Shatter Me (The Jaded Series, #1) (3 page)

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come back and see us again soon.” She calls as I start walking away.

I slowly turn back to her and hesitantly tip up my lips a little and say, “Okay.”

I make my way to the door and push through it to go back out into the nippy air. The temperature has dropped a few more degrees since I had been inside so I slid my hands into the front of my hoodie and approach my car. After unlocking it, I climb inside, more exhausted than I was before I ate. I relax against the headrest, preparing myself for the task ahead- talking this Jaxon person into hiring me.

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A
s I approach the place that is to hopefully be my salvation for the next indeterminable amount of weeks, I notice it is even busier than it was when I first drove by. It looks like Jaxon's Pub is the place to be on a Wednesday night here in Jaded Hollow. The parking lot is full so I pull behind a gray Voltswagon Beetle that is parked on the side of the road in front of the building. On the back of the Beetle there is a pink sticker that reads “ROCK CHICK.” I notice there are several other cars parked on the side of the road as well.

I debate with myself on whether or not to wait until tomorrow to talk to this Jax guy about the job. The place is so busy I’m not sure he will have time to talk. I decide since I’m already here to go inside and have a look around and get a feel for the place. If it looks like they’re too busy I’ll just come back and talk to someone tomorrow during the day.

I hop out of my car and make my way towards the door when suddenly I hear a loud screech come from my right. I glance over, and what I see has my heart racing. Right there in the middle of the parking lot is a couple in an intimate embrace.

At first glance it looks like the girl may be struggling against the guy. After a better look I can see the girl isn’t fighting to get away from the man, but fighting to get him closer. The guy has her pinned against the side of a car. He has one hand wrapped around her thigh, holding it over his hip. He’s grinding himself good and hard against her. His other hand is wrapped in her hair, pulling her head back so his lips have access to her neck. The girl has both of her arms wrapped around his neck. With her head thrown back and her mouth open, anyone can see that she’s enjoying herself.

I can’t really tell because of the darkness, but it actually looks like the guys pants are sagging, which means his pants are undone, and if his pants are undone, that means they are...

“Oh yeah, baby, right there, don't stop!” The girl cries to the dark sky.

Oh my God!!
Are they actually having sex in the parking lot of a bar? Do people really do that? I quickly look away, embarrassed, and start walking faster towards the entrance before they notice me.

The front of the building has a huge porch. There’s a porch swing and two wooden rocking chairs with a table sitting between them. A few potted plants hang from the railing. It all feels very homey and if it weren't for the neon signs, I would never have pegged this for a place that sold alcohol.

I push open the door and immediately I am met with a wave of music and smoke. I pause just inside the door to take everything in. The place is packed with people. There are several tall tables with stools, most of which are occupied. I also notice a sliding glass door. From what I can see it looks like there is another covered porch with more tables and chairs. To my left there are several pool tables.

Directly in front of me is a long scarred wooden bar that has about ten stools in front of it. All of them are taken except for the one at the end and I decide that is to be my spot. I feel several people staring at me while I make my way to the bar. With this being such a small town I'm sure seeing new people is a commodity to them.

Behind the bar is the usual mirrored wall. Attached to the glass are pictures. One picture stands out because it is an exact replica of the one that hung on the wall of the diner. It’s the black and white photo of a man and woman standing in front of the diner.  Another picture hangs beside it. This photo is of a young girl of about ten or eleven with light blonde hair. Standing next to her is a teenage boy. He’s tall and has spiky jet black hair. On the other side of the boy is another girl. She looks to be in her mid-teens and has the same color hair as the boy. Both of the girls have their arms wrapped around the boy’s waist while his are wrapped around their shoulders. All three have huge grins on their faces. You can see by their expressions that they just got done laughing. They look happy and carefree.

In front of the mirrored wall is what looks to be hundreds of every different kind of alcohol imaginable. At one end of the mirrored wall is an old fashion cash register. At the other end are two sinks. Beside the sinks are glasses sitting in a drying rack. Right behind the bar, directly in front of me, are four different beer taps. Looking to the right, I notice more taps further down the bar.

A girl that looks too young to be working in a bar approaches my section. She has red and black hair cut into a pixie style. When I say red I don't mean the red you typically see on a female. You know, the red that's actually an orange. No, this girl has
red
hair. A bright candy apple red. A red you would see on a sports car. Although her hair is loud, it’s also cute and fits her. Black kohl is artfully done around her eyes. Not too much, but just enough to give her seductive eyes. Both of her ears are lined with earrings, ranging from tiny drops of metal to ones the size of a sweet pea. She also has a small diamond nose ring. She sports a pair of jean overalls with a black tank top underneath. She is absolutely beautiful. Through the dim light of the bar I can see tattoos on her arms.

Walking up to me, she asks in a deceptively innocent voice. “Can I get you something?”

Still overcome with her beauty it takes me a minute to register what she said.

“Oh, um, water, please.”

Grabbing a glass and using one of the taps to fill it, she places it in front of me and turns to walk off.

“Hey! Anna down at Maggie’s Diner said y’all might be hiring. She told me to ask for Jax about a job,” I semi-yell over the loud music in the smoky bar. I don’t want to yell too loud and risk everyone staring at me, so I yell loud enough for just the pixie to hear me.

She raises her eyebrows and looks me over. I know I’m no knockout compared to her. I’m of average height, about 5'6”. My hair and eyes are just a plain brown. I’m not thin, but I’m not chunky either. I believe my weight is proportionate with my height. My boobs are on the small side, but are perky. My two redeeming qualities, which are curses in my opinion, are my neck and legs. People said I had a slender and graceful neck and mile long legs. At one of Steven’s and my “outings” one guy said I had supermodel legs. It always made me feel creepy when one of his colleagues complimented me.

After her perusal of me the girl glances to the right and hollers, “Jaxon!” Across the bar. 

“What?” A deep, rich voice responds. I glance over in the direction of the voice and notice a man leaning on his forearms on the bar talking to a woman. I can’t see his face because of the other occupants at the bar. From what I can see, he’s wearing a pair of well-worn form fitting jeans.

Pixie girl hollers back, “We got a potential here.”

Jeans guy straightens up and starts walking towards us. My breath catches at my first real sight of him. He is the guy in the picture plastered to the mirror behind the bar. It’s him, but an older him. He still has the thick, spiky, jet black hair. It looks like he just ran his hands through it. An irrational thought pops into my head of
me
running my fingers through his hair.

I shake my head.
Whoa! What?
Where in the world did that thought come from? No. No way could I ever want that, no matter how hot a guy looks.

He is tall. If I had to guess, I would say about 6’3”. He’s built, but not a bulky built. I can see muscles bulging from his shirt sleeves and his stomach is flat, and hard I would guess.

As he starts walking closer I notice that, although he still favors the teenage boy in the picture, he has quite a few artistic features added to his person. He has two silver rings in one brow and a gauge in each ear. He has on a black short sleeve t-shirt and his arms are covered in tattoos. From the neck of his shirt, I can see another tattoo peeking out from underneath it. He wears a black and silver woven necklace that lies close to his neck. On his left wrist is a wide leather wristband. He is, hands down, the most gorgeous man I had ever seen before.

“What's up, Mia?” He asks once he reaches us. It is so hard not to just stare at him. He has still yet to look my way. I don’t know why, but I really want him to.

“She asked about the job opening. Said Anna sent her over here.”

He finally looks to me and I’m struck dumb. He had the most stunning eyes. One eye is a violet color. But it’s the other eye that stands out the most. It has two different colors. Both sides are violet, but one side has more of a cornflower blue tint to it. I have never seen anything like it. I know that it would be so easy to get lost in them.

He stands there, staring at me and I become fidgety. The intensity in his eyes is making me nervous, but I can’t tear mine away. I reach up to make sure my hair was still covering my scar and find that it is. After what seems like an endless amount of time he says simply, “Not interested,” and turns to walk away.

My mouth drops open while I watch his retreating back. I’m floored. I cannot believe he judged me without even asking a single question. What kind of man does that?
Oh, no, that is so not working for me.
I am so sick and tired of men treating me like shit. Enough was enough! I take a deep breath, stand up, and lean over the bar and yell, “Wait!”

He stops and slowly turns back around to face me, hands on his hips. Again, I am arrested by his eyes.

“What?” He asks

“Why?” Is my reply.

“Why what?”

“Why did you say ‘not interested’ when you don't even know me? You asked me not one question regarding the job. How can you know I'm not qualified when you didn't even let me tell you my experience?”

He slowly makes his way back towards me. “Okay, then speak. Tell me....”

“Bailey,” I supply my name.

“Tell me Bailey, why should I hire you?”

Well, crap!
Now that I have him in front of me and willing to listen I have no idea what to say. This man intimidates me with his tattoos, piercings, badass attitude, and hot as sin good looks. I have never been the type to speak my mind before. As a child, I was meek and fearful of both my parents, so I kept my mouth shut as much as possible. As an adult, I became even quieter. Once I married Steven and he showed his true colors I learned real quick to watch what I say. It’s ingrained in me to not voice my opinion and stand up for myself.

My new found bravery of just a few minutes ago has gone AWOL. Vanished into thin air! Gone! I just stare at Jaxon, totally speechless. He stares back at me with his eyebrows raised waiting for my response. Damn, I’m really screwing this up.
Come on Bailey, you can do this!

“Okay, look Bailey, I don’t have all night. As you can see we’re bu...

I interrupt him by blurting, “I was a bartender for four years while I was in college. It was what helped pay for my schooling. The place I worked at was a high-end restaurant that catered to the rich. There was a bar at the restaurant so I know a little about that kind of work. However, I do realize that it is much different than your place, but I’m willing to learn. If you just give me a chance, I promise to do the best that I can.” I take a deep breath and add in a small voice, “Please, I really need this job.”

Once more, he just stares at me with his irresistible eyes. There’s no way I can take my eyes off his. He’s really starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Finally, after what seems like ten minutes but can only have been a minute or two, he asks, “Why do you need this job?”

“I’ve been on the road for a while and running low on cash. I came across this town and it looked like a nice place to settle. As it is to be my new home, I need to find a way to make money.”

“Why were you on the road? You don’t have a place to get back to?”

“My reasons are my own. Just know that I’ll be here for a while and I’m a very hard worker.” There is no way I’m telling him the reason why I’m traveling. More often than not people look at you with pity once they find out you are a poor pathetic person that allowed a man to beat on and abuse you for years. Although I may not be staying here in this town for too long, I still don’t want people looking at me with pity. I perfected the art of hiding my feelings throughout the years. I have no plans of changing now.

“How old are you?” He asks.

“Twenty-Four.” I tell him.

“Have you ever worked around rowdy drunks before?”

“No.”

“It gets pretty crazy around here at times. Some of these men can be dicks and like to play with the women. I try to keep things calm, but there are times when I’m not around. Think you can handle that?”

His words make me nervous. I start to shake and the top of my head starts to tingle. I’m used to having men touch me, thanks to Steven’s extracurricular activities. However, those times were forced on me. I had no choice in the matter. Here though, I would have a choice. Could I be brave enough and tell them to keep their hands to themselves? The scared and battered woman inside me says no. The strong and courageous side of me that is trying to break through says yes. Do I really have a choice? If I turn down this job, I will be left broke, in more ways than one.

I inhale a deep breath, straighten my spine and look him square in the eyes and say, “Yes.”

He regards me like he doesn’t know what to make of me. Like he’s not sure if he should believe me.

“Alright, Bailey, how about this? I’ll give you one week to prove that you have what it takes to work here. Your first day I’ll have Mia show you around a bit so you can get a feel for the place. I’m in desperate need of help so on your second day I’ll have you working the bar more on your own.”