Protecting The Principessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 10 ~

"What can I get for you?" Izzy asked as she wiped down the counter where someone had spilled their drink.

"Bourbon, no ice, about half the glass." Izzy smirked as she grabbed the glass and then the bottle. She knew the voice and hadn't bothered to glance up at him at all. "How's the night going?"

"Well, Adriano, as it's my first night, it's not too bad." She sat the bottle down and handed him the glass. "The night is still young, however."

"Listen, Ignazia, there's a button under the counter where you're working that bypasses all lines and goes straight to my office." He nodded with his head and her eyes followed the movement, but all she saw were some reflected windows. "I'm always watching my floors. This bar is a most prized one, so I'd rather not see shit happen to it."

"Does anyone know about the button?"

"No," he answered her. "And hardly anyone is in my office, so it's not like anyone would know about it." His eyes ran over her work attire and nodded. "I was right." She felt so self-conscience in the tiny top, but she wasn't surprised by it. Sadly, sex always sells and when men can ogle a woman, they drop way more money. She wasn't dumb; she knew that, after all, this is what she had done for the last four years. And she did like it, she was good at it, but she did hate being stared at.

"Right about what?" She couldn't help but ask, even though she knew exactly what he was referring to. He smirked and took a sip of his drink.

"That little top makes the girls pop all the more. You might be a bigger woman, but you sure got curves and it's the best kind of attention." She wanted to smack him with the towel but for some fucking unknown reason, his comment made her cheeks heat up and she waved him away.

"Shoo, boss, I got a job to do. And I can't flirt with other men and make them drop their money if you're hovering." With that, he tilted his glass in a salute and left, laughing along the way.

"So, you're the new girl that Adriano hired without talking to me?" Izzy turned around and looked at the man behind her at the bar. "I'm your boss, Chuck."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Chuck. And yes, Adriano hired me." Chuck looked her over slowly, a sneer coming up on his lips.

"Well, he wouldn't be fucking you with as big as you are. Other than the boobs, you probably won't be bringing in many funds. We shall see what you do. But do try not to fuck up my bar too much." With that, he walked away. Clearly, he was beyond pissed that Adriano did something with HIS bar and hired whoever the fuck he wanted. And it was evident to Izzy that Chuck thought he would only be doing that because he was fucking her. She also was going to go out on a limb and say that Chuck probably wasn't too sure about what the owner did in the way of a regular job seeing as Adriano would have killed the man for talking that way. And if it wasn't for the fact of it being Adriano's bar, she wouldn't mind fucking it up a little if it pissed that man off all the more.

Izzy shook her head and turned back around to man her bar. The club was popular, as the throngs of people showing up were non-stop and the line out the door was only growing, so she didn't have time to dwell on her asshole boss or the bigger boss. Those were just issues she was going to have to address at another time.

"Don't let him get to you." Izzy glanced to her left and smiled at the blonde chick that had come up. "I'm Mindy and Chuck is an asshole, as you can see. But he told me to keep an eye on you, to help with the prices, and to make sure you don't screw up drinks."

"Thanks, but I'm good on the last part. I've been doing this for over four years; have yet to fuck up an order." Mindy laughed at that.

"I think I'm going to like you....what's your name?"

"Ignazia, but Izzy works."

"I like that, it's a beautiful name," Mindy told her and Izzy smiled, surprised to keep hearing that.

"Thank you." Mindy nodded and soon, the bar was packed with all kinds of patrons. Although Adriano wasn't lying when he said the girls being on display a bit more would help her. She stayed busy for hours on end and the tips she had rolling in sure made for a great night in her book. In fact, halfway through her shift, taking a quick ten-minute break, she sat in the back corner, checking her tips. She may not have wanted to work under Adriano, but she could admit that his establishment was pretty nice, the guys weren't total assholes, and most people tipped well.

"Break time is up." Izzy lifted her head to look at Chuck before glancing at her phone.

"I just sat down five minutes ago."

"Not my fault that you used more time walking over here. Get your ass back to work. The second wave is coming in and they can't man the bar alone." Izzy rolled her eyes but stood up. She was half tempted to tell Adriano about his manager, but she figured he knew enough about the asshole that she didn't need to report it.

"I'm going," she muttered as she walked past him.

"Hey, that was fast," Mindy told her as Izzy came back to the bar.

"Yeah, well, Chuck thinks I need to be back here." Mindy shook her head.

"That's crazy. You deserve a break, even if he doesn't like you." Izzy shrugged, what was she going to do? "You know what, that's fine. You can take these bottles up to the VIP. I was going to do it, but you can so you can go see what it's like up there."

"Yeah, not a problem." Izzy gathered the bottles and made her way upstairs. At once, her eyes clocked all the men in suits. Wait, all the good-looking men in suits. And from her brief experience, she had a very good idea of what type of men these were. She was also curious if anyone down below had seen them and wondered who they were.

With quite a few eyes staring at her, she made her way to the bar and handed the gentleman back there the bottles. He smiled his thanks, but she couldn't help but stay for a moment longer, looking around the room. With as popular as Hell had been, she refused to believe this was the only section of VIPs.

"Are you new here?" Izzy glanced over at the man who walked up before her and smiled.

"Yes, just started tonight." He took another sip of the clear liquid in his glass as he looked her over again before smiling.

"It's nice to see some curves in this spot. You are a gorgeous woman. Maybe I need to ask Adriano to make you a server up here more often."

"Well, I'm not a server, I'm a bartender. So, I highly doubt Adriano will agree to switch my job." Izzy couldn't tell exactly what the problem was; maybe his lingering stare or the way he kept inching closer, but he was making her uncomfortable. She didn't want to be rude, especially with assuming what he was and that he was a guest of Adriano's.

"Oh, even better. I might have to ask for a new bartender. Dale here is great but a new, prettier face might make me come more often." Yeah, the leer in his eyes explained the meaning behind those words and her uncomfortableness level just shot up even more.

"I need to get back downstairs, excuse me." She turned to walk away but the guy grabbed her arm. She glanced around, wondering if she made a scene by punching him how many people would get involved.

"Wait, you don't have to run off yet, innamorato (sweetheart). We were just talking, arrivare al punto in cui ti porto alle spalle (getting to the point where I take you to the back)...." He stopped his speech as a hand landed on his shoulder, which was pissing her off since she knew where it was going, even if he thought she hadn't. Both of them glanced behind him and Izzy was relieved to see Adriano there, although the anger flashing in his eyes didn't make her feel all that good.

"Fanculo con quello (Fuck off with that), Mike. You don't need to hit on every female in my club."

"I was just getting to know her." The glare in Adriano's eyes spoke volumes and it was nice to see him protect her, even in a place like this.

"Torna al lavoro (get back to work)." Izzy nodded, enjoying the surprised look on the guy's face. Once she reached the door, she glanced over her shoulder at Adriano who was still watching her and a tingle raced down her spine.