Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

I chuckled as I dished out what might have been my third bowl of crumble and put it in the microwave. “Is that your less than subtle way of asking me if I took your mother or Ava up on their offers to stay at either of their houses while you were in Portland?”

“You caught me,” he said. “I was really hoping they would be able to convince you to stay with one of them. Or both of them. You could have done a rotation.”

Taking the crumble out of the microwave, I added a dollop of ice cream and leaned against the counter to eat it.

“Well, as much as I will admit that knowing I had the options was nice, I’ve been fine here. But I’ve spent too much of my life with people trying to control me and force my life into being what they want it to be. When I left, I told myself I wasn’t going to let that happen anymore. Besides, there’s been no sign of Ethan,” I said.

“None at all?” he asked. “You haven’t seen him; he hasn’t called you? No emails? Nobody at the bar has mentioned seeing him?”

“I haven’t put out an all-points bulletin to the regulars so they would call him out if they saw him, but no. No calls, no visits, no appearances at the bar, no emails. After the encounter with you that night, he seems to have just faded away,” I said.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been worried about you.”

“I appreciate you worrying. But I told you I would call if anything happened.”

“I know. Didn’t stop me.”

I laughed. “Alright. Well, you should be paying attention to the road. I’ll see you soon.”

“Absolutely.”

We got off the phone, and I washed the now-empty bowl.

I was ironing my clothes for work a little while later when my phone rang. Without looking at the screen, I grabbed it and tucked it between my shoulder and ear.

“Are you home already? How fast were you driving?” I asked in a teasing voice.

“I never speed,” Ava replied.

“Oh, Ava,” I said. “Well, that was embarrassing as hell. I didn’t realize it was you.”

“Thought it was Jordan?”

“Maybe.”

“Uh-huh. I know he’s on his way back home. And I’m sure you’re excited to see him, but I have to ask you a massive favor,” she said.

“What do you need?” I asked, still feeling the heat on my cheeks.

My plan of not making a big deal out of what might be happening between Jordan and me didn’t seem to be working out too well.

“There’s a new girl training tonight. We’re mostly bringing her in as a kitchen back so people get their food faster, but I’d like to have her prepared to do full wait duties so there’s someone else for the busy nights or when we are shorthanded. If you could come in an hour or so earlier than usual to show her the ropes, it would be great,” Ava said.

“Sure. Not a problem,” I said.

“Great. I appreciate it. See you soon.”

I covered my face with my hand, shaking my head as she hung up laughing.

I got to the bar a couple of hours earlier, and the new girl was already there. She was sitting at the bar, looking nervous, but like she was trying to already fit in. Since the bar had gotten so popular, snagging a waitress or bartender job there was a coveted position. I have already had my fair share of people mention to me that they wanted to work there so they can show off to their friends and get into all the theme nights.

Unfortunately for those just looking for a chance to jump the lines at the events and to hand out drinks to their friends, Ava had strict standards. They had gotten more intense even since I started working at the bar. That meant this girl must have some experience and a personality Ava thought would fit in with the rest of us.

It didn’t guarantee she would last. There had already been a few who had come and gone because they couldn’t handle the pressure. But at least it was a good start.

I walked up to her and held out my hand. “You must be the new girl. Hi, I’m Hannah. I’m going to be showing you around.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’m Sarah. I’m really excited to get started.”

“Then let’s go ahead and jump in.”

I started the same way Jordan started with me, touring her around the space and introducing her to the others as I encountered them. It brought up memories of my first day there. It seemed funny to be so nostalgic about something, but it only happened a short time before in the greater scheme of things, but I had gotten so comfortable at the bar and with the Anderson family it made me a little emotional to remember.

It was obvious Sarah had done this type of job before. She caught on quickly and seemed confident. I had a feeling that she would quickly move her way up to the main waitstaff.

The crowd was manageable that night, so we spent most of it with Sarah shadowing me and learning all aspects of waiting the tables. Some of my favorite regulars were there, and they slipped me extra tips to share with Sarah. It brought a grin to her face and she tucked them away eagerly. I had a feeling there was a story there, something that I didn’t know about her yet.

I had just collected a bill and split the money tucked inside with Sarah and was turning to check on the next table when the door opened. The guys at the table looked up and waved.

“Hey, Jordan. Where’ve you been?” one of them called.

I looked over and saw Jordan coming toward me with a big smile on his face. My heart leapt, and I had to use all my self-control not to run toward him and jump into his arms. As it was, he gathered