Page 3

Keyani

A couple days later, I was at work struggling to keep up with the nonstop orders coming in.

Normally, I was able to handle the bar with ease, chatting up customers to ensure a nice tip as I poured up shots and mixed drinks like a pro, but tonight I was too agitated to care about any of that.

For months, I’d been making the best out of my situation.

Juggling my bills and the twins' needs without the help of their father had taken some adjusting, but I’d made it work.

Sometimes payments were late, or short, and sometimes I had to do payment arrangements, but shit always got taken care of.

What I wasn’t banking on was the twins having a growth spurt at the same damn time.

It seemed like overnight they’d gotten taller and gained a few pounds, and even their feet had grown.

I’d had to dip into my grocery money just to get them a couple of things from Walmart, and it was still far from enough.

Like a sleep-deprived fool, I broke down and tried to call Javon’s stupid ass for help because regardless of everything, he was their father.

But, of course, my calls went unanswered.

Just thinking about it had my face tensing to the point that it hurt.

I couldn’t understand how he could completely wash his hands of his own kids and not feel bad about it.

It made me hate him, and as much as I loved my babies, I couldn’t help wishing I’d made better choices when it came to who their daddy was.

I immediately felt bad for the intrusive thought and asked the Lord to forgive me.

“Hey Keyana, Keeeeyaaanaaa!” The sound of my name being mispronounced in my ear over the loud ass music brought me out of my thoughts, and I got even more irritated.

Not only because I didn’t want to be bothered, but especially not by the bitch snapping her crusty ass fingers in my face.

For all she knew, I could’ve been ignoring her, or most likely not answering to her calling me another person’s name, but she clearly wasn’t catching on to that.

“Damn, what!” I finally huffed, turning to see the new girl, Tiffany, with an alarmed look on her face, and I instantly rolled my eyes.

She was the last person I wanted to be bothered with at the moment with her overly bubbly ass.

We were the same age, but while I was constantly in survival mode and responsible for two other lives, she was living carefree and only working for extra spending money.

In the few weeks she’d been working here, I’d heard enough stories about her shopping sprees and the expensive dates she went on, which was all she talked about.

I was aware that my dislike of her had more to do with my own issues than with her directly.

I could even admit a small bit of envy was there, but only because it shined a bright light on my own shortcomings.

I hated that no matter how hard I tried, I kept coming up short, but women like Tiffany didn’t have to do much of anything and still had the world at their feet.

Wide-eyed, she threw her hands up and took a step back like she was afraid I’d attack her.

“I-uh, Arnold wants you to come to his office.”

Irritation covered my face, and I glanced around at the bar that was still busy as hell before raising a brow.

“Right now?” I asked doubtfully. Arnold had cameras everywhere and spent hours watching everything that happened on the floor, so I was more than positive that he saw how busy I was at the moment.

For him to call me away couldn’t have meant anything good.

“Yeah, I’m supposed to cover for you.” She gave a nervous smile, but it did little to put me at ease. Still unsure, I wiped my hands on a towel and headed upstairs to his office, leaving her to handle the bar. A few minutes later, I knocked on Arnold’s door, and he shouted for me to come in.

“You wanted to see me?” I grit my teeth and finally asked when a few uncomfortable seconds went by without him acknowledging my presence. He still took his sweet ass time to say anything and even then, he refused to lift his head.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna be able to grant you those vacation days you requested.

” His voice was flat and completely unbothered as he delivered the devastating news, while I instantly felt my chest get tight.

Out of everything he could’ve brought me up there for, denying the vacation time he’d already approved was the last thing I was expecting, and my jaw dropped in disbelief.

I’d put my request in as soon as Avery told me about their wedding, and it had only taken Arnold a week to approve it, so I couldn’t understand how all of a sudden his funny-looking ass was taking it back.

Shaking off my shock, I went to plead my case.

“But—”

“No need to argue, sweetie, it’s already been decided.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some invoices, and I’m sure Tiffany needs your help down at the bar.

” He barely glanced up before waving me away like I was a nuisance as I struggled to find my words, and when he realized I still hadn’t left, he glared up at me nastily.

“You’re still here?” His lip curled, and I didn’t know if it was his tone or an accumulation of everything that’d happened to me in the last forty-eight hours, but my body ignited in rage.

Normally, I would’ve been able to talk myself down, reasoning that I could figure something out, or if worse came to worst, Avery would understand.

I’d suck up the tears threatening to fall and take my ass back to the bar and finish my shift like he’d told me.

Unfortunately, my lips were moving before I could stop them.

“That’s not fair. You already approved my time off, so you can’t just change your mind for no reason!” I folded my arms and met him with the same energy, obviously surprising him from the way his jaw slacked. It didn’t take him long to catch himself, and he let out a humorless chuckle.

“Look, sweetie?—”

“Stop calling me that shit! I’m not your fuckin’ sweetie!”

Arnold’s graying brows shot up, and he pressed his thin lips together. He slowly rose to his feet as if his height was supposed to intimidate me. “I think you need to calm down and get back to your post before you say something you’ll regret.”

“No,” I forced out, shaking away the thoughts telling me to do what he said.

“This is not something I can just reschedule. I’m supposed to be the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding!

I can’t just tell her I’m not going all of a sudden and without a reason!

” I was so mad I was shaking just thinking about it.

There had to be some type of law his ass was breaking, but I wasn’t confident enough to say that shit out loud.

Arnold sighed, clearly annoyed, even though he didn’t have anybody but himself to blame.

Common sense would’ve told him to tell me some shit like this after my shift, or hell, even right before my vacation, but just like every other shitty boss, he thought he had the upper hand simply because he signed my checks.

I already knew his reason for changing his mind was some bullshit, which was why he was avoiding telling me.

Rubbing a hand over his thinning ass ponytail, he set his narrowed eyes on me.

“Look, Keyani, I’ve entertained this conversation much longer than you deserve, to be honest. After all the problems you’ve had since you started here, I don’t need to explain any fucking decision I make in my place of business.

Now I can fire you and then you won’t have to worry about missing your best friend’s wedding , or you can take your ass back down to the bar and get to work like you value getting a consistent paycheck… you decide.”

We silently glared at each other while I contemplated my next move.

The impulsive side of me wanted to walk right out and say fuck him and his funky ass club, but I’d already just quit a damn job without considering the consequences.

There was still another month before the wedding, so that gave me a few more weeks to stack as much money as I could while looking for another job, because I didn’t give a fuck what he was talking about, I was going to be at that wedding.

“Fine,” I eventually grumbled, rolling my eyes even though I was smiling on the inside. Just from the look on his face, it was clear he thought he’d won, and as annoyed as I was by him smirking and shooing me out the door, I kept it cute.

I mentally cursed his greasy ass out all the way back downstairs and immediately wanted to turn around once I saw the mess Tiffany had made.

There was spilled liquor all over the bar, and a line of angry customers waiting as she tried unsuccessfully to make what looked like an old-fashioned.

Relief washed over her face when she noticed me, and she happily stepped aside so I could take over.

While I finished the drink she’d been struggling with, I directed her to start handling the customers who only wanted shots, separating the line right down the middle almost. Once we finally got everyone squared away, I got straight to cleaning up, while Tiffany slumped against the sink like she’d done enough to be tired.

“Ugh, girl, I don’t know how you do it! I haven’t even been here long, and I already can’t wait for this vacation.” As soon as the word vacation left her mouth, my head snapped up.

“You got a vacation coming up?” I tried to keep my tone from getting snappy, but I could already tell that my facial expression was giving me away by the way she hesitated before speaking.