L
I let her go. She was telling me it was OK to have my secrets but that I couldn't have her, too. How would I do this? I had tasted her in my arms. I knew what her smile could do to me and how the way she looked at me controlled my fucking moods. It was like she'd become the sun, and I'd started revolving around her. She was my center.
Yet I was the reason she had lived through hell. I had given her father a place to run to. I had gone to him when he was weak and needed to be with his daughter and his wife. I'd given him somewhere else to go. Another life to walk into. Another daughter to claim and another family to belong to.
And he'd left her. All alone. If I had just cared enough to find out who I was taking him from . . . but I hadn't cared. I had just wanted to give Rosé what she wanted so badly. I hadn't thought of anyone else. Only Rosé. It was always Rosé.
Or it had been. It wasn't anymore.
I couldn't ignore the truth. Jennie's happiness and safety meant too much to me. Protecting Rosé was no longer my number one priority. Jennie was taking that spot. She had moved right into my life and changed it all. I should hate her for that. But I couldn't. I would never hate her. That was impossible.
I climbed the stairs and stopped at the door to the bedroom where she was now tucked away. I had wanted her in my bed tonight. But knowing that she was in sleeping in luxury meant I would be able to rest easier. The regret in my chest would be my only companion in bed tonight.
J
There was no mistaking morning time up here with these windows. An alarm clock wouldn't be needed. The sun had woken me up an hour before my alarm clock had gone off. I showered and dressed with ease now that I had a bathroom right here and more room to move around.
I wasn't in the mood to eat Lisa's food this morning. I wasn't really in the mood to eat but I had two shifts to work today so I needed some food. I would stop by the coffee house and get some caffeine and a muffin. The short black linen skirt and white cotton button down top we had to wear as a uniform when we served in the dining room at the club was our responsibility to keep washed and pressed. I'd spent a few hours yesterday ironing the few I had here at home.
Once I had on my tennis shoes, I headed down the stairs. I hadn't heard any activity upstairs yet today so I knew Lisa wasn't awake. For once, I was grateful to not have to face her. Now that I'd had time to sleep on last night's events I was embarrassed.
Not only had I let Lisa touch me in places I'd never had anyone touch me before but then I'd turned around and acted like a crazy nosy bitch. I needed to apologize to her but I wasn't ready to do that just yet.
I quietly closed the front door behind me and headed out to my truck. At least I wouldn't be home until after dark tonight. No having to face Lisa for at least twelve more hours.
Jimin was already in the staff room with his apron on when I arrived. He flashed me a grin and then made a pouty face with his lips. "Uh, oh, looks like someone had a bad morning."
I couldn't tell Jimin my problems. He knew these people too. I had to keep this stuff to myself. "I didn't sleep that well," I replied.
Jimin made a tsking sound. "For shame. Sleep is such a beautiful thing."
I nodded in agreement and clocked in. "Am I on my own today?" I asked.
"Of course. You had this figured out after following me around for two hours. You should breeze through this day."
I was glad someone thought so. I grabbed an order tablet and a pen and stuck them in the pocket of my black apron.
"Breakfast time," Jimin said with a wink and pushed open the door that led into the dining room. "Oooh looks like the boss and friends are at table eight. As much as I'd love to go ogle their fine asses, they would prefer you. I'll go take the early morning tennis mommas over on table ten. They tip well."
Waiting on Mino and his friends was not something that I wanted to do this morning. But I couldn't argue with Jimin. He was right. He'd get better tips from the women. They loved him.
I headed over to their table. Mino eyes lifted to meet mine and he smiled. "You look much better in here," he said when I stopped in front of them.
"Thank you. It's much cooler," I replied.
"Jennie has moved on up. I may have to eat more meals here," the blond curly headed guy said. I still didn't know his name.
"This could be very good for business," Mino agreed.
"How was your night out with Jisoo?" Bobby asked with a slight edge to his voice. He was holding the Jisoo thing against me apparently. I didn't care. He was pond scum as far as I was concerned.
"We had a good time. What can I get y'all to drink?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Coffee, please," the blond chimed in.
"Okay, I get it. Off-limits. Girl code and all that shit. I want some OJ," Bobby replied.
"Coffee for me too," Mino replied.
"I'll be right back with your drinks," I replied and spun around to see two more tables with guests. Jimin was helping one of the tables so I headed for the other. It took me a second to realize just who was at that table. My feet stopped moving as I watched Rosé flick her long strawberry blond hair over her shoulder and then level a scowl at me. I glanced back over to Jimin who was finishing up drink orders at his second table. I had to do this. I was being silly. She was Lisa's sister.
I forced my feet to move and walked over to her table. She was sitting with another girl. One I hadn't seen before. She was equally as glamorous as Rosé.
"Webster must be letting anyone work here these days. I need to tell Mino to speak with his daddy about being more selective with their employees," Rosé drawled slowly in a rather loud voice.
My face felt warm and I knew I was red faced. Right now I just needed to prove that I could get through this. Rosé hated me for unknown reasons. Unless of course, Lisa had told her I was snooping into her business. It didn't sound like something Lisa would do but did I know her that well. No.
"Good morning, what can I get y'all to drink?" I said as politely as possible.
The other girl snickered and ducked her head. Rosé glared up at me as if I were something repugnant. "You can get us nothing. I expect a classier server when I come to eat here. You won't do."
I looked for Jimin once again but he was gone. Rosé might be Lisa's little sister but she was a major bitch. If I didn't need this job so badly I'd tell her to kiss my ass and I'd walk out.
"Is there a problem here?" Mino's voice came from behind me. For once in my life, I was relieved by his presence.
"Yes, there is. You hired Alabama trash. Get rid of her. I pay too much to be a member here to tolerate this kind of service."
Was it because I was living at her sister's house? Did she hate my dad too? I didn't want her to hate me. If she hated me Lisa would never open up to me. That door was firmly shut.
"Roseanne, you've never once paid to be a member here. You're here because your sister allows it. Jennie is one of the best employees we've ever had and not one other paying member has complained. Certainly not your sister. So, pull in the claws, sweetheart and get over yourself," Mino snapped his fingers and Jimin came hurrying over toward us. He must have come back out during the drama and I'd missed him. "Jim, would you please serve Rosé and Hyeri? Rosé seems to have an issue with Jennie and I don't want Jennie being forced to wait on her."
Jimin nodded. Mino took my elbow and led me back towards the kitchen. I knew we were drawing attention but I didn't care at the moment. I was just extremely grateful to be getting away from the curious onlookers and getting a breather.
Once the kitchen door closed behind me I let out the breath I'd been holding.
"I'm only going to say this once, Jennie. You stood me up the other night at Lisa's. I didn't have to ask you why. I knew why when Lisa was nowhere to be found. You had made your choice and I was backing off. But what happened in there is only a small taste. The bitch has serious venom in her veins. She is bitter and angry and when the time comes to choose, Lisa will choose her."
I turned and stared at Mino unsure what he meant. Mino gave me a sad smile then let go of my elbow and walked back into the dining room. Mino knew the secret too. He had to. This was going to drive me crazy. What was the big deal?
L
The sound of a phone ringing broke through the sweet darkness, and I forced my eyes open to reach for the offending sound. I had lain awake most of the night. Of course, now that I'd finally fallen asleep, my damn phone had to ring. Grabbing it, I noticed the sun through the blinds. It was later than I thought. Maybe I had been asleep for longer than I'd thought.
"Hello," I snarled into the phone.
"Are you still asleep?" Mino's annoying voice didn't put me in a better mood.
"What do you want?" I asked. It was none of his business if I was still asleep.
"It's about your sister," he said.
I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to wake up and deal with Rosé's problems. I had my own. "What?" I barked.
"If she speaks to Jennie or any of my other employees with disrespect, I'll make sure her membership is pulled. You may not care that she's a spoiled brat, but when her venom causes a scene and embarrasses the best server we've had in the dining room in months, then it becomes an issue."
Jennie? What? "What are you saying? Did Rosé do something to Jennie? Or one of your servers? I'm confused."
"Jennie is one of my servers. I moved her to the dining room last week. And your bitch of a sister called her Alabama trash and demanded that I fire her today. In front of everyone." Mino's voice was getting louder. He was pissed but nothing close to the level of angry I was dealing with. "I realize you don't care about Jennie. It's obvious from the fact that she's sleeping in your damn pantry. But she's special. She works hard, and everyone loves her. I won't allow Rosé to hurt her. Do you understand me?"
I didn't like Mino saying that Jennie was special. I fucking knew she was special, and he needed to back the hell off. And why had he moved her inside from the golf course? Had he wanted her near him? Was that it? As much as I wanted to be relieved that she was out of the heat, the idea that he had moved her inside to be near him infuriated me. And Rosé. Fuck. She'd pushed me too far. I was going to have to deal with her. I wasn't OK with her talking to Jennie that way, either. No one was going to call Jennie names. Ever. Another problem I had to fix. Yet another thing that was my fault.
"Do. You. Understand. Me." Mino's voice reminded me that I hadn't responded to him. If it weren't for the fact that he was angry over how Jennie was treated, I would remind him exactly who he was talking to. But just this once, I was going to allow him to be angry at me. Because he was right. This was my fault. I'd created the monster my sister had turned into.
"She isn't in the pantry anymore. I moved her to a bedroom. I'll deal with Rosé," I told him, then decided he needed to understand something else, too. "Jennie is mine. Don't touch her. I will kill you. Do you understand me?"
Mino let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah. Whatever, Manoban I'm not scared of your threats. The only reason I'm not touching Jennie is that she doesn't want me. It's fucking obvious who she wants. So calm the hell down. You've had her from the beginning. You sure as hell don't deserve her, though," he said, and then the call ended.
Mino thought she wanted me. God, I hoped he was right.
I stood up and called Rosé.
"Hello," she said in an annoyed tone.
"Where are you?" I asked as I headed for the bathroom.
"The club. I'm playing tennis in ten minutes," she replied.
It would take me thirty minutes to take my shower and get some coffee in me. "My house, thirty minutes," I said, and hung up, not waiting for her to argue. She knew not to piss me off, and I had no doubt she knew exactly what this was about.
I would make sure my sister left Jennie alone. Then I was going to get Jennie a phone. She needed a damn cell phone. I wanted to make sure she was OK when I didn't know where she was.
And I was going to cook for her. I wanted to watch her eat. I wanted to feed her. Make up for how badly I'd fucked things up before.
I also didn't want her sleeping in that bedroom tonight. I wanted her in mine.
