“You’re not working here,” I say, breaking in.
“Yes, I am. What’s your favorite drink?” she asks Clara as she moves behind the bar as if she owns the place.
“Lemon drop,” Clara says, going along with Shayne.
Shayne moves around and grabs a shaker. She fills it with ice and dumps in some vodka. Then, I watch as she opens a sugar packet and pours it into the shaker as well. “And now for my secret ingredient.” She winks and spins around, grabbing another bottle of liquor I can’t see. She tosses a few lemons into the tin and shakes like her life depends on it.
She grabs a martini glass and pours the yellow drink, sliding it closer to Clara. In another glass she pours me the top shelf whiskey I had the night before. She nudges the glass in my direction.
I smile, raising a brow. “So, you do remember?”
She smiles, gazing at me behind thick lashes. “Maybe.”
Clara takes a sip of her lemon drop. “This is delicious.” Clara smiles, her blue eyes brightening. “I think we found our bartender.”
I take a sip of my whiskey. “Let’s do this on a probationary basis.”
“You won’t be sorry,” Shayne says, flitting away to check out the bar.
“Mike,” Clara calls out. “Can you take Shayne here and show her the ropes.”
Mike, our head bartender, walks up and introduces himself to Shayne. I can’t help watch a little too closely as Mike leads her off to show her how to start her shift.
I sip on my whiskey as Clara nurses her drink. “I like her.”
“Don’t get used to having her around. Women come to this club to see men, and lots of them.”
Clara shrugs. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a female bartender is just what we need.”
I doubt Clara’s right. I don’t know what it is about Shayne but I don’t want her working here. And I know the main reason is because I can’t focus when she’s near. And, I need to focus. I’ve worked way too hard to not have this club work out for us.
Shayne saunters back over after Mike’s shown her the ropes and she’s changed into a Trifecta black tee.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Ben walks in as if he’s a king. Axel and Emma trail in behind him.
Clara slips off the stool to give Ben a kiss.
“Hi again,” Shayne says, wiping down the bar.
“Aren’t you the bartender from last night?” Axel asks. .
“I’m Shayne, the new bartender.”
“Just for tonight,” I interject.
The chatter between my brothers, their fiancees, and Shayne kind of irks me. Clara notices, raising a questioning brow. But, I ignore her, sipping on my whiskey while everyone gets to know Shayne.
I don’t know why they’re bothering.
She won’t be here tomorrow.
“This is a bold move, hiring a female bartender,” Ben says.
“I think it’s perfect. Having a woman behind the bar will make some of the more shy women feel safe,” Axel says.
“I agree.” Axel and Emma smile at each other for their agreement. He kisses the top of her head like the fool in love he is.
“We’ll see. If the women complain about the bartender being a woman she’s out.” My brothers look at me as I grumble out the stipulations.
“Why would they complain?” Axel asks with a quick shrug of his shoulders.
“Because they come here to see men not women.” I really don’t get why this is so hard to understand for everyone.
“They come here to see men dance. I don’t see why they would be upset about having a woman serve them drinks. Besides, we have plenty of male bartenders they can stare at. If they don’t want Shayne to serve them then they can wait for a male to open up.” Ben shrugs like it’s no big deal.
To him it probably isn’t a big deal. His jeans aren’t being held hostage by said bartender, and he doesn’t have to deal with a dick who doesn’t seem to know how to stay down whenever she’s around.
I need to focus. Tonight’s too important to let this whole situation affect me like it is.
“I have work to do.” I toss back the rest of my drink, slamming the empty glass down on the bar before heading upstairs. Instead of working, I adopt a new hobby and become a stalker. What is wrong with me. I can’t stop watching Shayne talk to my family on the security cameras.
Yep, I’m pretty screwed.
3
Shayne
What the hell is happening? I’m a good person, so why does the universe want to play evil jokes with me? And why does he have to be so sexy.
I mean, there’s sexy in this world, and then there’s the Trifecta. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize them last night.
To be honest, I’ve only really ever heard of the Trifecta dancers. I’ve never really seen them before. And let me tell you...it’s out of this world how hot they are.