Silence descended over the bar as everyone watched what had just happened. The only person whose eyes I could bear to meet was Serena and she was staring in absolute shock. Her mouth was wide open and she blinked as if he could not believe what she was seeing.
I had never known an employer to behave so protective over his employees and something about it had my insides squirming. I was shocked that he of all people leaped to my defense but I could not get his words out of my head.
‘She’s mine.’
It felt like a claim and a branding, and I did not like it one bit. I did not belong to anyone and I was now owned by anyone. I was grateful that he had saved me but the last thing I wanted was to be referred to as property by someone. It brought back unpleasant memories that I did not want to have to worry about.
The client stumbled to his feet. One would have thought that the actions would have sobered him up but he still stumbled like a newborn calf and looked disoriented. He had to use a bar stool to stand up straight because of how badly he was wobbling. Darius was completely blocking my view of him and I had to lean to the side to see what was happening.
“This will be the last time that you ever set foot in my bar again,” Darius instructed and the man’s face turned into an ugly sneer.
“You cannot be protecting her,” he slurred. “What happened to the customer is always right? I asked her to serve me and she didn’t. If anything, the bitch had no idea how to do her-”
I felt rather than heard the rumble from Darius’ chest. I could feel the danger and anger rolling off him in waves. I was shocked by how he was reacting and I wondered if he would have done the same had it been Serena who was in my shoes.
Of course, he would have. He doesn’t know me so he has no reason to treat me any differently. He must have just been annoyed that someone was harassing his workers.
The entire situation was about to blow out of proportion and I was not the only one who noticed. Ian rushed to his feet and clapped a firm hand on the shoulder of the customer. Before anyone could blink, another man from Darius’ group of friends did the same and soon they were dragging the unruly customer out.
“Hey,” the man yelled, trying to brush them off. “Unhand me. I am not a child that you manhandle. This is harassment and assault.”
His voice faded out as he was dragged out of the bar and thrown out of the doors. Through the one-way glass, I could see how they had thrown him on his ass and I saw his lips moving as he muttered what I assumed were curse words in the direction of the bar.
I felt Darius’ eyes on me and I turned to him. The first and only time I had seen him up close was when I was at the library. I was working then so I didn’t have time to take him in completely. There were flecks of blue and green in his eyes and it looked like a kaleidoscope of colors. I couldn’t look away even if I tried to. Something about his eyes seemed to pull me in and mesmerize me beyond anything I could ever imagine.
“Are you okay?”
His words snapped me out of my reverie and I looked away with a blush staining my cheeks. I couldn’t force my tongue to form any words so I just nodded. Even though I was not looking at him, I could feel his eyes boring into every pore on my body.
“I’m good,” I said in an attempt to brush off what had just happened. “I have handled worse than him. Thank you for helping me.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t appreciate the way he claimed me in public but I realized that I owed him a lot- like the job- and I didn’t want to jeopardize that by saying anything that could piss him off. He had probably said it in the heat of the moment and did not mean it. There was no reason for me to bring it up again and have to endure the awkward conversation.
Darius stared at me as if he wanted to say something but was being physically held back. He opened his mouth to speak but Ian walked over to us and whispered something in his ears. A dark look crossed his face and he nodded and took a step back from the bar.
“If you have any problems during the rest of your shift, do not hesitate to call me.”
Without waiting for a response from me, he turned on his heels and walked back into his office. The bar was still pin drop silent and the only sound was from the speakers. It took another two minutes for life to breathe back into the bar. It was like everyone was holding their breath in case something was to happen again.
“That was fun,” Serena whispered and I jumped.
She had walked over from her end of the bar so quietly that I didn’t even notice how close she was to me. She raised her hands in a silent apology for scaring me and I assured her with my eyes that everything was fine.
“That sure cleared out the bar,” she murmured and I realized she was right.
Everyone was avoiding the bar as if approaching it was going to make them fall victim to Darius’ anger.
“Give them ten minutes, they will be back,” I told her and she hummed in agreement.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side. It looks like you have Darius on your side.”
I shook my head at her joke. “He was just trying to protect the integrity of the bar. He would have done the same if it were you.”
“Sure,” sarcasm laced her tone and I knew there was more to what she wanted to say but a man approached her end of the bar. “We will continue this later.”
We didn’t have a chance to talk after that. The bar seemed to be filled to the brim that night and judging by how many customers I heard talking about me, I knew that somehow the story of what had happened had reached the town and most people were there simply to see me.
Men steered clear of Serena and me. The moment we cut them off, they simply paid and walked out of the bar. Nobody wanted to be used as a second example and I found it relieving. It had been a while since I worked in an establishment where I did not feel the need to look over my shoulder every second.
We still encountered a few crazy customers but all it took was a whisper from someone or a hard look from some of Darius’ friends who were hanging around the bar and they would straighten up and become model citizens.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted and my feet were killing me from standing for so long. I clocked out with Serena and she looked even worse than me. Most of the clients had drifted to her end out of self-preservation so she ended up doing a lot more work than I did.
I noticed she was moving towards the bus stop so I called out to her.
“Don’t you have a car?” I asked and she shook her head. “Well, you can ride with me. If your house isn’t too far then I can just drop you off.”
Relief filled her features. “Thank you so much. You are an absolute lifesaver.”
She grabbed my cheeks and air kissed both of them before rushing into the passenger side. “My house is not too far from the training field. My dad is the one who runs the training.”
“That’s actually on my way.”
She made a small fist of victory and I laughed as I started the car.
Serena was fun to drive with. We shared crazy bar stories and she was a great listener. By the time I dropped her off at her house, we had exchanged contacts and I felt proud of myself for finally making a new friend. It had been a while since I had someone I could genuinely consider a friend.
Most of the people I met in the city were acquaintances or people who only called when they needed something. Something told me that Serena was not like that and rather, she was someone I could genuinely count on.
By the time I got home, the porch lights were off and I assumed everyone was asleep. I tried to be quiet as I snuck into the house but I had barely locked the door behind me when the living room light came on. I jumped at least five feet in the air when I noticed Grandma sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed.
“I have always wanted to do this,” she said with an almost childlike excitement.
All I could do was stare at her in disbelief as I placed my hand over my chest to prevent my heart from beating out of it.
“How was work?” she asked. “I heard something about a drunk man.”
“There were a lot of drunk men,” I said, feigning ignorance because I knew she was going to ask questions. She opened her mouth to speak but I made a show of yawning loudly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I rushed out of there before she could say anything else.