Read Hard for Free Online Page B

long as you’re in my bar with my books,” he
says, “you belong to me, tiger.” Wrapping his hand over
mine, he takes the glass from me and finishes off the beer, his mouth
closing over the place where mine had just been, an out-of-body kiss
that I feel all over my body.
    “So who called in?” Cash says.
    “Rachel,” Ryder says. “Some stomach flu thing. I
didn’t ask for details.”
    “What about calling Trish to fill in?” Cash says. “Or
Katie?”
    “Katie is already coming in for Trish, who’s out of
town,” Ryder says.
    “We’ve got some big tables booked tonight,” Cash
says. “It’s gonna be tough to run without a full floor
staff.”
    Ryder toasts his whiskey to Cash. “Thanks for the reassurance,”
he says. “I can always count on you to make a situation worse.”
    “But at least I make it look good,” Cash says, smiling to
show off his dimples.
    Jackson nods at me. “What are you doing tonight, Cassie? You
want to make some extra money?”
    Ryder turns to him, shakes his head. “Since when are you in
charge of hiring?”
    “I’m just saying, she’s here. She can probably hold
a tray and take a drink order,” Jackson says. “If she can
keep the books, I assume she can do the math to make change.”
    “She uses a computer to do the math,” Ryder says.
    “You guys know I’m sitting here, right?” I say. “No
need to keep talking about me in the third person.”
    Ryder smirks. “ You use a computer to do the math.”
    I shut the laptop. “Quiz me.”
    His lips tighten in a suppressed smile. “Okay,” he says.
He pulls up the calculator on his phone. “What’s
one-hundred-fifty-two plus thirty-seven plus eighty-four?”
    “Two-hundred-seventy-three,” I say as quickly as if it
were a rehearsed line.
    “Subtracted from five-hundred,” he says, typing.
    “Two-hundred-twenty-seven.”
    “Divided
by thirteen.”
    “How many decimal places do you want?” I say.
    “Lady’s choice.”
    “Seventeen point four six two,” I say. “If we’re
rounding up.”
    “All in favor?” Cash says. He and Jackson raise their
hands. Ryder’s stays firmly at his side.
    “As charming as this little exhibition is,” Ryder says,
“we’re known for hot girls, not smart ones.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, immediately
regretting my sartorial choice today: a pair of baggy pants from
college that I found in the back of my closet and a lightweight
summer sweater that I’d thought of as comfortable this morning
but now strikes me as shapeless.
    “He’s being an ass but he does have a point,” Cash
says, shooting me an apologetic smile. “It’s just
that…people tend to spend more money when you look less like…”
He gestures to my outfit. “You know.”
    “My point exactly,” Ryder chimes in.
    I glance down. So maybe the pants are a little loose and the sweater
is a little worn. They’re not the only clothes I own.
    Well, okay, they practically are. I haven’t had a lot of time
this week to replenish my wardrobe, and in England, Sebastian and I
didn’t go out a lot, hence my current state of clothing
affairs.
    But there’s a mall on the way home from here. And even though
every dollar I sweat out tonight is going right back into Ryder’s
pocket, I didn’t come back to the States with a completely
empty wallet. Rule one of escaping an old life: always carry cash.
    Without looking at Ryder, I say to Cash, “What time does the
shift start?”
    “Eight.”
    “See you then.” I stand, picking up the laptop and piles
of paper. “Oh, and in case you don’t recognize me, since
apparently waitressing here requires such a transformation, I’ll
be the hot one doing math in her head.” I lean toward Ryder, my
lips close to his ear. “No push-up bra necessary.”

 
    CASSIE
     

CH. 7
     
    Being
in England for the last two years with Sebastian, I didn’t
socialize much. I didn’t know anyone before I got there, and
didn’t meet many people once I