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And the bar

He just needed a bit of patience

"I got a proposition for you, baby Me You And a night you’ll never forget Whatcha say?"

Raven leaned over the bar and pushed out her bottoure Then she sot a better proposition How about you, your hand, and a bottle of lube instead? Baby"

A hoot of ular patrons, Dave, reached over to clap his friend on the back, shaking his head "Dude, I told you, she doesn’t play"

The guy who’d taken the hit gave her a grin "Ruthless, too Reain?"

Raven winked and pulled back frolass and poured two fingers neat of whiskey "’Cause I serve the best liquor and food in town Here, try this It’ll take away the sting" She slid the glass down the bar until it rested in front of him

Dave threw up his hands "Hey, what about me?"

"You know the rules One pickup line One rejection One shot Then you pay"

Dave’s friend--was it Mark?--snapped the shot back and gave an appreciative nod "You’re right That orth bo out"

She tossed hiuys A little rowdy and ih, and they were harroup recruited another ood neas each of them came back the next weekend because My Place was the best dalance over the crowded pub, she headed back to the kitchen, clicking down her mental list of to-do items She really needed a full-time assistant, but Raven liked to work alone, and she’d always been known for her teers when she could be happily neurotic all by her lonesome She dealt ith erow her profits in the past year and had actual money in the bank The lesson was sile ti on other people was not only dangerous It was also stupid

She quickly made her rounds to check on her chef, Al, as one of the nicest guys she knew He’d graduated froed a fancy chef job, and irlfriend

Unfortunately, soon after, his girlfriend left hiuy who liked to slap her around When she called Al in a panic, he uy what it felt like to be beaten up

His second unfortunate circu the asshole was the son of a top prosecutor, and Al soon found hi three years in prison for assault and battery His girlfriend lied and swore Al had stalked her in a jealous rage

When Al turned up on Raven’s doorstep asking for a job, sharing his past in clear, eift A real CIA chef, and one anted to protect the woman he loved It was a in, and she hired hi a talented chef and a hard worker, he always looked after her servers, ere young, single girls who made too many mistakes

God knows, she’d been one of those Too bad he hadn’t been around back then to save her ass

Choking heat poured from the stove, and the fryer snapped and sizzled Her servers hurried back and forth, barking out orders, shuffling trays, and not taking any shit from customers Raven had learned early to hire experienced waitstaff, pay them well, and back them up when there was a customer problem They wore a standard uniform of comfortable jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers Who the hell could work in heels and short, tight skirts? They were loyal, worked their asses off, and were a key ingredient in My Place’s success Turnover of staff was a deadly threat to restaurants, and Raven had no tih she frickin’ loved watching Vanderpump Rules on Bravo