Chapter 2: Me vs. the World’s Worst Boss

Chip had the face of a weasel and the attitude of an angry Chihuahua. I’d just finished tying my apron on and twisting my long hair into a high ponytail to tuck under my cap when I turned to find him leaning on the wall opposite me.

The lean never bode well for anyone, especially not me. Chip and I never got along. He always suspected I was making fun of him but wasn’t smart enough to figure out how. He was right, but I pretended I was innocent even when flinging a few zingers his way.

Slapping on my most insincere smile, I tucked the last few strands of hair underneath the cap and washed my hands under the sink. "I’m about to clock in. Anything I need to know for today?" Chip continued the lean, his thin, hairless arms tucked across his chest. He wore a smirk, and his eyes glittered with malice. "You’re late," he said and grinned at me.

Chip’s teeth looked like two toddlers doing a deranged version of tango in his mouth. Usually this would amuse me, but apprehension skittered down my spine. Normally he didn’t seem so…gleeful. "A few minutes," I agreed. "I had a weird morning. Someone broke into my house this morning."

Chip’s eyes flared.

If I could keep him curious, I could keep him talking. If I could keep him talking, perhaps this wouldn’t go the way I suspected it might. Losing this job would crush my savings account. Few people would hire someone with a crappy work history and a lack of references.

Chip had never been the most savory of guys. I’d caught him paying people under the table more than once, though he refused to do it with me. Annoying, but the social security number I’d stolen still seemed pretty solid, so I let it go.

Pushing Chip for anything gave him leverage, and I was not about to get into debt with a weasel like him.

"I found him on my couch."

Chip pushed away from the wall, curious in spite of himself. I let a little tremor settle into my fingers as I dried my hands.

"It was terrifying." Shaking my head, I tossed the paper towel into the trash and faced him. "I’ve never been so scared in my life." This was a lie. Oddly enough, when I examined my feelings later, I realized I’d never been in any true danger. I’d felt…safe in his presence. It seemed insane, and I couldn’t explain why.

The shifter wouldn’t have hurt me unless I tried to hurt him. Something only a fool would have done. I tried never to be a fool. Not anymore, at least.

Chip’s overly large Adam’s apple bobbed. "Did he hurt you?" He licked his lips. It took all I had to suppress the grimace of distaste. He thrived on the pain of others, and I knew he was the kind of guy who’d have a special room in his house with a deep well and a lotion pulley system installed. Creepy and never someone you want to be caught alone with.

I shook my head and looked down, wringing my fingers together. "No. He wanted money, so I gave him what I had." I lifted my eyes to stare at him from under my lashes. "I didn’t have much, so he said he’ll be back…tonight. For more."

Chip’s mouth fell open. Just when I thought I had him, Angela walked in. Chip’s partner in crime. Most of us suspected they were sleeping together, but Chip had this strangely staunch set of morals when it came to managers and employees, so if he was sleeping with her, he was doing a great job of not getting caught. She was short, too thin, and hated me with the fire of a thousand suns.

She was convinced I wanted to date Chip for some reason and had made my life a living hell since the day I was hired. Angela had a loud and cracking voice like an air horn, and there wasn’t a single employee who hadn’t gone half deaf when she got excited while standing too close.

"Did you do it yet?" she demanded. There went the tense environment of anticipation I’d carefully crafted in an effort to save my job. Chip rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I told you to stay out of it, Angela," he muttered, annoyance lacing his words.

She sent her muddy brown gaze to me and narrowed her eyes. "She sucks as a barista. You said it yourself."

"Aww, Chipper," I cajoled, knowing when to cut my losses, "that’s not very nice now, is it?"

Chip sucked on his tangled teeth. "Angela’s right, you know. You are pretty terrible."

I shrugged. "My tip jar says otherwise."

"That’s cause she wears those v-neck tops," Angela whined.

I pointed to my generous chest. Normally I didn’t love the girls, but this girl needed money to keep moving, so there was no shame in my game. If my coffee skills weren’t on par, I made sure I wore a good bra. "The Lord giveth." I then pointed to her. "And the Lord taketh away." I said solemnly. A snort came from somewhere behind me.

"Do you see how she speaks to me?" Angela shrieked. Chip and I both winced. "You can’t let her do that!" She sidled up to him, "Come on. You promised. My sister needs this job."

Dear God. There were two of them? "That doesn’t sound like a bargain," I said to him. "And you take forty percent of my tips. You seem like you’re good at math. I’d calculate those odds."

A familiar choked cough came from behind, and I struggled not to smile. Cassie was my favorite. We weren’t quite friends, but the possibility was there.

Chip looked down at Angela pressing her rail-thin form into his arm, and then back at me, the enemy wearing the good bra. I realized the second I lost. Angela was the sure thing warming his bed. I was the loner who barely tolerated him.

With a sigh, I untied my apron. Angela’s eyes sparked with glee. Chip shrugged a bony shoulder.

"Sorry, Aspen. You don’t pull your weight around here." But he couldn’t look me in the eyes when he said it.

I rolled my eyes. "We both know that’s a lie. Kids vomit in here at least three times a week, and you don’t see Angela out there mopping it up, do you?"

"She’s got you there," Cassie said. I turned and gave her a sad smile. Her strange hazel eyes glimmered with sympathy.

"We’re shorthanded," she said. "Angela’s sister just got fired from the piggy mart. You really want to take that on?"

Chip pulled away from Angela. "You’re constantly late, too. We can’t have that in any employee of The Bawdy Barista."

I’d always thought that name was stupid, but Chip claimed his dad named the place and keeping it was honoring him.

Cassie laughed. "You were late this morning. For the third time this week."

Chip’s face went beet red, but we all knew he’d never fire her. She was the only one who knew what she was doing, and her dad was a sheriff the next town over.

"Shut up, Cassie," Angela said. She sent a malicious grin my way. "Leave the hat. It will probably be too big for her head, but she’ll make do." They turned to leave.

"Because of her teeny, tiny brain?" I whispered.

Angela turned, narrowing her eyes. "What did you say?"

I gave her a bright smile and a wave. "Have a bawdy day!" I chirped, spouting the annoying saying we had to repeat a few hundred times a day during our shifts.

When they rounded the corner, I sank onto the bench and let my head fall into my hands. "What am I going to do?" I groaned.

Cassie sat down beside me and slung an arm over my shoulders. "No job prospects?"

I snorted. "In this town? I’m a nobody without a diploma. This job was hard enough to find."

She fell silent for a little while as we sat together. It helped to have someone there during the miserable moments, but I couldn’t afford to stay down for long. Survival was everything.

"I heard you had a…run in…this morning," Cassie said slowly.

I jerked my head up. That sounded like she knew who it was. "Maybe," I ventured.

She nodded. "Cane said you smelled strange. Just like I told him a few months ago."

My brow furrowed. "Please don’t start being a weirdo," I pleaded. "I really liked you."

Cassie laughed, her white teeth glinting in the awful lighting. "He meant you were some kind of supe. Is that true?"

I straightened and edged away from her. "Why? How do you even know what that is?" Suspicion roiled through me. I’d always liked Cassie, but I’d kept her at arm’s length because of my past and the last whispered advice of the one and only friend I’d had. _Trust_no_one_ …

"So you do know what it is." She nodded once and slid her gaze over to the door to ensure we were still alone. Satisfied, she pulled something out of her back pocket and handed it to me. "I’m not sure if this will help or harm you, but you’ve gotten the attention of our Alpha."

I blinked in surprise. "Wolf shifters are real. I’m not crazy."

Cassie barked a laugh. "You aren’t crazy." She gestured to the card. "There’s an address on the back. Come tomorrow. Don’t be late. I hope you like puppies."

Before I could answer, she hopped up and strode out of the room.

"I love puppies," I whispered. I stared down at the card and then back at the empty doorway. "Shifters are real," I said, trying to ignore the lift of my heart.