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“I… You what?” I asked. It wasn’t that it was shocking that she’d been successful before coming to us; it was that she’d never mentioned it before. I usually would’ve found out from her resume, but because we’d done a live audition…

Fuck me, I always did like the smart ones.

“Yeah, I might not be doing it anymore, but I still have ideas all the time. If this works, then I have a ton more for the club, actually.”

“Listen—don’t take this the wrong way, but why the hell are you bartending? It sort of seems—”Like a fucking waste of your time.

So why did the thought of Vi leaving to go work at some big-shot firm downtown make me feel sick to my stomach?

“Honestly,” she said, taking her time to chew a cold bite of pizza. “At first, I was totally against it. It felt like taking a step backwards since I bartended to put myself through college, but… The job market is shit, and my mom is sick, so I gotta do what I gotta do. You know?”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged, not quite meeting my eyes. “Cancer. My sibling is in nursing school, so it isn’t like she has a pile of money to help with either. So I stepped up.”

The light from the beaded chintz lamp seemed to touch her in an entirely new way, her eyes molten in its warm glow.

“I understand what it’s like to have to take on responsibility for other people,” I said softly, catching her hand in mine. “Thank you for helping me take care of mine, Vi.”

She smiled, her eyes lingering on where we touched. “Thank you for the same, I guess.”

I glanced at the calendar on the wall behind her. “We only have a week.”

“It’s a quick turnaround, sure. But everyone at O is crazy talented; it’ll be a breeze.”

Reluctantly, I let go of her hand, picking up her discarded pen to grab a fresh sheet of paper, writing a quick checklist of what would need to be done.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you,” Vi said, standing as she grabbed her plates. “I’ll let you get to it.”

My eyes flicked to hers, energy crackling between us as I hesitated, my throat tight. For the first time since Garrett had visited us, I didn’t feel like the world was about to topple over. It was disorienting.

“Thank you,” I whispered, clutching the pen hard to stop myself from grabbing her. No matter what I thought could happen between us, I was still Vi’s boss.

There were some lines I shouldn’t cross.

Like she’d read my thoughts, Vi’s eyes moved between mine, her cheeks pinking as she whispered, “It’s my pleasure, boss.”

I ignored the waybosson her tongue made my skin prickle and nodded toward the door, leaning away to break the spell.

“It’s time for us to get to work.”

vi

. . .

“Pleeeeeeeeease Junebug?”Elsie begged, ruby eyes round with pleading. She clasped her hands together in front of her, pushing her lower lip into a frown-melting puppy pout.

Well, maybe for anyone other than a surly seamstress with a serious distaste for dealing with people. Though, I had to admit, Dana was right to send Elsie to be the one to ask.

She wasalwaysmost likely to get the yes.

“I’m notserving! Are you out of your fuckingmind?” Juniper snapped, closing her book—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—with an audible snap. “Striker!”

She saw me as I was moving to go around them, currently blocking the curtain that led back to the main bar, hauling a large wooden box of champagne. Juniper, for the most part, didn’t usually make a point of speaking to me, and being under the full power of her attention now made my palms feel sweaty with familiar‘aaaaaaaah hot girl!’gay panic nerves. I adjusted the box in my hands.

“What’s up?”

“Talk some sense into her, please!” Juniper said, huffing. “There isn’t a chance in immortal hell I’m slinging?—”