In the Beginning (Volkov Bratva #1)(13)

They stood just outside the cafe, facing one another. He seemed just as reluctant to leave as she felt.“Maybe I’ll see you around, Lauren.”

Before she could walk away, he took her hand in his and kissed the back of her knuckles lightly, then turned and strode off in the opposite direction. Lauren didn’t think her feet touched the ground on her way to class.

***

Classes were over relatively quickly and Lauren was sure she passed the quiz with a high B, if not an A. Afterwards, though, instead of going home, she took a cab into the city putting her hair up into a high ponytail to give it some semblance of order.

It was nice that her mom had offered to pay for everything, even with the sizable college fund that her father had left behind, but since she refused to talk about it, Lauren wasn’t sure how much was actually left. Not wanting to be a burden, Lauren had told Susan that she would try to get a job to help out, despite her protesting. When she wouldn’t give up, they came to an agreement—reluctantly, that if Lauren was able to find a job where she was only working part time, and it didn’t interfere with her studies, she could get one if she wanted.

So job hunting it would be, but she wasn’t prepared for the sheer number of people that were also looking for jobs, and the sheer number of places to hunt for one.

Hours passed, and several ‘we’re-not-hiring-right-now-but-we’ll-take-an-application’s later,’ Lauren was frustrated, knowing that their declinations were no doubt because of her lack of job experience.

They wouldn’t care that her mom had been too afraid for Lauren to leave for so long that she had never bothered with trying to find a job. She had only given up on her stronghold after Ross had talked to her.

Ready to give up, she was hailing a cab when she spotted a lone restaurant on the corner, its name written in perfect cursive letters on a black and white banner.

Diego’s Steak and Grille.

She stood there for a moment as the taxi was rolling to a stop next to the curb. She could assume they would say the same things about not hiring at the moment and take the taxi home, or she could hope for the best…the latter won out.

Stepping inside, Lauren smoothed a hand over her ponytail as she approached the waitress standing at the podium.

Her name tag read Tara. She was pretty with mocha skin and long black hair. She wore a fitted black dress that reached her knees and a small black apron over it.

At Lauren’s approach, she smiled warmly, asking, “Hello, how may I help you?”

“Hi, I was wondering if you all were hiring?”

Tara’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked around the corner towards the bar. “I’m not sure. Diego might be since a few girls quit recently. I can ask if you want?”

She nodded eagerly.

“One moment.”

Tara sauntered from behind the podium, hurrying over to the bar where a towering, muscular man with a mohawk stood pouring shots. She spoke softly to him, pointing back to where Lauren waited. His gaze flickered up to Lauren briefly then he nodded, sending Tara back over.

“Diego wants to talk to you.”

Lauren followed her over, trying to keep a smile on her face as she mentally went over a checklist of how to act. True, she had never been on a job interview before, but there were certain things a person just knew.

Stay calm. Be polite, respectful, and be sure to make note that I’ll be a hard worker.

The bartender, Diego, wiped his hands on a white dishtowel, slinging it over his shoulder as he gave her a pleasant smile.

“I’m Diego, owner and bartender. What’s your name?”

“Lauren Thompson.” She shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you. Have you ever worked as a waitress before?”

Lauren shook her head, remembering the way the others had asked this, and it going downhill from there. “No, but I’m a very quick learner.”

He smirked, scratching at his graying beard. Tara was hovering nearby and seemed to be trying to convey a message to him with her eyes.

“How often can you be here? I need someone available most nights and weekends, and no requesting off on Fridays or Saturdays.”

“That’s fine.” It wasn’t like she would be going out much.

“Don’t say that,” Tara said with a laugh. “Or he just might keep you here.”

“Nope, she agreed.” Diego arched a brow, sticking out his hand again like a challenge. “The job is yours if you want it.”

Tara was shaking her head, but was smiling. Lauren narrowed her eyes on Diego. “Can I get one Saturday?”

“Negotiation. I like it. Two Sundays.”

“One Friday and one Saturday, but neither in the same week.”

He laughed heartily. “Deal.”

They shook on it and he produced an application for her to fill out. “We’ll get you set up for next week to train with Tara. If you think you can handle it, we’ll have you on the schedule and go from there.”

Grinning with triumph, she thanked him for the opportunity, even thanked Tara who she felt had a hand in helping her get the position.

Lauren stuck around for a while longer, filling out the necessary paperwork then taking a cab home.

Amber and Rob were on the couch watching a documentary on rain forests when she walked in.

“Where’ve you been?” Amber asked.