Page 211 of The Maxwell Brothers
He stood up the second I came in. His eyes zeroed in on Tyler.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me. He had thinning hairline and a huge belly.
"You said I had to pick up my checks, so I came to do that."
He gave me a sly grin I didn't like. "And you brought a bodyguard?"
"I'm her boyfriend," Tyler said, looking straight at him.
Jared's eyes widened. "You're dating Tyler Maxwell? Well, at least you're good at something, I guess."
"Shut up, Jared. You’re a piece of shit. You treat your staff like garbage. You don’t get to lecture me. You owe me money, and I’m not leaving without my paychecks.”
Jared opened his mouth, but Tyler interrupted him. "Give her the checks right now. You know my last name, it seems, so stop being a pain in the ass.”
“This hellhole you call a diner wouldn't pass an inspection, and you know that," I said.
"No need to threaten me," Jared said, holding up his hands, looking with his slimy eyes from me to Tyler.
"Paychecks. Now," I said, tapping my foot and holding out my hand.
He opened his checkbook and filled out two sheets.
"Here. That's it."
I took them, looking at the numbers.
"Are they correct?" Tyler asked.
"Yes they are. We’re done here."
I rolled my shoulders, looking at Jared. And honestly, I felt pity. He was still trying to make a living from this hole-in-the-wall and being miserable every day.
On the way out, I said bye to Clarissa, but we didn't linger because I knew just how much the smell of fried fish could cling to you.
Once we were outside, we headed straight to the car.
"It's good we came in daylight," I said. "I don't know why I came at night last time. And I didn't find a parking spot in front either."
"He's a moron," Tyler said. He seemed visibly mad.
"Oh, that's just Jared. Don't mind him. I don't."
"Was he always such a douchebag?"
"Yes."
"I was so damn proud of you in there, babe."
"Come on. Let's go, sexy goalie. Your training will start soon."
We drove straight to the arena.
"Are you sure you don't want to take the car back to the city?" he asked when we arrived.
"No, it wouldn’t make sense. I'm just going to be cooped up in my office all day. And the parking situation is a bit impossible around there. I'll Uber," I said when we both stepped out of the car. "Now, you focus on practicing and forget about Jared, okay? You’ve got a huge game tomorrow."
They were playing against the Seattle Bulldogs, and guess who was attending? That’s right, me.
