Kane/Rome
I walk into the diner and look around for Tara. The only waitress I see is a middle-aged woman. The place is empty and I look at the clock to see that it’s still early. “Take a seat anywhere. You are the first customer this morning. You want some coffee?”
“Yeah, black.” I tell her.
“I like that. A man that knows what he likes.” I take the booth in the back so I can see when people come in. It’s not long before the waitress is bringing me my coffee with a menu under her arm. “Do you know what you’d like to eat or do you need this menu?”
“I’d like two eggs over easy, sausage, hash browns, and dry white toast with grape jelly on the side.” I look at the waitress’s name tag to see her name is Mildred. “I need some butter with that too, Mildred.”
“See, that is exactly what I mean, you know exactly what you want. My day is starting out right.” Mildred smiles.
“Glad to help with that. Could I have a small glass of ice, too? Is Tara working this morning?” Mildred looks me up and down.
“Why?” It’s simple but I know if Mildred does not like my answer I will get nothing out of her. She’s the type to be open and friendly in hopes of getting a better tip but she doesn’t take anyone at face value.
“I need to talk to her about her second job. My club bought the gym she works at and I have some things I need to discuss with her about her application.” Mildred is looking in my eyes to see if she can find any deceit. It’s half true. I see when she decides I am telling the truth.
“That girl works too much. Don’t be pulling her away from us. She’s the best waitress to work with here. She shows up on time or early every time. She’ll stay late and if anyone needs off she jumps at the chance for the extra hours. It’s hard to find people that will work like that. I know she likes the extra money she makes at the gym. Bud ran her over to her apartment to pick up some things. They should be back anytime. Bud is putting her up in the room over the kitchen. He would have offered it to her sooner but couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse. That girl is proud and determined to not turn out like her sister.” Mildred cuts her talking off when the bell goes off over the door.
Bud walks in with Tara trailing behind him. Mildred doesn’t say anything else about Tara’s sister. “I’ll tell Tara you want to talk to her.” I give Bud a nod but Tara is in a hurry and doesn’t give me a second glance. I see Mildred talking to Tara and Mildred must be telling her what I said because Tara finally gives me a look. She doesn’t smile or show any emotion. I am going to need to step up my game if I am going to keep tabs on her. She’s not impressed by my cut or my motorcycle. I think I like that.
Most women try to push themselves on most bikers. I don’t know if it is the thrill of a bad boy type or to get closer to the Feral Steel Club. Either way they are wasting their time on me.
Something about Tara interests me. She’s different. I watch her as she is working as more people come in. She’s not flirty with any of the men but she’s not over friendly with anyone. She moves with confidence like she knows exactly what she is doing. I guess working here since she was sixteen gives her that confidence. The thing that stands out to me about Tara is she never dresses to impress and I don’t think she wears any makeup at all. She doesn’t need to. She has a natural beauty about her. Not the fake made up beauty you see on television or magazine covers but a girl next door kind of pretty. She’s also doesn’t look like she worries about what she eats.
Her tits aren’t overly large and the clothes she wears doesn’t pull them together and push them in your face. Even in the loose jeans she is wearing with the long t-shirt I can make out that plump ass. The rest of her is a mystery. The clothes she wears keeps her covered, it’s a shame. Tara Blount is a woman of mystery. Why is she so focused on her education if it is taking her so long to get it? Why does she have such a good work ethics if she wasn’t brought up that way? Why does a woman her age not try to at least flirt with the men that flirt with her? Oz hasn’t found any boyfriends. I need answers or Tara will never leave my thoughts. Maybe I just need a distraction.
“Here’s your food, handsome. If you need anything, you just wave.” Mildred sets my food in front of me. I look at my plate and it’s just like I ordered it. Mildred has the coffee pot in her other hand and fills my cup.
“Could I have some ketchup and that small glass of ice?” Mildred nods her head.
“Sure thing.” Mildred walks into the back and brings my ketchup and ice back. “Everything look alright?”
“Everything looks good.” I tell her. Mildred leaves me to myself. I put a couple of pieces of ice in my coffee and stir it. Then I salt and pepper my eggs and cut them up. I add salt to my hash browns and add some ketchup. I cut my sausage and proceed to eat, keeping an eye on Tara.
I feel like a creeper but I can’t help myself. Tara does nothing to draw attention to herself but I can’t take my eyes off her. I guess my brothers at the club are right. I need to get laid. It has been a long time. I take care of myself. I don’t need to explain things to my hand. I don’t have questions to answer that I don’t want to face. I went through the faze of fucking faceless women in my teenage years and early twenties. I’m a man, I love pussy but I have never had a girlfriend or woman of my own. Now, I don’t want to stick my cock where all my brothers have been. When I watch Devil with Callie, I want that someday but what the rest of my Feral Steel brothers do, that doesn’t interest me at all. I don’t know why I am even having these thoughts. Tara is a job just like any other job.
I have eaten half my food and Tara still hasn’t come over to see why I was asking about her. This woman mystifies me. I see her coming my direction with the coffee pot in her hand.
“Do you need a refill?” Tara asks me but her eyes never meet mine. She looks anywhere but my eyes.
“Yes. Didn’t Mildred tell you I asked about you? I need to speak to you when you get a chance.” Tara looks at me like I have two heads. She refills my cup.
“She said you needed to speak to me but I have work. I won’t have a break until ten thirty. I got a late start so Mildred gets the first break. I can’t leave the floor with no one on it.” I look at her avoiding my eyes and it amuses me.
“I’m right here, darlin’. Look me in the eyes when you talk to me.” She finally looks at me. Tara looks tired. “I’ll be here when you get your break. I have a few things to do at the gym and I will be back. Relax Tara, it’s just about your job at the gym. Just call it a follow up on your interview.”
Tara just nods her head and starts to move along. I stop her. I take my wallet out and give her twenty dollars for my breakfast. “Tell Mildred to keep the change.” Tara moves along and I finish drinking my coffee, get up, and walk out the door. Tara is going to be hard to get next to but if that is what Devil wants me to do then that is what I will do.
It’s a beautiful day. I get on my bike and ride the short distance to the gym. When I get off my bike I feel the pain in my hip when I stand on it and my legs feel weak but I won’t let it get me down. I’m alive. That’s all that runs through my head. I’m not the man I once was but I am alive.
I walk into the gym and I see the light on in the office. I make my way over and I hear voices coming from inside. I am not trying to overhear but I don’t want to interrupt either. When I hear the voices, I realize it is just Devil and Callie. I wonder what Callie is doing here but I know she spends as much time with Devil as she can get since they have two sons to tend to. I tap on the door so I don’t just barge in. Considering it is Devil and Callie, there’s no telling if they have clothes on. I wait for someone to tell me to come on in but it takes a minute. I laugh to myself.
“Get your ass in here.” Devil doesn’t sound happy. I can’t help the smile on my face. “You assholes cock block me every damn time.” Callie smacks Devils arm.
“Isn’t that why you have a home? Hey, I was just trying to get some work in while I wait on Tara to get a break at work.” The smile never leaves my face.
“You’ll learn when you get a couple of kids running around you get it when you can. My damn house is like the damn Ramada Inn. People check in but they never check out. I would like one week of only my family at my own damn house.” Devil is in top form this morning.
“Kylar, everyone at our house is family. We just have a large family and everyone likes to congregate at our house. You should be proud. Besides, don’t I always make it up to you?” Callie is sitting on the edge of Devil’s desk and he is beside her.
“You do babe, but for once, I would like to not need to make an appointment to fuck my wife. You know you are damn sexy when you have one of our kids baking inside of you. I can’t keep my hands off you.” Devil kisses the top of Callie’s head.
“Looks like you have had plenty of time with your wife. You keep her knocked up. Give the woman a rest.” Callie laughs but Devil gives me a hard look.
“What the hell do you want, Rome?” Devil never takes his eyes off Callie.
“It seems like Bud is setting Tara up in a room above his diner. She didn’t go home last night and she was moving her things in early this morning. That may put a damper on your plans for the apartment complex concerning her.” That gets Devil’s attention. Her walks behind the desk and sits down.
“Do you think she would make a good manager for the complex? I don’t like the idea of using her to get to this Liam if she could be an asset to us. People outside the club are hard to trust but we can’t put all the brothers to work if there is still a threat hanging over us. Someone needs to be available in case of emergencies. I don’t want to run shoddy businesses. That’s how you build a bad reputation, and as small as this town is, we can’t afford that if we want to make our businesses a success.” Devil is right about that.
“How do you want me to handle it? If she has a place to stay it blows our idea out of the water. What is she going to gain? More hours to work? From what I have heard from her and Mildred, another waitress at the diner, she works all the hours she can. She’ got nothing left to give. We may need to look somewhere else.” Devil is considering it.
“Can her job here at the gym be given to someone else?” Callie asks. “I don’t know everything about it, but from what you told me, the manager of the gym could do most of her job here.” Callie looks at Devil. “Didn’t the old manager say Tara was filling some accounting duties that were his and the secretary’s job? The manager you hire for the gym should do his job or have his assistant or secretary, whichever he has, do the rest. I believe the rest of what Tara did was custodial and can be filled easier than the manager for an apartment complex unless she has other responsibilities I haven’t heard.” Devil looks at Callie like she is a genius.
“Baby Girl, that makes a lot of sense. I don’t know who we are going to get to manage the gym but you are right. He or she needs to do all her work instead of handing it to someone else. They will have an assistant, also. Some of the things Tara was doing go to the accountant as well. We’ve already talked to a cleaning crew and I thought we would hire a couple of part-time workers for everything else. Tara was going to be the only full-time employee except for trainers and exercise and self-defense class instructors.” Devil looks in thought and starts looking at the stack of applications on his desk.
“So, you decided to go with the self-defense classes like I suggested?” Callie is smiling. Devil looks up at Callie and I feel like I am intruding between the two.
“Oz put up some interest flyers at different businesses and we got a lot of response. He also put it up in the library and out at the college. I think it is going to go over pretty good. Good idea.” Devil tells Callie.
“Glad to help.” Callie and Devil are sickenly sweet sometimes. I like it but sometimes it is hard to watch. Devil looks at me.
“Right now, we are at a standstill while waiting on some permits to update things here. Get close to Tara, you know, be friends.” Callie laughs at that. Devil gives her a look and she stops. “Oz should have the background check finished this afternoon. We will proceed from there. I know we are going to be watching the books at the apartment complex. There’s too much of a temptation with the cash.”
“Don’t people pay by check or debit card these days or direct withdrawal from their banks? If we get a better class of people in the apartments, then there will be less cash transactions.” I tell Devil. Isn’t that the way it works? Hell, I’ve never rented an apartment.
“Rome is right. The application states the forms of payments accepted.” Callie puts in.
“Maybe Callie should take them over.” I think out loud.
“Not happening. My ol’ lady is busy raising our kids. I intend to keep her knocked up until we can’t have anymore. That’s why I need for all of our businesses to be legit. I’m not taking any chances.” Devil is right.
“So, Rome, how many friends do you have that are females? In fact, how many friends do you have outside of the brothers at the club?” Callie asks but she already knows the answer.
“Callie, you are my friend, aren’t you?” I smile at Callie. When I first began prospecting for the Feral Steel MC I kept my distance from Callie. I couldn’t understand how she would want to be around me after everything my blood brother, Stacks, tried to do to her. Callie would have none of it. She went out of her way to become friends with me. She was always requesting me for her guard duty and she would bring me food to the clubhouse. She brought food for all the club brothers but I just couldn’t understand why she would for me.
After my avoiding her every chance I could, Devil called me in his office one day. He had me sit down and then Callie came in. She walked right up to me and asked why I avoided her. That woman isn’t scared of any damn biker. I explained to her my thoughts on the matter but what she said knocked me on my ass. I was standing close to a chair and I fell into it I was so shocked.
You see, I told her I didn’t want to remind her of what my brother did to her. All the cruel things he tried and how he made her life miserable when she should have been happy. She stared me down and told me we can’t pick who we are related to but what I need to think about is that my other brother makes her very happy every day and she thanks heaven every night for him.
To say the least, she had my undying loyalty from that day forward. I would lay my life down for her and her children because she reminded me that I am her family, too. She doesn’t hold anything that Stacks did against me. She left me speechless and when she stuck her hand out, waiting for me to take it and shake it, I did just that. As we were shaking hands she told me that we would be friends for life. So, when I tell her she is my friend she knows I have not forgotten.
“Until the day I die. Friends to the end.” Callie tells me but she doesn’t leave it at that. “What other friends do you have?” I think about it. I do have some friends from my time in the military. I don’t see them but I know even if we never see each other again that we will be friends until one of us doesn’t walk this earth again. I have some people I am friendly with at the VA but I wouldn’t consider them friends.
“What’s your point?” I ask.
“Our point is that you are the perfect person to keep an eye on her and get her comfortable with the club so she will be willing to work for us. If you attend the parties at the clubhouse you don’t drink and get out of hand. You don’t let the club girls paw all over you. Can you imagine if I gave the job to Hacksaw or Bowie? They are the two biggest man whores in the club. They will fuck her and piss her off and then where would we be? I still think we might be able to use the relationship between her sister and this Liam to our advantage.” Devil tells me.
The part about Hacksaw and Bowie trying to fuck her does not sit right with me. I fist my hand but I try to relax. The thought just pisses me off. Tara is too good for the likes of any of my brothers, or even me, for that fact. She’s working hard to get ahead. Devil is waiting for my reaction.
“I’ll keep an eye on Tara. I don’t know how it will go over. I’m not good at small talk. I’ll pitch the idea to her about the apartment complex. I hope I don’t fuck it up. I’m not good at talking to women.” I tell them both.
“Just be yourself and it’ll go fine. Bring her to the next cookout at the clubhouse. I want to meet her.” Callie tells me but Devil shakes his head.
“Someone else to bring into your little flock. Is that not what I said, Rome? Damn, do I know my woman or what?” Devil is laughing. Callie goes around the desk and sits down on his lap. She barely fits between him and the desk with her pregnant belly. Callie slides the chair back to give her more room. That is my cue to leave. I smile at the two but they only have eyes for each other.
“I’m out. Talk later.” I turn to leave.
“Shut the door on your way out and lock the outside door.” Devil tells me. Yep, I doubt I will be outside before those two are fucking. Lucky bastard.