MeanGirls Read Online Free Page A

a smile onto her
face and breezed back out of the swinging door and across to the bar. She
pulled a menu from the top of the pile and passed the rest to Alex with a grin.
    “This is Oliver, Adele. His car broke down outside, so he’s
having something to eat and drink while he’s waiting.” He placed the promised
glass of Diet Coke in front of the lifeguard.
    “I know,” she said, smiling sweetly at both men. “Oliver
works at the leisure center.”
    “Oh, you know each other?” Alex said, glancing from one of
them to the other, narrowing his eyes as they alighted on Adele’s face. “Well
then, I’ll leave you to it.”
    He disappeared into the storeroom. Needlessly, Adele
thought. He could have stayed and backed her up, stopped the conversation from
becoming awkward. But then, of course, he didn’t know about anything that had
happened, so why would he do that? He probably just thought he was giving her a
much-needed opportunity to spend some time with a fit bloke. Normally she’d
have wanted to hug him for such a gesture, but right now she wanted to drag him
back, kicking and screaming.
    She chastised herself. She shouldn’t be thinking horrible
things about her friend and business partner just because he’d done something
nice for her—or at least he thought he had. It wasn’t his fault she was having
a bit of an issue with Oliver.
    “Right,” she said, realizing she should break the silence
before it got even more awkward, “what sort of thing do you like? The menu is
different every day because I make everything from scratch and like to change
things up.”
    “I didn’t know you worked here.”
    She tore her gaze from the menu and looked up into Oliver’s
confused gaze. “Well it didn’t really come up, did it?” She didn’t mean to
sound so bitchy but, well, it was the truth. “Yes, I work here. I’m part-owner
and head chef. My staff will be here soon for when we get busier.”
    “Oh, right.” He paused. “Well I ought to order something
before you’re swamped, and before someone comes to fix my car. I like pretty
much anything. Give me a couple of recommendations and I’ll choose something.”

Chapter Four
     
    Oliver froze his face into a congenial expression as Adele
walked to the kitchen, and kept it there until the door swung closed behind
her. Then he let his head drop to the bar in despair. Could his day possibly
get any worse? The sauna incident, then the three bimbos harassing him in the
corridor, his car breaking down, his phone battery being flat…he’d thought he’d
had a lucky break when the guy behind the bar—Alex—had said he could use the
phone. Then he’d realized that he’d inadvertently walked into Adele’s
workplace.
    Granted, he wanted to make things up to her, but he didn’t
quite know how. And right now he was feeling so stressed that he couldn’t get
his brain to work properly. He supposed complimenting her cooking and the
establishment would help, but beyond that he didn’t know where to start.
    “Things that bad?”
    Oliver started. He hadn’t heard Alex come back into the bar
area. “I’m all right. Just a bit wound up, that’s all.”
    “Why, what the hell did she say to you?” Alex jerked his
head in the direction of the kitchen doors, a genuinely confused expression on
his face.
    “It’s a long story.”
    Alex looked around. “You’re the only customer in here right
now, so I have all the time in the world. Tell me all about it. Maybe I can
help, especially if Adele’s involved. I know her pretty well.”
    Oh, fuck. That was all he needed. He was sitting at the bar,
talking to Adele’s damn boyfriend! It was official, this was the worst day of
his life. Only someone who was dying could top it. “Are you two, er…?”
    Alex laughed and slapped the bar. “No, no way! She’s a great
girl, a gorgeous girl, but she’s not my type. If you see what I mean.”
    Oliver frowned. He couldn’t possibly be slagging off his
so-called