Page 36 of Absinthe Minded

I turned, and Justin’s eyes went wide.

“Maggie?” He looked as if he’d swallowed a bee. “You work here?”

A dark-haired woman slid her arm around Justin’s waist and kissed his ear.

He went from pale, to red, to a shade of green.

“Who’s your friend?” My throat tightened, making my voice sound clipped.

“I’m Denise, hiswife. Who the hell are you?”

My brain stuttered. I took a step back, bumping into Gabe in the process. “This is Justin and his wife, Denise.”

Gabe’s eyes darkened and the small muscle in his jaw flexed. Justin looked unimpressed, but Denise stared at Gabe like he was the crab legs on an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Justin laughed and kissed the woman’s cheek. “This is Maggie from accounts receivable. She’s upset because we have a strict no moonlighting rule. Isn’t that right, Maggie?”

“Yes.” I turned to take another drink order.

“A table just opened up. Grab it. I’ll get the drinks.” He patted her backside.

Denise cast me one more dirty look and stormed away.

Turning my head, I swallowed hard and willed the tears to stay in my eyes. No way would I let the cheating jerk see me cry—angry tears or not.

Gabe pulled me aside. “Are you okay?”

Glaring, Justin whispered, “Really, Maggie? This guy?”

My mouth fell open. For the life of me I couldn’t understand wherehegot off judgingme. Besides the fact he was married, we’d only dated a few times.

Something snapped. It could have been the pen in Gabe’s hand, or his last shred of patience. He leaped over the bar and grabbed Justin by the collar. He clawed at Gabe’s arms, struggling to break free. Nearby patrons scurried away from danger. In the process, they spilled drinks and alerted others to the situation.

I ran around the bar and set my hand on Gabe’s bicep. “Let him go. He’s not worth it.”

Gabe glanced at me and shoved Justin a foot or so; it didn’t matter as long as the argument ended without violence.

Straightening his shirt, Justin muttered under his breath. “Fucking bitch.”

The right hook caught Justin in the jaw, sending him careening into the bar. I gasped and took a step away from Gabe. I’d never seen him so angry. For that matter, I’d never seen someone punch someone else in the face.

Struggling to gain his footing on the wet floor, Justin put his hand to his jaw and glared.

At some point during the scuffle, his wife returned. “What the hell happened?

“Call the police,” Justin whined and spat blood on the floor.

“She doesn’t work in accounting, does she?” Denise pointed at me. “Are you cheating on me with that?”

“No! Damn it. Look at her!”

Gabe’s expression grew dangerous. “Get the hell out of my bar.”

Tears running down his cheeks, Justin screamed, “I’m going to press charges.”

Gabe chuckled and looked over the crowd. “Anyone see who hit this jackass?”

The patrons responded with laughter, severalno’s,and shakes of the head. Most of the onlookers went back to partying while others stared with amused grins.

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