Lewis and his parents head out back to look at some plants Becky wants the guys to relocate, and Gen saunters in from the living room. She’s holding her cell phone, her pretty dark hair swept back in a ponytail, highlighting her hazel eyes.
“You’re lucky you were on the phone,” I tell her. “My gut might never recover after that supposed food product Becky tried to foist on us.” I point at the tray of food that has yet to be disposed of. If Becky thinks the dog will eat it, her ego is about to get burned. Buckles, who loves Gen and follows her around everywhere when she’s at the house—traitorous dog—is too smart to fall for that crap.
“I didn’t have a good feeling about that appetizer,” Gen says. “I may have strategized my phone call with my dad around the kitchen timer.”
I stare agape. “Wow, Gen. I wouldn’t have thought you so devious.”
She grins broadly. “Impressed?”
“Yeah. I underestimated you. Remind me never to make you my nemesis again.”
Gen chuckles and starts searching the kitchen cabinets.
I scratch Buckles, named after the patch of white fur that halos his waist. He finally deigns to grace me with a nose rub. I lift his chin until we’re staring human eye to dog eye. “Would it hurt you to greet me at the door every now and then?”
He puffs out a doggy breath and walks over to stand beside Gen.
So not cool. And if Gen wasn’t so sweet, I’d be offended that even the dog prefers her company over mine. Not that Lewis prefers Gen over me, exactly. She’s his girlfriend. Of course he wants to spend time with her. If I had someone in my life, I’d want to be with him too. Not that I’d know what that’s like. Tyler certainly isn’t it.
“So, Gen,” I begin hesitantly, deciding now’s a good time to bring up Blue. Because we’re alone, and because I’m a giant wuss, hoping Lewis’s girlfriend will tell him I applied so that I don’t have to. Lewis is far too comfortable yelling at me. Meanwhile, Gen is safe from his wrath, because he worships the ground she walks on. “I applied for an admin position at Blue Casino.”
“Really?” she says, looking over her shoulder, the pantry door wide open. She twists around, her expression a mask of concern. “You know I had a bad experience there, right? Like, really bad.”
I glance away and wipe crumbs off the counter. “I do. Sorry about that. I never said anything, but I felt really horrible when I heard.”
A manager attempted to sexually assault Gen when she worked at Blue as a cocktail waitress. It was a near miss, and it rattled everyone. It rattled me.
But what happened to Gen won’t happen to me. I’m not sweet like her. Not vulnerable—except when ganged up on by a handful of junior-high-school bullies, or oversized men in the middle of the woods…or when my crush shows up in Lake Tahoe, out of nowhere.
Okay, I’m as susceptible as the next person, but I’m a little more street-savvy than Gen. The point is, there’s no chance of anything happening in the middle of the day inside a populated office.
I meet her concerned eyes. “I’m sorry you went through that. But what happened to you was on the casino floor. This position is upstairs among corporate Blue.”
“Yes. And that’s where Drake worked. I don’t think?—”
“I need this job, Gen.”
A weighty silence fills the room. Gen studies me. I’m tense. Stressed and worried about how I’ll dig myself out of the things I’ve gotten myself into.
She sighs, possibly reading the look on my face. “Drake is on a forced leave of absence from the casino until his trial. You should be safe, but there could be others at Blue. He got away with so much. I just—I don’t know—I always thought there was something funny going on there.”
“The casino’s got to be on the lookout. They can’t afford more bad publicity.”
“Maybe.” She doesn’t look convinced.
“It’s a long shot that I’ll get the job, but I have to do something. I’m not making enough money dealing to pay off my debts.”
“Lewis or his parents would?—”
“No.” I shake my head.
It may not make sense to Gen, but there are things I’ve been working on with my therapist. I’ve been stuck, clinging to Lewis and his family. They rescued me; that doesn’t mean they have to bail me out for the rest of my life. I’m trying to take responsibility for my actions. Borrowing money from shady moneylenders to get my mom out of a scrape that’s probably linked to something illegal? Not smart. I did this, and I need to get myself out of it.
Gen looks around, seemingly grappling with something. “You’ve got to do what you think is right. I’m worried, is all. The Sallees love you and want to help.”
“It will be okay, Gen.”
She closes her eyes and sighs. After a moment, her finger taps the counter. “If it turns out you get the job at Blue,” she says slowly, “let me know. I’ve got a friend on the inside. Maryanne. She’s a supervising cocktail waitress on the floor, and she’s a good friend to have there.”
