She grinned, and I realized she was joking. “Teach me your secrets, then,” I said.
“I’ll teach you a lesson,” she said, a smirk wide on her face. Then she stood. “See you around.”
Once Christine was gone, the lead bartender who was training me returned and showed me how to make the signature drink. Right as she turned on the blender, a swarm of arms and legs broke out in the middle of the restaurant. The lead bartender glanced in the direction, but never moved from the blender. As if this kind of thing happened on a daily basis.
But then I saw the sunglasses flying, and in between the commotion, I saw Grant. Grant was pulling a man off of a hostess, swinging the man in the direction of the doors, and the other security officers joined him, making sure to restrain the jerk. What the hell had happened?
The blender stopped and the lead bartender swore under her breath. “Idiots,” she said.
A group of the waitresses had surrounded Maxine. She fanned herself frantically, and the group braced her, as if she might fall.
“That was terrifying,” she said.
“Oh my god, girl. Are you okay?”
“What the hell was that guy thinking?”
“Ugh. The nerve.”
A customer popped in, his baseball cap turned backward. “I would never do that.”
Grant and the other security officers walked towards the group. “Are you all right?” Grant asked Maxine.
Of course, Grant cared. He was that kind of person.
But if he cared about Maxine specifically, I might hurl the ice chunks from the blender at his damn face.
“If it weren’t for you,” Maxine said, throwing her arms around him, “who knows what would have happened. You saved me, Grant. You saved me!”
He didn’t move, his arms hanging at his side as she squeezed him in an embrace. “I’m doing my job,” he said, a hint of agitation in his voice. The group of waitresses erupted into a fit of giggles.
With the amount of security they had in this place,anyonecould have helped her. So why did it have to be him? My Grant? And yet the other part of me admired Grant for taking charge and helping her. Because Grant would protect anyone who needed it. It was who he was.
But that didn’t mean I had to be nice about it.
Wait. What the hell was I thinking?My Grant?
Once he was able to shake the fangirls, Grant came to the bar. I ignored him, and the lead bartender looked at me sideways before handing him a glass of water. After a while, the customers at the bar were satisfied and the restaurant orders were filled, but Grant was still sitting there, waiting for me.
Whatever. I guessed I could go visit him.
“Did you enjoy that?” I said. I kept my eyes away, watching the street for more customers. Like I was too busy to deal with this. To deal with him.
“Enjoy what?” he asked.
“The groupies.” I rolled my eyes. “Maxine clearly has eyes for you.”
“I have no interest in her.”
I found that hard to believe. She was beautiful. Even without the makeup, she’d still be a knockout. There was no denying that.
“You’re lying,” I said.
“I’m not.”
“All of those women are throwing themselves at you like you’re the Greek god they want to sacrifice their lives to. You could take any one of them back to your dungeon and they’d beg you to tie them up.”
“Not interested.”
