Page 14 of Mechanic

Cleaning out my locker in the waitress’ locker room, my emotions are all over the place.

Relief fills me that a little extra will be in my bank account each paycheck. Sadness is present because Gram isn’t around to take this journey with me. However, nervousness takes the top of the list of emotions I am feeling, worrying over messing something up.

Grabbing the bag full of my belongings, I head out to meet Shawna. A smile crosses my lips when I spot her at the bar, sitting there. She already has a drink waiting for me. Once she spots me, Shawna jumps from her chair, wrapping me in a tight hug and rocking both of us back and forth.

“Come on,” she says as we separate. Shawna sits back down, nodding her head to the empty chair. “It’s time to celebrate the next chapter in your life.”

Raising her glass in the air, she lifts an eyebrow at me in a challenge. Grabbing my glass, I clink it against hers in a silent toast. Sipping my wine, my eyes drift shut as I hold the icy liquid in my mouth for a moment, savoring the flavors before swallowing.

Shawna has me laughing at her stories as she chats about dealing with Aymond about the new casino in New York, complaining about his mood swings.

The bartender refills my wine glass and with my drink halfway to my mouth, a deep voice behind us has me freezing.

“Ladies,” he says, “good evening.”

Giving Shawna a panicked look, she gives a slight head nod in response.

Both of us mumble something unintelligible in response to the man’s greeting. Heat from his body has me restraining a full-body shudder. He leans onto the bar, brushing against me and causing my body to stiffen at the unexpected contact.

Subtly shifting toward Shawna, Tony moves in closer. By the time he is served his drink, I am damn near sitting in Shawna’s lap. The heat of his body washes over me, with him standing so close. While I try my best not to move, Tony has no such issues. He moves just enough that his hand brushes against my breast as he extends his arms to lean against the bar. At one point, I could have sworn his hand ran down the outside of my leg. The thought of this man’s hands on me has me doing a full-body shudder. Shawna raises an eyebrow at me in question.

“The air conditioning is making it chilly in here,” I say in explanation, raising my voice enough that Tony hears it in case he notices my movement.

Thankfully, he leaves as fast as he arrived. After making sure he is gone, I ease back into my chair.

“He reminds me of a guy who did seventies porn. All Tony is missing is the bold print, a satin shirt open halfway down his navel, and a variety of gold chains dangling from his neck. Blech!” Shawna says as we break out into peals of laughter.

Gulping down half my glass of wine before setting it down, Shawna and I look at each other before collapsing into a fit of giggles.

Butterflies fill my belly as I approach the dealers’ locker room. Unlike the cocktail waitresses, only a portion of what I am required to wear is supplied by the casino.

Black pants and a black long-sleeve, button-down shirt are my responsibility. The Wildfire provides a tie, silver armband, and vest. The tie and vest range in colors of white, silver, and red.

Finding my new locker, my eyes widen to discover the uniform items already there. Usually, a supervisor is needed to pull from stock. The items from the casino have tags tucked out of sight with my name on them, something they do to help with inventory and security. My waitress uniform had similar tags, slightly less obvious due to the tightness of the material.

Going through the motions of arranging my locker and dressing, the clicking of heels causes my head to turn toward the source.

A petite blonde woman stands before me, a broad smile on her round face.

“Hello,” I say as she steps up next to me.

“Hi,” she responds, jutting her hand toward me. “I’m Miranda. You’re Antonia, right?”

Miranda’s sunny personality is contagious. Her corkscrew curls are just like the sun, radiating in all directions from her head. The green of her eyes is so bright—they remind me of grass.

Realizing that I have been staring at the poor girl without a response, I shake my head. Her hand starts to drop before I quickly grapes it in mine to shake.

“Sorry, first day jitters,” I say sincerely, placing my free hand over my belly. “Yes, I am Antonia. Toni, if you prefer.”

Miranda’s smile falters slightly.

“Just a suggestion,” Miranda whispers, quickly glancing over her shoulder to see if she can be overheard. “It might be less confusing if you stick with Antonia.”

My brows crease together in confusion at her words. She quickly answers my unasked question, dropping her voice to a near whisper.

“Tony, the pit boss,” she starts, pausing to see if I know who she is referring to. At my slight nod, she continues speaking. “He will make a scene if you use the name Toni. It’s some weird quirk he has. Something about not knowing who is being addressed while on the floor.”

Miranda adds an eye roll at the end of her statement, silently conveying her thoughts on the matter.

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