Serving the Wolf's Den (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (4 page)

“Can you start this Friday?”

“Absolutely.”

“And one other thing. My brother’s a bit of a flirt. Don’t take him seriously, and don’t encourage him. Let’s just say it wouldn’t be in your best interest.”

Max looked away for a moment before his brought his eyes back to Maura’s. “The interview’s over. Go home and relax. I’ll see you on Friday. Katie will let you back in the changing room and talk to you about the hours.”

She nodded. She had been given permission to leave. “See you on Friday.”

She closed the door behind her and went to find Katie. Toby was at the bar. He smiled and waved her over. Max’s warning had not gone unheeded. She knew she had to keep Toby at arm’s length while still being friendly. She didn’t want to offend him or make him an enemy. He was, after all, the boss’s brother.

“When’s your first night?”

“Friday.”

“Baptism by fire.”

“Well, I’ll be training, so hopefully it won’t be too bad.”

“You’ll do great.” He leaned against the bar. “So, tell me, how in the hell did you convince Max to hire you? How old are you anyway?”

“I’m twenty-three, and to answer your first question,” she said, wishing she were already in her regular clothes from the way Toby’s eyes kept fixating on her breasts, “I think the fact that Rhonda vouched for me helped a lot.”

“You know Rhonda. She’s really nice.”

“We work together as waitresses at a place called Lucy’s Café during the day.”

“Well, I’ll have to thank her personally for recommending you. It will be nice to have someone young around here for a change. Don’t tell the girls I said that. And it’s not like all the customers are old, but some of them have been coming here since my uncle opened the place.”

“So this is a family business then?”

“My uncle died over a year ago and left the place to Max.”

“Sorry about your uncle.”

“Thanks. He was a pretty cool dude. But he was up in years, and we all gotta go sometime, right?”

Maura smiled. “Do you know where Katie is? She has the key to the changing room and she’s supposed to talk to me about the hours.”

“She’s in the storeroom. It’s two doors down past Max’s office on the right. Just knock.”

“See you Friday night.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Maura.”

There was something very likable about Toby. He was so different from his brother. It would have been nice to have a friend closer to her own age. However, she would do well to heed Max’s warning and become overly friendly with Toby. She couldn’t afford to do anything that would jeopardize her job. However, when she glanced back at the bar, she saw that Toby was watching her with a look in his blue eyes that told her she was going to have a difficult time trying to stay out of his way.

By the time Maura walked out onto the floor of the Wolf’s Den, every booth and table was filled with customers. Jody, Alison, Maggie, and Candy were running around with their serving trays full of drinks that were spinning as they worked their customers with flirtatious smiles and the skills of an escape artist. Maura admired how effortless they made the job look.

She found Max at the bar where he was busy making drinks. Toby gave her a wink and a smile as she approached. She knew he liked her. She had been working at the Wolf’s Den for over a month now, and he never hid the fact that he was glad to see her.

“We’re hopping tonight,” he said, wiping his hands on his apron.

“I can see that,” she said with a smile of trepidation, knowing full well she was going to get an earful from Max.

“Glad you could make it,” Max said, glaring at her over his shoulder. “Thought you’d be here a half hour ago.”

“Sorry. The bus was late.”

“Not my problem. Take an earlier bus next time. You’ve got tables in the fifth quadrant. Let Maggie and Candy know.”

“Will do, boss,” she said, relieved he was too busy to say any more. She turned toward the crowd of men and women that were boisterous and louder than usual in their search for a good time. She heard a few wolf whistles as she made her way through the crowd to Candy, who looked slightly harried.

“Max give you shit ’cause you’re late?”

“Yeah. He’s right, though. I’m going to start taking an earlier bus. The 213 has been late more than it’s been on time lately.”

“You can’t afford to piss him off. This job is a gold mine, and you’re still on probation.”

“I know. It’s the best-paying job I’ve ever had. I just wish Max was easier to work for.”

“You’re new, that’s all. Once you’ve been here a little longer, he’ll come around. Catching that earlier bus will help.”

Maura nodded. Candy, like the rest of the girls, told it the way it was. She appreciated their candor and found it refreshing. She was definitely going to catch the earlier bus from now on.

“There’s the Bitch I’ve been waiting for,” a familiar male voice said from behind her. She turned to see Frank, one of the regulars, grinning at her.

“Hi, Frank.”

“You know I never miss a night you’re working, my little love bug.”

“Nice to see you, too. Where you sitting?” Frank was one of her more vocal admirers. He had to be at least fifty and was already developing a paunch. He loved his beer, talking sports, and flirting with her.

“I was at the bar, but now that you’re here, I’ll have to find a table. You stationed near the door as usual?”

“Yes, as usual.” She was never given the prime tables. She knew logically it was because she was new and that it was the fair thing to do. But she also knew Max put her there for another reason. She looked over and saw the bouncer, Antoine, watching her. He waved, and she waved back.

Antoine manned the door and kept his eye on her at Max’s request, and not, she was told by Rhonda, because he found her irresistible. He was practically seven feet tall and built like a football player. Although intimidating, he was kind and had a way about him that put her at ease. When he confided one night after work that he was gay, Maura felt honored that he was comfortable enough with her to want her to know. In a short period of time, she had come to rely on his watchful eye and his dominating presence.

A week after she started, Antoine had rescued her from a young guy who had hauled her onto his lap and wouldn’t let her go as he tried to kiss her. Antoine was beside her within seconds. With little effort she was off the man’s lap and standing on her own two feet again before the guy knew what hit him.

He had been a boxer in his younger years. She wasn’t surprised since he could still move with the agility of a cat when the situation warranted. She had been grateful for the interference. However, when she had turned to see Max watching them, she felt her stomach turn. Rhonda had told her he hated drama, especially when he felt it could be avoided. She couldn’t afford for him to think she wasn’t capable of warding off unwanted advances without Antoine’s help.

But only a short time later, she had found herself in a similar situation. She had warned Antoine with her eyes to let her handle it, and knowing her reasons, he had, up until the customer put his hand up her T-shirt to pull on her nipples. Only instead of Antoine prying the man’s hand from her breast, it was Max who arrived at the table first.

She thought for a moment by the way he grabbed the guy’s shirt he was going to punch him, but instead he just hauled him out of his seat and proceeded to direct him toward the door. It was Antoine that walked up beside Max to take the man, who appeared to be scared out of his wits, into his own grip that was a lot less threatening. “I got him, boss.”

She had seen lust in the man’s eyes, but it was the pure rage in Max’s that scared her even more. Antoine had returned within a few minutes with the guilty man in tow. Under Antoine’s watchful eye, he apologized to her. Antoine told her to bring free drinks and food for the table. She tried to act like it was no big deal and waited on them with as much cheerfulness as she could muster, especially since she expected to be fired at the end of her shift. When they left her a sizable tip, she was more than a little surprised.

After closing, when the place had finally emptied, Antoine had taken her aside. “Don’t let what happened tonight upset you too much.”

“I appreciate what you did, Antoine. I just wish Max had stayed out of it. Did you see his face? He looked like he wanted to kill me. I think he hates me.”

Antoine shook his head. “If that’s what you believe, honey, you’ve got a lot less experience with men than even I thought you had.”

“I’ll admit my experience is limited with men, and the only one that was even remotely serious ended badly.”

“Rhonda and me talked about that.”

“You did?” Maura was more than a little surprised that Rhonda would have said anything about her to anyone. She had to know that kind of information would only make her appear less capable and a fool to boot.

“Rhonda and me are friends. I’m the only one she talks to about anything, especially when it comes to you. Now don’t go getting your feelings hurt and get her all upset, okay? She loves you like a sister.”

Maura nodded. “I feel the same way.”

“Come here and give Antoine a hug.” She felt so small in his big but gentle arms. “You’re doing just fine. Yes, you are.”

“Well,” she said, looking up at him, “we’ll see if Max agrees with you.”

He hadn’t fired her that night, and here it was a couple weeks later and she was still one of his Bitches. Even though there had been no more altercations with the customers, Max still had her serving the tables by the door where Antoine could keep an eye on her. Luckily, she was a quick study, and he couldn’t fault her for her ability to serve his customers drinks in record time without screwing up their orders.

If she could just learn to hone her skills at reading her customers to know who thought her personal services were part of the cover charge, she might just be able to keep her job long enough to pay off her ever-mounting debts. It was only that morning she had received a collection call from yet another credit card company. Tim had now rung up credit in her name to the tune of $50,000.

Regardless of the fact she shouldn’t be held responsible, it was her credit rating that was going to be ruined if she didn’t pay. She needed her job at the Wolf’s Den more than ever to keep that from happening.

“Come here, my sweet Bitch,” Frank yelled, bringing her back to the present. She put on a smile and walked over to his table to take his order. Everyone was amazed at how easily she could take orders from upwards of ten tables without writing anything down and still remember who ordered what. Her grandmother had once told her that her memory was a gift. Sadly, she wondered what she would think if she could see how she putting that gift to use now.

“How about another beer, darling?” Frank leered as she approached.

“Sure thing.” She picked up another couple orders after she left Frank’s table before she made her way back through the crowd to the bar where she rattled off all the drinks and food she needed without missing a beat.

“Damn, you’re good as well as being beautiful,” Toby said with admiration. “Do you ever get it wrong?”

“Sometimes I do,” she lied. One of her high school teachers had tried to convince her to apply to college, but her grandmother was sickly and needed her at home. When she died, the idea of going to college hadn’t seemed as important as keeping a roof over her head.

“You hear her rattling all that off from memory, Max?” Toby asked, turning to where Max was shaking up a cocktail. When he didn’t respond, Toby just shook his head.

“I’m telling you, Max, I got a feeling Maura would be great at doing your books. She’s got an aptitude, if you know what I mean.”

“Maura,” Max said, pouring the drink he had just made, “needs to learn how to do the job she has first. She’s still in training.”

“She’s picked it up fast,” Toby stated. “I just think she’d be better working the Den’s books than the tables.”

“I just hired an accountant friend of mine to do my books.”

“Didn’t know that.” Toby mouthed “sorry” to Maura.

Maura’s first instinct about Toby had been right. He was fun to work with. He was also adorable. His wavy blond hair, big blue eyes that were exactly like Max’s, along with his pretty-boy good looks were enough to make any girl take more than a second look. The fact that you could see his bulging muscles beneath his white shirt and his muscular thighs outlined against his tight jeans was just icing on the cake. Maura wondered if he had a girlfriend, but that, she reminded herself quickly, was none of her business.

“Well, now you do.” Max turned to put the drink down on the bar behind her.

“You do make the best drinks, Max,” a woman’s voice said. “Somehow I think you’d be good at whatever you do.”

Maura turned her head to see who had just spoken. The woman was wearing a fur coat that parted to reveal a dress that was almost as short as her own uniform, only she was more than twice her age.

Max just smiled. “Thanks, Joanie. I do take my drinks seriously.”

“Well, if you ever decide to take me seriously, let me know. I’ll show you what an experienced woman can bring to the table, the bed, and anywhere else you want.”