I didn’t respond. Hell, I didn’t know how. I had no clue why I’d gone out on such a limb for her. Clearly frustrated by my silence, she shook her head and said, “Just forget I asked. I need to get back to work.”
Without saying anything more, she turned and headed back inside, leaving me standing outside alone with my thoughts. I was tempted to go after her and try to explain myself but decided against it. She’d already been through enough for one night. There was no reason to add more bullshit to her plate, so I let her be and went to my office to get some work done.
Unfortunately, my mind kept drifting to Aubrey, which made it impossible to focus long enough to get anything done. I thought about my earlier conversation with Rafe and how he’d urged me to talk to Lynch. Knowing he was right, I sent Lynch a message and told him to come see me. A short time later, he stepped into my office and asked, “What’s up?”
“I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” He sat down in the chair in front of my desk. “Whatcha got on your mind.”
“I wanted to talk to you about your grandparents. Specifically, your grandfather.”
“What about him?”
“He ever mention a girl named Aubrey Cash?”
“Not that I can I remember. Why?”
“Apparently, he has a connection with our new waitress, Aubrey. I don’t know what that connection is, but she knew your grandfather. Said he told her to come here if she ever needed a job.”
“Why the hell would he send her all the way here when they lived in fucking Colorado?”
“No idea. I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that.”
“Sorry, brother. I don’t have a fucking clue.” His brows furrowed as he asked, “She say how long it’s been since he told her that?”
“Apparently, it’s been awhile. She said she worked for them before going off to college, but I’m not sure I believe her.”
“Then, call her ass in here, and let’s find out what the hell she’s all about.”
“I don’t think that’s the best way to handle this, brother. There’s something going on with this girl. I can feel it. I think it’s best to just hold on and see how things play out.”
“But she came in here and talked about my family. She knew them. She could know something about what happened to them that day. How the hell am I supposed to just sit on that?”
“Just give me some time to build her trust. I’ll find out what her deal is, and we can go from there.”
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it one fucking bit, but you’re the boss here. I’ll do whatever you think needs to be done.”
“Appreciate it, brother, and I promise you’ll be the first to know when I figure this thing out.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.” Lynch stood up and took a few steps, but before he walked out of the room, he turned back to me and said, “My grandparents were good people, Menace. Really good people. They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
“I know. I hate that shit happened to them.”
“If my grandfather sent her here, he’d want us to look out for her.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Then, I’ll do the same.”
Lynch didn’t say anything more. He simply walked out of the office and went back to work. If it had been anyone else, I might’ve worried that he’d go interrogate Aubrey, but Lynch was a man of his word. I knew I didn’t have to worry about him, but at the same time, I also knew he’d hold me to my word and expect me to find out whatever I could about Aubrey. That wasn’t going to be a problem because I intended to find out everything I could about her.
The following day, I had some shit to take care of, so I got to the club later than usual. Mazie was on one stage while Brandy was on the other, and from all the hootin’ and hollerin’, it was clear that folks were enjoying the show. I made my rounds, and when I saw that things were rolling like they should, I went over to the bar to grab myself a drink. After I gave Lisa my order, I turned to watch the crowd, pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time. Lisa placed my beer on the counter and said, “Here ya go. Let me know if you need anything else.”
I gave her a wink, then picked up my beer and took a slug. I’d just placed it back down on the counter when I spotted Aubrey out of the corner of my eye. She was over by the front door, talking to some dude I’d never seen before, and he was eyeing her like she was his next big conquest. The longer I watched them banter back and forth, the angrier I became. I knew my reaction wasn’t justified, but that didn’t stop me from getting up and marching in their direction. Aubrey’s eyes widened as soon as she noticed me coming. My tone was harsher than I intended when I asked, “Everything okay over here?”
“Yep,” Aubrey answered. “Everything’s fine.”
“Yeah, buddy.” The guy snickered. “We’re just fine.”
“I’m not your fucking buddy, and I think it’s time for you to go.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” I motioned my head towards the door. “Time to call it a night.”
“But I just got here, and—”
“Apparently, you didn’t hear me.” I took a step closer to him as I growled, “I said it’s time for you to call it a night.”
“Fine.” He threw up his hands. “I’ll go. Damn.”
As soon as he walked through the door, Aubrey crossed her arms and asked, “What was that about?”
“That dickhead needs to learn you don’t come in here fucking around with one of my girls.”
“He wasn’t fucking around with me,” she argued. “He was asking about doing a bachelor party for one of his friends.”
“Well, he should’ve been talking to me about that shit, not you.”
“Ooh-kay,” she sassed. “You’re the boss.”
“Best you remember that.”
“Oh, I will. You can count on it.”
With that, she stormed off and went back to work. I’d fucked up. She knew it, and I knew. I just had no fucking clue what I was going to do about it. I went back over to the bar to finish off my beer and hadn’t been sitting there long when Aubrey came over to put in her order. She didn’t say a word, nor did she look in my direction. I couldn’t blame her, considering I’d been acting like a fucking ass. I’d hoped, in time, she’d get over it, but as the night went on, the silence continued. Every time she’d come up to the counter to put in an order, she’d do her best to pretend I wasn’t sitting two feet away from her, and I had no idea why. I could’ve simply ignored the fact that she was avoiding me like the plague, but my curiosity got the best of me.
When I spotted her going outside for her break, I decided to follow and found her leaning up against the back wall of the building, and she wasn’t looking too happy. Her expression was even less happy when she noticed me heading in her direction. She crossed her arms and asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”
“You could tell me what’s got you so riled up?”