Read Online Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) by Kiara Delaney - Free Book Online Page A

expect me to work with him, follow his damn orders, and act like nothing
happened."

 
    "You're going to have to learn to deal with it,"
she said soothingly. "Yeah, he's a shit. But you'll feel a lot better if
you just do your own thing, and ignore the little prick. That is, unless you
plan on finding another job. Good luck around here." She was going for
reasonable, but she was coming off as spiteful.

 
    Not backing down, I stated, "I will have a new
job." She looked at me in shock as I continued, "As soon as I get my
degree," with finality.

 
    Georgia's features hardened as she said, "Well, you've
got it all figured out then, don't you?"

 
    After a pregnant pause, Georgia let out a weary sigh,
turned, and slowly walked back into the bar.

 
    "I feel like I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone," I
mumbled to no one but myself.

 
    ******

Kellan

 
    Jim and Gail were anxious to head home and start packing up
the U-Haul. They quickly made their rounds, wishing everyone a fond farewell.
Without making it a big affair, Jim tossed me the keys to the bar, added a
wink, and he and Gail made a mad dash for it like two teenagers sneaking out
after curfew. I could see a retirement party was out of the question.

 
    After taking a few minutes to formally introduce myself to
my new staff members, and catch up with my former co-workers, I realized it was
nearing opening, and I had a business to run. Playtime was over, and I instructed
everyone scheduled for the day to get busy; the others I sent home. They
eagerly set to their tasks, and I wasn't sure if they were always this driven,
or if they were just trying to impress the new boss.

 
    Things were working like a well oiled machine, but I'd been
in the bar business long enough to know that one wrong food order, or a sudden
party of eight, could back up the entire bar, and cause a trickle down effect,
fucking up the whole night. And God forbid someone has a headache or cramps, and
can't make it in for their shift.

 
    I wouldn't exactly say we're short staffed, but there's not
much wiggle room if someone calls in sick, and we don't quite generate enough
revenue to justify hiring another worker.

 
    But like I said, there's going to be some changes around
here, and first on my agenda is training the staff to work in multiple areas of
the bar in the event any one of them would have to fill in for another. The
exception would be Dunny- we need him at the door on weekends, and he works at
his father's hardware store during the week, so he's out. But he'd be here even
if he had just donated a kidney earlier in the day. He gets half of what we
collect at the door, paid in cash, under the table. He rarely has to break up a
fight, so in my opinion, the guy makes pretty good money for sitting on his ass
two nights a week for a few hours.

 
    Shit, three years ago, Jordan, Hailey, Georgia, and I were
the only ones keeping this place running day after day. Jim dragged his ass in
a few hours a day to take care of paper work, and Gail was toting a watermelon
around in her stomach.

 
    Things were a bit slower and laid back before I moved to
Reno, and since then, business at Jimbo's has nearly doubled. It was rare back
then that I ever took off work, but shit happens, and I'm wrestling with the
idea of merging one of the staff into a managerial role, at least in the event
that I have to be away from the bar. My first choice would be Hailey. In fact,
she's the only one I'd trust with the job. But I highly doubt she's in the mood
to do me any favors. Guess I'll have to
implement my finesse strategy... Something tells me I'll need more than
'finesse' to get Hailey on board.

Chapter Eleven
    Kellan

 
    The lunch crowd was beginning to arrive, and luckily,
Georgia had stuck around to help out, although we hadn't exchanged more than a
passing glance. I needed to address the elephant in the room, or rather the
missing elephant. Hailey was apparently AWOL. I hadn't seen her since