That is, until my manager came by while I was mixing up an old-fashioned and said, “Hey, I will need you to come in tomorrow morning after all.”
I looked over at Lucia, wondering if I’d heard her right. But she was counting the liquor bottles, marking notes into her pad. “What?” I asked.
“I need you in tomorrow morning for brunch. Caitlyn can’t make it.”
“Neither can I. I have a—thing,” I finished lamely.
Lucia looked up at me. “Reschedule. Brunch is our busiest day, and I hired you specifically for weekend help.”
My eyes started to sting with annoyance. I hated that I cried when I was mad, but I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Good.” She scratched another note in her pad, then walked over to the register, making more notes.
I finished mixing the drink and then passed it to a customer who didn’t make eye contact with me. He was looking up at the screen, absorbed in a sports game–football. It seemed to be the standard this time of year.
With a sigh, I said, “Lucia, can you cover for me? Bathroom break.”
She nodded, and I left the room, heading to the back side of the restaurant where everyone went for their smoke breaks. I didn’t smoke, so I just paced along the alley. Standing too close to the dumpster was making me feel nauseous.
Not wanting to, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Bryce’s number. We’d never texted before, and this wasn’t exactly a good start.
Jada: Hey, I can’t make it tomorrow. Got put on an extra shift. Rain check?
I shoved the phone in my back pocket and paced a bit more. I shouldn’t be so upset about this—I got called into shifts all the time. And I liked it, because it gave me some cash to work with between paydays.
If Bryce wanted to date me, he could wait a little while. And that was a big if, because I didn’t feel I had a ton to offer someone like him. The more he got to know me and my situation, the less interested he would probably be.
So I went back inside and did my job. It wasn’t until we were doing our closing tasks that Lucia approached me again.
“I checked off my list,” I told her.
She nodded. “Looks like you don’t need to come in tomorrow after all.”
My eyebrows bunched together. “Because I did my tasks?”
“No.” She seemed confused too. “It was the strangest thing. This guy called in and offered us fifty grand to shut down for the day tomorrow, as long as we paid our employees their regular wages.” She shook her head, then shrugged. “So enjoy your thing and your pay.”
My stomach bottomed out, because I only knew one person with that much money.
I took my phone from my back pocket and saw a text from Bryce.
Bryce: I handled it. See you at ten. If you still want to come, that is. It’s up to you.
My lips parted as I read the words.
He hadn’t just bought me time... He’d given me a choice.
Now it was up to me to decide.
14.Bryce
Even though Icould afford to take us literally anywhere to eat, my dad still requested we meet at his favorite haunt—a steakhouse that served cheap ribeye and cheesecake the size of your head.
So I pulled into the parking lot fifteen minutes early to check us in because, of course, they didn’t take reservations. I’d considered offering money to make it happen, but sometimes I liked feeling like a regular guy.
Rosie, our usual server here, instantly recognized me. “We’ll get you on the list, sweetie. Is it the whole crew today?” I shook my head, knowing their staff would probably be relieved all the Madigans weren’t here. Serving that many people was surely a challenge. “Only four of us today. Dad, Aggie, Maya, and me.”
She nodded knowingly. “Ford’s got an out of town game this weekend, doesn’t he?”
