Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,17

server.”

“Yes, I know who Mallory is,” he says with a grin.

“Anyway,” I continue, taking a quick bite of my burger. “I saw one guy wrap his hand around her leg and hold her. Her body went rigid, so I reacted.”

“Threw them out?”

“Yep, but not before I made one of the them pay the bill. Gigi said he left a fifty for a tip.”

“Good,” Isaac responds, throwing one leg over his knee as he gets comfortable. When I don’t say anything else, he finally says, “Jameson asked for some time to talk. Any idea what that’s about?”

I shrug, not really wanting to step on Jameson’s toes and say more than he’s ready to say. “He has an idea he wants to run by you.”

Numbers watches me eat. “You know what it’s about?”

“I do,” I reply, chewing my food. Once I swallow, I add, “I think it’s a solid idea, and we should all be open-minded and listen to what he has to say.”

“You mean me, specifically?” he asks, his fist under his chin as he stares across the desk at me.

Again, I shrug. “All of us.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Is it something we can talk about Monday during our meeting, or should I schedule something before then?”

“I think Monday is good. Jasper should be in on it too.”

He nods and stands. “All right then. I’ll let you eat your food. Thank you for taking care of the problem earlier,” he says, clearly referring to the incident with Mallory. It bothers me the way he says it, like he appreciates me taking care of her.

I sigh and push my plate away. It shouldn’t bother me if Isaac wants to date an employee. Fuck knows he rarely steps away from the office long enough to date in general. It seems logical he’d gravitate toward someone he could see almost daily.

Besides, I’m the one with the rule of no dating the employees.

Me.

So why the hell does it burn my gut so much to think about her with him and not me?

Chapter Six

Mallory

What a day.

The moment I tuck Lizzie into her bed, her tired little eyes drift closed. I turn on the night-light before flipping off her bedroom light and stopping to watch her. When everything went down in Gibson, I found myself just watching her sleep. Sometimes, it was the only thing that would calm the storm in my mind.

Now, I’m a little more at peace, even though I still look over my shoulder all the time.

I probably always will.

Quietly, I pull the door until it’s a few inches from closing and head for my bedroom. Well, what will be my bedroom someday. First, I need things like a bed and a dresser, but both of those will have to wait.

When I left Gibson, it was with only the things I could fit in my Ford Escape. Lizzie’s toddler bed, favorite toys, the TV, and clothes took up most of the room. I was able to cram two boxes of clothes and toiletries in the front passenger seat, as well as some bags of food from the cabinets and some basic cleaning supplies on the floorboards. My old car was filled to the roof, especially with a car seat and a little girl inside. But we made it, and so far, it’s been a good decision.

A safe one too.

I rotate some of my clothes, tossing the dirty ones into a bag to wash and hanging up a few more things from a box. I was able to get two days out of some of my black pants, which means I really need to wash them tonight. The plan is to slip down to the basement quickly once I know Lizzie is asleep. Then, I can run back down later to flip them into the dryer, if it’s working. Mrs. Fritz told me both of the ones in the basement haven’t been working properly. I guess if they’re not, I’ll just bring the clothes upstairs and hang-dry them.

When I make sure Lizzie is out like a light, I grab the bag of dirty clothes and my laundry soap and silently slip out of the apartment, making sure the door is securely locked behind me. I move down three flights of stairs as quickly as I ever have, happy to find one of the washers available. I drop the clothes inside and some detergent, shut the lid, and turn on the machine. It’s old, but it’ll do. Once the machine starts to fill with water, I