Last night, I didn’t crawl into bed until close to four in the morning and was woken a mere two hours later by my phone’s high-pitched ring. The temp agency needed a last-minute placement, and now, I am running around my apartment like a lunatic. Having great standing with the agency, they tend to be reasonable about working with my schedule at the bar.

When April called in a panic this morning, I knew she had to be desperate because today was a no-call day for me since I am closing again tonight at Déjà vu. But still, here I am after barely two hours of sleep, heading out to fill in as a receptionist for a large law firm.

I swiftly check my reflection in the glass doors and straighten the skirt of my plum wrap dress before entering the building. A soft ding sounds as the door opens, and an older handsome man welcomes me from behind the dark cherry desk.

“Please tell me you are from the agency and here to save the day,” he says, almost pleadingly. He moves to greet me in front of the desk, and I take a moment to admire him. Dressed in a sharp three-piece suit with perfect salt and pepper hair, he appears just as powerful as I imagine he is inside the courtroom.

“Yes, Brenna Daniels.” I reach my hand out, and his larger one engulfs mine in a professional handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you, Brenna. I am Richard Welch. Thank you for assisting today. I gave April specific requirements, and she said you were the girl for the job.”

I instantly feel nervous that I may not be properly qualified for the job. I have limited experience in the legal field and typically only get placed for basic receptionist jobs. Answering phones and taking messages are simple tasks and hard to screw up.

April knows this, seeing as she is the one who assigns the temporary jobs. If Mr. Welch had specific requirements that he felt were important, I am confused as to why she would recommend me for the job.

“I haven’t already scared you off, have I?” he asks after I have yet to respond, and his warm smile helps to melt some of the nerves.

“Not at all, Mr. Welch,” I lie. “I’m a quick learner, so if you want to give me a rundown of what you’ll need me to do, I’ll get to work.”

“I like you already, Brenna. You are going to do great here. And it’s Richard; none of those formalities here.”

His friendly demeanor puts me at ease. Turning, he motions me to the desk, and I take a seat as he goes over my duties for the day. The usual receptionist is pregnant and recently began to have complications. She had planned to train a temp before taking maternity leave, but last night, her husband rushed her to the hospital and she was put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. I don’t know much about pregnancies—my sister wasn’t around while she was pregnant with my niece—but I can’t imagine bed rest being good.

The Welch Law Firm is well known around the city for being powerful and tenacious. If you need something taken care off and have the money, this is the place to come. The office is located in the heart of the city and conveniently near the courthouse.

Richard explains that my job today should be fairly simple. The attorneys are all busy with their heavy caseload and their paralegals will assist in the majority of the work. My biggest job is answering the phone and transferring the calls to the proper person. I will also accept deliveries and make sure they end up in the right office. I am to treat everything with time sensitivity; as soon as it comes in, I need to get it where it needs to go. As many of their cases are high profile, I am required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Once Richard finishes his explanation, he also walks me around the office to introduce me to the other staff. I pay close attention to the office layout during the tour because the last thing I need is to get lost or forget where an attorney’s office is. I am feeling more pressure with this job than I have with any other, but that only makes me want to succeed that much more.

The phone has been ringing off the hook all morning, and so far, I haven’t had any problems with their phone system. I have been moving at a fast pace, not leaving me with much downtime, but I must admit I don’t hate the work. This kind of routine and atmosphere is something I could see myself getting used to. Typically, I am bored out of my mind before lunch and end up watching the seconds tick by on the clock. One of the good things about working with the temp agency is I don’t often end up in the same office for more than a couple of days, but if it wasn’t for my shifts at the bar, I wouldn’t mind spending more time here.

Keeping up the two jobs helps me to afford the apartment where I live. It’s far from luxurious, but it’s a two bedroom in a decent area and close to downtown. I grew up in a rough part of the city, so I hightailed it out of there as soon as I could. Sadly, my sister, Lynne, never seemed to make it out. She wasn’t the only one either.

I dated Patrick all through high school, and we made plans to leave together. Go away to college and make something of ourselves, but during our senior year, he ended up falling down the same path as everyone else. He was so caught up in drugs and the lifestyle that came with it that I didn’t recognize who he had become. We broke up and I left him behind, just like the rest. He called and came around a few times, claiming he was getting clean, but then three years ago, I received the call that he had lost his battle. Hearing Patrick had overdosed put me in a dark place, and I questioned every decision I had made, wondering if I could have helped.

Since then, I lost touch with my family and only hear from Lynne when she is in desperate need of a sitter for my niece. I would do anything for that little girl, and it kills me to think of her growing up in that place. There have been multiple times when I have attempted to help Lynne get out. Interviews were lined up only for her to never show, and I even opened my door and invited her and Jane to stay with me. It lasted for three days before I came home after work to find them both gone, along with any jewelry and the cash I had in the apartment. That night, I learned some people just couldn’t be helped unless they wanted it. Every night, I pray for my niece, hoping and wishing she is safe.

“You did very well today, Brenna.”

I look up from the keyboard as I am finishing an email to find Richard standing next to the desk. This is the first I have seen of him since lunchtime; he has been locked away in his office working on a criminal case.

“Thank you. You gave me a great lesson this morning, and everyone here is so kind. If I had a question, they jumped to help. You have a great group working for you, Richard.”

“I have to agree with you. We have come a long way since I first opened the doors. Listen, your day is over, but I wasn’t kidding. You did great today, and I would like nothing more if you would come back Monday and continue to work with us. It doesn’t look like Rita will be back anytime soon, and you picked up on everything so quickly. It would be a shame to have to train someone new.”

I think about his offer and am honored he wants me to come back. It isn’t often as a temp that you get asked to return. But with my job at Déjà vu, I don’t know how I would swing both without killing myself in the process.

“Thank you for the offer. I actually had a fun day today, but I also have another job working primarily nights, and I worry it would interfere.”

“Do me a favor,” he says, and I nod my head. “Think about it over the weekend before you decide.”

“I will. Have a good weekend, Richard.”

“You too, Brenna. I look forward to hearing from you.” Turning around, Richard walks back into his office and closes the door.

When I glance down at my watch, I am shocked to see that it is already five thirty. My shift at the club starts at seven, which doesn’t leave me much time to get home, eat, and change before I have to leave again.

I can already feel the exhaustion from the past two days begin to set in as I walk through my apartment door.

Tonight will be a long night.

Reaching into the refrigerator, I pull out my leftover pasta and toss it into the microwave. While that heats up, I rush to my bedroom and change out of the dress and heels I wore to the law firm today and into my jeans and work tank.

The microwave dings just as as my phone goes off. Glancing at the clock, I have enough time to scarf this pasta down before running out the door.

Checking my phone as I eat, I see I have two missed text messages.

Lynne: need u 2 watch Jane 2night

Tanner: See you tonight, beautiful.

I take a moment to process the message from my sister. Of course, it would be too much trouble for her to actually ask me for something. In true Lynne fashion, her needs outweigh anyone else’s. It hurts my heart to think about what will happen when I turn her down. Usually, when she reaches out to me for help these days, it is because she doesn’t have any other option.

Biting the bullet, I type out a quick message, letting her know that I have prior commitments tonight but would be more than willing to pick up Jane first thing in the morning.

Three hours later, I pull my phone from my pocket, and there is still no response from my sister. Figuring I will most likely not hear from her, I stuff my cell back in my pocket and go check on my tables.

Originally, I was scheduled to work behind the bar with Jordan, but Missy somehow suckered Ian into allowing her to train to bartend, leaving me to work the floor. I didn’t mind the constant running around as much as I did the difference in the tips I would make tonight. I always bank on working behind the bar and rely on that money.

I make my usual rounds, picking up any empty glasses and taking orders before waiting at the bar for Jordan to get my drinks ready. It was a little different being on this side of things, and it took restraint to keep myself from going back there and doing it myself.

The Friday night crowd is starting to fill in, and I notice a new group of guys occupying two of my tables. After dropping off the last drink from my tray, I walk over to greet them.

“Hello, gorgeous,” says the dark-eyed stranger.

“Cruz, lay off my woman,” Tanner says, before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Find your own.”

I shift out of Tanner’s hold and turn toward him with my brow raised in question. “Your woman?”

“In my heart, you will always be mine.” If I didn’t know Tanner as well as I did, I would think he was sincere. No wonder so many girls drop their panties for him.

“You are so full of shit, Tanner Tate.”

Turning away from him, I take the orders of the group before facing him again. “Your usual?” I ask.

“You know it. And how about a round of whiskey shots? Seven of them.”

Only five other guys are sitting with Tanner, so I guess another will be joining them momentarily.

“Okay, boys. I’ll be right back.” Before I can walk away, Tanner wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to his body, placing a kiss on my cheek.

Laughing, I shove him away and turn around, only to be met by a pair of angry blue eyes.

“Hey bro, about time you got here,” Tanner says, slapping his brother on the back.

“What can I get you to drink, Logan?” I ask, noticing his eyes wandering around the space, looking at anywhere but me, which throws me off. He has always been friendly when around, but maybe he’s had a bad day.

He could wear a burlap sack and still ooze sex appeal. It really isn’t fair that something as casual as jeans and a long-sleeve shirt could be so hot on someone. Even though his eyes dart all over, I don’t miss the way the blue material of his shirt make the color of his eyes pop that much more.

“Scotch. Neat.” Without further acknowledgment, he walks away to join the group and is quickly joined by a female, leaving me feeling dismissed.

That is definitely out of the ordinary. I walk back to the bar and try to brush off Logan’s aloofness, but I can’t help but wonder what brought it on. I am sure his job stresses him out, and with the recently broken engagement, maybe he is having a rough time. Although it doesn’t give him the right to be so rude.

Shots and drinks are delivered to the boys, and Logan is preoccupied with the blonde, not paying any attention to anything around him. Tanner is being extra sweet to me tonight, and it helps me ignore the constant heat of Logan’s eyes glaring at me. Every time I feel the burn, I glance in his direction, only to be met with his deep scowl before he averts his eyes. I am unaware of what might have crawled up his ass, but it is my goal to keep my distance from him tonight.

He doesn’t appear to be overly friendly to anyone in the group, but I can’t help but take offense when he is extra rude to me.

My shift seems to drag on the rest of the night longer than humanly possible. Logan only hung around for about an hour before heading out. No one else seemed to notice his attitude, or if they did, there wasn’t any mention of it, so maybe this was a common thing for him. We definitely don’t have the relationship that I have with his brother, so it’s not like I really know that much about him. Of course, his icy demeanor did nothing to cool the warmth that courses through me when he is near.

At the end of the night when I count out my tips, I am pleasantly surprised to discover I made more than a normal Friday night behind the bar. It probably helps that Tanner and his friends occupied most of my tables, and they all tipped me extremely well.

When I make it back to my apartment, I strip down and crawl into bed, not even bothering to shower because I am too exhausted.