Chapter Three
“Freddy, I don’t care if the teacher said you can bring home the class snake. You aren’t having that thing in here. Who the hell has a class snake anyway?” Ronnie signed the stack of papers the kids gave her, minus the snake consent. She did a quick skim on each, not really reading them, and tossed them onto the table, narrowly missing the fruity o’s that Jen spilled when she was arguing with Maeby.
Freddy was the youngest of the three, at eleven years old, but he was by far the most mature. It probably had something to do with his IQ being somewhere in the genius range, but their parents tried to treat him as a child for as long as possible. Next in line was Jen. Although two years older than Freddy, Jen acted more like she was Freddy’s age, if he had actually acted his age. Maeby was the oldest. Sixteen. The age of secrets and boys and bucking authority. Ronnie certainly had her hands full with that one. Not that Ronnie herself wasn’t a handful at that age. She had been much worse than all her siblings combined, but her parents knew what they were doing. They had their shit together. Or it always seemed like they did.
“I don’t have time for this shit you three. Get your crap and let’s go. I have a job interview in thirty minutes. If you make me miss it, you are all eating mushroom soup again for dinner.”
“Yuck. I’m ready. It’s not my fault Maeby takes an hour in the bathroom. She isn’t the only one who needs to get in there, you know?” Jen slapped Maeby in the back of the head as she was doing a touch-up on her eyeliner, resulting in a line of black that streaked across the older girl’s temple.
“Are you frigging kidding me? I’m going to kill you, Jennifer.” Maeby ran after her sister and more chaos ensued. By the sound of the blood curdling screams, it wasn’t likely to end quickly.
Great.
Ronnie closed her eyes for a long moment and counted to ten in her head the way her mother used to when the kids were driving her crazy. If she didn’t, she would have ran after the two girls and cracked their heads together. Maybe they’d end up unconscious. They’d all be late, but it would make her feel better. For a few minutes anyway. Of course, then there would be blood to clean up too. She didn’t need anything else to clean up.
Ronnie wondered if their mother felt the way she did. It always seemed like she had everything together, like nothing ever bothered her. It was rare for her to lose her cool, especially in front of the kids. Not that she didn’t yell. With four kids, she certainly had plenty of reasons to, but even when she was angry, she was always still in control.
But Ronnie wasn’t her mother.
And she definitely did not have everything together.
She remembered the days before she went to college, back when their parents were alive and she was the oldest sister, instead of the mother. Everything was simple then. She had three bratty siblings that she did her best to ignore, even though they made it nearly impossible. Ronnie could almost hear her mother yelling at her to leave the little ones alone when she chased after them for taking her stuff, or playing with her makeup. It was the way things were supposed to be. Not like this. This wasn’t at all how Ronnie imagined her life turning out.
“I think you should punish them,” Freddy said, stuffing his share of the signed papers into his backpack. He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose and looked up at Ronnie with an disapproving stare. “That’s what mom would have done.”
He was right and they both knew it. Their mother would have handled everything with a calm ease that Ronnie never had. Everything she did with the kids turned out bad. Every choice was wrong. She just wasn’t cut out for this.
“Just get in the car, or I’m going to punish all three of you.”
“Maeby will just sneak out of the house when you go to work tonight.”
“What? Does she do that?” Ronnie’s mouth dropped open as she forgot all the times she’d done the very same thing at Maeby’s age and gotten away with it.
“All the time.”
Maeby froze, hands tangled in a clump of Jen’s hair, in the doorway to the kitchen. She was busted and she knew it.
“Get the hell in the car. Right. This. Minute,” Ronnie said through clenched teeth and the three did as they were told in silence, other than a single ow from Freddy, as Maeby flicked him in the back of the neck on her way past.
Things were even worse than she thought.
All three of the little trouble makers had the sense to stay quiet until they reached their school. Ronnie’s pulse thumped against her temples as her blood pressure rose enough to leave her with a slight lightheaded feeling and an impending headache. She wasn’t meant to be a mother of three at her age. Or maybe ever. This wasn’t supposed to be her job. She was supposed to be in college, partying, and enjoying her life.
How did everything come to this?
Nothing was simple anymore. Nor would it ever be again. Ronnie’s head spun and for the hundredth time that week, she was reminded how much she missed her parents.
“I’ll be late today.” Maeby twirled her fingers around her backpack strap, standing just outside the car next to her sister. “I have a study session.”
“Yeah, with her boyfriend,” Jen said in a sing-song voice, then took off running before her sister could punch her.
“Boyfriend? When did this happen? You're only sixteen.” Ronnie stared at the younger girl and wondered what the hell she was doing. She didn’t even have a handle on her own life and she was responsible for three more.
And one who was old enough to date.
“It’s not like that. We’re just casual and we really do need to study. So, okay?” Maeby lifted her eyes, guilt clearly evident, hoping she would get away with whatever she was really plotting.
Ronnie sighed and nodded. What choice did she have? If she told her sister she couldn’t see the boy, she would sneak around, just like Ronnie herself did at that age. Okay, she did it younger than Maeby, but the idea was the same. For a brief moment, she realized how much she must have put her mother through, and was grateful that her siblings weren’t as wild as she was.
Maeby wrapped her arms around Ronnie’s neck through the open car door and squeezed, then took off running. “Bye,” she called after the car as she jogged up the front steps to the school.
Freddy was the last one to get out. He shouldn’t have even been in that school. At eleven years old, he was the youngest kid in high school in their town. He was pretty much a child genius, so of course, Ronnie had no clue what to do with him.
He gave her a little wave goodbye, but she grabbed his wrist before he could get away.
“No hug?”
“The kids are making fun of me enough already. Do you want me to be lynched?”
“Maeby hugged me and she’s sixteen.”
“She’s a girl. And she has no shame.”
“Fine, but you owe me an extra at bedtime.” She released his wrist, but grabbed his backpack before he could escape. “Hey, should I do something about the kids making fun of you?”
“No. I’ve got it. Just go to your interview. I do not want mushroom soup again for dinner.” Freddy yanked his bag from her grip and ran toward the school.
“What the hell am I doing?” she asked the empty car and dropped her face into the steering wheel until the row of cars behind her started honking. She honked back, flipped them off out the window, and yelled back. “Go screw off assholes!”
Certainly not appropriate behavior for a school parking lot, but she didn’t have it in her to care at that moment.
What she really needed was a fight. The pent up aggression inside her was building like a volcano and it was sure to burst soon. The last thing she needed was to lose it at the wrong time, or with the kids. She needed to get a handle on her anger. She could hear the words coming from her father in her head. He’d said them to her countless times over the years. He was right. She’d always known it. She just thought she’d have more time to get there.
Funny thing about time, you always think there will be more than there is.
***
Ronnie was five minutes early for the interview. She’d been sure the train was going to be late and she wouldn’t make it into the city in time. She should have drove, but after finding parking, she probably would have ended up late. Good thing it wasn’t a far ride, or she would have missed it entirely.
Being early didn’t help her though.
They made her wait over an hour in a small room that had a broken heater. Broken as in, blasting a constant stream of suffocating heat that filled the room like an out of control bonfire. It was hot enough in there to fry an egg and melt the mascara off Ronnie’s lashes. By the time she got called back, she was ready to just walk out.
She probably should have.
The idiot interviewing her had no interest in hiring her. She knew from the minute she walked in there that he’d only taken the time to interview her because he felt obligated to. Chances were, he’d already filled the position with some overachieving, testosterone-laden dick who played golf with his uncle or something.
The last thing she needed was her time wasted.
“You can’t honestly think you are qualified for this position, Ms. Falcon?”
“Do you think I would be sitting here if I didn’t, Mr. Jackoff?”
“It’s pronounced Ja-koof.” He shifted in his seat and tilted his head, like a pretentious asshole.
Which was completely accurate.
“Whatever.” Ronnie stared straight ahead at the fuckhead until he broke eye contact and started rifling through papers to avoid looking at her.
Jackoff.
“It says here that you had a six month internship at Rossman, Yowley, and Wise, but you left after only two months. Why did they let you go?”
“Of course you’d assume they got rid of me. I should have known that.” Ronnie snorted. “Did it ever occur to you that I left on my own? That maybe Yowley was a little handsy and liked to shove his fat meathooks under my skirt in the copy room? That no matter how many times I told him no, he cornered me in his office and locked the door, threatening to fire me if I didn’t let him have his way with me?”
Jackoff’s eyes widened. “Is that true?”
“No. He was a great guy. My parents died and I had to go home to take care of my three siblings. Would sexual harassment be a better excuse? Because we can go with that if it will get me a chance at this job.”
She knew right then that she should have let the lie stand. It wasn’t the best thing to have out there, but chances are, Jackoff would never share the story. It might have been the only thing to get him to consider her as a human being for five seconds. Not that it would have gotten her the job. That was over before it started. But it would have been nice to not be treated like a piece of trash.
“I… uh… Ms. Falcon, I think that—”
“Look, Jackoff, I’ll save you the time. There was no way you were ever going to consider me for this job, was there?”
Jackoff’s eyes went first to her tits and he considered the option. Maybe if she’d shoved them in his face he would have been flustered enough to give her a shot. But then he glanced at the full sleeve tattoo peeking out from under her shirt and finally landed on the blue streaks in her hair, and shook his head. “No, probably not.”
“That’s what I thought.” She got up, kicked the chair aside, which fell sideways onto the floor, and tossed her visitor’s badge onto his desk. “Your loss, asshole.”
Jackoff’s chin dropped as he watched her storm out of the office. Ronnie knew from the moment she sat down in front of that dick that he wasn’t going to give her a chance. No one wants to take a chance on a college dropout who couldn’t even finish a half year internship.
She was screwed.
She’d end up being stuck fighting underground cage matches until she was too old to get a spot. No one wanted to watch a wrinkled old hag get knocked on her ass. Then what would she do? It wasn’t just herself she had to worry about anymore. What would happen if the case worker found out what she was really doing for money? She had to get a respectable job. Or at least one that looked good on paper.
And she would have had that by now. If her life hadn’t gone to shit. If her parents hadn’t died. If everything she ever knew wasn’t turned upside down in an instant.
After the last six interviews, she should have known this one would go the same way. It wasn’t like she didn’t try. She wore the appropriate clothes, thanks to her mother’s extensive professional wardrobe, luckily in her exact size. She had a polished resume, which despite her lack of formal job experience, looked good on paper. She even did her best to appear to be what they wanted. At least for the first several interviews.
Now she was just fed up.
Ronnie walked down the cold street in no particular direction for what seemed like miles. It was as if she were being led by some unknown force, sending her in a direction she’d never gone down before. She was grateful she had taken the train into the city, because she wasn’t sure she was in any state of mind to drive. Anyway, the crisp air helped clear her mind. At least it usually did.
It would have felt good to say that the day didn’t go as she’d expected, but the truth was, she knew exactly how things would turn out from the moment she woke up that morning. It wasn’t as if she planned on getting the job. Though she had hoped. It would have been nice if just one thing turned out in her favor.
Ronnie’s head spun and her hands tingled. All she really wanted to do was hit something. That was always her first reaction to stress. Even as a child when she lost her temper, she’d punch and kick her stuffed animals until they lost half their stuffing. Her father always told her that violence didn’t solve anything, but damn did she feel better after she’d wailed on a bear or bunny until it was a limp, flat heap.
It was too bad Jackoff hadn’t tried anything inappropriate. It would have felt great to drop kick the asshole. That probably would have ruined her chances for ever getting a job at a law firm in the state, but it just might have been worth it.
When she snapped out of her trance, she found herself standing in front of a bar, or a club, she wasn’t quite sure which, called the Devil’s Playpen. For some reason, it felt like it was exactly where she needed to be. There was a warmth drawing her toward it, almost as if a familiar hand took hers to lead the way.
It was only ten thirty in the morning, but a drink sounded great. Hopefully that would be able to calm her down just a bit. The place looked upscale, other than the cheesy neon sign of a naked girl that flashed between having devil horns and a tail, and a halo and wings. The open sign wasn’t lit, and for the time of day, she doubted the place was even open, but she reached out and tried the handle anyway, as if some force was pulling her to it.
It opened.
The place was quiet, but not empty. Behind the bar drying glasses, was a dark haired woman, about twenty-five, that was so hot Ronnie would have considered swinging the other way. She was wearing a low-cut top that made her boobs spill over in just the right way. She must have made a fortune off tips dressed like that.
Sitting in front of the hot bartender was a man, maybe thirty, dark hair mussed, in a rumpled business suit with the shirt opened up like he’d been wearing it all night and hadn’t yet gone to bed. Ronnie couldn’t imagine he could look any better after a full night’s rest and a change of clothes.
She was definitely out of her league.
With her hand still on the knob, she stood in the doorway, frozen in place. The warmth was gone, replaced by an icy cool. Everything inside her told her it was a mistake, that she shouldn’t be there, but if Ronnie started making good decisions now, the Earth might just crash into the Sun.
“You gonna come in and have a drink, or stand there sizing us up all day?” The guy waved her over without looking up from the papers in his hands.
Ronnie was never afraid, but something about this guy made her take pause. For a quick moment, she thought about turning around and getting the hell out of there. There was no reason for it of course, but she took note of it before moving forward and sitting down two stools from him.
He glanced at the space between them and flashed her a crooked smile. “I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to.”
When she didn’t move, he slid over one seat, leaving just enough room between them for her not to bolt.
“What are you drinking?”
“Vodka water?”
He glanced down at his watch, raised an eyebrow, and motioned for the bartender to get her drink. “Luc Morningstar.” He held out a hand and she took it without thinking.
“Morningstar… like the devil?”
“Exactly like that.” His eyes swirled green and she could have sworn they had been nearly black just a moment before. “And you are?”
“Ronnie Falcon.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Before she’d even let go of his hand. She never told random strangers in a bar her full name. What the hell was she thinking? Hell, usually she didn’t even give her real first name. He could be some serial killer, or rapist, or stalker.
His smile widened and she suddenly felt exposed, as if he could look right into her. She pulled her hand away and slipped both between her knees, clamping down.
“I’m Harley.” The hot bartender slapped the drink down on the bar in front of her and smiled. There was something strange about both of them and the way they were looking at her. Ronnie had to glance down at herself to make sure she wasn’t sitting there naked somehow, like in a bad nightmare.
Harley’s eyes were near black, but sparkled, almost as if they’d been photo-shopped right in front of her. The dark silky waves of her hair fell down in a frame around her face and the tips caressed her low-cut top. Her skin was a silky chocolate and flawless, the kind of complexion that usually required hours of air brushing. She was almost too beautiful to be real.
“Uh, nice to meet you both.” Ronnie picked up her drink and took a deep gulp without looking at either of them. She hadn’t had vodka for breakfast since she’d left college six months ago. So much had changed since then. She almost couldn’t remember her life before, as if it happened to someone else, or was all a dream.
Luc took a long pull off his own drink and let his eyes fall away giving Ronnie the chance to breathe. “What brings you out in search of alcohol at such an early hour?”
She took another gulp before she could get the words out of her mouth. “Job interview.”
“I guess it didn’t go so well?” Luc turned his back to the bar and stretched his spine against the wood. Ronnie watched his body elongate and twist, her eyes glued to his muscles straining against the thin fabric of his shirt. She wanted to reach out and touch him, see if he could possibly feel as good as he looked, but she stopped herself at the last second.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“No. The guy was an asshole who was looking for a quiet little mouse to do as he says and blend into the background. Someone who wouldn’t care how often he bumped into her ass on the elevator, or brushed past her tits in the copy room. That isn’t me.”
“No I would bet that isn’t you.” He turned and grazed his eyes over her. Her body heated under his stare. She wanted to turn away, yet at the same time, move closer.
Ronnie felt the path of his eyes as they went over her, drank her in. She couldn’t decide whether she wanted to rip off her clothes and jump in his lap, or punch him in the dick. Instead of making a decision, she downed the rest of her drink.
“So does that mean you’re looking for a job?” The hot bartender interrupted Luc’s eye-rape and held up the bottle of vodka to offer another drink.
“No thanks. Uh, yeah. I still need a job.”
“Do you have any experience with bartending or waitressing?” Luc snapped up, all business now.
“Bartending, no. I did a little waitressing during my first year in college. The thing is, I have another obligation between three and nine, and I have another job on Friday nights.”
She had to be around for the kids after school, to make sure they did homework, ate dinner, and stayed off crack. Not that they were in danger of heavy drug usage just yet, but she wasn’t taking the risk. She was already screwing up enough. She also wasn’t giving up the fights. They paid far too much and she needed the money.
Raising three kids was expensive.
“That’s a little restrictive.” Luc raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, that’s why I was looking for a day job, but I’m guessing you don’t have a great need for that around here.” Ronnie waved an arm around the empty bar.
“It’s not even eleven a.m. Things get busier after noon, but we definitely need the help at night.”
Ronnie spun on the barstool and stood. “Well thanks for the drink.” She slapped a ten on the bar, but the hot bartender shook her head, handing the money back to her.
“On the house.”
She stuffed the money back into her pocket and turned to leave. Before she got to the door, Luc called after her.
“Can you start tomorrow, Ms. Falcon?”
“I uh, seriously?” She walked back over and narrowed her eyes at Luc. “Why would you hire me?”
“You’re hot and you have a great ass. You’d look sinful in the uniform.”
Ronnie scanned the bar looking for stripper poles, or something that would make sense of things.
“Uniform?”
“Booty shorts and a crop top,” Harley said. “The customers do get a little frisky, but you can’t knock them on their ass unless they get too out of line. For the most part, they behave. So should I grab you some clothes?”
“You don’t even know me. Why would you offer me a job? Especially with the hours I’m available.”
“I thought we just covered that.” Luc shot her a blank look and placed his empty glass on the bar to wait for the offer to sink in.
“What exactly do I have to do? What are the hours? I’m not a stripper. You do realize that, right? There is no way in hell I’m taking my clothes off for money, no matter how much you pay.”
“Well now, I didn’t say we pay much, nor did I ask you to take off your clothes. Of course, if you wanted to do that, we could discuss it in private at another time.” Luc flashed her a crooked smile and pushed off the bar stool. “Look, all we’re looking for is a waitress. You serve drinks and keep the drunks happy. The hours are negotiable and pay is mostly tips. If you want the job, it’s yours.”
“You’re really hiring me?” She watched Luc take a few steps closer and extend a hand out to her.
“Welcome aboard, Ronnie Falcon. I’m looking forward to getting to know you a lot better.”
She took his hand, but even as she did, she knew it was going to be trouble. His eyes were back to black and she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined them green before. She had to have. No one’s eyes changed from green to black. That just didn’t happen. But damn if she didn’t want to feel more than his eyes on her as he released her hand and disappeared into the back.
After Luc was gone, Ronnie looked back to Harley. “Is he for real?”
“You mean about the job?”
“The job… and everything else. I can’t quite put my finger on the vibe he’s giving off, but there’s something about him.”
Harley’s eyes twinkled and she smiled. “Lucifer is certainly unique. So you’re taking the job, right?”
“Hell yeah. It’s not a law firm, but it pays and right now, that’s what really matters.”
Ronnie waited for Harley to run in back and grab her the work uniform. It was similar to what Harley had on, but with less leather and spikes. She was grateful for that at least. The last thing she expected when she woke up that morning was to end up with a job in a bar, but as she learned recently, life had a way of throwing curve balls that she wasn’t expecting.
At least she’d found a job.