She’d worked at restaurants before but none as nice as Gallagher’s. And none of the managers she’d dealt with had been as cool and kind as Addie Sinclair.
It was pure luck that Nova heard about the gig. An acquaintance knew she was looking for a job and suggested she apply. Since Addie knew and trusted her acquaintance, she’d been willing to interview Nova.
They’d hit it off and ended up spending half the interview chatting about the area and all the neat places and activities in the area and laughing.
Nova picked up on the training quickly and immediately felt comfortable with her coworkers and the restaurant in general.
Gallagher’s was quiet, all dark wood and leather, with small candles and flower arrangements on each table. There was also a bar area where the happy hour crowd liked to stop in after work and have a few drinks.
The dining room was perfect for a date, a business dinner, or just a quiet meal with a friend.
The chef-slash-owner was out of town on business for the next few weeks, something that made Addie happy because he insisted the new hostess have a thirty-day probation period and he would be gone for most of it since Addie had hired Nova the day after he left.
“Nova.”
She looked up at the sound of Addie’s voice. She’d been going over the reservation book before the dinner rush, looking to see where she could fit in walk-ins.
“Hey,” she said with a smile. “How are you today?”
Addie huffed out a laugh. “Busy. The boss came back a couple of days early and he is on a tear. It almost ruined the fact that he gave me a surprise raise.” She flipped her hair out of her face with a flick of her fingers. “I wanted you to come back with me right quick and introduce you to him.”
Nova put down her pen and stepped away from the hostess stand. “Sure. I’ve been looking forward to meeting him.”
“Fair warning, he’s handsome but he’s a huge pain in the ass and he doesn’t date employees, so don’t get any ideas.”
Nova smirked at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Addie shot her a sharp look. “Famous last words of nearly every female employee I hire. They usually either crush on him hard until they have to leave because unrequited love is too painful or he’s so mean they can’t stand him anymore.”
Nova’s brows lifted. “He sounds like a lovely person.”
Addie laughed. “He actually is a good guy. He’s just organized, anal, and exacting. He’s not really mean, more like blunt. I like it and a lot of the other staff does as well, but it is difficult to find someone who can deal with that when it comes to the front of the house because, as much as the boss trusts me, he also likes things done a certain way.”
Nova nodded. “I understand. I think you know by now I’m pretty chill. It takes a lot to rattle me, so I think we’ll be fine.”
Addie smiled and pushed open the door to the kitchen. “I’m glad to hear that.” She paused. “I haven’t talked to him about the assistant manager position yet, but if things go well tonight, I’ll definitely suggest he move you to that position. You have experience and you’re a fast learner.”
“I’ll win him over,” Nova assured her.
“Hey, boss,” Addie called as they approached a man in a black chef’s jacket. “I’ve got the new hostess with me.”
His back was turned to them, but there was something vaguely familiar about the set of his shoulders and the black hair that he’d pulled back into a short, stubby ponytail.
When he turned around, Nova’s heart dropped to somewhere in the vicinity of her toes and she bit back a particularly vile swear word.
Fate was a bitch with a twisted sense of humor.
The man facing her was none other than Torin of the Date from Hell.
Unable to stop herself, Nova burst into laughter. Addie looked at her like she was crazy, and Torin stared at her with shock for a moment. Then, an expression of extreme annoyance shifted over his face.
“You have got to be shitting me,” he said.
Nova snorted and tried to stem the giggles, but it wasn’t happening.
“What is going on?” Addie asked, looking between them. “Do you know each other?”
Nova managed to stop laughing long enough to say, “We went on a date last month. It was—”
