The sad thing was, so did I.
“Ray!” Zeke hollered from the bar.
I’d completely forgotten she was beside me. Ray blinked, as if she was coming out of a trance, still more or less gawking at my boyfriend, but I couldn’t fault her for that. Brock was not just attractive as fuck, he also had an intensity about him that captured people.
“Ray, this is Brock. My boyfriend. Ray is my boss,” I explained, pinning him with a be-nice glare. I didn’t bother with his name, because she knew he was.
Brock spared her a two-second glance, which was all he gave most people. “You’re Ray. Interesting place.”
“It was my dad’s,” she managed to say.
Zeke shook his head, laughing at her from behind the bar. Her gaze snapped to him, and she flipped him off, only making Zeke laugh more.
“I should apologize for the trouble last night,” he said to her, shocking me. “I can’t promise more won’t find its way onto your doorstep.”
“Brock,” I hissed, the beer in my hand almost spilling over.
He ignored me and continued. “You know who I am?” he asked in a way that suggested she would have to be a hermit to not know who he was.
Ray nodded. “And Grahams don’t shy away from trouble when it involves a friend.”
I blinked. Did Ray know about me? Surely, the Elite had a reputation for causing havoc, but she looked directly at me when she spoke. We were hardly friends, not sure if two days on the job were enough to form that bond, but I appreciated her support.
“All cards on the table, it might not be a good idea for me to work here,” I warned her, even if it cost me my job. Zeke and Ray had been nothing but kind and supportive. They had taken a chance on me. I owed her the same respect.
This place was her family’s means of survival. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to it because of me.
Ray held my gaze. “You need this job, right?”
I nodded.
Ray’s expression turned serious, clarity brightening her mossy green eyes. “I might not understand what you’ve gotten yourself into, and it’s not my business until someone makes it mine. Zeke might not look like much—”
“Hey!” Zeke protested.
“But he can handle himself,” she continued, bulldozing right over Zeke’s outburst. “We both can.”
“Thanks, I think,” Zeke retorted with straight lips before refilling Ray’s missing beer and leaving to take an order from one of the bikers at the far end of the bar.
An understanding passed between Ray and Brock, enough that he seemed satisfied. “Good. I’ll make sure to keep this place busy while Josie is working. It’s the least I can do.”
Ray gave a short nod. “If it’s anything like last night, I’d say it is worth the risk.”
My gaze volleyed between them. “What just happened?”
“Business, Firefly. Ray and I came to an understanding.”
Ray grabbed the beer still in my hand and the one Zeke left on the bar and went to deliver them to the table. “And somehow I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not,” I mumbled, heading off to twelve.
Brock smacked me on the ass. “Get to work. It’s about to get hectic in here.”
“And that is a good thing how?” I called over my shoulder.
Of course, Brock was good on his word. Within an hour, Lazy Ray’s was popping. Busier than last night, if that was at all possible. Ray had to call in one of her other girls to help out last minute. It was just too much for Ray and me alone. Zeke was tied up behind the bar, unable to lend a hand.
I dashed out of the kitchen, hooking a quick right around the corner to where the bar stored condiments, napkins, and silverware. The little hallway also led to the bathrooms, where a small line had formed outside the girl’s door. I grabbed a bottle of hot sauce for table three and an extra set of silverware.
“I didn’t believe them when they told me you were working here,” a voice said from behind me, just loud enough to be heard over the chatter of the bar.