Page 14

13

Jared

When my alarm went off, I felt… hollow. Like I’d gone to sleep drunk off my rocker. It hurt to blink, my mouth was fuzzy, and my stomach was churning with guilt and regret. No, it wasn’t drinker’s remorse; I hadn’t consumed even a single drop of alcohol. This was worse.

I was pretty sure I took my last prank too far. Not that I had any way of knowing for sure, since Liam hadn’t said anything of the sort, but when he’d called me, he’d sounded… different. There was no sign of his usual fire. At the very least, I’d expected him to yell at me, but he didn’t even raise his voice. “ You sure got me ,” he’d said, with zero inflection. Something was definitely wrong.

I tried to tell myself it was what we were doing, though. Harmless pranks. Nobody got hurt—or did they?

Since I’d barely slept last night, it took me a while to get going. And since I was running late, I rushed in to work with only minutes to spare. I wished I’d left some time to go over and see Liam in person so I could see how he was really doing, but it would have to wait until after my shift.

“Hey, boss,” I said to Hugh as I jogged in .

He gave me a look, apologetic and stressed. “I’m really sorry to do this to you, but I just got word from a friend that the health inspector is making the rounds.”

“So?” I asked, confused. “You don’t have anything to worry about. This place is clean.”

“Not clean enough!” he snapped, panic edging in. “I’ve heard this guy is a huge stickler. If he finds even a single speck of dust, he’ll fine me!”

That seemed like an exaggeration to me, but Hugh didn’t look to be in the mood for arguing. So instead, I said, “Tell me what I can do.”

He blew out a long breath of relief. “Thank you, Jared. I’m so glad to hear you say that.”

Hugh then started me a list of things he wanted cleaned. It seemed excessive to me, but he was my boss, and this was obviously important to him, which meant it was important to me. I used an old toothbrush to scrub the grout between the floor tiles, climbed up on a ladder to wipe down the tops of the vents and pipes and electrical boxes. I used a Q-tip to clean out the spouts of each sauce bottle.

I spent almost the entire four hours of my shift cleaning. My back ached, my knees were screaming, and the skin of my hands was red and chafed. It had already been a long week, but this was my last shift of the stretch, thank gods. After this, I could go pick up Lulabelle and cuddle with my pup all weekend.

With just 15 minutes left in my shift, I used my sleeve to wipe sweat from my brow. “Now what, boss?” I asked. At least he looked a lot more relaxed than he had when I came in this morning.

He pursed his lips, thinking. “Hm, just the toilets left, I guess.”

“That was the first thing I did this morning.”

“And nobody has used them since then?” he asked, eyebrow arched .

I threw my hands up in defeat and turned on my heel. Back to clean the toilets a second time. By the time I was finished, I was fairly confident someone could eat off the porcelain bowls, though I doubted anyone would try. There was no way this inspector would give us anything but top marks.

Sighing, I glanced at the clock. This day was officially over for me. Debra was at the counter helping a customer when I came out of the bathroom, so I went in search of Hugh to let him know I was done. I found him in his office with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Hey, boss. I’m all done. Any word on when the inspector is coming?”

He leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee, as cool as could be. “There was never any inspection,” he said, not a single ripple in his placid expression.

I blinked dumbly for a second while I registered what he’d said. “What? Was it canceled?”

He shook his head and set his coffee down on his desk, rising slowly from his chair. “See, I stopped by at Grounded this morning, just to say hi, and Liam seemed really down. It was probably none of my business, but something told me to press for details, and I’m glad I did. See, it seems that he’s been at odds with one of my staff members.”

I opened my mouth to refute that fact, to say that it’d all been in fun, that he’d gotten his share of pranks in too. But then I thought of how he’d sounded on the phone last night, and I closed my mouth with a snap. I hung my head, shame burning my cheeks.

“How could you, Jared?” Hugh scolded, though he didn’t yell. I almost wished he would. I deserved it, didn’t I? “I never asked you to hassle him. In fact, I seem to remember telling you that there was nothing to worry about, that there was no shortage of customers for the both of us. I’m disappointed in you. ”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, my eyes stinging. “Am I fired?”

“No, of course not, but it’s not me you need to apologize to.”

I barely remembered walking home. I simply put one foot in front of the other, and it wasn’t until I heard a knock at my door that I even realized I was flopped over on my couch, face down in the cushion.

Forcing myself up off the couch, I shuffled my way to the door and opened it to find Ridley standing in the hall. Lulabelle came padding in and jumped up to put her paws on my thighs. “Hey, beautiful,” I said to her, only to blink a few times. “Oh shit, I was supposed to pick her up today, wasn’t I? Sorry, Ridley. I didn’t mean to make you come down here. You should’ve called me.”

“I did, twice, but you didn’t answer. Thought I’d better come check on you.” He was staring at me with those soft gray eyes of his as he no doubt traced over the couch cushion’s pattern pressed into my cheek. He knew me all too well. “What’s wrong?” he asked before I could head him off.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I tried lamely.

He scoffed and forced his way past me into my apartment. “I’ve never known you to be a liar, Jared. Come on, let’s talk.”

I didn’t have any friends who weren’t co-workers, which was what happened when you worked all the time, and if I tried to talk to any of them about how I felt, they would all be biased about the situation. I couldn’t blame them for it, either. I’d put Crave’s reputation on the line. Ridley, though, should be able to stand back from the situation, and with nothing to risk, I knew he’d be honest with me.

Ridley made himself at home with Lulabelle on my couch. He patted the spot beside him. “Maybe you’ve forgotten how stubborn I can be, but it’ll be the best for both of us if you just skip ahead to the part where you spill your guts, and then I’ll tell you how to fix it.”

I laughed, rubbing at my face. “I’ve missed you, Ridley. ”

“I know.” He gave me a cheeky smile, and I knew he missed me too.

I plopped down on the couch and did exactly what he’d asked—I spilled my guts, the good, the bad, and the ugly. He cringed when I admitted to letting cockroaches go in the bathroom at Grounded, and he applauded Liam’s revenge with the rotten fish.

When I got to the end of the story, telling him about my latest prank and how he’d reacted, Ridley sighed. “Well, there’s only one thing you can do,” he said at last.

“Move to another country?” I suggested, dropping my head onto the back of the couch.

“No, you ass,” he said, laughing as he slapped my shoulder. “You need to apologize.”

I peeked over at him. “Obviously, but that doesn’t feel like enough. He hates me.”

Ridley shrugged. “If he does, then that’s his right, though it doesn’t mean you don’t have to apologize. Besides, I really doubt he hates you. You’re too damn nice. We broke up and even I don’t hate you. Just try talking to him, apologize, and explain why the whole war started in the first place. Let yourself be vulnerable, Jared. He’s earned that much from you.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.” The guilt was still there, but I felt a little better. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Be vulnerable, he said. I could do that.

Ridley nodded with finality, a job well done. I figured he’d leave now, but instead, he curled his feet up under him and turned on the TV. “Have you been keeping up with what’s happening on Lonely Alpha ?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “I hate that my answer is yes.”

Ridley grinned. “So… Clark and Marty. Hot, right?”