Page 8 of Savoring Her Snake

My eyes roll toward the clock. Fifteen minutes.

Maybe I’m not cut out for customer service, especially in a fancy hotel. My mouth has a mind of its own. Jeff, who usually works the overnight shift, asked me out. He thinks very highly of himself, and when I gasped,“why?”, he didn’t appreciate it. I guess he’s cute, but I don’t go for cocky guys who think they deserve your attention. Luckily, we usually work different shifts. Sometimes, we pass each other and he glares. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t like the word no. Several times, I say something in my head, and when everyone stares at me, I realize the words float out of my mouth.

It’s a problem. Most people steer clear of me after they experience my word vomit; unfortunately, my mom is not one of them. My brother ignores my rants and just does whatever the fuck he wants. Mom will cry her fake tears and hold her hand out.

Ten minutes. I switch feet again.

“Are you almost done, Juliana?” Fuck, Letty snuck up on me. I smooth my expression.

“Yes, Letty.” I blind her with my smile.

“Any plans? A nice date?” She smirks and I want to punch her.

“I don’t go out with nice,” I say, curving my hand over my hip. “Nice is boring. I like men who know what to do with their hands.” I wiggle my fingers on my other hand.

“Real classy, Juliana,” she gasps.

“That’s me, pure class.” I wink, and she sneers before twirling away. I’ve seen Jeff with Letty and I think they deserve each other. I hope he asks her out so he will stop looking at me as if I wounded him.

“You can’t help yourself,” Jen says, shaking her head.

“I try, but I’m never successful,” I sigh. This is probably why I don’t have friends.

Five minutes. I inch away from the desk and slowly walk down the hallway to the employee break room and the locker where I store my things.

“Have a good night,” Jen says behind me, and I wave over my shoulder.

Once out of sight, I pick up the pace, my feet protesting. I usually work here during the day, but Jeff called in sick. They asked me to stay through the evening. Luckily, I didn’t have a shift at the bar.

I unlock my locker and reach for my phone. We aren’t allowed to have it while working, which is a blessing. It gives me a break from answering my mom’s calls. Looking at the screen, I see she called twice, a record low for a whole day. I’m surprised and suspicious when I see Stanly’s name. I missed three calls from him. The only reason he would call me at eight o'clock at night is because of Levi.

Shit.

I snag my keys and hit his number as I run out the door. My patience is tested when he doesn’t answer. Asshole must have gotten my brother in trouble. I try again as I push the door to leave the hotel.

“Yeah?” he answers.

“Yeah? That’s how you answer your phone? What’s going on? You called me.” I grind my teeth as I skid to a stop by my car.

“No worries,” he says. “Levi used my phone to call you. I told him not to bother you.”

“Stanly, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on,” I threaten while sliding behind the wheel. “I’m going to gut you.”

“Fuck, alright. He’s a little busted up.”

“Excuse me.” I put the phone on speaker, drop it into the cup holder, and hurry out of the parking space. “How hurt is he?” My tires squeal as I leave the parking lot.

“I mean…”

“Send me the address,” I demand.

“What?” He could be being an ass, but the noise in the background is extreme.

“The. Address. Now.”

“Alright, alright.” Fucker hangs up. Lucky for him, my phone buzzes with an incoming text.

Pulling off the road quickly to enter the address into the map app, I take several breaths, trying to calm down. My hands are shaking as I carefully get back on the road. I try to stay around the speed limit, but my nerves are jumping.

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