“Four Utopias, four Buds, two vodka—crans, and two Miller Lites,” she yelled to Chris, the bartender.
When he turned and grinned at her, she couldn’t help smiling back. Chris looked like a complete bad ass with his bulging muscles covered in tattoos. He was good at dealing with the drunks who got out of hand. Yet, when you got to know him and talked to him, he was actually the sweetest guy—that is, until you pissed him off.
Chris whistled. “High rollers. You are getting some green tonight, Ria-baby.”
Their boss always kept some expensive beer for the businessmen that came in at night. Even though it was a bitch waiting on them, those types of men were pretty free with the cash.
Ria rolled her eyes at his nickname. If he didn’t have a nickname for all the waitresses, she would have liked it, but he was the ultimate ladies’ man. She wasn’t going to fall victim to his flirting, and he knew it, which was why they had become good friends.
“I deserve it tonight,” Ria responded with a glare.
Chris looked at her and she saw his face soften. “Sorry, Ria. Want me to deal with them?”
“No. I’m hoping this is their last round—they have to go home to their wives eventually—but thanks Chris.”
Chris finished getting the beers for the men first, so she grabbed the bottles and sashayed back to their table with a smile.
“Here you go.” She placed each bottle in front of the men, making sure to stay on the opposite side from the two men who had touched her. Unfortunately, it didn’t help.
The man who had grabbed her breast earlier in the night leaned across the table. “Honey, how would you like to see the view from the top floor of The Plaza?” he inquired as all the men looked at her.
Well, she had been wrong about them going home to their wives. They must be on an out of town trip and looking for some fun.
“Wow, that sounds incredible, but I have to work late.” She tried to put her most seductive smile on her face, not wanting the rejection to hurt her tip. “I’ll just have to picture it in my head.” She pretended to pout.
She watched his eyes narrow in anger, but then he tried to cover it up with a fake smile. “I understand.”
Ria could see him holding back his temper, and she wanted to get away as quickly as possible. A feeling of foreboding came over her. Men never took her refusal without an argument.
“Anything else?” She looked at the rest of the men, but none of them responded.
“No. I’ll put the last round on my card,” snapped the man she had just rejected.
She nodded her head and went back to the bar where the rest of the drinks were ready. She quickly took them to her other tables then completed filling out the check and took it to the table of men.
As she approached, the main guy lifted his hand to take it. She started to leave and wait for him to put his card on the table, but he told her to wait and handed her the card. She took the card and quickly went to the register to close the tab. He was really starting to give her the heebie-jeebies.
She returned to the table and handed him his card back with a pen and the receipt. “Thank you so much, gentlemen; it’s been a pleasure serving you. Enjoy the rest of your stay at The Plaza.” She was doing her best to play dumb and act like she didn’t realize they were looking more like ferocious werewolves than businessmen. She pitied the woman, or women, they ended up with tonight, but at least whoever it was would most likely be getting paid and had volunteered to be with them.
She walked away casually and stopped by her other tables before heading back to the bar.
She sensed Chris watching her approach and forced herself to keep her face calm. She didn’t want any of the patrons thinking she was upset. She met Chris’s eyes and smiled.
“Hey, girl. They’re gone,” he said soothingly.
She just nodded her head in return. She didn’t want to cry. She was facing worse problems than getting groped to earn a small paycheck, plus tips. Tonight was nothing she hadn’t dealt with before over the last six months. She was pissed at herself for letting a few assholes get to her. She knew it was the strange vibe from that table that was throwing her. It was time to shake it off.
“Thanks, Chris. I’m fine.” Ria felt herself relaxing, knowing they were gone now.
Glancing up, she saw her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She noticed her breasts were pushed up in the red bra and her recent weight loss had thinned her facial features, resulting in bigger than normal eyes and the appearance of fuller lips. She looked like an easy lay. No wonder the men were treating her like she was a whore. It didn’t help that the bar was in a hotel. The men inevitably began to assume she would be willing to keep them company in their rooms for a price. She couldn’t believe she had sunk to this level, all for a fucking tip.