“You’ll pay me weekly.”
I cringe at that one, knowing it will take some work, and then nod. “I can make that happen.”
“Also, I want all the benefits of a full-time staff member. Health, vacation, sick pay, and free daycare and summer camp for my son. There’s no way you can pay me what I made in tips at the club, but maybe the benefits can make up the difference.”
“I’ll have to make you a salaried employee, which means you’ll also be offered a staff cabin along with free meals while you’re here. Does that interest you as well? And you can place advertisements for your dance studio on our website and in our marketing emails. At no cost, of course. You can even teach classes here during the week if you’d like.”
She lets out a heavy breath like she’s absorbing the shock of my offer. “Really?”
Something about the way her bravado complete crumbled while she morphed into the vulnerable little girl I used to stand by and protect on the playground does something to my heart. I stand and make my way around my desk, not stopping until she swivels around so that she’s right under my nose. “Yes, Violet. I’m willing to meet all of your demands and raise them. As long as you’re willing to meet just one of mine.”
She deflates a little but doesn’t back down. “And what’s that?”
“You can never go back to working for Malik.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think you understand. That isn’t even an option. He hates me.”
My jaw clenches. “There’s no question in my mind that he’ll want you back, and you’re just stubborn enough to go if it means running away from me.”
Her chin quivers. “What are you talking about? You offered me the job, and I’m accepting. Can we just leave the past out of it for once?”
I shake my head, not backing down this time. Too much needs to be said. “That’s not going to happen. Because for some reason you seem to forget who hurt who back then. You treat me like I’m the reason we stopped talking. You treat me like…” I swallow, forcing my emotions to calm the fuck down before she sees too much. “Like we were never friends at all.”
Her head tilts, and her eyes search mine. “That was such a long time ago, Jami.”
“Yet it still fucking hurts.”
She bows her head, hiding her reaction from me. “I’m so sorry about all of it, but I can’t take it back.” She looks back up, wet eyes imploring mine. “I would never take it back. Don’t you get that’s why it’s so hard for me to be around you?”
“Yet you’re here.” I tilt my head. “You must be a glutton for punishment.”
Her glare is fierce. “Or maybe I’m desperate. Do you know what will happen if I lose my home on top of everything else? Trevor will win.”
“Win how?”
She sighs, her head shaking with frustration. “By proving that I can’t do this on my own.”
“Why the hell would he want to do that?”
“Because he wants me back, Jami.” Her words are like fingers wrapping around my heart and squeezing. “He doesn’t care that we got married for all the wrong reasons or that the toxicity of our marriage will only hurt Brayden even more than we already have. Trevor strongly believes that we belong together. I’ve busted my ass for the past year just fine, and then you come along and suddenly I’m one paycheck away from becoming homeless.”
“I heard you, Vi, and you know I’ll help you however I can, but I am sick and tired of being treated like I’m the villain here.”
Her eyes squeeze shut, and she nods. “I know what I did. I know how badly I hurt you.” Her eyes open again, finding mine. “And I know what I lost.”
She chokes up on that last sentence, and it takes everything in me not to pull her into my arms. It’s what I want to do, despite the fact that she’s telling me that if she had a chance to rewrite our past, she would refuse.
“This divide between us, it’s all on me,” she continues. “I accepted my part years ago, and I’ve carried the guilt ever since. But that doesn’t change the position I’m in today.”
I can feel the pain she’s expressing as if it’s coming from my own soul. I used to think Violet and I were tethered in some strange and mysterious way. What hurts her, hurts me. What pleases her, pleases me. It seems none of that has changed. So I decide to drop it.
“Just promise me you won’t ever work for Malik again. It’s my only condition to your demands.”
She looks like she wants to say something more but bites her tongue. Instead, she nods. “There’s no way in hell I’m working for that man again.”
A few beats of silence pass before I clear my throat, preparing to reset our conversation. “When would you like to start?”
She lets out a breath that sounds a whole lot like relief. “As soon as possible. Tonight? I’m worried Malik will screw me out of my next paycheck, and then I won’t be able to pay my rent.”
Biting my tongue on the subject of her old boss, I quickly calculate the time and all that needs to be done to get her on board. “You’re free to start whenever you want, but you’re getting a cabin, remember? There’s plenty of room for Brayden too. I’m not telling you what to do, but many staff members find the living conditions here to be more than suitable for their needs.”
She looks deep in thought for a moment. “Yes, I remember living here.” Her eyes flicker up to mine as if she’s remembering something. “Brayden would love it here too.”
My heart catches in my chest. “Good, because I would love to meet him.”
For a second, I think Violet might cry again, this time for an entirely different reason. Instead, she rights her shoulders and adopts a professional stance. “I would like to start tonight, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine.” I quickly assess her attire and walk across the room to a black cabinet filled with saloon merchandise. Yanking a shirt from the shelf, I turn back around and toss it to her. “You’ll need this.”
She catches it and unbuttons her coat, revealing her club attire before slipping on the saloon shirt. I have to bite back a smile when it falls down to her thighs. I purposely grabbed one a couple sizes too big for her to combat the roaming eyes of drunk camp guests. Violet will be gawked at no matter her attire. At least this way I’ll stand a chance at keeping the beast below my waist at bay. But when she tugs on the hair tie to release her ponytail and uses it to tighten and secure the T-shirt up above her waist, I know my dick is screwed.
Violet walks to the door, puts her hand on the knob, and takes in a long, deep breath. She looks back, eyes meeting mine from over her shoulder. “Hey, Jami?”
My brows lift, waiting for her to speak.
“This is going to be okay, right?”
I don’t know what she’s referring to. Whether she’s asking if she’ll be okay or if I will.
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
Chapter Thirteen
VIOLET
Sitting in the front-office lobby of Brayden’s school feels awfully reminiscent of the time Jamison and I got in trouble for taking a traipse through the woods off campus during our lunch hour. I was mortified to have to face our principal. Thank goodness I’m not in trouble today.