Page 1 of Run

One

Giovanna

“I gotsomething you can sip on, Kelly,” Gage said, lewdly thrusting his crotch in my direction and laughing like his horrible attempt at hitting on me was the height of wit.

The men who sat around him laughed even louder. I couldn’t be sure whether they found Gage amusing or not, and how they actually felt was unimportant. What mattered was that Gage was the boss’s son, and laughing at his jokes, no matter how bad, was in their best interests.

As hiding my disgust was in mine.

I painted my most accommodating smile on my face and shook my head. “I gotta work my shift, Gage, but thanks for the offer.”

I kept my gaze just to the side of Gage’s face, looking at the ratty velvet on the chair he sat in instead of directly at him. The upholstery was an upgrade from the rest of the furniture, but just barely. It had been red once I figured, but now it was a dull, dusty-looking gray color. Even under the dim bar lights, it looked filthy, but I knew for a fact it was clean. After all, it was my job to scrub it down every night. Gage had been insistent about that.

He didn’t care about the rest of the place, but if I so much as missed a spot on his chair, I’d hear about it.

What a fucking jerk.

My face was dropping into the frown that Gage inevitably threatened to put on it, but I caught myself and turned my smile up another notch. I added a little flutter to my eyelashes, too, mostly to keep myself from rolling my eyes. Gage lifted one corner of his mouth in what I knew he thought was an attractive smirk, but it actually came off like a predatory sneer.

“It’s my bar, so I know when you’re supposed to work. And I know when you can take a break. Come, Kelly. Sit next to me,” he said.

He patted the spot next to him, one that was so small most of my generous hips and ass would end up on Gage’s lap, and then looked at me, waiting expectantly.

The insult was twofold. I didn’t appreciate being summoned like a dog, and I sure as fuck didn’t like the implication that the three bucks an hour plus tips I earned in this shitty bar meant Gage was entitled to more than a friendly smile and cold beer.

Of course, I wouldn’t tell him that. So I kept that same placating smile on my face and shook my head again.

“One of these days I’ll get you to change your mind,” he said.

I didn’t miss the flinty hardness that now set into his gaze, nor the subtle shift in the air. Polite or not, turning Gage down in such a public fashion was getting dangerously close to an outright challenge, and with men like him, challenges could not go unanswered.

So I listened to my instincts, and keeping that smile on my face, I made my retreat out of the VIP area.

It was really just a collection of tables that Gage and his men called their own, only special because none of the tables wobbled. But they treated it like their precious clubhouse, and even though only a curtain separated it from the rest of the space, I was happy to get out of there. I quickly got back behind the bar, busying myself with customers and making it a point not to look in Gage’s direction.

I’d forgotten to pull the curtain down when I’d clocked in today, so he had an unobstructed view of me. I was tempted to drop it, but I knew going back to that area would mean more conversation with him, and I didn’t think I’d be able to extract myself so easily this time. So instead, I kept focused on what I was doing, moving from one end of the bar to the other without looking in his direction again.

I could feel his eyes on me as I worked, but soon, he lost interest in me, busying himself with some inane conversation. When his attention was diverted, I felt some of my adrenaline begin to ebb and my heartbeat begin to return to normal.

I hated being on edge like that, but after a few minutes, I knew everything was fine. I could handle Gage and guys like him.

I just preferred not having to.

Preferred not being seen.

One of the keys to my survival was keeping a low profile, staying under the radar. And getting someone like Gage’s attention, or, God forbid, getting caught up with him, even unintentionally was the opposite of that.

It might be time to move on.

I pondered that thought as I wiped down the smooth wood surface of the bar. I knew it was clean, but I wiped it anyway, needing something to do with my nervous energy. Besides, I was a little bit of a neat freak. Or that was what Gage said, laughing as I’d scrubbed his bar from top to bottom.

That was funny coming from him. Still, I hadn’t let that stop me. I didn’t hold on to much, tried not to let my surroundings affect me because I knew they would change. But I had standards, and I wouldn’t have been able to stay in this place as it had been before.

Now, the place looked as good as it possibly could. The tables and chairs were old and worn, and the floor was scared and scuffed. It would never be anything other than a dive bar, but I didn’t get grossed out when I touched things here anymore, so that was something.

I made the next drink and sat the glass in front of a woman who was seated at the bar.

“Enjoy your drink,” I said, giving her my friendly bartender smile.