Right Side Up ((MMG Novella)) (9 page)

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M
arsha Malloy appeared
at Dragonfly the week before Dillon and I decided to hire some new help. From the minute she planted her ass on the bar stool in front of me, to the moment she walked out the door, she did not shut up. If she wasn’t talking, she was singing. If she wasn’t singing, she was flirting. It made no difference to her that I was wearing a wedding ring. If anything, it made her more persistent. She had short blonde hair, big blue eyes and a round baby face. I pegged her at not a day over eighteen, so I carded her straight off the bat. She was barely twenty one and acted immature and entitled, two things that disgust me to no end. I’d learned through the years to stay far away from girls like her. They lead to only one thing: Trouble.

We had barely put the help wanted sign outside Dragonfly’s front door before Marsha was there applying for the job. There was absolutely no way in hell I would hire her. Even so, I made sure to look over her application and even call a few of her referrals. This way, when I turned her down, she couldn’t claim discrimination or lack of follow through.

The week Dillon and I called Marsha in to tell her we’d hired someone else was a shit week for me. Finally, after months of horrible morning sickness, Joss and I had mind blowing sex. After, I had to helplessly stand by and watch her almost lose our unborn child. At least, that’s what we thought was happening. As it turns out, our baby was okay, but, in order to keep it that way, we were told no sex for the next month and for Josselyn to be off her feet as much as possible. When Marsha knocked on my office door, I almost excused myself and let Dillon handle her. Instead, I pasted a fake smile on my face as I ushered her in. Then I promptly told her we would not be hiring her at Dragonfly.

“Did you check my references?” she haughtily asked.

“We did. Look, this has nothing to do with you personally, Marsha. There are several other applicants who have the experience we are looking for,” I politely explained.

“Well, I find that hard to believe,” she clipped. “I have worked at bars all over the South.”

Dillon coughed out a laugh and said, “We’re sorry it didn’t work out this time, but thanks for applying.” We both stood up. I walked over and opened the door to let her out.

With a mumbled “Thanks,” she slipped by me and out the door.

As I closed it behind her, I sighed in relief. “That went better than I thought it would.”

“That girl is a disaster waiting to happen,” Dillon said.

I gave him a knowing smile. “Talking from experience, huh?” Dillon’s ex-booty call, Dana Harkins, was one nasty nut job. She put Marsha’s antics to shame.

He responded with a smile and a middle finger.

I saw Marsha in Dragonfly maybe a handful of times after that. She always made a point of selecting a stool directly in front of me. In regular psycho fashion, she never spoke a word. She just drank her fruity drinks and glared at me. Occasionally, she would bring a friend. They would both stare at me and giggle like school girls. I would find an excuse to get someone else to cover the bar whenever this happened. Whether it was paperwork in the back office or inventory, I tried to be anywhere but the bar.

About a week and a half after the doctor put Joss on what she called, ‘house arrest,’ she woke in a good mood. This was a rare thing these days. She was actually smiling. When Josselyn smiled, my whole world lit up.

“Hey baby, what’s up?” I asked.

“Well, Ellie just texted and said she and Max are having a MMG cookout tonight. Can you get someone to cover your shift and take me, please?”

I tried not to frown. Joss did not need to overdo it. Losing our baby would destroy her. Resisting the urge to immediately say no, I asked, “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I will sit the whole time, except when I have to pee. Please say yes.”

I stared at her gorgeous face.
How can I deny this woman anything?
“Let me see if Dillon will take the bar.”

Joss squealed as she threw herself across the bed at me. I caught her and tried not to groan when she pressed her tight little body to mine. Before I could pull away, she had her hand wrapped around my semi-hard cock and a sympathetic expression on her face. “This has been hard on you,” she said.

I smiled. “Right now it’s hard on you.” She laughed and started slowly lowering the sheet. I placed my hand firmly on hers and stopped her from taking it further. Her eyes shifted from my excited groin to my face. “I do not expect you to do this, Josselyn.”

“Do you not want me anymore?” she hesitantly asked.

I thrust my now hard cock into her hand. “Does it feel like I don’t want you?”

She blinked and then showered me with another award winning smile. “That just makes me want to do it more, Kurt. I love you. Let me take care of you.”
If she only knew how much power she held.
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed the palm before releasing it and falling back onto the pillows. With her magical tongue and hands, my wife took amazingly good care of me. There was no way I would deny this woman anything…ever.

Dillon agreed to man the ship at Dragonfly, so I could take Joss to MMG that night. Once we arrived, I made sure she was happily settled with Piper and Ellie before heading over to Max and Gage to grab a beer. As I approached them, something across the patio caught my eye. It took a second to register. With her hair teased to high hell, and her barely there clothing, I almost didn’t recognize Marsha. She was standing across the patio talking with some Dragonfly regulars. Our eyes met for a brief second. Hers flared and her mouth tipped into a smile. Giving her a curt nod, I continued to Max and Gage.
What the hell is she doing here?

“Good to see you out and about,” Max said, patting me on the back.

“The last two weeks have been a bitch,” I admitted.

“Everything okay?” Gage asked, handing me a beer.

I popped it open and downed half of it. My eyes drifted over to my wife, who was talking with Piper, Ellie and some girls, and I thought back to our morning. It is now,” I said, tapping my bottle to his and then Max’s. After three more beers, I had to take a piss. I could see Joss still sitting across the patio, laughing and enjoying herself. “I’ve got to take a leak. Be right back,” I told the guys.

Someone was in the downstairs bathroom, so I hauled it upstairs and used one of those. As I started down the stairs, I noticed Marsha standing at the bottom. Figuring she was waiting on the bathroom, I passed by without acknowledging her and steered for the door.

“What? You aren’t even going to speak to me?” she asked. Her exasperated tone made me pause and turn around.

“I’m sorry. How are you Marsha?”

“I’m good, Kurt. Thanks for asking.” She gave me a perplexed look, as if she wanted to say something, but was hesitant to do so.

Raising my brow, I asked, “Do you need something?” Whatever her issue was, I wanted her to spit it out, so I could go find my wife.

“Ummmm….can I talk to you for a second?” She shuffled her feet nervously across the floor.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I told her.

“It’ll take just a second, I promise.” She scooted out the front door.

Fuck,
I thought.
This chick is up to no good.
I stepped out the door after her and leaned my back against it. “Talk,” I ordered.

“I just wanted to say I think you made a mistake by not hiring me.”

This again?
I fought the impulse to walk away and leave her standing there. “I’m sorry you feel that way. However, what’s done is done.” I made sure to look her in the eyes when I spoke. The finality in my voice could not be mistaken.

She narrowed her eyes, placed her hands on her hips and huffed. “You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”

“Nope. Now if that’s all, I need to get back to my wife.”

“What if I told your wife we were sleeping together?” she coyly asked.

I hesitated for a second to gather my thoughts. I wanted to blast her. I wanted to rip her devious little head off. Instead, I asked, “Are you threatening me?” The tone of my voice had her taking a step back. This twit of a little girl had no fucking clue who she was messing with.

“You’re giving me no choice. I want to work at Dragonfly and you want to keep your wife. It’s a win-win for both of us.” She acted as if this was a negotiation, not my marriage we were talking about.

I took a step toward her and she immediately stepped back. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You know nothing about me, yet you are standing here threatening me. Do it,” I said through gritted teeth. “I dare you.” Her eyes widened in surprise. I took another step forward. She tried to step back, but the wall prevented her from going anywhere. She gazed longingly over at the sidewalk and her freedom. I slapped a hand on the wall beside her face and leaned in. She flinched and turned her head, as if trying to get away from me. I placed my mouth next to her ear and whispered, “If you think for one second my wife would believe a pathetic, desperate little girl over me, you are batshit crazy.” Lifting my hand, I took a step back from her. Hatred poured from her eyes as she turned and glared at me. I wanted to laugh. Instead, I said, “Go home little girl.”

Normally, the sound of a woman crying would make me feel bad. Not in this case. As she made a move to bolt, I gave her a warning. “I better never see you in Dragonfly again. If I do, I will throw you out myself.” Deciding she’d had way more than she bargained for she took off running for her car.

Shaking my head in disgust, I stormed through the front and out to the back. Ellie, Piper and Cas were standing with Dillon and his friend Isabella. Joss, however, was not with them. It took me a minute to spot her walking across the lawn. She stopped on the back patio and stared off into the night.

Sucking in a breath, I grabbed a beer and headed in her direction. As I slipped up behind her, I folded her in my arms. She jumped and I smiled and kissed the back of her neck. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” I murmured in her ear. “You know you’re not supposed to be on your feet.”

In a wisp of a voice, she asked, “Can we please go home?”

Instantly, I knew something was wrong. I turned her to face me and could see tears in her eyes. “Is it the baby? Are you cramping?”

Staring down at her feet, she said, “No.”

One of the many things I love about my wife is her blunt honesty. She has no problem setting me straight. She also has no problem talking out issues with me. I always knew where I stood with her, except for now.

Stroking my fingers along her jaw, I tilted her chin and forced her to look up at me. “Baby, you’re going to have to give me more than this. What is it?” Tears spilled from her beautiful blue eyes and my heart squeezed tightly in my chest. Something was majorly wrong here and, until she told me what it was, I couldn’t fix it. “What happened? Did I miss something?”

Dropping her forehead to my chest, she said, “One of the many things they fail to tell you about pregnancy is how emotionally wacked baby hormones make you. I feel fat and unattractive, I’m hornier than I’ve ever been, and even though I know you would never cheat on me, I can’t get the image of you and that woman cozied up together on the front porch just now out of my head.”

Not able to help myself, I busted out laughing.

She lifted her head and the pain in her eyes shut me up.

“Josselyn, baby, I am not cheating on you.” I tried to hide my smile, but couldn’t.

“I saw you with her,” she whispered.

“Saw me doing what exactly?” I asked, making sure to keep my voice as level as possible.

“I saw you on the front porch with that woman. It looked like you were kissing her. I saw her run away crying.” She let out a sad sigh. “Look, I know this has been hard on you.”

“Enough,” I snapped. She clamped her mouth shut and stared at the ground. “The child you saw me with has been trying to get a job at Dragonfly for weeks now. She didn’t like it when Dillon and I turned her down, so she decided to show up tonight and attempt to blackmail me. She threatened to tell my wife we were sleeping together if I didn’t give her a job.”

Her eyes snapped to mine and bugged in shock. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope. What you saw was me setting her straight. Not only will she never work at Dragonfly, but I also let her know I’ll toss her out on her ass if she so much as steps foot through the door.”

Her forehead thonked against my chest. “My imagination was running wild,” she murmured.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her in for a hug. “I love you, Josselyn. I know this has been rough on you and I’m sorry. You know me and you know I would never cheat on you in a million years.”

She sniffled into my chest. “I know you wouldn’t. I am such a fat, hot mess right now and it’s only going to get worse.” My wife could be seriously funny. I let out a bark of laughter and, a few seconds later, she was laughing with me. Just like that, we were good again.

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