Josie grabbed my arm. "Wait," she said. "There's a reason I'm telling you all this."
Something in her voice sent alarm bells ringing. Slowly I returned the tray to the counter. I turned to face her. "What is it?"
Josie glanced around. "The blonde? The way I hear it, she's gonna be your replacement."
Chapter 4
My mouth fell open. "Brittney's taking my job? Here?"
"Yeah, sorry." Josie gave me a sympathetic look. "Freddie the cook heard them talking out back. Apparently, she starts next week. As soon as she's trained, you're outta here."
"That jerk!" I glanced across the dining room. I spotted Keith lounging against the hostess stand. When he saw me looking, he gave me a slow, toothy smile.
A sick feeling settled into my stomach.
But this didn't make any sense. I had that photo of him, with Brittney too. He couldn’t fire me. Not anymore. Josie's informationhadto be outdated. Right?
"So anyway," Josie said, "it's gonna take a lot more than the flu to save you this time."
Shit. She was right. Even if by some miracle, I was able to keep my job, I'd be working alongside the bimbo from hell. And that bimbo happened to be sleeping – or whatever – with my boss.
I felt like screaming. That was thebest-case scenario. Worst case, I'd be gone. Andshe'dbe taking my place. It wasn't like this was my dream job or anything, but until I found something better, this was the closest thing I had.
I was having a hard time catching my breath. Would Brittney be taking my place elsewhere too? In Lawton's bed? They'd been intimate before. With me out of the picture, would Brittney slide back in? I made a sound of disgust. More accurately,he'dbe sliding back intoher.
I squared my shoulders. Fine. Brittney could have him. In fact, they deserved each other. Totally.
So why did I feel like throwing up? An ugly image slithered into my brain. Lawton and Brittney, naked, together. I choked back a wave of nausea.
If I was lucky, it was just the volcanic flu.
"I'm really sorry," Josie was saying.
I gripped the counter. "Yeah, well, I'm not gone yet," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "And besides, if I had a dollar for every time I wassupposedto be fired, I'd probably own this place."
"Well, youhavebeen on a roll lately," she said.
I blinked hard as I stared down at the pathetic sundaes. Some might call it a roll. I'd call it a giant suck-fest of bad luck and worse choices. When I reached for the spoons, my hand was shaking. Was Keith going back on our deal? So soon?
"That asshole," I muttered.
"Yeah," Josie said, glancing toward Keith. "He really does hate you, doesn't he?"
Well, if he didn't hate me before, he definitely did now.
I'd learned a few things tonight. One, it's hard for a guy to chase you when he's not wearing pants. Two, it's not any easier for a groupie in stiletto shoes. And three, I wasn't above blackmail when push came to shove.
In the end, Brittney broke a heel, Keith broke down and said I could keep my job, and as for me, I broke a nail hanging onto that cell phone like my life depended on it.
In a way, it did. One lost paycheck, and I'd be back on my Dad's basement couch, sucking up the smell of sour milk while the rest of the household slept on therapeutic mattresses with Egyptian sheets.
While dodging Brittney in the parking lot, I'd miraculously managed to text that picture to my best friend, Erika for safe-keeping. Two copies were better than one, right?
I should be ashamed of myself.
Except I wasn't.
Still, something was definitely off. In the parking lot, Keith had been panicked, scared even. I snuck a quick glance across the dining room. Now, he looked ready to strike. Something was very wrong. I turned back to Josie.
