I think it’s Angie’s boyfriend, but I can’t be sure. I’ve only seen him a handful of the times I’ve worked here. Eric leans down until his eyes meet mine. “Go to the office.”
There’s no point arguing with him, even if I wanted to. I walk past Lisa, around the bar, and toward the hall. The crowd parts for me like the Red Sea. It’s not until I reach for the door knob that I notice my hand is shaking.
11
Eric
My blood is pumping,itching for a fight. How dare that asshole think he can put hands on her. He’s never gotten like this with any of the other bartenders. I don’t know if he had too much to drink, or if he's just a dick. It doesn’t matter. He’s not going to treat any of my employees like he’s entitled to them. Especially her.
Before I realize what I’m doing, my feet are carrying me to the end of the bar. I pause briefly by Lisa. “Can you handle this for a minute? I want to make sure he leaves, and doesn’t hang around.”
“Yep.” She nods, “I’m sure everyone will understand.”
I hate leaving her alone behind the bar on a busy Saturday night, but this is the only thing that will ease my concern. After I make sure he’s gone, I can check on Joan. I push through people until I’m out the front door. Delilah is staring at me, wide-eyed.
Red and blue lights illuminate the side of the building, and I want to thank whoever called the cops. We haven’t had issues with patrons in a long time, and I’m glad Dylan was there to handle the situation. Before he started working with Johnny, he handled any unruly people that came into the bar when it was getting popular.
A hand shoots out in front of me as I stomp down the sidewalk, and my hand lifts to hit whoever is stopping me. “It’s taken care of, man.”
I didn’t even see Dylan leaning against the wall. “Who called them?”
“I did.” He nods to the cops putting him in the back of the car. “As soon as I noticed he wasn’t going to leave the new girl alone, I had a gut feeling. Sucks, I was right.”
“Yeah, it does.” Taking a few deep breaths, I try to calm my rage. My emotions don’t typically get the best of me, but Joan didn’t deserve any of that. “Are they towing his car, too?”
“I’ll call someone after the bar closes so we can make sure it’s his vehicle that gets towed.”
“Thanks, man.” I turn back toward the door. Now that I know he’s taken care of, I need to make sure Joan is okay. “Can we add him to the banned list?”
I don’t typically like adding people to that. Mistakes are made, but he crossed a line with Joan tonight. He could do it again.
“Already plan on it.” He follows me to go inside. “He’ll probably only sleep it off in a cell tonight, but Delilah is my next stop. I know I can’t tend the bar, but I’ll stick around to help if you need to pull one of the waitstaff to help behind the bar.”
“Thanks,” I open the door and step in. “Pull someone who doesn’t have a lot on their hands. I need to go check on Joan.”
“You got it.”
Weaving through the crowd doesn’t take too long. They must see I’m in no mood to deal with foolishness. My steps slow as I near the door to the office. I don’t know what to expect when I step through, but she needs someone to make sure she’s okay.
I knock three times on the door to let her know someone is coming in. “Yeah.” Her voice is shaky, and hard to hear over the music pumping through the speakers.
Slowly, I turn the knob and push the door open. “Hey, Joan. Are you o—” She rushes into my arms before I finish the question. Her arms go around my waist and she leans her head against my chest. I close the door behind me and move out of the way in case Dylan comes in.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before.”
With one arm around her shoulders, I use my free hand to smooth down her hair. Trying to think of how else I can comfort her.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
“But you did. I thought I could handle myself with anyone. He was so persistent, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“You did fine.” I pull her closer to me, hoping like hell she’s okay with it. She doesn’t move away. If anything, her entire body relaxes into me.
“Is he still here?”
“No. He’ll spend the night in jail until he sobers up.” I rub her back. “He’s also banned from the bar.”
“I didn’t mean for you to lose a customer.”
