Page 55 of Coerced

“I agree. Until he shows you different, don’t assume the worst.”

And that right there was the one thing I needed to remember. In my situation, it was safe to say I’d been feeling bitter for a while. Before I’d left my hometown, I’d vowed to give myself a fresh start. I couldn’t carry the weight of everything that had happened before if I intended to give myself a real chance at something I could be proud of here.

That was what was most important.

Despite all the analysis I’d done of the conversation Paxton and I had that evening, I hadn’t been able to work out the precise intention behind what he said. Not even with my best friend’s help.

That’s why I was glad to be heading to work now.

It was early Thursday evening, and I was working at the pub tonight. Based on what I’d learned from my coworkers and combining that with what I’d seen on the evenings I had worked, tonight would be busy.

But I was looking forward to it.

Because the busier work kept me, the less likely I was to have any time to allow my mind to wander to thoughtsof Paxton and whether he had any real interest in me that could lead to me being an official member of the Harper Security Ops girl group.

Why did I want that so badly anyway?

Was it the friendship I was after, or was it the more meaningful relationship with Paxton? If I was honest, it was both.

But I wondered if my reasons for wanting it were genuine. Was I merely trying to fill the void of having lost my family?

Once again, I was left without answers. Fortunately, I’d arrived at work, so I put all the thoughts and questions aside for the time being and stepped through the front door of the pub.

I walked in and noted the scene.

It was still early enough that the place wasn’t packed, but there were quite a few patrons already inside—some I recognized as regulars, and others I did not.

Ernie and Sawyer were behind the bar, and Gina was out on the floor, delivering some drinks to a table.

“Hey, Aria,” Sawyer greeted me.

I smiled at her. “Hi. How’s it going?”

“Great. You’re on with me and Ernie tonight, and Kelly should be in within the next hour,” she returned.

“Sounds great. Busy today?”

“I just got here about thirty minutes ago, and Ernie was here thirty minutes before that,” she shared. “It’s only picked up in the last fifteen minutes or so, but I get the feeling we’re going to have a rowdy night tonight.”

It might have just been a feeling, but I’d learned Sawyer was generally very good at guessing how our nights would go. So, I grinned at her. “Awesome. I’mgoing to put my stuff in the back, and I’ll be out to dive right in.”

“Perfect.”

Without wasting a moment, I scurried off to the employee’s area in the back of the bar to set my things down before returning to the front. In the time it took me to do that, a group of three guys had walked in and sat down at a table.

“Do you want to grab that one, Aria?” Gina asked. “I’m off soon, so I’d rather just finish up with the tables I’ve got.”

“I’ve got it covered,” I assured her.

With a smile, I made my way to the table, introduced myself, and took their order. I approached the bar again, and Sawyer shot me an expectant look. “Just three beers,” I told her, handing her the slip with their choices on it. “I’m going to get their app order to Ozzie, and I’ll be right back for those drinks.”

“You’ve got it.”

No sooner had I delivered the appetizer order to Ozzie and the first round of beers to the guys, two women had walked in. I immediately got them squared away with some drinks, helped Gina clean up an unexpected spill at one of her tables, got the appetizers to the guys at my first table, and finally returned to the bar.

“You haven’t been here more than twenty minutes, and you haven’t had a break, Aria.”

I glanced over at the end of the bar, where I saw Butch and Tom sitting. They were two of the regulars at the bar, guys who had long since retired and often came in to enjoy some time with each other at the pub. They had welcomed me from the start, were always friendly, and didn’t mindchatting with anyone who was working whenever we had a moment of downtime.