Page 10 of No Small Sin

“I’m TK,” I smiled. “I have an interview with Mr. Canmore.”

“I’m Andi. You’re a little early, but he’s expecting you.” A mischievous grin tugged at her lips.

Her red-bottomed heels clicked across the textured quarry tile as she strode toward the back offices without bothering to gesture for me to follow. I wondered how someone working as a waitress could afford eight hundred dollar shoes. I hurried to catch up and pulled myself to a halt in order to avoid slamming into her back as she stopped abruptly outside an unobtrusive black metal door.

She knocked twice and pushed it open. “Mr. Canmore, your intervie…”

“Fuck, Andrea!” He bellowed.

She pulled the door closed just as quickly and she’d opened it and leaped backward, but not quickly enough that I didn’t get an eyeful of my potential new boss with his pants around his ankles, balls deep in a fucking stunning redhead who was bent over the front of his desk.

I gasped, eyes wide.

“It’s okay,” she snickered. “They like being caught.”

“Is that his wife?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Nope,” she answered, popping the P. “She’s sure someone’s though,” she muttered under her breath.

Andi was apparently a messy bitch.I liked her already.

“Anyway. You can wait here. I have to get back to the front.” With a smirk on her face, she put her hand directly under her chin and waggled her fingers as if to wave goodbye before flouncing back toward the front of the restaurant.

I’d never felt more awkward in my life than I did standing there waiting for Mr. Canmore to… ah… finish. Unfortunately for me, he seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever.

I spent the next several minutes nervously shifting my weight from foot to foot, fidgeting with the hem of my skirt, and looking anywhere but at the door in front of me, when finally it opened.

Mr. Canmore gestured for me to enter and I peeked timidly around the doorframe.

“It’s fine. My guest left through the back. Sorry about that. Andrea can be very thoughtless at times,” he said, almost nonchalantly.

I didn’t want to break it to him that I thought perhaps Andi had put a lot more thought into her actions than he gave her credit for. “It’s fine. I understand. These things happen,” I said, stepping through the doorway. I thought to shake his hand, then realized what he’d been doing with his hands just a few moments before and grimaced, quickly changing my mind.

“Have a seat and we’ll get started. I’ll try not to keep you long.” He pulled a chair out from a small conference table and then took his own seat in the one directly across from me. “The first and most important question is this. Are you certified as a sommelier?”

Suddenly more nervous than I’d been before, I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I completed a course at a previous employer, but I am not certified. However, I do have extensive training and I am willing to take whatever courses you’d consider appropriate, whether in person or online, in order to meet the requirements for this job. I feel as if I can meet expectations and I have a strong desire to learn.”

He seemed to study me. “I see. Would you consider your previous place of employment to be a high-volume restaurant?”

“Perhaps not as high-volume as I know L’Ultima Cena to be, but it was a busy environment nonetheless and I thrive under pressure,” I responded more confidently this time.

“Very well. We are short-staffed and you seem to have more experience than anyone else I’ve spoken with this week. I’d like to hire you on a trial basis. You’ll work closely with Andrea for two weeks. She’ll train you and she’ll also let me know how you’re doing. I’d like to meet with you at the end of each week to hear from you as well. Does that work for you?”

“Works perfectly,” I grinned. “Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Canmore.”

“Call me Ijah. During your time here, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your job easier. If nothing else, Mr. Gallo ensures that all of his employees are well taken care of. We’re like family here.”

“Mr. Gallo?” I questioned.

“Mattia Gallo. He owns LC and is my boss. Our boss. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever see him around, but he signs the checks,” he winked. “Let’s get you set up to come back in the morning to fill out all your paperwork.” He stood.

“Sounds great, Mr. Canm... Ijah. Fuck. I haven’t even introduced myself. Tate Kenneson. I prefer TK.” I smiled up at him. He was charming. Dark hair. Broad shoulders. Square jaw. I could see the appeal.

My smile faltered and I sucked in a breath, realizing I’d just casually said fuck during my job interview. As I stood, the back entrance cracked open and heavy footsteps thudded down the back hall.

He chuckled. “TK. I think you can get by with saying fuck being that you saw my bare ass before you really even had a good look at my face.”

“To be fair, I saw a lot more than your ass,” I quipped. We both chuckled and I was certain I’d be happier here than I’d been at the golf course. Ijah seemed easy enough to get along with.

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