How to Date a Dragon (7 page)

Nope. Looks like Claudia didn’t mention we’re friends.
That might be handy in case her friend needed to know what went on behind the scenes.
Nah. Stay out of bar politics, Bliss. You have more important things to focus on.
She probably wouldn’t be working there long enough to care.

As long as she could redo most of her designs before the producers and camera crew showed up to film the segment where they checked in on all the finalists, she’d be okay. She did
not
want that happening at her parents’ house. Other shows did that, and she’d always seen happy families who were supportive of their son’s or daughter’s ambitions. The last thing she needed was her mother calling the competition foolish.

Claudia had taken Bliss into the office and given her a uniform. Black skirt, black apron, and white blouse. Bliss changed behind a folding screen. The uniform fit well enough, although she would have liked it tapered a bit to show a more feminine hourglass figure. Maybe she could find a tailor. Then she remembered she needed her money to rebuild her
real
job. If she didn’t win the competition and the fifty-thousand dollars that came with it, she’d be screwed.

When she strolled around the partition, she asked, “Aren’t uniforms sort of old school?”

Claudia smiled indulgently. “Wait until you meet Anthony. Talk about old school…”

“The owner? Why? Is he like a million years old?”

Claudia laughed and tied Bliss’s apron tighter. “Not at all. He’s young and ridiculously good looking, but he has this old-world charm. Very formal manners, a slight European accent, but he won’t tell you exactly where he comes from, so don’t bother asking.”

“Okay…” Bliss glanced in the mirror and realized that when Claudia cinched the apron tighter, she gave her a nice nipped-in waist. Problem solved.

“Look, I’m just mentioning it because he can be a bit intimidating to new staff members. Don’t worry about it, though. He’s a sweetheart when you get to know him.” She sighed.

“Do I detect a crush on the boss?”

Claudia’s expression suddenly turned serious, and she shoved an order pad toward Bliss. “Maybe. But don’t say anything or even hint at that. He doesn’t date his employees, and he has a psycho girlfriend who you don’t want to piss off.”

Bliss took the order pad and continued to study her friend’s face. “I’ve never seen you like this, Claudia. Is there something else going on?”

“No, just… just keep whatever I tell you confidential, okay? I’m giving you more information than I’d give an employee I didn’t know. Anthony’s a good guy, but Ruxandra—his girlfriend—is a piece of work. Steer clear of her. And stay as far away from Anthony as you can when she’s around. If she gets the wrong idea…” Claudia shivered.

“Seriously? She’s so jealous that you’re afraid of her?”

“Not… not really. Anthony keeps her in check.”

“Sounds like a wonderful relationship,” Bliss said, rolling her eyes.

“Regardless, it’s none of our business. I just wanted you to be aware of the dynamics.”

Bliss scanned the order pad, which didn’t look too complicated. “Okay. Fine. Consider me fully aware. So, I guess I’d better get out there and start my first shift.”

“Yeah. I’ll introduce you to the other employees, and the regulars will probably introduce themselves. How are you at handling sexual harassment?”

Bliss laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You’ve seen my cards, haven’t you?”

“Whoa. I’d rather you not insult the customers if you can help it.”

“Don’t worry. I can deflect, distract, or disconcert. I won’t insult anyone, at least not directly.” She gave her friend a teasing grin. “Kidding. What do you think is the best approach?”

“Go with your gut, unless that involves punching someone out. If a customer gets fresh and won’t stop, find me or Anthony. We’ll take care of it.”

Bliss waved away the very idea that she couldn’t handle any situation herself. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

Claudia grasped her shoulders and turned her toward the door. Bliss marched forward stiffly, wondering why she was suddenly nervous. Waitressing was no big deal, right? She was probably just experiencing a little fear of the unknown.
Don’t be ridiculous, Bliss. This isn’t rocket science.

Claudia opened the door and let Bliss pass through it first.

A guy sitting at the bar turned and whistled the minute he saw her, then announced to anyone within earshot, “Look, guys, fresh meat. A pretty one too.”

Bliss muttered, “Fabulous. They don’t waste any time, do they?”

Claudia strode directly over to the guy with the buzz cut, who grinned at her even when she slapped him up the backside of his head! “Kurt, behave yourself. Just because we have a new staff member doesn’t mean you have to test her. I’m going to introduce her to the employees first. Then you can introduce yourself,
if
you can be civil.”

“I’m always civil. After all, I was a marine.”

Claudia groaned. “That’s no guarantee you’ll behave in a bar.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tease her… much.”

His buddy Tory piped up. “I’ll probably be nicer to her. I focus all my teasing on Angie.”

Bliss planted her hand on her hip. “Give it all you’ve got, guys. I can take it, but be warned, I can dish it out too.”

Kurt laughed. “I like her already. Good hire, Claudia.”

Claudia rolled her eyes, then glanced at Bliss. “Kurt thinks he works here or owns the place or something, but he orders drinks so there’s not much we can do about him.” She winked at Kurt, so Bliss figured the comment was just good-natured ribbing. “Let’s go meet the real staff.” Claudia stepped in front of her and strode over to where the two bartenders were working.

“Bliss, this is Malcolm, and you know Angie, of course.”

Malcolm extended his hand and Bliss shook it.

“Bliss, is it? That’s a cool name.”

“Thanks. My mother would be delighted to hear that, but I won’t tell her. She doesn’t need to be encouraged.”

Malcolm grinned. “Well, if I ever see her, I won’t mention it. Welcome to Boston Uncommon.”

“Thank you, on both counts.”

Claudia seemed pleased and hooked her hand around Bliss’s arm. “Let’s go meet the other waitresses.”

“Lead the way.”

They didn’t have to go far. One girl whose perky ponytail swished as she skipped over said, “Hi. I’m Wendy.” She didn’t look like she wanted to shake hands. Still, she seemed friendly enough.

“Hi ,Wendy. I’m Bliss.”

Claudia let go of Bliss’s arm and said, “Wendy, I’d like you to show Bliss how we do things here. Just let her shadow you. She’ll pick it up quickly, I’m sure. So when she says she’s ready to go it alone, let her. She can always ask you if she has any questions, right?”

Bliss wondered why Claudia was giving the girl so many explicit directions.
Maybe
she’s got one of those brains with a dimmer switch, but her perkiness covers it.

“Not a problem, Claudia. I’ll just drop off this order and be right back.”

“No hurry. I still need to introduce her to Robin.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll see you later, Bliss.”

As soon as Wendy skipped off, Bliss lowered her voice and asked, “Claudia? Is she always that perky?”

“Yup, if not perkier.”

Bliss groaned.

Claudia led the way to the remaining waitress, who was wiping down a table.

“Robin, I’d like to introduce you to our newest employee. This is Bliss.”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess. I mean it’s always nice to have more staff, but bliss? That’s a little strong, isn’t it?”

Claudia chuckled. “Her
name
is Bliss.”

“Oh!” Robin slapped her own forehead and giggled. “Oops. Sorry.”

“No need to be,” Bliss said. “You’re not the first to make that mistake, and you won’t be the last.”

Robin giggled again, and Bliss got the distinct impression that she was even flakier than the other one.
Stop
it. Don’t be judgmental. You just met them.
Bliss hoped she was wrong, but her initial impressions usually proved to be fairly accurate.

She felt eyes on her and turned to see a gray-haired woman in a booth, shuffling tarot cards and staring directly at her.

Claudia led her over to the woman. “Bliss, this is Sadie. She’s Anthony’s aunt. Her tarot readings are a big draw here, and her customers have to meet a one-drink or two-soft-drink minimum. In other words, she’s very good for business.” Claudia spoke behind her hand: “Don’t charge her or cut her off. Anthony lets her drink for free, and she’s more psychic when she’s had a few.”

Bliss thought she saw one side of Sadie’s mouth curl up in a sly smile. “If she’s psychic, why are you whispering? Won’t she know what you’re talking about anyway?”

Claudia snorted. “Leave it to you to think of that.”

At that moment, Wendy reappeared with a drink for Sadie. She set the cocktail in front of her and said, “There you go,” in her sprightly voice. Then she whirled to face Claudia. “Is Bliss ready to be my shadow?”

“Ask her.”

Bliss thought she saw Claudia smirk.
What’s that about?

“Okay,” Wendy said, unfazed. “Are you ready, Bliss?”

Bliss pulled the order pad from her apron pocket. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

***

A couple hours later, out of the corner of her eye, Bliss caught Claudia exiting her office with someone else. She led him right over to where Bliss was wiping down a table.

“Bliss, this is Anthony,” Claudia said.

The tall, dark, and impossibly handsome man scrutinized her with such an intense stare, Bliss trembled inside.

Reverting to her old, flippant coping mechanism, she said, “Yo, Tony. How you doin’?”

His eyebrows shot up. Claudia gaped at her friend, and the activity near them ceased while people listened to the uncomfortable exchange.

“Um… Bliss,” Claudia whispered, “no one calls him Tony.”

“Oh.” She wanted to slink off into a safe corner and give herself a time-out.

At last one side of
Anthony’s
mouth turned up. “I’m ‘doin’’ well, thank you. And how you doin’?”

She didn’t miss the mimicry and probably deserved it. Still, the fact that he went along with her Italian-American slang made her feel better somehow. If he was comfortable teasing his employees a little bit, maybe he wasn’t the stick-in-the-mud Claudia had made him out to be.

After a deep breath, she said, “I’m quite well, thank you. And I want you to know how much I appreciate the job and apartment.”

He nodded but made no comment. Focusing on Claudia, he said, “Can I see you in the office, please?”

Oh, shit. Claudia’s probably in trouble with the owner for hiring me.

“Of course.” Claudia followed Anthony to the small office where Bliss had changed into her uniform. She glanced over her shoulder and sent Bliss a wink.

Whew. She doesn’t seem worried, so maybe she’s right and he just
appears
intimidating.
Bliss let out a deep breath. She couldn’t afford to be shit-canned. At least not until she got her Hall-Snark cards back on line—but
not
online. There had to be a better way to protect her grand finale.

Wendy bounded over to her. “Did you just call him Tony?”

No
sense
denying
it
with
half
a
dozen
witnesses.
“Yeah. And I’m afraid I said, ‘Yo’ too.”

Wendy giggled. “That’s funny.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just is.”

With that, she skipped off to the bar to give Angie her orders.

Bliss noticed Sadie smiling at her. Maybe she’d tell her if the owner was really the pussycat Claudia indicated he was, or if she’d completely blown her chance to make a good first impression.

Bliss made her way around the tables to Sadie’s booth. The woman continued shuffling her tarot cards even as she smiled up at her.

“Um, Sadie. Did I do something terribly wrong by calling your nephew Tony? Does he hate that nickname or something?”

She chuckled. “No, dear. You’re fine. I think you just surprised him. He isn’t used to employees being comfortable around him. At least not right away. I think you made a good first impression.”

“Seriously? I was already looking for another job in my head.”

Sadie laughed melodiously. “Don’t you go anywhere. You’re a breath of fresh air around here.” Then she held up her empty glass.

“Ah, I see you need a refill.”

Sadie grinned. “I see I’m not the only psychic here.”

Bliss smirked.
Psychic. Really?
“What are you drinking?”

“White Russians, dear. Always White Russians.”

“Okay. In that case, I won’t ask you in the future. But if you change your mind and decide you want something else…”

“I won’t.” Sadie stated it so matter-of-factly, Bliss couldn’t help wonder what was so special about that drink.
Maybe
she
just
knows
what
she
likes.

Bliss was about to go put in the order when Sadie said, “Oh, and dear…”

“Yes?”

“Be careful of Drake.”

“Huh?” Drake hadn’t even visited the bar while she’d been working. “How do you know about Drake and me?”

“I know a lot of things.” Sadie spread the cards across the table. “Turn one over.”

Bliss took a step back. “I—uh, I don’t believe in letting tarot cards tell me what to do.”

Sadie snorted. “The cards don’t tell you what to do. They give you insight so you can use your free will accordingly.”

Claudia
said
to
keep
her
happy.
“Okaaay.” Bliss reached for the card closest to her and flipped it over.

It was a picture of two chalices and two people, or more accurately, a mermaid and a guy with a trident and a fishtail. Maybe Poseidon. It was kind of hard to see it at first, because Bliss was looking at it upside down.

Sadie smiled. “Well, it’s better news than I thought.”

Bliss waited quietly, not wanting to tell the old woman what she really thought of this hooey.

“It appears you’ve met your mate, but there may be some obstacle in the way. Don’t worry. It’s temporary.”

“What do you mean? What’s temporary?”

“Pull another card, dear.”

Bliss did as she was asked. This time she reached for one in the middle of the deck that was sticking out a bit farther than the rest, almost begging her to take it.

The card read
Strength
in large letters, and it depicted a woman with a lion.

Sadie nodded. “As I thought… you will be facing some kind of formidable foe, and you may have to fight for what you want, but if you choose to do so, you will prevail.”