“When do you want me?”
“Tonight.Be here at eight.No.Be here at 6:30 so you can fill out paperwork and Tony can show you the ropes around here.”
“I’ll see you at 6:30 tonight.”She smiled, happy to be employed once again.
“Oh, what’s your name?”he asked as if it only now registered that he didn’t know it.
“Sadie.”
“See you tonight, Sadie.”Big Dick pushed himself off the bar, finished with his conversation, and disappeared around the corner.
If she was going to make it to work tonight, she was going to have to hurry to Bling Boutique, where Cathy worked, and see if she was free to watch Oliver.
Arriving at the chic women’s boutique, she parked her car in front of the business and got out.She pushed the door open, causing a bell to tinkle as she entered.She did a quick scan of the room and spotted Cathy at the counter talking with Bellamy.
“Hey, Sadie!”Cathy smiled warmly as she approached.
“Hey, Cathy.Bellamy.”She shoved her hands in her coat pockets.
“How are things going?”Cathy asked.
“I guess things are going better now that I have a new job.”
“A new job?You’re not working at Bottoms Up anymore?”Cathy frowned.
“No.I got fired.”Her eyes darted toward Bellamy to see her reaction.Other than her brows scrunching in confusion, she had no other reaction.It would seem the president’s wife had a good poker face.
“Why did they fire you?”Cathy asked.
“Because I got cornered by Tinker in the hall after my performance.He wanted to fuck me, and yes, he said exactly that, and I declined.He didn’t like that answer and grabbed me by the throat and shoved me into the wall.He was squeezing the shit out of it when Race yanked him off me.”She pulled her scarf off, and this time even Bellamy’s reaction was one of outrage.
“Oh my God!That looks awful!”Cathy leaned forward for a better look.“Does it hurt?”
“He laid his hands on you?”Bellamy asked before she could reply to Cathy’s question.
“Yes, I got fired, and no, it doesn’t hurt as much as it did at first.And yes, he laid his hands on me, but Race, Jed, and I think his name is Dagger, got there just in time.Race took care of Tinker, and Jed pulled me into a back room to check me out.He told me I should go home for the rest of the night, but I didn’t want to because I needed the money.”
“What did they do with Tinker?”Bellamy asked.
“I don’t know what happened to him.”
“I can't believe you got fired!You didn’t do anything wrong.You’rethe victim.”Cathy had her hands on her hips, and her face was a little red.
“Well, Jed said I can't go back until they deal with Tinker.”
“How long is that going to take?”Cathy asked.
“Exactly.”She pointed a finger at her friend for asking the million-dollar question.“I can’t wait indefinitely for them to deal with Tinker.I’ve got bills to pay and a growing nephew to feed and clothe.So I got a new job tending bar at Big Dick’s starting tonight.”They probably thought she was nuts for wanting to work there.It wasn’t the best place to work, but from what she’d heard, it wasn’t the worst either.
“Big Dick’s, you say?”Cathy shared a look with Bellamy that Sadie couldn’t decipher.It must be some kind of inside joke between the two.
“Yes.Have you heard of it?”
Cathy and Bellamy both burst out laughing.It was Cathy who filled her in.“Bellamy is well acquainted with the place.She started a brawl there one night, and Race had to wade in and carry her out over his shoulder.And the funniest thing is, while draped over his shoulder, she still managed to break a glass over a guy’s head and blame it on someone else.Luckily, Race got her out of there before the cops showed up, or she probably would have gone to jail.”
“Is that true?You started a brawl?”She found it hard to reconcile what Cathy was telling her with the tricked-out woman before her.Her heels and form-fitting sweater dress didn’t scream bad ass.They screamed, well, chic boutique owner.I mean, she was so put together she couldn’t imagine her having hot, steamy sex with Race.And since she was pregnant, and Race struck her as someone who would get down and dirty while having sex, she thought Bellamy must be a lot different behind closed doors.
The woman, blessedly ignorant as to what Sadie was thinking, tipped her head to the side.“Eh.I guess you could say that, but in my defense, Trick’s ex’s sister started crap with Lindsey, and I kind of stepped in.Things just escalated or went downhill from there, depending on how you look at it.”
