“Thanks. Thankfully, our mother is doing much better. I think having all the grandbabies around has made a big difference for her,” I said.
We continued on through the bar, and I introduced her to everybody as we came upon them. I found myself laughing and smiling the entire time. Hannah wasn’t just beautiful. She was friendly and confident and had a glow about her that I found myself drawn to.
Of course, I couldn’t let myself dwell on that. It wasn’t like I could act on it. Hannah was brand-new and a member of the staff. I couldn’t cross that line. But there was nothing wrong with looking.
2 Hannah
I swung by one of the tables I had been taking care of all night and scooped up the portfolio with the check in it.
“Keep the change,” one of the men said.
“Thank you. Have a great night,” I said.
“I hope to see you again sometime,” he said.
I gave him one of my brightest, yet still generic, smiles. “I’ll be working here just about every day.”
“Sounds good to me. This place is lucky to have you.”
I continued on through the bar without responding. He wasn’t being inappropriate, but I wasn’t going to hang around long enough for the tide to shift if it was going to.
Bringing the portfolio up to the cash register at the back corner of the bar, I opened it up and took out the money tucked inside. I handed it and the receipt over to Ava, who had jumped in behind the bar to help Jordan out. She read the receipt and counted out the money. Giving me an impressed look, she handed back several bills.
“Nice tip,” she said. “You seem to be getting a lot of those tonight.”
“People are trying to make my first night a good one,” I said.
She smiled. “Somehow I think it’s a little more than that.”
I glanced over at Jordan as he walked up behind Ava to get another of the souvenir glasses on display. His eyes met mine, and we held each other’s gaze for a brief second before he turned away. I had been catching him staring at me all night, ever since he showed me around the bar earlier and helped me get started.
Looking at him, it was hard to believe he was actually one of my bosses. He was old enough. I guessed he was somewhere in his mid to late thirties. But there was just something about him that seemed way more fun than a regular boss should be. Not to mention he was stupidly hot.
That was the part that really stood out to me. Ava was the one who hired me. She explained to me that the bar was owned by the Anderson brothers, and she was married to Mason Anderson. When she asked me to come in tonight as my first night, she told me to find Jordan, because he was the one who would be showing me the ropes and getting me started.
I came in just when I was supposed to and was taken aback by the man behind the bar. He was standing right there where Ava told me I would find Jordan, but he wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Of course, I didn’t really know what I was expecting. I was new in Astoria and hadn’t met any of the Anderson family, except for Ava.
But from the very beginning, Jordan put me at ease. I felt comfortable with him as soon as we introduced ourselves, and he made sure I felt totally ready to jump into my new position. It was perhaps a little bit intimidating to find out I was starting on one of their theme nights and to hear that these nights often got crazy busy.
Jordan made sure I felt ready and told me that I was going to do just fine. That helped me relax and even get excited for what was to come. So far, he had been right. It was a great first night. All the customers were friendly and welcoming, the tips were flowing, and I was really liking all my new coworkers.
Especially Jordan.
Throughout the night I would glance over his way and find him staring at me. It didn’t bother me. In fact, I found myself getting a little bit of a shiver from it. I was used to being stared at, and Jordan was not being at all creepy, which was more than I could say about a lot of guys. I’d had my fair share of creeps over the years, so I could sense these things.
By the end of the night, I was tired but happy. It was even more successful than I’d hoped it would be. I was looking forward to going back for another shift but was also happy that I would have most of the next day off to relax. I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Though I got home well after two in the morning after my first shift, I was awake and ready to go by six-thirty. I was pretty sure working at the bar and keeping such late hours would eventually catch up with me and I would stop being quite as much of a morning person.
That day, I packed up my art supplies and headed for the beach. There wasn’t anybody out there except for a couple of early morning joggers as I set up my easel and dispensed little bits of paint out onto my palette.
The view of the ocean and the rocks around it was beautiful. As I captured the image on my canvas, I found a calm I didn’t know I could still achieve. It had been a long time since I’d felt anything even close to it.
I was glad to be so far away from everything.
My phone
