COREY
TONIGHT WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT NIGHT, EVEN IF I FULLY EXPECTED THE TIPS TO SUCK. IT WAS A
simple fact, customers tipped more when they were drinking, and customers who were hoping to play
didn’t drink. It would be interesting to see how the main bar fared as Jack and Sam worked on the
renovation projects. I hoped like hell we didn’t lose the vanilla clientele. As much as some of the
more colorful customers allowed me to live vicariously through them, it was the ones who didn’t
have to worry about staying sober that paid the bills.
As I wound my way through the parking lot after an exhausting day working in the mall, my phone
rang. I groaned as I pulled the phone out of my pocket.
“What’s up, Lisa?” As much as I’d love to ignore her calls, I never would because of Willow. I
checked the time and picked up my pace. If I wanted a bit of downtime before my shift started, I had
to hurry.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her any time was a bad time
to talk to her, but I didn’t. I ground my teeth and let out a grunt, hoping she’d understand I wasn’t in the
mood for casual conversation. “I need to bring Willow to you tonight.”
“Sorry, I can’t.” Even if tips weren’t going to be great, we were going to be busy at The Lodge
tonight and I wasn’t going to leave them high and dry again. “You’ll have to call your sister.”
“She’s got plans, Corey,” Lisa sniped. “It’s not her responsibility to watch your daughter because
you don’t want to give up a weekend night.”
Oh, now that was fucking rich. No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the last
time I’d outright refused to drop whatever I had going on for the sake of my child. Lisa, on the other
hand, was getting worse by the week.
“If I were you, I’d replay the words you just said and apply them to yourself,” I shot back as I slid
into the driver’s seat. A few seconds after I started the car, the sound of Lisa’s heavy breathing filled
the air. Damn Bluetooth. “If I could, I would pick up the slack for you, yet again, but I can’t tonight.
It’s a big night—”
Shit. I’d almost slipped and told her I had to work tonight. But really, would it matter? If she
wanted to try getting a percentage of that income too, I would pull out the notebook I’d kept after
researching ways to cover my ass in the event of a shady ex. I didn’t trust her, hadn’t since long
before Willow had come along but I’d been too naive to get out in time.
