Chapter 28-Sherry’s POV ( next day)
I had no sleep the night before.
But I had to get ready early for my morning shift at one of the bars that Ryan owned. He had given me all prior information about it.
As I got ready and walked out of his mansion, I could not help but look around for him.
He was not there.
Neither were the rest of the inhabitants of that place.
I saw the bots cleaning the floor and a gardener tending to the flower pots as I left.
I was greeted by my boss at the bar.
He explained the work there and I began preparing.
I started setting up the bar, wiping down the counters and stocking up the glasses. Just then, a customer walked in.
“Hey there,” I greeted with a smile.
“Hey, can I get a beer?” he asked.
“Sure thing,” I said, grabbing a bottle and popping it open. As I poured it into a glass, the customer struck up a conversation with me.
“So, do you work here often?” he asked.
“No, I just started today. I will be working the day shift,” I replied.
“That’s cool. Is the owner around?” he inquired.
“No, he’s not here at the moment,” I answered.
Suddenly taken aback at Ryan’s mention.
” But the manager is here, my boss, do you need to have a word with him? ”
I asked curious.
The customer shook his head and sipped his beer. So I continued to serve other customers. I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy around that man but he had done nothing wrong.
Not even anything suggestive.
At that point I was certain that I was getting consumed by overthinking. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Ryan.
“I’m taking care of some business. Listen, I need you to do me a favor. Can you check the back room for me?” Ryan requested without even saying hello or hi when I answered.
“Uh, sure. What am I looking for?” I asked.
“Just a package. It’s in a brown paper bag. Can you bring it out to me?” he instructed.
“Okay, I’ll go check,” I said, hanging up the phone. I made my way to the back room and searched for the package. I found it and brought it out .
As I pulled out my phone to call Ryan back to ask him where I was supposed to hand him the parcel, the man walked up to me and grabbed my hand. That man who was waiting outside was the one I had just conversed with and served.
” Excuse me? Is everything okay? What is the meaning of this behavior?” I asked, concerned.
He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Yeah, everything’s fine. Just some business stuff. Don’t worry about it. Just impart some free advice to you, in case you need it. ”
His face broadened into a smile that was actually a smirk,
” Stay away from that man if you plan to keep living a healthy and long life. He is trouble and I am sure you know that very well. ”
With that he let go of my hand and walked away.
As he walked away, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was not any random drunk customer. It felt like something wasn’t right. I decided to keep an eye out for anything unusual.
I pulled my phone out to call Ryan back and ask him where I was supposed to give him the parcel.
But my calls kept going to his voice mail.
I put the parcel away when I repeatedly couldn’t get my call across.
” He would call me when needed, ”
I told myself and went behind the bar fixing the super narrow sleeves of my dress. I was wiping down a glass with a cloth when I felt someone approach me from behind. Without warning, a hand landed on my shoulder, and pulled my right arm up. I let out a yelp of surprise.
“Hey there, new girl,” a voice said, and I turned around to see Ryan grinning at me. “Welcome to the day shift.” Then he let go of my hand.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “Thank you. You scared me. I will go get your parcel. ”
I turned to go when Ryan came in front of me, blocking my way. I looked up at him with confusion.
Ryan chuckled. “Sorry about that. Just wanted to say hi and see how you’re doing.
I really don’t need that parcel. ”
I could not understand the joke that was going around in the air. Though he seemed very amused and said,
“How’s it going so far?”
I did not know how to answer.
I smiled, relieved that he wasn’t trying to scare me on purpose or being annoyingly controlling for a change.
“It’s going well. A bit quiet, but I’m sure it’ll pick up later.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, it’s usually pretty slow during the day. But don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. And if you have any questions, just ask me or any of my other guys here. I will ask the manager to go slow on you too. ”
He actually winked.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling grateful for his reassurance. “I appreciate it.”
And I really did.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
At that moment, Ryan felt like a normal person very unlike his grumpy, mysterious self.
Ryan grinned again. “No problem. And hey, if you need anything else, just let me know.” He gave me a playful wink and then walked away, leaving me to continue my work.
As I watched him go, I couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that he wasn’t as intimidating as always.
He was happy about something.
Something had ushered in a change.
The black cloud of gloom always hovering over his head seemed to have gone. Some rain and sun was in the way of creating a rainbow in its place.
Perhaps it was for the best. Maybe this job wouldn’t be so bad after all.