After last night's shift, Jai told me that he wouldn't be at the bar for two weeks, but Max would. He'll be the Manager until his return.

I hope Max can do a good job and not make me do everything so he can sit in Jai's office playing on his phone.

Pulling my car into the Lusive parking lot, I see Ethan talking to another security guy at the door. He says something to the guy before heading in my direction. I park my car under a light close to the bar. Reaching over to the passenger seat, I pull my bag towards me.

Ethan opened the car door before I had time to open it, and he had a smile on his face. "Good evening, Chloe. How are you?"

A smile spreads across my face as I step out of the car. "Good, how about you, Ethan?"

"Great, now that you're here." He closes the door for me. "Are you ready for your first shift without Jai?"

"Yeah, I'm ready for the first shift without Jai. Do you know where he went?"

"No," we cross the parking lot. "Jai never tells anyone what he's doing. Something tells me that whatever business trip he's on will be the last time he spends away from Los Angeles."

"Why would you think that?" I ask him.

Ethan remains quiet before scratching the back of his neck. "Just forget I said that."

That's impossible for me to do.

Looking at him, I ask, "Who's on tonight? I want to make a good impression on the people I haven't met before. I have to show them that I didn't get the job because I'm a female, but I got it because I deserve to be here like everyone else."

Ethan touches my arm. "There are a few people you haven't worked with before, and they might not like you because you're the first woman to get a job here." He looks at the door. "At the door with me tonight is Brady. He can be an ass, but I think he'll be nice to you. Inside, you have Max, with whom you've been working closely. Keith and Lance. Both of them are bartenders and think they're why women buy drinks from them. Just be careful of those two. I've heard they slip drugs into their drinks. Watch for that, and call me if you see a woman in danger. Then there's Alex and Eugene, the security guards inside. Eugene is married and will treat you like his younger sister, as you are close to his sister's age."

"Thanks for the small rundown on everyone, Ethan. I appreciate it."

"Anything for the new bartender."

As soon as we reach the door of Lusive, I see a queue of people waiting to get in. "Are you going to let them in?"

Ethan shakes his head. "They aren't allowed in until seven. That's Max's rule. He's stricter when Jai's away, but you will be fine. If not, I will call the boss and tell him what Max is up to."

Someone yells. "Why is that woman allowed in?"

Ethan looks into the crowd. "She works here."

"No, she doesn't." A guy yells. "I would remember a beautiful thing like her working here if she did."

Looking at him, I say. "I recently got a job. So, of course, you wouldn't have seen me." I turn away from him and look at the tall, blonde, blue-eyed, tanned god before me.

He looks me up and down and licks his windblown lips. "I'm Brady. I've been here for a few years and haven't seen Jai hire a woman since joining Lusive. He surely knows what he's doing." He holds his hand out to me.

I place my smaller hands in his calloused hands and say, "Chloe. " He pumps my hand a few times, and I pull it out of his grasp. "It was nice to meet you, Brady."

"You too, darling." He leans forward, and his lips brush my ear as he says. "I'll see you after your shift. Maybe I can walk you to your car and get a goodnight kiss?"

That's not going to happen.

Moving away from him. "I'll stick to Ethan and Alex walking me to the car. At least I know I will be in safe hands."

Ethan opens the door for me. "Do you want me to walk you to the bar?"

Shaking my head. "I've got it from here, Ethan. I'll see you after my shift." I step inside the bar and follow the dark corridor until I reach the bar. There are groups of people sitting at some of the tables."

Max walks over to me. "It's about time you got here. I need to do some things in the office. You'll be looking after the bar for me." He waves two guys over. "Chloe, I want you to meet the guys you will work with." We stop at the bar. "The sandy blonde is Keith, and standing next to him is Lance."

I wave at them. "Hi," I say, looking at Max. I'm going to get started on some work." I walk behind the bar and place my bag under the counter. My phone goes off, and I pull it out of my bag. I look at the phone and see a number with the message come across the screen. I open it and look at it.

Jai: Hey, it's Jai. I was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite to eat when I get back.

Me: How did he get my number?

Jai: I took it from work.

Me: That's not cool.

Jai: I'm sorry, firecracker.

I put my phone on silent before putting it in my bag and zipping it up. I walk over to a customer, trying to get Keith and Lance's attention for the last few minutes. "Good evening, sir. What can I get you?"

He smiles at me, but there are some missing teeth. "Can I get a jack and coke, please, darling? Why don't you pour some for yourself?"

"I'm on the job, Sir."

He waves his hand. "It doesn't stop the rest of the men doing that here. I've seen a lot of them get drunk because they don't want to turn a drink down."

I lower my voice. "I'm not like the people I work with." Looking at Keith and Lance, I say, "Why don't I give them a drink from you?"

He nods. "Okay, you should spit in it before giving it to them. Maybe it will make them get off their phones and do some work around here."

I pour the guy his drink before grabbing a cloth and cleaning some tables before the crowd enters.

At 7 p.m., the club's doors open to the public, and they walk towards the bar. I smile at the woman approaching my side of the bar. "Hey, what can I get you this evening?"

"Can I have a chardonnay, please and keep them coming? I had a hard day at work and intend to drink my problems away."

I poured her a glass and put it on the bar. "If you need someone to vent to, I'll listen, but I won't be good at advising unless you work in an office—that's a different story."

She looks up at me and smiles. "Then you know all the problems of working in an office. I would love to hear your advice on a boss that keeps sexually harassing you."

A group of guys are waiting for me to serve them. "Let me serve everyone first, and then we'll continue this conversation."

She salutes me. "Yes, Madame." She takes a drink from her glass and looks straight at the bar.

Moving over to the guys next to her, I take their order. "Twelve beers, please." I pull out twelve glasses and put them under the tap. Quickly moving the first glass, I put the next one under it. I do the same movement until all the glasses are filled. I top up the glasses before telling them the price and collecting their money. I put it in the till and give them the change.

The guy looks at me. "Keep it, sweetheart. You'll leave here tonight with a huge tip if you can keep our drinks topped up for the night."

"Okay," I say to the next customer. Once everyone had their drinks, I returned to the woman and saw that her glass was nearly empty. I poured her another glass and placed it next to the one she had in her hands now.

"Thanks," she throws the drink back and places it on the bar. "My boss has been placing his hands inappropriately on me. How am I supposed to stop that?"

"You could always talk to the CEO if you know who he is?"

She shakes her head. "I have no way of reaching him, and if I report it in the office, he's going to see it as he's the one that handles situations like that."

He's not supposed to handle stuff like that.

"What company do you work for, if you don't mind me asking?"

She sighs. "It's King Enterprises." She looks around the bar. "I hope nobody heard that."

That's one of the most respected companies in Los Angeles. I've heard several great things about them.

The daughter came back to town recently, too. She might have taken her spot as CEO. If that's the case, she won't like hearing this story about what's happening in the office.

Looking up, I see a beautiful blonde walking into the bar with a group of guys who look like bodyguards.

The woman I was talking to shrinks back in the corner. She whispers. "That's Leila King. She's the CEO of the company I work for now."

She'll be able to voice her concerns to the company's CEO.

Leila walks over to us and sits next to the woman. "Can I have what she's having, please? That looks great."

"It's chardonnay."

She nods. "Just add some orange juice to it. I don't want to walk out of here too drunk. My father would have a field day with the paparazzi standing out there."

"Sure," I say, pouring a small glass of Chardonnay and more orange juice into the glass. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She slides some cash towards me, and I shake my head. "That one is on..."

"Me," the woman sitting next to her says. "I'm Meg." She holds her hand out to Leila.

"Leila, but I'm sure you know that." The two women started talking.

I walk down the bar and serve the group of men their beer again.

Keith walks over to me. "I'm going on my ten-minute break. Can you look after my side of the bar?"

"Sure," I say, moving to his side of the bar and starting to make drinks. I also place jugs of water on the bar for anyone who wants to stay hydrated while they drink.

Once the customers on Keith's side of the bar have been served, I return to mine. I overhear the last part of Leila and Meg's conversation.

Leila moves forward, and she nods. "You don't have to put up with that kind of behaviour from your boss. I will talk to him tomorrow and get it all sorted. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Meg."

Grabbing a jug, I fill it with water and place it in front of Meg and Leila. "You should drink some water," I say.

Meg smiles at me. "Thanks," she places her glass of chardonnay on the bar and replaces it with some water.

"Can I get you another drink?" I ask the girls.

"No, thanks." Leila points to her drink. "I'm fine with mine for now."

Keith returned and told me that I could go on my break.

Grabbing my phone from my bag, I walk into the office where Max is sitting.

He looks at me as I enter the room. "Are you on break now?"

"Yes, I am." I looked at my phone and saw another message from Jai.

Jai: I'm sorry for seeming stalker-ish. My friend's sister and best friend got their hands on my phone and thought it would be fun to send you a message.

Me: Are you sure about that? Or are you making excuses so you can have me to talk to while you're alone?

Jai: I would never do that. If you don't believe me, I'll get my friend's sister to call you.

Me: You don't need to do that.

Jai: Well, it's late here. I have a lot to do in the morning. So, I'll talk to you later.

Me: Yes, boss.

Sliding my phone into my pocket, I grab a glass of water before returning to work.

At 11:30 pm, my shift ends, and I grab my bag. I walk out from behind the bar and see Alex standing close by.

He walks over to me. "I'm going to walk you out tonight since my brother had to leave on a personal matter."

"Okay," I follow him out of the bar and head towards my car. I stop momentarily to go through my bag and pull out my keys buried at the bottom.

At my car, I climb in and wave at Alex as I pull away from the bar. Turning the music on, I hear my all-time favourite song and sing along with the words.

Getting to the hospital five minutes later, I park my car and climb out. I grab my bag and walk towards my sister's room.

When I walk in, Aleysa is awake. Her face is pale, and the side of her face has vomit on it.

Pulling out some paper towels, I wipe her face. "Does the nurse know about this?"

She nods. "I just pressed the button a few minutes before you walked in. They're getting someone to clean up the mess and change me."

"I'll change you." I help her out of the bed and walk into the adjoining bathroom. I turn the shower on and help my sister inside.

Aleysa tilts her head back as the water cascades down her body. She looks at me with tear-filled eyes. "Chloe, I'm sorry for being a handful." She looks away from me.

Grabbing her face, I make sure she looks into my eyes as I say. "You're not a handful, Aleysa. You are sick, and I'm going to be with you as you get over this."

"I'm not going to get over it, Chloe. Just put me down and end you're suffering."

"Listen here, Aleysa." I raise my voice slightly. "I never want to hear you say that about yourself again. You're not some dog that has..." I cut myself off and placed my hand on her face. "You're my sister, and I love you so much. When you struggle, I'll struggle; when you beat this, I'll beat this with you. So, please stop talking about dying. I don't want to hear that negativity coming from you."

She whispers. "It's my reality."

I don't say anything back, knowing she wasn't saying that to me.