Page 26 of Coerced
“Okay. Could I just talk to you for a minute about something?”
“Sure. What’s going on?”
I inhaled deeply, praying this wouldn’t be a deal breaker and ruin this job opportunity for me. “Well, obviously, as you know, I was job hunting yesterday. Your deli is the first place I stopped, and I hope you know how grateful I am for the opportunity to work here. I absolutely want to continue working here, but I also believe it’s important to be transparent. I was looking for full-time employment, and I completely understand that you aren’t currently offering full-time hours just yet. All of that to say, I continued the job hunt yesterday and found another part-time position at The Steel Pub. The hours I would be working there won’t conflict with the hours I need to put in here, so I don’t want you to be concerned about that, but I did want to make you aware of it and make sure it’s not a problem for you.”
I didn’t know how I expected Mallory to respond to the news, but I certainly hadn’t expected what I’d gotten. “Oh, that’s great, Aria. I’m so happy you were able to find something else that works with your schedule here, and best of all, you’ll get to meet Sawyer.”
My brows drew together. “Sawyer?”
She nodded, a bright smile on her face. “Yes. Sawyer is just one member of the gang.”
If she thought that telling me what she just had offered any clarification, she was wrong. I was no less confused. “I’m sorry. The gang?”
“Yes. The gang is just the group of women who are either dating, engaged, or married to Harper Security Ops men,” she explained.
“Oh, I see. That’s kind of cool.”
Granted, I wasn’t dating a Harper Security Ops man, but I guess Mallory thought it was wise to share that detail with me since it was Paxton—a Harper Security Ops man—who urged me to come into the deli for a job.
“Yeah, there are a bunch of us, and we try to get together every so often,” she shared.
“Well, I hope Sawyer is working there today, so I get to meet her,” I said. “I assume she’s at least as nice as you.”
“She’s one of the sweetest women in the world. I think you’ll love her. And she just got married at the end of August. I’m pretty sure she and Jesse just got back from their honeymoon.”
This was all working out so much better than I had expected. I had anticipated it would take some time for me to really immerse myself in building a new life here. I suspected I’d need at least a week or two just to find a job. But I’d succeeded in doing that in a day.
Now, I could focus on forging real friendships, like I had just confirmed I’d made yesterday with Paxton.
I still hadn’t quite gotten over the fact that he’d followed up with me when he got home from work to see how my job hunt had gone. It was nice to know he cared to ask about it, let alone that he’d been upset he hadn’t been able to come up with any additional leads.
He was such a decent man, and I could see why he worked at a place that offered the kinds of services that Harper Security Ops did. Paxton was all about doing good deeds. He rescued every single one of his pets, for crying out loud. There wasn’t a doubt he knew the difference between right and wrong, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t ever find himself in a situation where he made morallyquestionable choices like I had. Paxton was a much better person than I was; that much was true.
I shook off the thoughts of Paxton, focused on Mallory, and said, “I have no reason to doubt you, so I’m willing to bet Sawyer’s going to be a great woman to work with.”
“She will be. Alright, well, you get out of here and get to the pub. Thanks again for all that you did today, and I’ll see you here, bright and early, tomorrow morning.”
“See you tomorrow, Mallory.”
“Later, Aria.”
The next thing I knew, I was in my car and on the way to The Steel Pub. And on my way there, I’d replayed the day I had in my head. I woke up this morning, fed my cat, had breakfast, and glanced out the window when I heard dogs barking next door only to see Paxton there with his brood. I watched them for a while before I played for a bit with Sasha, noting once again when Paxton left for work. And not long after that, I’d gotten myself ready and left for my first day at my new job. I’d really had a great day at Grant’s Deli. It felt good to be doing something productive again.
And that feeling of pride didn’t dwindle in the least when I pulled into the parking lot for the pub. As quickly as I could, I parked and made my way inside.
I sought out Cam—short for Cameron—who was the owner of the place and the guy who’d hired me. He was nowhere to be found, but someone else had stopped at the sight of me.
“Hi. How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Aria. I was just hired, and today is my first shift, so I’m looking for Cam,” I answered.
The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh, hi, Aria. I’m Gina. I’m one of the waitresses here. It’s nice to meet you.”
I shook her hand and replied, “Likewise.”
Jerking her head to the side, she said, “Follow me. I’ll take you back to Cam’s office.”
Without hesitating, I followed behind Gina toward the back. On the way there, I took in the scene. There were a handful of patrons, a woman standing behind the bar, and another guy who seemed to be restocking the shelves behind the bar. I’d seen the guy when I stopped in yesterday, but I hadn’t met him, and this was the first I’d met Gina or saw the other woman behind the bar.