Rebelonging (Unbelonging, Book 2) Read Online Free

I leaned closer. "A pizza?"
    This time, my intro was technically true. I
really was starving. How many hours had it been since I'd
eaten, anyway?
    But the couple laughed, and eventually I took
their order. Soon I was delivering their drinks. After that, it got
a little easier. It got easier still when Keith disappeared into
his office in the back. If I were lucky, I wouldn’t see that weasel
– or his squid – for the rest of the night.
    An hour later, I was finally getting into a
groove. The place was swamped with the after-bar crowd, which was
probably all for the best. Running from table to table and juggling
too many things to count, I could almost forget my life was a
walking disaster zone.
    But then, Keith made his first move.

Chapter 5
    I was at the waitress station, processing a
credit card payment when Keith emerged from the back office.
"Alright," he announced, "time to send one of you girls home."
    Next to me, Josie's jaw dropped. Mine too.
Outside, the line was scary long. Inside, every table was taken,
either with actual customers or stacks of dirty dishes as the lone
busboy struggled to keep up.
    "What?" I stared at him. "Why?"
    "Because we're overstaffed, that's why."
    "You've got to be kidding," I said.
    His gaze narrowed. "You think I'm out here
for the fun of it, is that it?"
    I snorted. "I'm surprised you're out here at
all."
    "Hey!" he said. "You wanna compare jobs?" He
looked down at my skimpy uniform. "Well mine's a little
harder than dropping off food and shaking my ass."
    As someone who'd actually seen his ass, I
sincerely hoped he wouldn't be shaking that thing at anyone.
    Next to me, Josie pointed toward the dining
area. "But we're totally slammed," she said. "Look at this
place."
    He gave the dining room a cursory glance.
"Not according to sales figures," he said. "Do I need to remind you
girls? It's calculated by receipts, not customers."
    I glared at him. "So?"
    "So," he said, "if you wanna justify the
manpower –" he smirked "– or should I say girl power, then maybe
you should work a little harder at suggestive selling, huh? "
    "Hey!" Josie said. "I suggest the shit out of
stuff."
    His jaw clenched. "What'd you just say to
me?"
    Josie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Crap. I suggest
the crap out of stuff. It's not my fault if people don't go
for it."
    "Yeah," I said. "And besides, we can barely
keep up as it is."
    He turned to smile at me. "Then you'll be
happy to know that you're the girl who's going home."
    My mouth fell open. "What? Me? But I just got
here."
    Was this his way of firing me without firing
me? I'd dealt with him before. Agreement or not, he always found a
loophole.
    I felt my jaw clench. I still had that photo
of him with Brittney. Maybe I needed to find a loophole, too, like
a billboard off I-75.
    Next to me, Josie spoke up. "Alright. Fine.
Whatever. But if someone needs to go home—"
    "It'll be Chloe," Keith snapped. "Not
you."
    Josie was glaring at him now too. "I was
going to say Sonya."
    "Oh, so you're making these decisions now?"
Keith said. "Last time I checked, I was the manager, not you."
    "But have you seen Sonya?" Josie said.
"She's not looking too good."
    "Nice try," Keith said, "but I think your
little friend can speak for herself."
    "What little friend?" I asked. "Me? Or
Sonya?"
    "Doesn't matter," he said. " You're the
one leaving. First in, first out. Just like the manual says."
    "But I was here last ," I said.
    "Only because you were late."
    "But Sonya's been here since noon."
    "That's the day shift," he said. "Not my
problem."
    "But—"
    "No buts. You," he said, pointing at me. "I'm
clocking you out as of now." He pointed at Josie. "You. Cover her
tables."
    Josie gave him a desperate look. "But I can't
even cover my own."
    "Again, not my problem," he said.
    "Hey," I said, "You can clock me out all you
want, but I'm staying 'til my tables are finished."
    "Why? So you can turn around and sue the
restaurant later?" he said. "Tell them how I forced you to work