Page 42 of Arrogant and Merciless

“Get out of here, jerk, before I use your head as a cushion for this bottle,” Jackie snarls, shoving him. “Are you out of your mind?”

I gesture for her not to get involved. I plan to talk to the bar owner because I refuse to accept such disrespect—no matter whether Todd’s her lover or not. But I don’t want Jackie risking her job for my sake.

He walks away laughing, and she looks even more infuriated. “What was that? That bastard went too far.”

“Calm down, Jackie.”

“Calm down, my ass, Taylor. He can’t talk to you that way. There’s nothing I hate more than a sore loser who can’t handle rejection.”

“He’s having sex with Mrs. Videon.”

“What?”

“Yes, you heard right. I caught him and our boss in the storage closet.”

“Jesus, that explains why that jerk’s so full of himself.”

“Exactly. And please, don’t lose your job on my account.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to tell her how he treated me. I wasn’t raised to bow to a man.”

“There’s a chance she might take his side, Taylor. If she’s married and hooking up with Todd, she might be really into him.”

“I know the risks, Jackie, but even so, I refuse to put up with verbal or sexual harassment and stay quiet.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, please don’t. If the worst happens, at least I still have my job with Mrs. Marshall. You’ve only got this bar.” I take off my apron.

“You’re going to talk to her right now?”

“Yes. I can fake it pretty well, Jackie. I may seem sweet, but I’ve got a terrible temper. I’m not letting this slide.”

“Whatever happens, come talk to me afterward.”

“Yeah, I will. Wish me luck—or not.”

“What does that mean?”

“If Mrs. Videon sides with him, that’ll be my cue to leave. I’m not sure I want to work for someone who lets her employees be mistreated on any level. My dad taught me something, Jackie: respect is either there or it’s not. The moment you let someone treat you like trash, it becomes a habit.”

* * *

Half an hour later, I’m thanking God I’m not a man, because if I were, I’d be back downstairs, smashing Todd’s face.

I didn’t even get a chance to speak. The moment I walked into the office, Mrs. Videon said she was just waiting for me to finish my shift so she could fire me, and I’d made her job easier by coming in. She had the nerve to tell me to my face that she “knows” I was hitting on Todd, and because I wouldn’t take anofrom him, I disrespected him.

I hate playing the victim, and I rarely let myself cry, but I’m so angry that I’m sobbing as I head to the employees’ bathroom.

Jackie shows up out of nowhere. “I heard what happened. I’m quitting too.”

“Don’t do that.”

“I am. I just can’t do it immediately because I’ve got bills, but tomorrow I’m starting to look for another job. My offer to have you move in with me still stands.”

She looks like she’s about to cry, and I feel terrible.

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