Page 16 of Crash and Burn

I made my decision.

I was going to tell Grant I loved him.

5

Theclosedsign hung on the door of the bar when I arrived. I stood in front of the entrance.

I took a deep breath.

I pushed on the doors. They were unlocked.

My heart sped up.

I walked in. I looked around.

Grant wasn't there.

The breath left my lungs in a whoosh. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed.

I went to the back and saw the office door open. I stuck my head in.

"Hey Mason," I said. "No sign of Grant?"

"No, he hasn't shown up yet." Mason flicked his eyes to the clock on the wall. "Your shifts don't start for another fifteen minutes."

"I thought I'd get an early start," I told him.

"I'll be out to help you with a clean sweep once I'm done with these fulfillment orders."

Mason really was a good boss.

The bottles of cleaning solution were in the kitchen. I rummaged around in the cupboard under the sink and took out the few I'd need, along with some fresh cloth towels. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the stain remover stick.

I couldn't help remembering the last time I'd used that stick.

I'd been shirtless. Grant had walked in on me. He'd stared. He'd taken a step toward me.

I couldn't help remembering the strained look in his eyes. Was it thirst? Was it hunger?

Even if Grant didn't share the exact same feelings I did, at the very least he felt the attraction between us, right?

With my resolve strengthened, I went about wiping down and disinfecting all the surfaces. True to his word, Mason soon came out and started helping me.

"Thanks," I told him gratefully. "It's good to have the help."

"It's my bar, too," he replied. "Speaking of help…" He put the cleaning rag down on the table and wiped at his brow with his inner elbow. "I'm thinking we need to hire more staff. Matt's not working out."

Matt, that was his name.

"He didn't like to help out much, did he?" I asked.

"He wasn't a team player, no," Mason agreed.

"Does that mean more interviews?" I asked.

"Yup," Mason replied.

"We've already been through so many people," I lamented. "What's it going to take to keep someone?"