Page 18 of Before the Storm
She inhaled sharply. “She’s not going to be fun to work with.”
“I will be having a conversation with my brothers. Whether you were here or not, her showing up at my house is grounds for dismissal. Not to mention she’s been sending me texts that are borderline harassment. I’m going to be dealing with this. Fornow, I’ll make sure you have minimal to no contact with her at work.”
“I appreciate that.” She swiped at her face. “I think we should call it a night.”
“I’m disappointed because I was having a good time. But I can’t make you stay.”
“Thank you.” She nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He stood there and watched her leave. Whatever had happened to her in her past broke his fucking heart.
4
Janelle stood in front of her locker. The evening crowd had been a tad louder than expected due to the warmer temperatures, but the fat tips in her pocket were well worth the trouble.
Exhaustion settled into her bones. She hated to admit it, but she looked forward to doing absolutely nothing tomorrow.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” Jack asked as he strolled into the break room. “I can’t tell you how nice it is not to have to worry about stepping away from the bar when you’re around.”
“I’m glad you trust me,” she said. “But I did screw up a few drinks.”
“Don’t stress about that. You did the right thing by asking the customer what was in it before trying to make the specialty beverage.” He opened his locker and took out his leather jacket. “I’ve never seen anyone pick up our systems so fast before. Not that the way we do things is so complicated. But the Snow brothers can be quite demanding at times.”
“I’ve worked for a lot worse than them,” she said. “I find all three to be incredibly fair.” She tugged at her bag and strapped it over her shoulder. Because someone had needed their shiftcovered, Pam had worked a few hours in the afternoon, making things incredibly awkward for Janelle.
And Phoenix.
Although, to Pam’s credit, she stayed away from Janelle. But it was the cold shoulder that bothered Janelle. Pam had done her best to ignore Janelle to the point she wouldn’t even help her when things got busy. Not that Janelle needed the aid, but it would have been nice considering Janelle bussed three of Pam’s tables while she was on break.
It’s what co-workers did regardless of their feelings for one another and Janelle was still confused as to what she’d done to Pam. Or what the real situation was regarding Pam and Phoenix. Janelle struggled to comprehend the dynamic. All she could equate it to was how Brother Jim had picked a favorite wife and Janelle was at the bottom of the barrel.
Phoenix had made his position clear; however, he’d been harsh in his tone. The entire encounter was aggressive and that made Janelle more than uncomfortable.
“Mind if I give you a little unsolicited piece of advice?” Jack asked.
“Um, sure. Go ahead.”
“I noticed some tension with you and Pam today. She almost always gives the new person a hard time. She likes to pawn off shit she doesn’t like to do on others. You don’t have to clear her tables all the time. She’ll leave them for you because you did it once. She’ll start bossing you around because she enjoys pulling the seniority card, but you’re her equal. She’s not above you. The only ones you have to listen to are Phoenix, his brothers, Veronica, and me.”
“I’m here to work and if I see something that needs to be done, I’m not going to sit by and leave it.”
“Just don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Especially her.” Jack glanced over his shoulder. “I probably shouldn’t be sayinganything, but she’s got this weird idea that Phoenix is interested in her when he’s not. He never has been and he never will be. He’s tried to be nice, because that’s who he is, but Pam has started to take it to a whole new level.”
Janelle’s pulse increased. This conversation was a little too intense. She wasn’t used to being involved in other people’s business. She wasn’t sure what to say, much less how to act. She didn’t understand her emotions. She’d never been jealous of her sister wives, even when they got Brother Jim’s attention and she didn’t. She never wanted her husband’s affections, so if he spent all his nights with someone else, that was fine with her. The idea of becoming pregnant again had been horrifying. She couldn’t go through that kind of pain again, and that was the only reason her husband would visit her at night.
She was the only sister wife who hadn’t given him a child. She’d failed him, her father, and the church.
All she wanted to do was learn how to live in the real world. She wanted to put down roots. Have a job that put a roof over her head. Food on the table. Gas in her old beat-up car. And the ability to save a little so she could live out her days in peace.
Alone.
Making connections with people hadn’t been part of the equation. But Jason had told her that when she found a place that sang to her soul, and her heart had begun to heal, it would be time to live. To find her people. She never thought that day would come.
But with each passing minute in Lake George, and at Blue Moon, she believed this could be the place.
However, the incident with Phoenix and Pam gave her pause.
“I also shouldn’t say this, but I saw firsthand what Pam wants from Phoenix, and he wasn’t very nice about letting her know that wasn’t going to happen,” she said. “But also, she made it sound like they had a thing.”
