Page 90 of On The Rocks

“Maeve made that for the chicks,” I pointed out. “Says it’s popular with the ladies.”

“So put a skirt on me and call me Sharon,” Atlas muttered. “’Cause I don’t give a flying fuck.”

Bowie took a swig of her beer, then looked at the bottle approvingly. “Kinda wish you’d let me invest now. These’ll make you a mint. You’re onto a winner here.” He tipped his bottle toward the table where Maeve sat with Tristan and the women. “Unfortunately, it sucks that you’ve hit the jackpot with the drinks but fucked up royally with the Mrs. You’ve been married a week, and already things are on the rocks.”

My heart took a nosedive.

Atlas chuckled.

Breaker stared at his boots, grinning.

“Still can’t believe you had your hands on Saskia’s ass,” Donovan muttered, glaring at me. “Are you fucking crazy? If Mam had walked in, she’d have taken a rolling pin to your head.”

“My hands were on her hips,” I protested. “And I didn’t even realize. At the time, the only thing in my head was that I didn’t need her making a scene and tipping off Maeve that something was amiss.”

“How did that shit work out for ya?” Atlas bit back sarcastically.

The boys snickered.

“It’ll be okay, Cal,” Bowie assured me. “She’ll talk to you again... eventually.”

My eyes sliced toward my wife, who caught my stare. I threw her a hopeful smile, but she stuck her nose in the air andlooked away from me, stony-faced. “Yeah,” I replied, my heart clenching painfully. “Maybe sometime this century.”

“What do you expect?” Breaker asked. “Imagine if you’d walked into your office and found her with her ex-boyfriend’s hands all over her ass. You’d have pitched a fit.”

I bit back a curse.

Just the mere thought of my wife with another man made my insides flare.

Breaker was right; if the boot was on the other foot, I would’ve ripped the guy’s head off. Though, admittedly, Maeve held her own with Saskia, too. When she walked in and threw some attitude, I was half-proud of her, but being on the receiving end of that shit was killing me. Maeve had acted like a boss bitch, and in different circumstances, that feisty attitude would’ve made my cock hard as an iron crowbar.

All the staff had come in to get their new rosters throughout the day. It was just my fucking luck that Saskia had managed to time her arrival perfectly. I’d been in the bar all day and had quickly gone to the office to check an order, and there she was, sitting at my desk, waiting for me after sneaking in through the back door.

I was shocked and highly fucking uncomfortable when she tried her shit, and I didn’t quite know the best way to handle it. My wife was just yards away, and the last thing I needed was for my ex-fuck buddy to cause a scene. I hated the thought of Maeve finding out about Sass; we were connecting, and my feelings for my wife were growing stronger every day, and I didn’t want anything to screw it up. So, I played along to a certain extent while my brain furiously tried to work out how I could appease Saskia and keep Maeve in the dark. Then, lo and behold, I looked up, and there was my wife, staring at me with so much hurt and anger in her expression that it felt like somebody had shoved a dagger into my gut.

After Maeve ordered Saskia to get out, I tried to explain, but she just gave me a series of long, cold, hurt-filled glares, got her coat, and stormed over to the salon, leaving me to stew in my own fuck-up.

I couldn’t blame her for being angry. Donovan was right; faced with the same situation, I would’ve hit the roof, so Maeve’s cold, silent fury was understandable. In a way, I was even proud of how she stuck up for herself.

All day, I waited in the bar so I could sit her down and explain, but when she returned, she had Tristan and her girls at her back, and with all the shitty looks thrown my way, I knew she’d sharedallthe gritty details.

Should I have owned up about Saskia before? Absolutely, but I wasn’t proud of the fact I’d fucked one of my staff members. Shitting where I ate was a bad move because now I had a wife who thought I was playing away, or was at least tempted to, and a waitress who thought she could come into my bar, act the fool, and cause trouble in my marriage.

I had to fire Saskia, but she was the type who would threaten a wrongful dismissal lawsuit just to get back at me, and seeing as it was common knowledge that I was fucking her for months, it wouldn’t go well for me in a courtroom.

A sexual harassment accusation was the last thing I needed, especially while the bar’s finances were so precarious, but at the same time, I couldn’t have Saskia thinking she had one up on me or Maeve.

Clearly, I needed help.

“Maybe I should talk to Kennedy,” I muttered. “See where I stand legally with Saskia.”

Breaker grinned down at his boots again.

“Ya think?” Donovan deadpanned.

“Smart ass,” I bit back. “Don’t forget you fucked her too.”

“I wasn’t her goddamned employer,” he retorted.

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