Page 6 of Blood and Bonbons

I chuckled. “She’d be the first to say she doesn’t have cleavage. But I’ll let her know you’re watching out for her.”

Making my way up the steps, I scanned the empty VIP section. Everything was as neat as I’d left it the night before, and Detroit was already prepping the VIP bar.

With a nod to him, I made my way along the glass wall toward the offices.

As I reached Shepard’s partially open door, I heard, “Get your shit together. Next time I catch you drinking on company time, you’re fired.”

I rarely heard Shepard use that tone. With shoulder-length dark-blonde hair, sun-kissed complexion, and muscles that had muscle babies, Shepard was the kind of guy people usually wanted to make happy. Including me.

Before I could decide if I should come back later, the door opened fully and Gunther, the dishwasher, blew past me, dark head down and shoulders hunched. He was the quiet sort, one who kept to himself. He’d always been friendly enough, though.

Shepard, who’d been watching Gunther’s retreat, noticed me in the hallway. His hard, light grey gaze softened, and he leaned back in his office chair.

“Hey, Everly, I didn’t know you were on the schedule tonight.”

“That’s funny since you do the schedule and I’m here every night,” I said, stepping inside.

He gave a small smile.

“Is this a bad time?” I asked.

“Not for you.”

“I brought Vena with me today. She’s interested in adding ‘cocktail concierge’ to her list of life skills if there’s still an opening.”

“Where is she?”

“I left her with Buzz. Do you want me to bring her up here?”

“No, I’m on my way down anyway.” He met me at the door and gestured for me to go first.

He followed me down to the main floor where Vena was sitting at the end of the bar. One of the beverage distributors hovered next to her, and warning alarms blared in my head.

He leaned in to say something to her and set his hand on her shoulder. Sparks of fury lit her eyes as she glared at him, and as she was about to latch onto his wrist, I called, “Vena!”

She glanced over and spotted Shepard behind me. Her expression lightened, and she stood, smoothly maneuvering away from the man.

I let out a breath of relief. It was better if Shepard didn’t learn about Vena’s temperament until after she was hired.

Shepard held out his hand to her. “Nice to meet you, Vena.”

While her hand looked small in his, I knew how much damage she could inflict with that innocent-looking hand.

Shepard pulled away with a practiced smile and gave her an assessing look, his gaze taking in her form-fitting black pants and strong arms.

“You’ll do. Come in on Monday to fill out paperwork.”

“That’s it?” Vena asked.

“Any friend of Everly’s has a job with me. It’s up to you to prove yourself.”

After Shepard gave me a nod and headed over to the bar to speak to the distributor, Vena looked at me.

“Wow. You really do have a lot of pull with him.” Her gaze swept over Shepard’s broad shoulders. “He’s a bit older than you. But so delicious. I think he’d be open to an invitation if you wanted to sample that.”

“Please don’t make this awkward,” I said. “I have to work with him.”

“Or maybe work up a sweat with him.”

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