Page 60 of Ewan

“Whiskey neat, and ice cold water.”

I spend a second putting his order in, my smile tattered like an old garment that has seen better days, yet I tilt my chin up in the end, holding my ground.

“That would be all?” I ask, his eyes moving over me and taking me in with renewed interest.

All of me.

My eyes, my lips, my cheekbones, and my red lipstick. My bouncy hair and my face, overall.

He likes what he sees, my instinct tells me, although he looks like someone who would like to kill me just about now.

Maybe only metaphorically, but still, that’s what I get from him.

“Perfect,” I say, moving my eyes away from him and talking to the entire table. “Your drinks are on the way,” I say, and I’m not joking.

Most of the time it takes five minutes for the order to arrive.

Wearing my fake grin with unwavering pride, I turn around before my face swiftly collapses.

My smile vanishes, my gaze tipped down as a thought spins in my head.

Aside from everything experienced at his table, a few other things have caught my eye, like the tattoos on these men and their rugged faces, which are perfect for some mugshots.

I have no idea what business he is in, but a shudder sweeps through me as I move away from him and them as fast as I can.

14

SCARLETT

“Not so fast,”our boss says from behind the bar. “Take this to the VIP table,” she instructs, and my stomach drops when I notice Ewan’s drink amongst the ones on the tray. “Now,” she barks as I hesitate.

I pick up the tray and stroll across the room, swaying my hips and thrusting my chest out. My heart races, and my arm hurts when I reach the table and set the drinks down.

His water and whiskey are next, and I tip my eyes down as I set everything in front of him, planning to move away as quickly as I can when he cuffs my wrist.

I jerk my eyes to him.

“Sir?” I say quietly, no one paying attention to us.

His eyes lock mine.

“Meet me at the bar in five minutes,” he says silently as well.

I lean closer to him.

“I can’t do that. I’m working.”

“No one will stop you from talking to me.”

“I still can’t. I’m sorry.”

With that, I straighten my back, my heart jumping up and down in my chest.

I spin around and glide away as if I’m chased by monsters. Having him so close to me, disrupting the chemical bonds in my body, is one thing, but messing with me at work is a whole other thing and a reason for concern.

Sammy wouldn’t vouch for me again, and our boss would replace me in a bit and send me home if anything bad happened.

Even if things ended up all right, they still wouldn’t consider me for future events if I turned out to be a distraction.

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