• Off the Mark Chapter 4

     

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    Chapter 4

    MARK

    An hour later, I emerge from my office and whistle through my teeth. The crowd seems to have multiplied several times over in the short time I was gone. Ty is at one end of the bar, frantically mixing drinks. Several people cluster together with the impatient expressions that indicate they’ve been waiting for awhile.

    Instinctively, I jump in and start taking orders. The next ten minutes are hectic as I make drinks as fast as I can while simultaneously searching the crowd for Jessi. Where the hell is she? She was supposed to be out here helping Ty.

    When there’s finally a break in the madness, I walk down to the other end of the bar.

    Ty glances over his shoulder as I approach. “Hey boss.”

    “Hey. Where’s Jessi? Did Nell need help with the tables or something?”

    He shrugs as he arranges the drinks he just made on a tray. “Not sure. She left a little while ago,” he says, his words coming out in a rush over the ruckus of the bar. “She was talking to some guy.”

    His words hit me like a sucker punch. My gut clenches, jealousy surging hot and quick. “A guy? What guy?”

    Ty takes a step back. He nods his head in the direction of a rowdy group near the front of the bar. “I don’t know. He came in with that group.”

    Most of the men are wearing suits and I recognize a few of them. They’re regulars from a company located nearby. My panic recedes marginally but something still doesn’t seem right. Jessi wouldn’t just leave the bar with a guy, would she? She’s always been friendly with the customers, a bit too friendly if you ask me, but she wouldn’t just ditch Ty and leave him to deal with this rush.

    “Okay, I’ll go see where she went.” I force a smile hoping it looks less feral than I feel.

    I go back into my office first to calm down. Walking around looking like I’m ready to fight isn’t the best strategy in the middle of a bar. I’m supposed to be the peacekeeper, so I take a few deep breaths before emerging into the hallway near the bathrooms. Nell is walking by when I come out.

    “Hey, have you seen Jessi? She’s supposed to be helping Ty at the bar.”

    She bites her lip. “Oh. Um, I’m not sure. I can help if you want.”

    “No, it’s okay. I’ve got it covered.”

    “Excuse me. Sorry!”

    We both move back so a customer can walk by. Brown skinned and curvy, she has a long black braid that sparks my memory. She’s with the office group that tips so well. The same group that “the guy” is from.

    Maybe she knows where he is. But I don’t even know which guy Jessi left with. Ty wasn’t exactly descriptive. I probably should at least ask him what the guy looked like before I start interrogating customers.

    “Okay, if you see Jessi let her know that she needs to get back behind the bar. Ty is swamped.”

    Nell nods. “You got it, boss.”

    My eyes narrow slightly. Despite being the boss, I am under no impression that I’m actually in charge around here. The waitresses give me shit all the time and hardly anyone treats me like a typical boss. She’s being awfully accommodating which can only mean one thing.

    She’s hiding something.

    Shaking my head, I go back up front and start taking orders on one end of the bar again. I’ll wait until there’s a break in the rush before I can ask Ty anything else. But after five minutes, there’s no lull and I realize I can’t wait. I wave to Nell over the crowd. She can help out while I look for Jessi. Maybe they stepped outside to talk and lost track of time.

    Nell comes behind the bar. “I’ve got this.”

    “Great. Thank you. I just need to find Jessi and then you can leave. I know your shift ends soon.”

    Her eyes flick toward the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. Hmm. That’s where I found her when she was acting so weird.

    The bathrooms.

    Jessi wouldn’t take a customer into the bathrooms, would she?

    None of this makes any sense. She’s never done anything like this before. My stomach drops as I get a sudden image of Jessi at the mercy of some faceless guy. If she screamed for help, there’s a chance no one would hear since it’s loud in here.

    And they’ve been gone a long time.

    My face must look as frantic as I feel because no one gets in my way as I push through the crowd toward the bathrooms. Just as I enter the dim hallway, Jessi appears with a tall, dark haired guy trailing behind her. Relief floods my veins at the sight of her followed immediately by rage when I see what the guy looks like.

    Is this  the kind of guy she likes? One who looks like a useless pretty boy?

    He has that carefully manicured look, as if he’s expecting someone to take his picture at any moment. You know the type of guys I’m talking about. The ones with the perfect hair who look like they just fell out of a shampoo commercial.

    “Jessica? Where the f – – k have you been? It’s crazy out here!”

    She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Mark? It’s been like ninety seconds. Calm down.”

    The guy behind her winces which makes me smile. I guess pretty boy didn’t last very long, did he?

    He also doesn’t seem too worried about her welfare because he just mumbles something and walks off, without even a spare glance back at Jessi.

    She sighs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to leave Ty for so long. That’s on me.”

    “Nell is covering right now but she has to leave soon. I need you to cover the bar.”

    She doesn’t meet my eyes as she walks past.

    – – – –

    xoxo,

    minx

    – – > Continue to Chapter 5