Chapter Twenty-Seven
He wouldn’t return texts. Or calls. Or even online messages. He stayed as far away from me as possible during our classes. Four days since he went off on me at Steak Stockade and I couldn’t get so much as a fuck off from him. How could I fix this mess when Devon wouldn’t talk to me?
Paige and I sat in the student union on Friday afternoon before I had to go to work. My phone rang in my pocket, which was odd enough. Most people I knew, including my father, sent texts. I pulled it out and almost dropped it.
“Who is it?” Paige asked, sucking her strawberry milkshake with vengeance.
“JenCar?” I said.
“Answer it!” She reached for the phone and swiped answer before I could.
“Ms. Dawson?” Madeline Upton said on the other end after a too long pause on my part.
“Yes, sorry. I must have hit mute.” Keeping my voice even was damn near impossible.
“I do that all the time. Drives my husband crazy.” She sounded so relaxed and nonchalant, it was hard to believe this was the same woman who fired me. “I’d like you to come in on Monday afternoon if you’re available. We have some things to discuss.”
“Um…okay. What time?” I stared at Paige whose excitement caused her to bounce in her chair.
“Four would be perfect. Rex will escort you straight to my office.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
She hung up without saying good-bye, but who cared.
Paige slapped my hand. “Well? What happened?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” I set my phone down, afraid the shaking in my hands would make me drop it onto the plate of grease and ketchup from my comfort food meal. Every now and then a girl’s got to have a burger and fries. “She wants to see me Monday at four.”
“And maybe you’ll get your internship back,” Paige said. She slapped the table this time instead of me. “You’ll be back on track.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I doubt it. She was pretty clear that I’d never intern at JenCar again.” Is that what I wanted, though? If Madeline Upton said they’d made a mistake and they’d like me back, would I even take it? I’d worked hard on researching internships and other local companies since I got back to Madison. There was a lot out there that would not only look fabulous on my resume but would expand my knowledge in a way JenCar wouldn’t have.
“This is awesome. Why aren’t you happy?” Paige picked up her milkshake and finished it off.
“I don’t know. I mean, I thought JenCar was what I wanted, but what if it really isn’t?” I thought back to my conversation with Henry. “Maybe I should take a different path.”
“A different path? Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”
I smiled and dropped my head. Paige didn’t know about my last conversation with Henry. We’d been dropped into the gambling scandal and that had taken priority. “Something my dad said. And Henry. I’ve been on the same path for as long as I could remember. It’s time to take a detour. And you were right. I need to have some fun. In another year, I’ll graduate and be out of here. I can be an adult then. Right now, I’d like to be twenty-one.”
Paige slowly nodded as a smile spread across her face. “That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s have some fun tonight.”
“I have to work until close, but I’ll see if I can get tomorrow night off. I filled in for a couple of others earlier this week. Logan owes me.”
“Yes, he does. And you’re going to turn that into a night of debauchery.” She tossed her empty cup into the nearby waste basket, drawing applause. “What? Dating Jayce wasn’t a total loss.”
We burst into laughter. Even if my plan to fix my failures didn’t succeed, I’d always have my best friend around.
…
“Liv,” Logan said as he rushed the obstacle course of waitstaff to get to me. “We have a party of ten that just showed up. Can you take them? Please?”
“Calm down, Logan. Put them in the party room. They’ll be fine with Amber.” I smiled politely and hurried back to the atrium where my section was. My tables turned over quicker at the front of the restaurant than the tables in the party room. That led to more tips. Amber would have to deal with it. Besides, Logan wouldn’t let me have the night off to hang with Paige. I’d rarely asked for a Saturday off, and when I did, he denied me. So he would have to deal with the consequences. At least he kept his promise and kept Amber away from me.
I kept my fake smile on as I stepped up to a table and set their cholesterol-filled meal in front of them. It looked delicious. Normally the food looked greasy and inedible to me. Then again, I hadn’t eaten since oatmeal at breakfast and an energy bar for lunch. I’d spent most of my day sending out resumes for summer internships. Even if Madeline Upton wanted to meet with me on Monday, I needed to be on top of the game. She wasn’t going to offer me my job back. Deep down, I knew that, but I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore her request, either.
Logan entered the atrium and hurried over as I refilled several ice teas and took orders for additional drinks. “Liv, please. I need someone to cover for Amber. She…had to leave.”
I smiled as I approached my next table and spoke to him through gritted teeth. “She quit you mean.”
“About ten minutes ago. She dropped a plate on somebody’s lap. He lost his cool and yelled at her. She started crying and took off.” He asked a few tables how their meals were and glowed with the positive feedback. As I brushed by him on my way to get more drinks, he fell into step behind me. “Please? You’re the only one who can handle a large party and keep your tables up front clear. I closed off the rest of the party room so this group will be the only ones back there.”
“Fine.” I tossed my drink orders at Brian behind the bar and turned to face Logan. “But the next time I actually ask for a night off, I get it. None of this ‘I need you, Liv’ crap.”
He was too flustered to say anything but yes.
I kept my head down and dug into the bottom of my apron for a pen as I stepped into the room. It was unusually quiet, even with only ten people.
“Hello, my name is Liv and I’ll be your server this evening,” I said as I looked up. They all turned toward me at once and my step faltered. Ten members of the baseball team, one of which was Devon Miller, stared back at me. Not this again. “Can I start you out with an appetizer?” My voice stuttered and skipped along with my heart. “Or drinks?”
Nobody said a word. It was quiet enough I could clearly hear Janee whining to Logan in the other room.
“Did you know Hailey was a reporter?” Chuck Mathis asked as he stood.
“I didn’t—”
“Then where’d she get all that information about Miller?” Barry Acklin asked beside his friend.
“I don’t—”
“Did she pay you?” another voice said, but I didn’t bother to look at him.
I turned my gaze solely on the back of Devon’s head. “Stop! Just stop.” They quieted down, but Chuck Mathis continued to glare. “What’re you talking about? What information about Devon?”
Finally, he turned toward me. “That I bet a grand on the World Series. That I had a fantasy basketball team. That I had a bet in Vegas on the Super Bowl.”
“But you didn’t,” I said. In the back of my mind, I asked him, Did you?
“Who else would’ve told her that?” he asked before turning around.
I stared at Chuck Mathis. “You would’ve. Weren’t you dating her?”
His face reddened with rage. “I didn’t tell her a damn thing.”
“Neither did I.” I stepped back from the table, which felt more like an ambush than anything else. They all knew I worked here after all. “Devon?”
He didn’t turn around to face me.
“What else did you tell her?” Barry asked.
“Nothing,” I snapped. “I never told her anything. There was nothing to tell.”
“So she made it all up?” Chuck threw his hands in the air. “It can’t possibly be your fault.”
“You can’t believe I would do this.” I stared at each one of them before settling my gaze on the back of Devon’s head. “You’re pissed at me for no fucking reason. Your second baseman dated that bitch and you still blame me anyway. Screw all of you. I’ll get you another server,” I snapped as I backed out of the room, willing Devon to look at me. Willing him to see the truth in my eyes. Willing him to listen to me.
He never even bothered to give me that chance.