Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 44098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
She had gotten the job after a few choice questions. Again, the easiest interview she’d ever been part of.
Now, all she had to do was work, which consisted of clearing tables, taking orders, and delivering them to the customers. Most of the time, as Amelia said, it was about serving the bar. Her training would begin tonight. Agatha had no idea how this was going to work.
She’d never liked crowds. She’d never been a people person. In fact, back in the city, her job had been in a small cubicle, taking phone calls and handling people’s insurance. That was it. She’d not been great at her job, but she’d been good. Her small cubicle had been her safe haven, as it stopped people from crowding her space. At work, they all had a job to do.
Working at a bar was not keeping people at a distance. It was not talking to them through a device and helping on a computer screen.
“You’re looking nervous,” Amelia said.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I haven’t had much experience in bars.”
“You haven’t?”
“No.”
“You’ve not partied?” Amelia asked.
“No, I’m not much of a partier.” She held onto the cloth with a death grip, not wanting to let it go for fear of what that would mean.
She was not going to panic.
Her heart raced. Her hands felt clammy. Her stomach seemed to twist.
Amelia grabbed her hands. “Stop. Just stop. Don’t worry. Trust me, they won’t bite, and even their hatred of me didn’t stop them from ordering. Everything is going to be fine.”
“I don’t think Val should have hired me.”
“He likes to be a rebel. Don’t mind him. He seems to like everything everyone else doesn’t.” She shrugged. “He was the only one who’d hire me.”
Agatha smiled. She didn’t see why people in town had such an issue with Amelia. She was a sweetheart. So lovely. She had to wonder if people still gave Amelia a hard time because of the leather jacket she wore. Agatha had noticed she rarely took it off. Even now, she was behind the counter, and it was hot—summer was not messing around this year—but Amelia still wore her leather jacket.
For a split second, she couldn’t help but think about what it would mean to be wanted enough to have someone give her a leather cut, to stake their claim. She didn’t get much time to think as the doors to the bar opened and a large group of people stepped through.
Agatha noticed them hesitate when they saw her, but it didn’t stop them. They went to Amelia and gave their orders. She released a breath and stood behind the bar, waiting for someone to ask her to get their order.
Val came around the bar and put a hand on her shoulder. “What can we get you?”
Agatha tried not to freak out. She saw that people wanted to wait for Amelia to serve, but they also didn’t want to offend Val. They gave him their order, and that was when her training started.
She was a mess. The beer pump was quite strong and she ended up holding the glass too close to the nozzle. She ended up smashing three glasses, shooting beer up against her shirt, and then not filling them quite deep enough. Val took over, but he only did one or two, giving her time to see and learn. After the tenth glass of beer, she was starting to get the hang of it.
With how fast the bar filled up, they had no choice but to come to her, as Val and Amelia were busy. She was a little surprised to look up and see that there were people everywhere, and the panic she had had earlier evaporated.
“You need to go and grab some glasses and clear the tables,” Val said, handing her a serving tray.
She took it, grateful to leave the counter, because serving didn’t seem to be her strong suit.
Working her way between the tables was not difficult at all. People were giving her a wide berth. She knew, deep down, she should be a little upset by that, but in truth, she didn’t care. Carrying trays full of empty glasses was easy. When she got to the kitchen around back, she saw there were a lot of them that needed cleaning, so she got to work without Val’s insistence. She washed the glasses, dried them, and carried them through to the main bar, placing them on the back counter for Amelia and Val to serve. She got into a nice routine.
“So, they’ve got you here in the back.”
Agatha nearly dropped the glass she’d been holding. She hadn’t heard anyone enter the kitchen.
She held the glass tightly and turned to look at the man, Boyan. His voice was very distinctive. Deep, dark, rough, and an edge that seemed to melt her panties.