Page 70 of Black Sheep
Cannon
“Are you seriously doing this right now?” I stare at Teal’s tearstained and mascara-streaked cheeks as she clutches a bottle of Belvedere on the break-room floor, wedged in a corner.
Dammit, Grice.I curse him silently for his soft spot.You should’ve taken it from her.
It took a direct order to get Tanya out of here and back out serving a twenty-person meeting with Stefano, and I sent Grice back to the door, so it’s just me and Teal for the moment. I should have taken this time with her earlier, sitting her down in my office and making sure she understood what was happening, but I didn’t want a scene. Now I’ve got a fucking mess instead.
“You’re really firing me.” Her lips screw up into what I assume is supposed to be an expression that elicits sympathy, but all I see is an overemotional, entitled party girl who finally has to face the music.
I jam my hands in my pockets and stare down at her. “You’re a shit employee, Teal. You know it and I know it.”
“But—” She cuts off when I shake my head.
“I didn’t say you were a bad person or a bad waitress, because you’re not. You’re damn good when you try, but your total lack of effort to evenshow upwhen you’re supposed to is a joke. I shouldn’t have to send a car service to get you four out of five nights. It’s bullshit.”
“I’m sorry,” she wails.
“Put the goddamned bottle down, or it’s coming out of your check.” My commanding tone leaves no room for argument.
That gets her attention, and she lowers the bottle to the floor with athunkas it hits the wood. “But I need the money.”
It should be impossible to believe that this is the same woman who has charmed rich men from all walks of life into buying her jewelry, designer handbags, clothes, and God knows what else. If she’d been smart, she would have asked for more than just goods that would decline in value, like an apartment in her name. I know at least one or two men who would have bought it for her. But she doesn’t know when to stop, and she always fucks up a good thing.
“If you could manage to show up on time and not be wasted or fucked up when you walk in the door, you’d have no problem collecting a paycheck.”
Her shoulders shake as she snuffles. I want to feel sympathy for her, but it’s hard when I’ve extended every single lifesaver available, and she’s batted them all away for the last six months.
“I’m done with your shit, Teal. You’re fired.”
She looks up at me with blue eyes that are a perfect match to her sister’s, blinking as big tears tip over the lids. “But I have a problem. I need help, Cannon. I can’t stop. I don’t know what to do.”
Fuck. Me.
As if I’ve ever been able to walk away from someone who can admit they need help without my fucking offering it.
She could be playing me. It could be a scam. Or maybe Teal is finally wising up to the fact that she’s a barely functional alcoholic who needs treatment desperately, and that’s before we even get to whatever pills she’s popping lately.
I crouch down into a squat and meet her tear-filled eyes. “What kind of help do you need, Teal? Tell me and we’ll get it for you.”
“She can’t be prettier than me, can she?” More tears stream down her face as I stare at her in bafflement.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Your new girl. The waitress Tanya says you hired to replace me, and now you’re banging her. Why not me, Cannon? I could’ve been your girl. I would’ve been so good at it. And now you’re throwing me out, and I don’t know what I’ll do.” She reaches for me.
I pop back up to my feet and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Please say you’re fucking kidding me.”
“Jesus Christ, Teal. Stop before you embarrass yourself more,” Tanya says from the doorway as she slips inside. “You said you wanted to hear that you were fired directly from Cannon. Now you have, so what the hell are you doing?”
With her bottom lip out and pouting, Teal shakes her head at both me and Tanya. “You know I wasn’t serious about any of them. Just Cannon. But he never gave me a chance. That’s why I tried to make him jealous with all of the others. But now he’srejecting me.” The last two words come out with another wave of sobs.
I struggle not to reach out and tell the woman to get the fuck up and act like a goddamned adult and not a kid crying over something she can’t have. But I can’t find it in me to come down on her even more harshly while she’s a goddamned mess.
“You always said you never touched employees. Sowhy her?”
“Teal. Get up. You’re going home,” Tanya snaps the order and rushes around me.
“I don’t want to go home until Cannon says I can stay!”
