Unforgivable Secrets | One Mistake Away Series Bk 1 [Mob Romance]

Chapter 23 - Time To Swallow Your Pride

Content Warning: Language
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Harper's POV:

"No, it'll be a little bit longer before I make it over there." I let out a deep breath. Jimmy had called shortly after Smitty had dragged Mason out for a drink. It had been both a blessing and an annoyance to hear from my café's chef. It took my mind off of my thoughts, yet pulled those thoughts back into gear as soon he asked if I'd talked to Mason. The question hadn't come up yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

"That's fine. You know I do fine on my own here, but when the lunch and dinner rush comes in..."

"It's a lot harder to handle, I know." I sighed, sinking back into my chair. "Be honest with me, should we hire a few waitresses?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. We'd been contemplating this for the last two years, but I still had yet to put out an ad and take the time to sort through candidates. Not everyone got along with Jimmy, and I was equally picky about who we hired.

"I hate to say it, but maybe it's time." I could hear the reluctance in his voice. Neither of us was in a hurry to change the routine of things. We had our pattern and we liked it. It worked for us.

Looking down at my pile of paperwork --- a combination of bills from my other endeavors as well as bills from the destruction from Ricci --- I rubbed my temple. "Can we make it wait a little bit longer?"

"We can." He began, another thought lingering in the air. "Or you could let me do my job and look into it for you."

"I can't ask you to do that. You have enough on your plate as it is." I knew Jimmy practically lived at the café when I wasn't in town. As far as I knew he didn't have anything else on his plate at the moment, but I couldn't be selfish. I needed to handle business.

"You can, Harp." It felt good to hear my name. I'd accepted my role as Siobhan, but it still wasn't who I was. Siobhan was powerful, potent, and deadly. Harper was sweet, successful, and down to earth. I wasn't ready to let that go, nor had I been asked to.

"You've all ready done so much, Jimmy." I protested, moving around my paperwork to make it look like I had less to do.

"Stop, Harp. Just trust me on this. I'll get the ad out and get the candidates minimized. When I have the top five, you can come back and fine-tooth comb through them. Maybe I'll meet someone new to date." He chuckled at the thought. "Don't worry, I'd keep it professional."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "You almost always keep it professional."

"Speaking of dating..."

I inwardly groaned. Here is came. "Nobody's speaking of dating, Jimmy."

He hummed a low response. "I'm pretty sure that Vitali would think differently."

"Yeah, well, we both have different priorities." I reminded, thinking of my career choice.

"Seventy-five percent of the world or more has different priorities. It doesn't mean they don't try to make things work. In fact, most of them end up in serious relationships or married. If they can make it work, you two definitely can." He rambled on about some made-up statistics. As far as I could tell, he'd never been on Team Mason.

"Call me critical, but I thought you didn't like him. What's the change of heart?" I arched a brow, trying to analyze what his response would be.

"I never said I didn't like him. I just had some concerns. Besides, he doesn't seem like he's going away and you can't deny that there's chemistry between you two. If, that is, you can mend the past that's clearly chipping away at your happiness." Always overstepping his welcome. Nothing changed with Jimmy.