“What’s up?” I ask, standing with her.
“I’m going to go offer Erika a job,” she says under her breath. “Is that wrong? I mean, she could think I’m trying to con her.”
“She could, but I doubt it,” Bell says. “Let’s go talk to her. She’s with Mabel now.”
Crossing the room together, we wait until Erika turns to leave. Cassidy usually gives her fake name when we’re out and about, which she now leans into.
“Hi, I hope this isn’t inappropriate. I own a few businesses in Savannah, and two are restaurants. There’s always some type of position available if you’d be interested in working at one,” Cassidy says quickly. “My name is Casey Tremaine. If you give my name at La Boheme, I’ll make sure they’ll offer you a job. Zero strings, it’ll be up to you to hack it or not.”
“This can’t be real,” Erika says, shaking her head.
Meanwhile, Mabel goes very pale at Cassidy’s words.
“Ah, it definitely is,” she says. “Pack Tremaine is a very wealthy family name. She’s new in town, she couldn’t have known?—”
Oh damn. I didn’t have someone bowing and scraping at group on my bingo card today.
Cute, Beloved.My cheeks heat at Bellamy’s words because he heard me through our bond. No one else notices my embarrassment though.
“Please, it’s fine. We keep a very low profile. Erika, I’m a silent owner at the restaurant, and I rarely do this. If you want a job as a waitress or even washing dishes if that’s what is needed, it’s there,” Cassidy says easily. “Everyone who works there is very protective of each other, and you willneverbe fucked over while working there. Okay?”
“Yeah,” Erika whispers. “Why me?”
“My alpha is one of the best humans that I know,” I reply. “She saw something in you, and your story. Take the opportunity to have a safe place to work.”
“I will,” she says.
“Go in tomorrow so I have a chance to call the owner,” Cass says. “He’s always complaining about needing someone who can work a flex position. He’ll love you forever if you’re able to do dishes one day and waitress the next.”
“I was a waitress for a really brief period when I was in college,” Erika admits. “I think I can change positions depending on what’s needed. Le Boheme sounds really…fancy.”
“It is,” Bellamy says. “The ambience is really nice, and everyone seemed to work together well. Pack Tremaine isn’t likely to allow something bad to happen somewhere they’ve invested in. It’s just not their style.”
“Our style, Lovey,” Cassidy corrects with a smirk. “The restaurant isn’t stuffy, and they’ll teach you what you need to learn about the menu. Every Sunday, the head chef has the staff try the speciality menu and he walks them through the ingredients. It also means that he feeds his staff one of the best meals on a reset day. The restaurant is always closed on Sundays.”
“Wow,” Erika breathes. “Okay, I’m sold. This is so nice of you. Oh! Will my hair color be a problem? It’s not something I chose, I’m not even sure I like it.”
“It’s no trouble. Your hair color also isn’t an issue. It just needs to be up when you’re around food,” Cassidy says with a nod. “Stay safe.”
Cass, Bell, and I head out of the room, and Henri falls into step with us as we leave the building.
“What was that about?” I ask. “Why did Mabel respond the way she did?”
“I think someone she knows may work for us,” Cass explains. “I need to have Shi look into it.”
Our pack is there, ready to deliver lots of hugs. Our eyes are all red from crying, and they’re naturally worried about us.
“I think ice cream is definitely necessary,” Abbott murmurs, his arm staying around my shoulders as we walk. “We’ll do that, and then on the way home, we need to go to the animal shelter.”
“What for?” I ask, allowing his scent to wrap around me. It smells like safety.
I notice that Cassidy is a little quiet as she walks beside Shiloh, and he kisses her forehead as he holds her close. Hopefully, she does decide to ask him about Mabel. I think there may be a story there.
“We’re getting a puppy,” Ansel murmurs nonchalantly.
“A what?!” Cassidy squeals. “Are you serious?”
“See how it feels when you bury the lede?” Abbott asks, smirking. “Yes, we’re getting a puppy. But first, it looks like you’ve all shed some tears and need sugar.”
