I tightened my grip around the counter of the bar as I continued to stand over the piece of paper that would inevitably change my future. Our lawyers had settled on a small agreement for the meantime, giving me one month to finish up business and if the judge favored against my father, then the next in line to take over would be his ex-wife.
I still couldn't understand how the hell she came next in line before me, but I'd scrounged for everything. There was no way out of this and at this point, I had one month left to get everything cleared out and finalized.
I'd called all the girls in, mostly to give them a quick rundown of what the next month was going to look like and how much longer they had here with us. I began reading over the letter I'd received from my lawyer and each time I read over the verdict, my anger continued to rise.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"Hey," Lacey entered the bar with Taylor at her heels, "Tough day?"
I ran a hand over my face, "Take a seat, Lacey."
My response hadn't meant to come off so arrogant, but my patience level had already run out. There was no way she'd even be able to scrape the surface of what my tough day consisted of in her mind.
She smirked, muttering a few words under her breath that I'm sure I could figure out if I cared. Alan came to my side, shoving a pen at me as I began signing the girls names on their newest paychecks.
I looked up as Adrienne made an entrance by slamming open the front doors with Mahli, but what I didn't expect was for Kensie to be right behind them. Adrienne's eyes were bloodshot, an image I'd been all too used to seeing lately and she kept mouthing something to me as she walked closer.
I nodded slowly, hoping she'd get the memo that right now wasn't a time to talk about this. She understood, sending me a small smile as I watched Kensie ignore me completely and take a seat.
I passed over the paychecks as Alan made his way over towards the girls, "Ladies, this is your combined total from last pay period and the bonus for not being able to work while we figured this stuff out."
I continued to watch Kensie like I'd just seen her for the first time all over again, why was she avoiding me? I watched as Adrienne snatched the envelope from Alan, the two of them already spinning wheels since the night he'd admitted to giving Adrienne the pills.
After Alan had told me everything about the pills and the pregnancy, I went looking for Adrienne that night. She'd left work early without telling anyone and I'd made the decision to stick Kensie and Lacey on the bar downstairs and close the others so I could bail. I could tell neither of them were too pleased that I'd paired them together and as I was leaving, Kensie gave me the biggest glare I think I'd ever gotten from a woman.
It was murderous, deadly and if a pair of eyes could shoot bullets, I'm sure I'd be a dead man right now. I'd gone to Adrienne's house, her parents house, the diner she'd frequented when we were together and even my place.
She was nowhere to be found and if it weren't for Taylor texting me two hours later that they'd found her asleep in the bathrooms, I didn't think I'd ever find her. I'd taken her back to my place that night, she'd sobbed in my arms as I promised her that whatever happened, we'd figure it out. I'd scolded her with a ultimatum, that if she wanted support, she'd quit the pills.
She understood and told me she had no idea who the father was, so at the moment, Alan and I were both standing on thin ice until the results came back.
I'd helped her throw away all the bottles she'd somehow accumulated in her purse and even though I knew this step into recovery wasn't going to help much, at least it gave me the peace of mind to know she wanted to get help.
