Chapter Four
Opening the door to the garage, I pull my keys from my purse. I’m heading out to talk to the manager of the steak house, the place Jarrod says I’m guaranteed a job. I hope like hell he’s right because I need a steady paycheck to pay rent somewhere else. I’m not sure about staying at Rory’s much longer. If I do, it could ruin Jarrod and Rory’s relationship.
After being here for the weekend, my impression of Rory hasn’t changed a bit. If anything, it has only gotten worse. Where I only thought it before, now I know he is using my friend for money. While Jarrod forced me to play third wheel all weekend, I watched him hand his boyfriend hundreds of dollars. Buying meals, movie tickets, popcorn, Jarrod even paid his cable and cell phone bills. If Jarrod keeps footing all the money for Rory, he’s gonna end up not having money for his own bills.
“What in the hell are you doing down here?” Rory asks, drawing my attention to where he is standing near the back of the garage. “I thought Jarrod made it clear that you were supposed to stay in your apartment.”
He is standing by the back wall holding a shiny new weed-eater in one hand with a beer in the other. Considering that it's only eight in the morning, I don’t know what shocks me more, the beer or the fact that he is actually thinking about weed-eating the overgrown yard. As far as I can tell, doing anything that does not include sitting on the couch or lying in the bed is not his kind of thing.
I pull in a deep breath and force myself to respond without being rude. “I have to walk through the garage to get to my car.”
“Where are you going?” he asks before bringing the beer to his lips.
“I’m going to talk to your friend Troy about the job he told Jarrod about,” I answer while shutting my door. “I know the restaurant doesn’t open for a few hours, but if I go early enough, I hope to be able to start tonight.”
He doesn’t reply, just grunts and turns his back on me. I wait a few seconds more and then start walking to my car. It takes a minute to get the thing started before I’m on the road. Using the MAPS app on my phone, I easily find the restaurant. Luckily, it only took twenty minutes to get there, even with morning traffic.
Pulling into the parking lot of the steak house, I see the entire lot is full. I’m surprised since the place doesn’t open until two in the afternoon. Jarrod said this restaurant is fancy. It must be if it takes them six hours to prepare for the day.
After a quick look in the rearview mirror, I climb from my car and head inside. As soon as I step inside, I feel out of place. Fancy isn’t the word I’d used to describe this place. It’s more pretentious. My years slinging hash at diners isn’t going to mean crap here.
“We’re not open yet, miss.” a good-looking man wearing a bright red tie says. “You will have to return after two, but you picked a good day to come in. We’re going to have veal parmesan as our special.”
“That sounds good, but I’m actually here to see Troy.” I paste on a smile and say, “Excuse me, I meant to say Mr. Sanders.”
“Well, you’re in luck because that’s me.” He comes toward me and sticks out his hand. “Just so you know, Mr. Sanders is my dad. Everyone calls me Troy.”
His easy banter completely disarms me, causing my nerves to vanish. Returning his handshake, I tell him why I’m here. “I’m Gypsy. Jarrod said you were looking for some help.”
His smile dies a quick death and is quickly replaced by a harsh frown. Aggravation fills his eyes as he releases my hand and steps back. Waves of anger are rolling off him as he glares in my direction.
“I can’t believe you would walk in here today like you didn’t just screw me over,” he growls with a shake of his head. “Even if you’ve only worked in diners, you had to know how important Friday nights are in the restaurant business.”
I’m so taken back by his words that I can do nothing but stare at him in shock, having no freaking idea what he is talking about. He doesn’t have the same problem. In fact, he turns away and starts barking orders at every person within shouting distance.
When he looks back in my direction, he blinks in surprise and asks, “What the hell are you still doing here?”
“Uhmm,” I mumble, trying to figure out what to say. “I’m not sure what you mean. I thought I was supposed to come in and apply for a job.”
He shakes his head and looks at me with frustration. “You didn’t have to apply for shit, considering the job was already yours. If you had showed up on Friday night, like you were supposed to, it would still be yours.”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply, my stomach starting to twist with suspicion. “I only got into town Saturday afternoon, but I would have come earlier if I had known I was supposed to start work.”
He runs a hand through his hair before giving his head another shake. “Rory didn’t say anything to you about Friday night, did he?”
My suspicion grows with each word that leaves his mouth. “No, he never mentioned anything about the job. Jarrod just told me to come talk to you.”
He nods then motions for me to follow him. We walk through the dining room then down the hall to a small and messy office. He picks up some files from a chair, tosses them on the desk, and motions for me to take a seat.
“Jarrod mentioned you were looking for a job a couple of weeks ago. When I told him to send you in, I was really just blowing smoke up his ass. We pay better than any other restaurants in the area, so we have no trouble keeping a full staff,” he says as he shuts the door. “Then, last Thursday, one of our senior servers quit out of the blue. Not to mention, I had two servers out on vacation and another called in sick with strep throat.”
He pauses long enough to walk around his desk and take a seat. “We had a huge party for the Bank of Kentucky’s centennial celebration coming in on Friday. Huge enough that we shut the restaurant down to the public. I hated to bring on someone new for something so important, but I didn’t have any other choice. Even if you didn’t have experience in this setting, I at least had Jarrod’s word that you are a quick learner and a good employee.”
“Okay,” I mumble, giving him a nod.
“I called Rory and told him to let you know you were hired,” he says as his hand runs through his hair once more. “He was supposed to let you know to be here for training by ten Friday morning.”
“Damn it,” I mumble, unable to keep my thoughts to myself.
I can’t believe Rory would do this to me. I could tell he didn’t want me to live in his apartment, but I still didn’t think he would take things this far. Granted, I knew this job wasn’t a guarantee, no matter what Jarrod said. Still, I had hoped I might get it.
We talk for a few more minutes before he stands and asks me to fill out an application. I do as he asks, even knowing that I will never be working here. Even though none of this was my fault, he will never hire me. He is going to think of being understaffed at a big event every time he hears my name.
“I’m sorry about this,” he says as he stands up and walks across the room to the door. “If the new girl doesn’t work out, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thank you for your time anyway.” I stand up and follow him out of the office.
I’m back in my car a minute later, having to fight the urge to call Jarrod. Part of me wants to tell him what a jackass Rory is, but I know he needs to see that on his own. Jarrod may have a soft heart, but he’s not an idiot. He will figure it out sooner or later.
I start my car and drive with no destination in sight. I drop by a few fast food restaurants that have signs up wanting help. None are doing interviews, so I fill out their applications and keep looking. When I see the mall, I pull into the parking lot and spend ten minutes looking for somewhere to park. When I finally find a spot, I pull my car in and cut the engine. I look in the mirror and freshen up my lipstick, and then head in to search for a store taking applications.
After a few failed attempts, I walk into Old Navy and head straight to the first associate I see. “Hello, I was wondering if you were accepting applications.”
“Actually, the manager is doing open interviews today,” she says as she walks behind the counter to the phone.
A few minutes after her call, a guy in his teens or early twenties walks up to me. “Are you here for an interview?”
“Yes, sir,” I reply, feeling odd calling someone so young sir.
“Come to the back with me and you can fill out the application,” he says, leading me through the store. “After you’re done, we’ll start the interview.”
We walk through the store room then into a small office. After handing me an application, he leaves me alone to fill it out. It only takes a few minutes before it’s done. Then, I spend the next twenty waiting on him to return.
“Are you done?” he asks as he opens the door to the office and steps inside.
I nod, handing him the application. “Yes.”
He takes a seat at the tiny desk and starts reading over the application. I can see his lips tip up at the side, but they quickly move into a frown. It takes him longer to read over the paper than it did for me to fill it out. By the time he’s done, my foot is tapping with impatience.
“When did you graduate high school?” he asks, laying my application on his desk.
Ah, that explains the frown. I added the name of my high school in the education spot, but did not add a graduation date. I just couldn’t force myself to lie. Growing up with my mom, lying was never an issue for me. After spending the last five years with Hank and Lucy, telling the truth has become a habit.
“I didn’t graduate from high school,” I reply, swallowing my own shame. “I do plan on getting my GED soon.”
When I left home, I still had nearly a month to go before graduation. My diploma was the only thing keeping me there. After everything that happened with Kilo, that little piece of paper didn’t seem so important. Lucy had urged me to try for my GED a few times over the years, but I put her off. I honestly thought I’d spend the rest of my days working at the diner and saw no point in even trying to get it.
“Full-timers are required to have a diploma or GED,” he says, standing up and walking to the door. “Come back after you’ve gotten it, and I may be able to find a position for you.”
Just as Troy did earlier, this guy rushes me out without a second glance. The only difference is, I may have a chance at a job here if I come back with my GED. However, that would take weeks that I just do not have.
I fill out a few more applications before heading to the food court to grab a drink. I end my day by applying at Auntie Anne’s and the Cookie Palace before heading back to my car. As I crawl into the driver’s seat, I know the day was a bust. Unless I get a call from one of the fast food restaurants, I’m going to have to do this all over again tomorrow.
I put the keys in the ignition and give them a twist. Nothing, not even an attempt to turn over. Again and again, I attempt to start the car. Finally, the motor makes a ticking sound but it doesn’t start. After a few more attempts, my forehead drops to the steering wheel.
So much has happened in the past few weeks. First, the fire took my job and home in one fell swoop. Then, I was forced to move back to Kentucky or live off the charity of my friends. Not to mention being cussed at by Troy and having the guy at Old Navy snub me. Having my car finally give up the ghost is just icing on a rancid cake.
What in the hell is going to happen next? I ask myself as I jerk the keys out of the ignition. I take in a deep breath and open the door. I get out and walk to the front of the car. After popping the hood, I look down at the motor in confusion. To me, it just looks like a big puzzle. I can see that the pieces and parts are connected with screws and hoses, but I have no idea what any of them do.
“You needing some help?” a gruff voice asks from a few feet away, causing me to jump and twist my body around.
A man, an extremely sexy man, is standing close enough to touch. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“That wasn’t my plan.” His lips tip up in a smile as he shoots me a wink “If you go crank it for me, I’ll take a look.”
I stand here looking at him for a second, ignoring his order. He has dark hair, not quite black but a shade darker than my brown. He has the same haircut as Ben Affleck’s in the movie Jersey Girl, long on the top but short on the back and sides. His jawline carries a bit of a beard, but only a tad bit heavier than a five-o'clock shadow.
His brows are a shade darker than his hair, making them a startling black. They are not thick, but they’re not thin either. Both have a few hairs that stand straight up right at the edge. His eyes are hazel, not quite green but not exactly brown either. Looking closely, I can see the right one has a dark speck not far from the pupil. Both eyes are framed by long thick lashes that I would love to have.
His nose isn’t exactly big, but it’s not small either. There is a tiny bump right on the bridge that keeps him from looking almost pretty. He has high cheekbones that are prominent, making me wonder if he may have a touch of Native American blood running through his veins. There is a small scar on his left cheek that somehow helps pull all his features together, making him one of the sexiest men I have ever seen.
“If you’re done looking me over, will you go and try to start the car?” he asks, his smile firmly in place as he steps forward and looks at the engine.
Heat hits my face as I realize that I have been staring at him for a long time, so I rush to the driver’s side and crawl in. My hand shakes as I place the key back into the ignition. Again, nothing happens when I give it a twist.
I do it twice more before he shouts, “Hold on a second.”
Laying my hand in my lap, I pull in another deep breath. I’m having to fight myself from getting out of the car. For no other reason than to be able to look at the man a little longer. Of course, I’ve seen my fair share of good-looking men, but none have ever really affected me. Even Stephan who I dated never held my attention so completely.
I’m so deep into my thoughts that I nearly miss it when he shouts out, “Try for me once more, babe.”
This time the engine starts after its normal sputter. I do a little happy dance in my seat as the hood goes down. I can’t help but raise my eyes to his, which are staring straight at me. Our gazes stay locked while he walks around to my door.
I slowly crank down my window and whisper, “Thank you so much.”
“It was nothing,” he replies with a shrug. “One of your battery cables was loose. I just had to tighten it up.”
“I wouldn’t have even known how to do that,” I say with an easy smile. “You saved me from having to call someone to come look at it.”
“If you want to pay me back, there’s a Mexican restaurant in the mall that makes a killer burrito.” He leans down and places his forearms against the open window, lowering his face to mine. “Sharing lunch with a pretty girl seems like fair payment to me.”
Over the last few years, I’ve been asked out more times than I can count. The only person I ever said yes to was Stephan. Even with him, I wanted to say no. For some reason, I want to tell this guy yes. Hell, I want to scream yes!
Instead, I chicken out and shake my head. “I’m sorry, but I gotta head home.”
“What’s your name, babe?” he asks, not all deterred by being turned down.
I lower my eyes and reply, “Gypsy.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Gypsy,” he replies, giving the roof of my car a tap then stepping back. “If you ever change your mind and want to taste the best burritos in the world, stop by Bluegrass Construction and ask for Chance.”
He turns around and starts walking toward the entrance of the mall without even giving me a chance to say goodbye. My eyes are frozen on him, locked on his ass, as I contemplate following him inside and telling him I’ve changed my mind about lunch. Then, I realize it could lead nowhere. Even if I’m interested, I’m heading back to Macon as soon as possible. With that thought, I back out of my parking spot and head back to my tiny apartment.