"No what?" What the hell?
Dex repeated the two letter word again.
"No...you don't want me to finish out my last two weeks? Or—"
He huffed, his eyes still locked on the monitor. "No, you ain't quittin' on us."
That was absolutely the last thing I expected him to say. I scratched my nose. "I mean, I can probably swing both jobs if it takes a little longer than two weeks to find someone else."
"Ritz, I don't have time for this shit right now," he huffed. "You ain't leavin' and that's that. You want more money or what?"
"No! Jesus, Dex. I'm not trying to play a mind game with you or something. You have no idea how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, butI figured you could find someone who fits in better than I do," I explained to him honestly. Well, as honest as I could get without admitting that I'd started looking for another job almost immediately after he hired me.
"You fit in fine."
"I don't have any tattoos. Half the time I think you don't really care for me either. You can find someone else that you like more."
The way he looked over at me was so slow it threw me off. Like he was thinking, or absorbing what I'd said. Dex tugged his signature black cap off his head and tossed it onto the edge of his desk, sighing loudly. "Babe, seriously, I don't have time for this. You aren't leavin'. I don't give a fuck anymore if you have ink on you or not, and if anybody else gives a shit, they can shut the fuck up. You're fine here. You're stayin' here."
His words felt like a punch to the gut. You know, if a punch to the gut could be a pleasant thing.
Because, I mean, The Dick wouldn't just instruct me that I wasn't leaving if he genuinely didn't feel that way. I knew it. I knew that. I should be outraged that he was telling I wasn't allowed to quit. Then again, I'd been having issues accepting the idea that I'd be leaving Pins behind to work at a daycare for nearly half the hourly pay.
If I really wanted to go, I could just walk out right then and never come back.
"Don't even think about it, Ritz," Dex grumbled from his spot. He wasn't paying attention to the screen anymore, he had his gaze locked on me, his eyes intense. "You walk out, and I'll go get you."
It was completely inappropriate that his words brought a shiver up my spine.
"Call your other job back, tell 'em you aren't comin' in, and then I have an order I need you to place."
"I already told them I was taking the job."
He raised an eyebrow. "And I'm tellin' you you aren't takin' it. I've already trained you. You want more money, I can swing a little more your way until it's been a year. I already told you I'd add you to the insurance plan in September. And I don't wanna talk about this anymore, babe."
What in the world had told me that this would be easy? That I should be worried about telling him that I was quitting?
Arguing with him was futile, I knew that but I tried again anyway. "But—"
Dex scrubbed his hands over his face, his eyes wide with intent. "Babe, I've handpicked everythin' and everyone in here. I know what I want and I get what I want," he breathed. "And I keep what's mine."
~ * ~ *
After cleaning up and making sure none of the guys needed anything before I left, I was running home a bit later than usual. There were a few things I wanted to get from the drugstore that I forgot to pick up before work. I pulled into the first Walgreens that didn’t look totally sketchy, bought new razors and lip balm, and headed the rest of the way to Sonny’s.
My mind was usually in a million different places, but all I was focused on at the moment was getting in, eating and vegging out on the couch to relax. With only Monday off because of the Expo and the stress I'd put myself under at the thought of quitting Pins, my body was suffering from the long days we had. Not to mention the fact that my brain hadn’t stopped running different scenarios and ideas on what I could do to change my life's current situation forever for the better.
I'd been given a second chance, it only seemed fair that I take advantage of it. What was the purpose of wastingyears, months, weeks, days, minutes, even friggin’ moments of life,after everything I'd been through? My mom andyia-yiahad done so much for me. I had to figure out something.
Sonny hadn’t come from beginnings that much more different than mine. He had a good job, a house and—except for this crap with our sperm donor—security. There was a reliable future ahead of him.
If Dex could come out of his father's shadow, somehow manage to stay in the supposedly reformed version of the same motorcycle club who had lost half its members over the years, moved passed the years he spent in jail, and built a successful business...there was newfound hope in the world.
If they could do it, so could I. It was just a matter of time.
I’d barely pulled the car into the open spot right in front of the house when I happened to look down the street in the opposite direction I’d come in from. And what I saw made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle up. I forgot all about eating and watching the History Channel.
There were three men straddling old school bikes two houses down. Three men I could barely see in the dark under the luminescence of the street lamp. It was the same friggin’ guys from the party and two of the same guys who had driven down the street. The one with the shaved head was in the middle as before, his big body looked incredibly imposing from where he was rooted.
