Page 5 of Kiss for My Kraken
Taking a deep breath, she walked over and unlocked the door, then cautiously pulled it open. The walls of the narrow corridor outside were also lined with music posters. To the right, the bar was visible through a beaded curtain, and voices mingled with the sound of the music. Not just voices—growls and hisses and distinctly inhuman noises—and she bit her lip nervously. A swinging door with a round glass window was at the otherend of the corridor. Based on the other restaurants where she’d worked, it would lead to the kitchen
There were two doors across from her, each of them with a dog painted on the door. She frowned at them for a moment, wondering which one was the ladies’ room, then blushed when she realized the dogs were anatomically correct.
Ozzie had rolled onto his back, his feet in the air as he snored gently. He clearly wasn’t concerned about being in a strange place. She grinned and left him in the office and she crossed the hallway. The ladies’ room was surprisingly clean and spacious, with a little bouquet of flowers on the shelf beside the sink and a stack of soft cotton hand towels.
After she was through she started to return to the office, then looked down the corridor again. She didn’t quite have the nerve to go through into the bar, but maybe the grouchy male was in the kitchen, and she could thank him. She pushed through the swinging door and gave a horrified gasp. The kitchen was empty, but it was a disaster, with dirty dishes piled everywhere. She was about to turn around and leave when it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps this was a way she could repay the owner’s hospitality. The scale of the kitchen was a little larger than she was used to, but she’d worked in enough restaurants to recognize all the equipment. She pushed the sleeves of the hoodie up another couple of inches and set to work.
She’d just taken the second load of dishes out of the big industrial dishwasher and was stacking them on the shelves when the door swung open and the big grumpy male appeared.
“What the hell did you do?” he snapped, looking around at the now clean kitchen.
“I was just trying to repay you for the food,” she said nervously.
“Told you you didn’t have to pay. But thank you,” he added begrudgingly. “I’m short on help right now.”
She bit her lip. She’d never worked in a bar before, and the owner was definitely not the nicest person she’d ever met, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“Does that mean you’re looking to hire someone?” She couldn’t quite prevent her voice from shaking, and when he turned around to glare at her, she had to fight to keep from shrinking away. His nose twitched again.
“Got any references?”
And there it was. She shook her head and looked down, determined not to let him see the tears.
“Are you a thief?” Her head snapped up at the abrupt question.
“No, I’m not,” she said indignantly.
He grunted, but she thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. “You obviously know your way around the kitchen.” His gaze swept over the now gleaming surfaces. “I’ll give you a week’s trial. Be back here tomorrow at nine for lunch prep.”
“Really? Oh, thank you!” A huge sigh of relief escaped before she could prevent it, and he shook his head, his mouth twitching again.
“You didn’t even ask how much I’m going to pay you.”
In her experience, it was never very much. But with any luck, it would be enough to supply her and Ozzie with food and gas for the car, and perhaps even save enough for a place to live.
“How much?” she asked, bracing herself. Her eyes widened when he named a sum that was twice what she’d made in her last job.
“Food’s included,” he added, scowling at her. “You don’t have a problem with eating, do you?”
The heat was rising to her cheeks again, but she raised her chin.
“No, I don’t have a problem with food. Oh, and I’m Nina.”
“The doc told me. I’m Ben.”
He gave an abrupt nod and turned to leave.
“Is it… is it all right if I wear these clothes home? I’ll bring them back tomorrow. Washed and dried,” she added quickly, determined to find a laundromat but he just shrugged.
“There’s a washer and dryer in the back room. Just toss them in when you come back tomorrow.” He looked at her and scowled again. “You can use it for your clothes as well if you want.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of crumpled twenty-dollar bills. “Here.”
“I can’t take that.”
“I pay the people who work for me.” He put the money in her hand and closed her fingers around it. She realized with a shock that instead of normal skin, he was covered with very short, dense grey fur. She was still trying to process that when he disappeared back through the door.
By the time she followed him, he was already pushing through the bead curtain at the end of the corridor so she returned to the office instead. “Maybe things are looking up, Ozzie,” she said slowly.
He opened one eye and looked at her, his stubby tail wagging. She had a job, a full stomach, and money in her pocket. Maybe the prince in her dreamswasa magic prince. Maybe her luck had finally changed.
