I blew out a breath and followed her into the crowd.
My feet hurt. I was hours behind on my water intake. And I was really tired of explaining that I wasn’t Tina. Especially since that seemed to have earned me the nickname Not Tina.
Silver the bartender said something that I missed as I wearily unloaded glasses at the service bar.
“What?” I yelled over the music.
“Hangin’ in there?” she repeated louder this time.
“I think so.” Max had given me two tables of “understanding regulars” to handle on my own, and so far no one besides me was wearing beer or complaining about how long it took to get their brisket nachos, so I felt like I was doing an adequate job.
I felt like I’d walked ten miles just going between the bar and the tables.
Most of the patrons seemed like regulars. They knew each other’s names and drink orders and razzed each other over sports rivalries.
The kitchen staff was nice enough. And while Silver wasn’t exactly friendly, she was a pro pulling pints with both hands while taking a to-go order over the phone.
I admired her efficiency.
I’d just dropped off a fresh round of drinks when I realized I’d spent the last few hours not thinking about…well, anything. I hadn’t had time to worry about Waylay at Liza’s or about the four emails from Warner I hadn’t opened. And the small roll of cash in my apron made me forget all about my thieving sister and my overdrawn accounts.
I also hadn’t given my hot, grumpy, urinating neighbor a passing thought.
That’s when I lost my focus and walked smack into a solid wall of chest under a black t-shirt.
“Pardon me,” I said, slapping a hand to the muscley obstacle to stay upright.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Not. Again.
“Are you kidding me?” I squeaked, looking up to find Knox scowling at me.
“What are you doing here, Naomi?”
“I’m checking Santa’s Naughty List. What does it look like I’m doing? I’m working. Now get out of my way, or I’ll hit you with my tray and I’ve had a lot of espresso today. I could get you on the floor in three or four whacks.”
He didn’t respond verbally. Probably because he was too busy taking me by the arm and dragging me out into the hallway. He stormed past the restrooms and the kitchen door and opened the next door with a well-placed boot.
“Evenin’， Knox,” Fi said, without looking up from her monitors.
“What the fuck is this?” he snapped.
Sherry spared him a glance. “This?” she repeated blandly.
He pulled me farther into the room. “This,” he said again.
“This is Naomi. A human person who is halfway into her first shift,” Sherry said, going back to her monitors.
“Don’t want her working here, Fi.”
I’d had enough of the pissed off at the world in general and me in particular routine. I yanked my arm free and whacked him in the chest with my tray.
Sherry looked up again, her mouth falling open.
“I don’t care if you don’t want me working here, Viking. Fi hired me. I’m here. Now, unless you have a reason for detaining me at a job I desperately need, you blond Oscar the Grouch, I suggest you take up your hiring concerns with this establishment’s management.”
“I am this establishment’s management,” he snarled.
Great. Of course he was management. I’d hit my new boss with a tray.
“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I’d known you managed this place,” I bit out.
“Now you know. Get out.”
“Knox,” Sherry sighed wearily. “We needed a replacement for the server you scared off with all your scowling and Oscar the Grouching.”
He pointed a threatening finger in her direction. “I’m not letting you make that a thing. Call What’s Her Name and get her to unquit.”
Sherry leaned back and crossed her arms. “If you can tell me her name, I’ll call her up right now.”
Knox muttered a curse.
“That’s what I thought,” she said smugly. “Now, who makes the hiring decisions around here?”
“I don’t give a shit if it’s the damn Pope,” he growled. “She’s not working here. I don’t want her around.”
Deciding I had nothing to lose, I hit him again with the tray. “Listen, Viking. I don’t know what your problem is with me. Whatever narcissistic delusional roller coaster you’re on, I’m not here to ruin your life. I’m trying to earn back some of the money my sister stole from me, and until the bank unfreezes my account, I’m not letting you or anyone else stand in the way of Waylay’s Pop-Tarts.”