“Apparently the building has been bought by some corporation and we all have two weeks to find somewhere else to live.”
“That is ludicrous.”
“It is. My landlord has a lawyer and said to contact them with any questions or comments.” I rolled my eyes and handed Sam the letter that the man had so nicely delivered that morning.
Sam skimmed the letter and the two accompanying pages while I grabbed another round of drinks for one of my tables and delivered the burgers and wings to the corner booth.
“So? What do you think? Am I screwed and really need to move out in two weeks?” I asked as I returned.
“Fuck,” she huffed. “Those bastards over there at Kline, Burke, and Bridges are the absolute worst. And I say that coming from a firm of equally shitty bastards.” She handed back the pages, which I folded and tucked into my apron pocket. “Yeah, babe, a bunch of real estate lawyers have recently found this stupid loophole of a law to force you to move out. They’ve been evicting people left and right lately. I’m so sorry.”
“Great. Just great. And I’ve put so much work into that place, too! It was finally feeling like home.” I leaned my elbows on the bar and rubbed the spot between my eyes.
“Well, you know you can crash at my place until you find somewhere more permanent,” Sam offered.
“Excuse me, miss?” The man from the corner booth withthe perfect fade tapped me on the shoulder. His eyes, so dark they appeared black in the bar’s lighting, rolled over Sam, clearly checking her out. He realized that I had caught him, and the side of his mouth tipped up in a sly grin. “May we get some more napkins for our table?”
“Of course, I’ll be right over.” I glanced at Sam. “We can finish talking about this later.”
I grabbed a handful of napkins from the server station. When I got to the table, I realized that the man was still talking to Sam at the bar.
“Here you go, guys. How are those burgers?” I asked, taking it as a good sign when the responses were satisfied nods and mumbles as they chewed.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that y’all aren’t from around here,” I said.
“We’re visiting from Wexstone,” one of the men responded, swallowing his bite and wiping ketchup off his umber-colored cheek. His biceps were the size of tree trunks, and he had pulled his dreadlocks back while he ate.
I quickly sifted through my sparse geography knowledge, silently cursing my terrible high school geography teacher. I couldn’t place Wexstone anywhere.
The blond man must have read my mind. “It’s in Northern Europe, in the mountains. We’re a small country, about 500,000 people. We’re best known for our pine trees and cranberry production.”
“Wow, impressive,” I admired. “What brings you to New York City?”
“I think in America you call it a bachelor party,” the last of the men—wiry, with salt-and-pepper hair—answered.
“Okay! Which one of you good-looking men is getting hitched?”
“That would be Prince Oliver,” said the guy who had beentalking to Sam. He scooted back into the booth, pointing to the blond man.
“Prince?” I laughed. “Right, and I’m the pope.”
The table went silent as the guys glanced at each other awkwardly. Mr. Blond cleared his throat, his pale cheeks betraying the pink flush that instantly appeared.
I looked around the table, then glanced throughout the bar. As I did, I realized there were three additional men, all dressed in black, stationed strategically by the exits and near the restrooms. I spotted headsets tucked behind their ears.Holy shit, they aren’t kidding.
“How do you do?” the blond man—Prince Oliver—said, holding out his hand as I turned back to the group. It was my turn to blush furiously. Was there a protocol I was supposed to follow after making a complete idiot of myself?
“Um, it’s nice to meet you, Your Highness, sir…” I stammered, taking his hand and shaking it. “I’m so sorry, I uh…I don’t know what the proper protocol is here…”
“You can just shake his hand.” Tall and Handsome smirked. He seemed to be enjoying this. I shook Prince Oliver’s hand for what felt like too long and then awkwardly let my hand go limp.
“Birdie,” Sam said from behind me, “Vince here invited us to join them once your shift is over.” She slid into the booth next to her new friend.
“Did he now?” Tall and Handsome asked, staring daggers at the man who was apparently named Vince.
“Come on, Knox. I thought it would be fun to have some locals show us around the city.”
“So, I’m not good enough? I’m American, after all,” Knox forged an offense. “Besides, it’s Oliver’s weekend, I think he should get a say here.”
