Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 20 – Accepting Help
Abby

“Stop joking around,” I say, placing my empty glass on the ground. “This is serious.”

“I’m not joking.”

We stare across the room at each other. I kind of want to laugh, but something tells me he wouldn’t

appreciate that. Still, there’s no way he’s going to come into my restaurant and work in the back. He

might think he wants to help, but I’m not sure he knows what that job actually entails. Plus, it’s not like

he has tons of free time on his hands. He’s an Alpha. Even if the pack is in a better position, there’s still

a million things he has to do on a daily basis.

“Okay, whatever you say,” I answer, opting for levity.

He frowns, a determined look on his face. “Why won’t you let me help you?”

“I just don’t think you understand what you’re saying.”

He rolls his eyes. “I understand perfectly fine, thank you.”

I can tell I’ve offended him a little, but I don’t feel all that bad about it. I need real help. Actual

employees. Not my ex-husband stacking dishes in the back. I doubt he’s cleaned a dish in his life.

“I just don’t think you have the time.”

“I know what I have time for and what I don’t,” he answers. “And I’m no stranger to hard work.”

“Well, Ethan and I are going over everything at the restaurant tomorrow. So, if you still want to help,

you can show up sometime in the morning.” I don’t expect him to show up at all. “Fine,” he says,

leaning back in his chair with a self-satisfied smile. “Then I’ll see you there.”

Ethan watches me finish my second coffee of the morning, a look of concern on his face. After last

night’s debacle, I’m both hungover and exhausted. By the time I went to bed, I had maybe four hours of

uninterrupted sleep before I had to wake up and drag myself over here.

If this headache isn’t a sign that I shouldn’t drink that much ever again, then I don’t know what is.

“We need to get up and running before those negative reviews have time to fester,” I say.

The most important thing is that I get ahead of the competition. I can’t disappear completely, and just

recede into the background. If I’m going to maintain my position as a must-go spot, then I need to

reopen immediately.

on the spot, a promotion he took with a mingled

While he doesn’t have a ton of experience yet, he’s loyal, and I

everything. Especially after what happened with

to the task. He’s already proven a delight to

employees I’ve had. I

sometimes, but it hasn’t slowed him down

to work around the pain. And now that he’ll

hopefully his shifts will be easier for him.

is.

getting new people,” he says. “We

we got here, we started by taking stock of the food and

I’d broken out into a nervous sweat. If I don’t hire new people soon,

on an expedited basis,” I say, turning

post it online. “Even if some people don’t last, at least we’ll have workers for the

to be good

“I agree.”

and greeting

get a few good waiters and a decent bartender, then we’ll be

“Exactly.”

a loud knock at the front door, and Ethan

say when I see

nods and sinks back into his chair. I cross the restaurant floor

His business suit looks freshly pressed, and he’s carrying

two coffees on it.

and Ethan,” he says,

name. He’s always been good at

good Alpha. He remembers people

who work for him, and the members of

into the

to face him. I don’t bother to

slides his sunglasses into his pocket, looking around at the desolate room.

he picks it up, giving me an apologetic smile.

I can still hear his end of the

pretend like I’m

job right now,” he says.

great, but I still don’t have the time. I’ll call

“Last I checked, I’m your boss. If I want your advice, I’ll

My eyebrows shoot up.

hangs up, turning

I ask, even though I already know the answer. Her smug smile

mind. The memory of it makes me angrier than

else you need

shakes his head.

cook or a waiter or even a bartender. You seriously want to work in

during a dinner rush? It’s not exactly fun work, and it’s not like you

think you need to get your priorities straight,”

the span of a few hours probably isn’t a good idea,

mine. I need