Free 3 Bad Guys Get Caught by Marie Astor Page B

Hogs and Heifers.”
    “Hogs and Heifers? Is that the bar where
the girls dance naked on the bar stand? Like in that movie, Coyote Ugly?”
    “Not naked,” Mila cut in. “We had our
bras on. We only worked there for a week.”
    “You worked there for a week,” Amy
corrected. “I’d already been there for almost a month before you got there.
That’s how we met,” she explained to Janet. “You should’ve seen Mila when she
first walked through the door. She was so shy, I thought she was going to fall
off the bar stand, but then it was like she got unleashed. By the end of the
night she was the one with the biggest tips. All the boys went gaga over her!”
    “Stop it, Amy, you’ll scare Janet. How
about we order some drinks?” Mila interrupted.
    “Way ahead of you!” Amy pointed at the
six tequila shots on the bar stand. “You’ve got some catching up to do.” Amy
motioned at the two empty shots in front of her.
    “Bottoms up!” Mila raised the shot to
her lips, downing it quickly and then followed up with the second shot.
    Janet gulped. Tequila wasn’t her choice
drink, but when in Rome … She lifted the shot to her lips, resisting the urge
to gasp as the fiery liquid scorched her throat. She hoped to escape the second
round, but no such luck.
    “Come on, Janet!” Mila cheered.
    Janet closed her eyes and downed the
drink.
    “By the way, that pig Roman called me to
check your references,” said Amy. “I told him that you worked for me for a year
and were one of the best waitresses I’ve ever met.”
    “Thank you—” Janet began.
    “She damn well is,” Mila cut in. “Made
six hundred in tips tonight! And the best part is that I get half of it. We’re
going to party tonight!”
    “You can put your money away for now.
Everything in this place is on the house. Another round!” Amy signaled to the
bartender. “The owner, Frankie, is a friend of mine. He bartended at Hogs and
Heifers and a whole bunch of other places. He opened this place about a year
ago, and he’s doing really well.” Amy eyed Mila pointedly. “You remember
Frankie, don’t you Mila?”
    “I remember. Good for him.”
    Amy narrowed her eyes. “So are you going
to come and work for me in my new place?”
    “Why do you have to bring it up now? I
thought we were going to have fun tonight.”
    “I’m opening my own bar,” Amy explained.
“I want Mila to help me run the place, but she won’t leave Panther. Must be
that hot boyfriend of hers who treats her so well.”
    “I told you I don’t want to talk about
it. I’m going to the bathroom.” Mila slid off her chair and went to the back of
the room.
    Amy shook her head. “You know, she used
to date this really hot guy, David. He was from England originally. Very good
looking and rich to boot. Sure, he was older than Mila, almost in his forties,
but he treated her like a goddess. They had really big plans, but he ran into
some trouble with the law,” Amy whispered conspiratorially. “It was all over
the papers; something to do with the stock market. Mila was scared to death
that she’d be called in for questioning. She had to flee the apartment David
had been renting for her with scarcely more than the clothes on her back. She
told me all of this afterwards, or I would’ve been there to help her.”
    Janet nodded understandingly. Her head
felt fuzzy from the liquor. She had no idea why Amy was telling her all of
this. Maybe she had had one too many tequila shots.
    “So then she ran right into Anton’s
arms. He treats her like crap, making her slave away in that restaurant, but
she’s been glued to him ever since. I don’t see what she sees in him. I keep
telling her to quit both the shitty job and the guy, but she won’t listen, not
even when I offered her to work for me in my new place. Sometimes I think that
she’s afraid to leave him.”
    “Love is blind—”Janet started to say.
“What was her ex’s name again? David what?”
    “Let me see … It was