’sdesk there were two small conference rooms where we could meet with clients in person.Wewalked in and checked in withRuthie.

“HeyRuthie, both offices empty right now?”Iasked her just to confirm.Whenwe weren’t using them, the doors stayed open, and they both were.

“Hey, guys.”Ruthielooked up from her computer. “Yeah, they’re both free if you wanna take a look inside.”

I walked over and showedCatthe space, letting her look around and check it out to see if it would work for her.

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