BPOV
I was grateful Carlisle let me ice my head and eat in his office during the staff meal. To say I was mortified with what happened was an understatement.
Mike wouldn't leave me alone until Carlisle stepped in telling him to let me eat in peace. This wasn't at all how I thought my first day would go. At least none of the other staff had been here to witness my humiliation.
A soft knock comes from the door.
"Uh, come in," I call out awkwardly around the bite of salmon I'm chewing.
Esme's head pops in.
"We need to quit meeting like this," she teases, coming in and taking a seat in front of me. "I heard you had a run-in with my brother and his bike."
"Your brother?" I ask surprised.
She nods. "Charming isn't he?"
"He's very…abrasive?"
"He's something, alright," she sighs. "Please tell me he at least apologized."
I blink not really sure what to say because I didn't want to rat him out for being an asshole. My experience in meeting him wasn't a pleasant one and he seems like someone who would make your life a living hell.
So, I go with a shrug.
"He's fine, even made sure I wasn't concussed."
Esme eyes me, I notice her eyes are just as green as her brother's.
"He examined you," she says surprised but with a smirk.
I shrug again.
I look down at my salmon wanting to take another bite but didn't want to come off as being rude.
The food here was really as good as the reviews said.
"Please don't hesitate to come to me if he gives you a hard time," Esme says before standing.
"Should I worry about that?" I ask nervously.
She waves me off. "Jasper will be helping you tonight, as well as Mike, so I think everything should be a piece of cake for you," she tells me.
That doesn't relieve my anxiety at all.
"Dinner service starts in fifteen," she says with one last reassuring smile before she leaves.
Great.
I shove the rest of my food into my mouth trying not to choke.
With one last look in the mirror on the back of Carlisle's door, I cringe at the bump above my right eyebrow and tighten my high ponytail before going to meet my doom.
Just as I walk beyond the entrance of the kitchen, a hand grabs my elbow. I was startled but saw that the owner of the hand was Mike.
"I wanted to make sure you got through the kitchen okay," he says sheepishly.
"Thanks," I mumble.
He gets ahead of me calling out 'behind' as we pass the cooks prepping the food. Ed did that the day of my interview, I note this as we pass by to make it a habit to do the same.
When Mike finally delivers me to the bar I notice Ed first, hunched over the bar pouring ice, then I notice a lanky blonde guy with a man bun counting liquor bottles with a clipboard in hand.
"Ed and Jazz will show you the ropes," Mike says loudly.
Ed glances up raising an eyebrow and Jazz looks up smiling.
"Hey Darlin'," Jazz says with a bow.
I laugh slightly at his ridiculous gesture and I also notice Mike frowning.
"I'm Bella," I introduce myself with a wave.
Ed looks unimpressed and continues busying himself with his work, but Jazz comes around the bar until he's in front of me.
"I've got her, Mike," he says, hinting politely that Mike should get lost.
Mike is hesitant with his departure but finally turns to go up to the hostess station where there is a girl with dirty blonde hair and a black blazer on.
"That's Jess up there," Jazz says from beside me.
I nod.
"We missed you at the staff meal," he tells me.
"So everyone knows…" I trail off.
"That you were starting today, not about you know," he says quietly, nodding his head to Ed.
I let out a sigh.
"So, Carlisle told us a little about your background at Starbucks," Jazz explains, moving behind the bar.
"Yeah, I worked there throughout college," I supplied.
"Let me guess, you were an Education major," Ed says dryly without looking up from his next task of wiping the bar down.
"Ed—" Jazz started before I cut him off.
"Actually I was an English Lit. major."
"Same thing," he mumbles.
"Excuse me, but do you have a problem with me, Ed?" I ask irritated.
His head snaps up.
"My name is Edward," he grits. "Like you don't like to be called Isabella, I don't like to be called Ed."
I watch him take off in a huff to the kitchen.
I blink.
"Let me apologize for the asshole," Jazz says with a sad smile.
"I didn't— Mike called him Ed, earlier." I try to explain through my confusion.
"Edward must have a sweet spot just for you," he says teasingly but rolls his eyes. "Do you know what a three-top and a four-top are?"
"Uh, a three-top is this table," I point to the small high-top table to my right with three chairs. "And a four-top is this one," I point to the other table slightly in front of me that has four chairs.
"Good," he says with an encouraging smile. "So tonight we're going to try you on food running, which might sound a little intimidating but it's probably the easiest thing you'll do tonight. Edward and I will take orders. All you need to do is check on them and bring them out when ready."
"That's it?"
"That's it," he confirms. "Also, don't let Edward bother you too much, he's having a rough week and has been taking it out on anyone in his path."
I nod, even though I don't think that is right. All the people that have to work with him just have to grin and bear it if he's in a mood? That seems like a horrible environment for morale.
From behind me, a statuesque blonde appears, her hair is pin straight and pulled up into a high ponytail like mine. She has full sleeves of ink covering both arms and a hooped nose ring. She's stunning.
"Where's Edward?" she asks Jazz.
"Haven't you riled him up enough this week, Rose?"
"Did I ask for your opinion, Jasper?" she snips.
"You know the rules, no drama at my bar."
She glares, finally noticing me.
"Who's the kid?" she asks, but her tone is full of disinterest.
"I'm not a kid and my name is Bella," I bristle.
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment.
Edward comes back out through the kitchen doors only to turn back on his heel to go back in when he sees Rose.
"Fucking child," she says under her breath before moving to follow him.
"Stay away from her, she's a viper," Jasper says before pulling out a tub of clothed napkins. "Let me show you our signature fold."
I spend the next half hour folding napkins when Edward finally emerges from the kitchen carrying out a tub of silverware. He's quick to start setting them on the bar and high-tops.
Jess unlocks the front door while a few patrons start to trickle in. It doesn't take long for the bar to start filling up, I stay at the end so I'm out of the way. Jazz warned me that happy hour on a Friday is high volume.
The nice thing so far is that people are mostly ordering apps which makes my job a lot easier when I have to make a run for it.
A group of girls in silky blouses and pencil skirts at the bar vie for Edward's attention. He's charming with his small talk and smirks. They eat up everything he's saying, I catch Jazz rolling his eyes a few times with his back to them.
"Bella, I need you to check on table two's salmon bites," Edward calls out without a glance in my direction.
"Okay," I say in response, turning to head into the kitchen.
Mike is standing waiting for his table's order and shoots me a wide smile.
"How's the bar?" he asks.
"A blast."
"What is she waiting on?" Aro, the Head Chef asks Mike.
Aro was intimidating so far and liked to yell a lot in Italian. He was older, but served a trendy menu. Part of me wondered if he resented working here.
Mike waves a hand out for me to tell him.
"Salmon bites," I tell him.
Aro rolls his gray eyes before turning to grab table two's order. He hands it to me and I thank him before scurrying away.
I walk over to table two and set their plate in the middle of the table with a smile.
"Hey," one of the girls says to me.
"Yes?" I ask politely.
"What's his story?" she whispers conspiratorially while she eyes Edward.
"Bree," Another girl scolds with a giggle.
"Sorry, it's my first day," I tell her.
I wasn't sorry though, because I didn't want the task of being Edward's pimp.
The girls pout and I tell them to enjoy their food.
"You better not be fucking up my tip," I hear in my ear when I'm back at the bar.
My mouth drops at first, then I glare.
He pulls away from me to tend to another customer.
"Ignore him," Jazz says as he passes me.
An hour later the group of girls leaves. Edward grabs their signed copy off the table and I catch the phone number scribbled under the signature.
I don't know why I say it but I do. "Is that the tip you were hoping for?" I ask, filled with snark.
His jaw ticks but he says nothing as he passes.
I hear Jazz snort.
I turn to grab an order for two businessmen that Jazz is pouring bourbons for, I think I've gotten the hang of things when another order is ready and I attempt to carry that out too. The heat from the plate feels like it burns my forearm causing me to drop it.
"Shit," I yelp.
Mike is right there taking the other two plates from me.
"Where do those need to go?"
"Two guys at the very end of the bar," I mumble, rubbing my arm.
"Kate," he calls out to yet another blonde waitress. "Can you take these?"
"Yeah," she says, eyeing me with a shake of her head.
"What was this one?" Mike asks me as he carefully cleans up the mess I've made on the floor.
"A strip steak with quinoa and veggies," I say.
He calls out the order to Aro.
I just can't win today.
Esme comes in, giving me a sad smile.
"You can take your twenty-minute break," she tells me.
I nod, heading back to the employee lounge.
Rose is in there on her phone looking at the bulletin board while she speaks. There is a girl with strawberry blonde hair sitting on the couch fiddling with her phone.
I take a seat at the only table in here and try to keep to myself.
"Yeah baby, I'll see you when I get home," Rose says quietly. "No, he won't be by tonight. Okay, love you."
I pull my phone out seeing that I have a few texts from Emmett. One was asking how it was going so far. Another was one saying he might stop by with a few people and the last is a gif of some housewife, which makes me laugh.
Both girls look over at me, Rose is off her phone but doesn't try to engage me in conversation the other girl does. She stands and joins me at the table I'm at.
"You must be Bella, I'm Tanya," she introduces herself cheerfully.
"Hi," I murmur feeling my insecurities rise.
All the staff here was ridiculously good-looking, even Edward. I guess it's funny since his personality is so ugly.
"Are you coming to Tavern after work?" Tanya asks.
"Tavern?"
"It's one of our local haunts, my boyfriend is a bartender there, they give our crew the hookup," she explains. "You should come," she encourages.
"Sure."
I hear Rose snort and then shake her head.
I watch her go to her locker before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She pulls one out, puts it between her lips, and exits out the back door.
"She thinks she's above all of this," Tanya says vaguely.
"What the restaurant?" I ask confused.
"The restaurant, the staff, you name it Rose is better than it," she says rolling her eyes. "Edward is just as bad."
Part of me wonders if they are together. I want to ask but don't.
"Well, my shift is about to start, see you out there," she says, leaving me in the lounge alone.
I'm about to go back on my phone when Edward enters.
"Get back out there," he tells me, taking a seat on the couch.
I glare at him.
"I get that you don't like me, that's fine, but you don't need to talk to me like that. You hit me with your bike and didn't even apologize. I'm a human being and deserve to be treated like one," I say while my voice wavers.
He maintains eye contact with me.
I hear the back door shut and a small clap.
"She's right, Eddie. She's a real girl," Rose says with a wide smile.
I take that moment, leaving the two jerks to their misery.
Jazz smiles at me when I return to the bar. He takes the opportunity with Edward's absence to show me how to make a few drinks.
Surprisingly to me, I'm not too bad at it.
I see Emmett and his co-worker, Tyler heading my way.
"Oh no, they got you making drinks," Emmett groans playfully.
"What can I get you boys?" I ask with my hands on my hips.
"Two blue moons, please," Em orders.
"Not even going to try to give me a challenge?" I ask reaching down to grab two bottles of Blue Moon from the fridge and pop the caps off.
"Hey, B?"
"Yeah?"
"What happened here?" Em asks with a frown, he reaches up gently touching my bump.
Jazz is watching us from the other end of the bar.
"Nothing, just a clumsy moment," I say, brushing him off.
"Do you need to go to the ER?" he asks, concerned.
"She's fine," Edward says gruffly now back from his break.
"I wasn't asking you," Emmett tells him.
I place my hand on Emmett's arm, shaking my head for him to drop it. Edward's eyes move to where my hand is and his frown grows.
"You need to go get the four-top's order," he demands instead.
I sigh but do as I'm told. "Hey man, you need to watch how you talk to her," I hear when I'm near the kitchen door.
I keep going, seeing that Mike is in the kitchen and I hope he'll help me.
"What do you need?" he asks automatically.
"Four-top delivery," I tell him.
"These?" he asks, waving to the four plates ready to go.
I nod.
I grab two of the plates and he follows.
"Thanks for this," I offer.
"Don't worry about it, all of us have had first days," he tells me with a warm smile.
When we get back out to the bar, I see Edward is far away from Emmett and Jazz is now talking to him and Tyler.
Mike and I deliver the food, I squeeze past Edward, joining Jazz who is still talking to Emmett. "So when are you done, Roomie?"
"Not until after twelve," I tell him. "But I think I'm going to Tavern after work."
"The bar down the street?" he asks.
I shrug, not sure where the bar is.
I turn toward Jasper. "Tanya invited me."
"You should come, get to meet everyone," he encourages.
"How are you going to get home that late?" Em asks nervously.
"You guys live in Brooklyn?" Jazz asks.
We both nod.
"A few of us live that way. We all usually share an Uber, we won't let Bella wander her way back in the middle of the night alone," he teases.
This seems to make Emmett relax.
Edward starts to bark out more demands from his end of the bar, which forces me to get back to work. Emmett and Tyler stay for an hour, but before he leaves, Emmett makes me promise him that I'll text him when I leave the bar we're going to after work.
I agree and give him a hug.
It's a little weird giving him a hug, but because he actually cared about my well-being, I felt like I owed it to him.
We start to slow down around eleven, Jazz goes over the nightly clean-up duties. I help him wipe down the bar and the empty high-tops in our section.
A few patrons make their way over to the bar ordering a few cocktails in the last hour. Jazz and Edward serve them without complaint, but I can see their annoyance in their smiles.
Mike gently tugs on my arm telling me I could head back to the lounge. I follow him while a few of the other servers are wrapping up with their customers.
When I get into the lounge, I see Rose changing into her street clothes. Tight skinny jeans and a tight gray t-shirt with holes in it. I want to kick myself for not bringing a change of clothes.
I grab my bag and jacket from my locker before I look at my phone.
Edward bumps into me without apology when he opens his locker next to mine. I sneak a glance of him whipping his work t-shirt over his head to replace it with a gray one.
"We match," Rose says, pinching his cheek.
He knocks her hand off him, turning toward me.
"Jasper said you were coming with us to Tavern, you shouldn't be drinking," he tells me bringing his fingers up to my head before he stops himself.
I gape at him for a second.
"Don't worry about it," I tell him, forcing my feet to move out of the lounge.
"Seriously," I hear Rose snap at him.
When I'm back at the bar, Jazz is finishing up for the night talking with Carlisle.
"Bella," Carlisle says with a smile. "Will we be seeing you for brunch tomorrow?"
I look at him confused because I was scheduled to work tomorrow.
"He's asking if we ran you off," Jazz explains with a laugh.
"Oh no, I'll be here," I confirm.
"Wonderful," he claps his hands together. "How's the noggin?"
"Good," I answer.
"Was she a chatterbox all night?" he asks Jazz, giving him a nudge.
Jazz laughs again, handing him the cash bag from our drawers. "She is quite the conversationalist," he teases.
I take a seat at the bar waiting for the others as Jazz heads back to the lounge. Carlisle has the cash bags under his arm. "Seriously, how was tonight?" he asks.
"I learned a lot, Jazz was very helpful," I say, meaning every word.
"You could learn a lot from him, he's a certified mixologist," he explains.
I want to ask about Edward but don't.
The rowdy bunch of staff comes out from the kitchen dressed in their street clothes, I notice Esme is amongst them.
Rose is practically hanging on Edward; they both look annoyed. She is more so due to the lack of attention and Edward's scowl seems to be caused by her.
Esme walks over wrapping an arm around me, "Ready to go?"
I nod.
She removes her arm moving to her husband, she promises to be with us only for an hour and he promises her he'll pick her up.
As we all file out, Carlisle hands us envelopes with our names on them. I'm surprised to see my tips for the night included in there.
Mike finds me in our small group attaching himself to me.
I watch Edward stuff his messy hair into a black beanie. Rose touches his chest speaking hushed words before she heads in the opposite direction.
Mike talks the whole way while I'm sandwiched between him and Jazz. I can feel Edward close behind me.
The guy at the door asks for the word of the night, which Tanya provides.
My eyes widen when we all enter the bar, it's like we've walked through a time machine to a prohibition-era speakeasy. I stand stunned until I'm gently nudged forward.
I look over my shoulder seeing Edward, but he isn't looking at me.
The bartender greets everyone like old friends.
When she gets to me I order a whiskey neat.
Mike stands close surprised over my drink of choice.
We all hover around the bar while I mostly observe and sip my whiskey.
Mike is from a small town outside of Pittsburgh. Jazz hails from Texas, he originally came to New York to train as a Sommelier. Jess is in Law School at Columbia. Tanya went to Spence and basically never needs to work, however, she chooses to.
I haven't shared my story yet.
I'm three whiskeys in when Esme announces she needs to leave. She hollers over at Edward, who is still beside me.
His hand finds my waist then he leans around me.
I can feel my face heat when his hand doesn't move while he has a casual conversation with his sister.
She gives my arm a squeeze when she leaves.
Edward's hand still doesn't move.
The bar gets more and more crowded, making him move closer to my back.
Mike wedges his way beside me on my other side looking pretty buzzed.
I feel Edward's grip on me tighten.
"I'm heading out soon," Mike yells over the noise. "Want to come with?"
I remember that Jazz said some of the group lives in Brooklyn.
Before I can answer I feel Edwards's face practically against mine. "She's riding back to Brooklyn with us," he tells Mike.
Mike's blue eyes widen like saucers.
A giggle slips from my lips.
I feel Edward's thumb brush up and down my side.
"Bye, Newton," Edward sings.
I turn my head slightly and catch Jazz frowning at us. Mike has left, but Edward starts to get handsy.
Jazz heads over with Tanya in tow.
"You guys ready?" he asks with his normal easy tone.
I nod hopping off the stool, Edward's hands remain on me but not inappropriately. Jazz slings an arm over my shoulder breaking Edward's hold on me.
We all discuss where each one of us lives in Brooklyn. Edward is surprisingly close to me with Jazz not much farther. We all agree for the car to drop us off at Tanya's and then the guys will walk me back to my place.
Tanya sits in front of the Uber with me being sandwiched between Edward and Jazz. I pull my phone out to text Emmett that I'm on my way. I catch Edward glancing at what I'm texting.
Jazz nudges me asking if I had fun.
I nod with a smile.
The driver tells us we're almost at the destination.
Tanya waves us off when she enters her building.
The boys and I walk a few blocks over until we are in our neighborhood. I text Emmett that we are close and am a little surprised when he's waiting on our stoop.
"How cute, your father waited up," Edward says snidely.
It's the first jerky thing he's said since we left the restaurant since our shift. I don't respond, only try to climb the stairs shouting my thanks behind me.
I sway slightly, my footing getting lost on a step.
I'm saved when a pair of arms wrap around me.
"You need to be more fucking careful," Edward says gruffly in my ear.
I pat his forearm before Emmett takes me from him, helping me the rest of the way.
"I really don't like that guy," he mumbles once we're through the front door.
I get it, because I don't really understand Edward's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde schtick either.
A/N: Edward is... A LOT. I don't really have a schedule for this one when I get a chapter done I'll post. Like I said the future of this fic is in your hands, so please share your thoughts!