Piper’s expression looked as if she’d just tasted sour milk.
“Fine. Point her in my direction.”
“We both know you prefer women that are a bit posher.”
Piper laughed out loud.
“I wish you didn’t know me so well,” Piper teased.
“You love it.”
“I do. But it makes hiding impossible.”
“Because you aren’t meant to hide from your friends.”
Piper leaned over and gave Autumn a hug.
“The two of us are going to figure our shit out. I have a good feeling about it.”
Autumn laughed. She was glad that one of them had a good feeling about the direction of their lives. Talking to Piper had provided her with some well-needed clarity. She would do the mockups for Quinn. Autumn would show the woman how to turn that run down beach shack into a chic lesbian bar. She was beyond confident; this was exactly in her wheelhouse.
Chapter 5
Quinn pulled on her best pair of jeans and her nicest black shirt. One day her bar would open and take over her life, until that day she needed a part-time job. There were no casinos in WaterColor, but there were plenty of restaurants. If there was one thing, she knew how to do it was be a server. So today, she started her brand-new job working at Mallie’s.
Mallie’s was a small cafe located downtown. It was close to Maddison’s home, and close to the bar. As an added bonus Brynn, the owner, had started up multiple businesses in WaterColor. The two of them had connected immediately. Quinn knew that Brynn’s knowledge of starting a business in the area would be invaluable.
Quinn loved that she’d be able to walk to work. Something about the warm ocean breeze gave her a pep in her step. Her manager, Mel, was a bit more buttoned up than Brynn. But Mel had proven to be sweet and was genuinely grateful for Quinn to be working with them. She stepped inside Mallie’s and listened to the bell above the door chime. Mel came around the counter to greet her and hand her an apron.
“Been a long time since I’ve worn one of these,” Quinn chuckled.
“She’d worked at a diner in Vegas for about a year and some change. They’d insisted on servers wearing aprons that were almost identical.
“A blast from the past?” Mel asked.
“Something like that.”
Quinn thought back, she’d met her ex working in that diner. In fact, if it weren’t for Gray’s Diner she and her ex probably wouldn’t have met or dated. She pushed the memories out of her mind. Sentimentality wasn’t going to get her where she wanted to be.
Mel showed her around the diner. The ins and outs of Mallie’s seemed to be relatively simple. Quinn had worked in half a dozen restaurants throughout her life. Once you knew what you were doing it was fairly easy to put it to work anywhere. After the fairly short tour Mel put Quinn to work.
Quinn had always enjoyed staying busy. It wasn’t natural for her to lounge around all day. She enjoyed the morning rush at Mallie’s. There were some people who were clearly regulars. They asked if this was her first day and were generally very friendly. After the breakfast crowd things died for a couple of hours. Quinn busied herself with cleaning and trying to be useful.
“You are a very useful person to have around,” Mel laughed.
“I try to be,” Quinn smiled.
“Keep this up and you’ll get promoted to… well, I’m sure Brynn would think of something.”
“Head server?” Quinn teased.
“I’m pretty sure you already are. But yes, head server.”
Mel laughed and shook her head. Other than the kitchen staff, the two of them were the only ones working.
“Brynn told me you want to open up a bar on the beach. That’s really cool. What’s the vibe going to be?”
“I’m still working on the vibe. But it’s going to be a lesbian bar. I want it to be somewhere between classy chic and casual.”
