Page 50 of Home Again

14

When Jada had told her that Fontenot owned the Blonde Bayou and he was currently taking applications for waitresses, it seemed too good to be true. Jada had found some resume online and then made some adjustments to it so that Gianna could use it. Jada had also found Bradley’s personal e-mail so that he’d get the resume immediately, along with a headshot of Gianna to entice him to interview her. That had been yesterday, and now here she was on the outskirts of Baton Rouge at a club with a parking lot that rivaled a Sam’s Club.

As she started to wander around the club, Gianna looked at the waitresses and was amazed at their ability to stay upright as they balanced heavy trays of alcohol and gargantuan breasts, all on six-inch heels. There wasn’t a chance in heck she would ever get a job here. She took a tour and realized that there were three dance floors and two different bars. The place was huge.

She walked up to one of the busy bars and squeezed her way through to the front. It took five minutes before one of the bartenders noticed her; that’s what happened when you were short.

“What can I get you, honey?” the really handsome blonde bartender asked her.

“I’m here to see the owner about a job. A Mr. Fontenot.”

He looked her up and down. “Honey, don’t take this personally, but you don’t have a chance in hell. You might want to skip it.” His smile seemed a little off.

Gianna gave him wide eyes and her brightest smile. “I have a really good resume, and Mr. Fontenot said he would like to talk to me tonight.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay. Let me meet you at the end of the bar, and I’ll show you where you need to go.”

“Thank you so much.” This time her smile was sincere.

Gianna had to bob and weave through a crush of people to get to the end of the bar, and by that time the blonde bartender was there waiting for her. He looked her up and down. “Well, you definitely have the curves for the job.”

“Thanks,” Gianna muttered.

“Okay, follow me.”

She followed him to the hall that indicated the restrooms, and once again she found herself bobbing and weaving, but this time it was past the line of ladies who were waiting to go to the bathroom. At the end of the hall, there was a door with a keycard entry.

The blonde bartender swiped the card that he’d taken from his jeans pocket. “Brad’s in the office at the top of the stairs.”

“Thanks…” Gianna laughed. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Honey, no need to. You’re not getting the job, you’re not the type. Now if you want to come back to my place tonight we could maybe exchange first names. But no need for even that, come to think of it.”

Gianna took a step backward. It’s amazing how fast handsome can turn to ugly. Once again she gave him a big, innocent, fake smile. “That could be interesting, but alas, my boyfriend is expecting me home tonight.”

“Your loss.”

He turned and went back down the hall.

I need a shower.

She headed up the stairs. She wished she knew what she was getting into with Bradley Fontenot, but there hadn’t been a lot of time for Jada to run a full background check on the man. He didn’t have a police record, so that was promising. He and Armand were in the same graduating class from Louisiana State University. Other than that, nothing. Gianna took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

She opened the door and stepped into the office, almost bumping into the belly of the huge man who was just inside the door. His beefy hands clamped down on her upper arms to steady her.

Oh, God.

“Well, there you are, sweet thing. Curtiss told me that he let you in. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting ever since I saw your picture.”

“Mr. Fontenot,” Gianna smiled brightly up at the man. “I can’t believe how much you remind me of my father.”

Fontenot’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

Gianna twisted her body, then dipped under his arms and walked over to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I really appreciate your kindness.”

Gianna prayed that she was using all the trigger words she could so that he would think of her more as someone to care for instead of someone to get all handsy with. She pulled the copy of her resume out of her purse, the one that she’d had the concierge at the Watermark Hotel print out for her, and put it on Fontenot’s desk.