Dance with Me (He's the Boss): A Midnight Frenzy Romance

Chapter 3: The First Shift

Brooke

As I pull into Midnight Frenzy's parking lot on Wednesday night, I feel as though butterflies are swarming in my stomach. Jemma doesn't have to be here for another two hours, so I told her not to drive in with me tonight. I know she wanted to catch some extra shut-eye before her shift starts. She and the rest of Tease have been crazy busy rehearsing a new routine. Apparently, it's the most daring and outrageous number they've done since the club opened. She's excited to perform it, and I'm excited to see it.

I'm also excited to see Linc again. Far too excited considering he's now my boss and I need this job. I can't afford to fixate on how good looking Linc is, or how intriguing I find him.

Here's hoping that once I start working for Linc officially, I'll only think of him as the man who pays my wages.

After climbing out of my car, I lock it and walk towards the club. Mick, one of the bouncers I met the last time I was here, is waiting at the door.

"Nice to see you again, Brooke. It's your first night tonight, right?"

He remembers my name, which is kind of cool of him. I realise he's probably expecting me and that Linc must give him a list of all the staff coming and going, but it's still nice. Mick is talkative and friendly, putting me at ease before I enter the club to search out the bar manager, Kane.

All of the lights are on, including the normal halogen downlights. I'm relieved to see that everything looks extremely clean under the harsh lighting. I've worked in a couple of places that could use a visit from the health inspector.

There aren't too many people around, but those who are here look busy. I head straight for the bar, looking for the dirty blond with an eyebrow piercing and giant arm tat Jemma described to me when I asked her about Kane. Jemma also called him a manwhore, but it was said with so much affection that it made me wonder what kind of relationship Jemma has with him.

There's only one person behind the bar, and he fits Jemma's description perfectly. Well, I can't make an assessment about the manwhore part just yet, but the tat and eyebrow piercing fit the bill. He's leaning on the bar while checking through a list.

I wait until he's finished and then clear my throat. "Kane?"

He breaks into a wide grin the moment he sees me. "You must be the hot new bartender everyone is talking about."

Heat crawls up my neck and face. Did someone really tell him I'm hot? Maybe they were talking about someone else. "Ah, I'm Brooke."

"Kane." He holds out his hand for me to shake. "Boy am I glad you showed up. We're one down tonight until midnight, and then we'll be two down until the end of our shift. I hope you're a quick study, Brooke. Linc says you've worked a bar before."

"I am. I have."

Surely, Linc has casual employees or people he can call in, or more people he can hire?

"Excellent. I need you to fill these forms out before we get started. Once you're done, we can get to work."

The stack of papers he puts in front of me is massive, and even though I came prepared to fill out all my details – I have bits of paper with my bank details tucked inside my purse – I know it's going to take me a while to get through the pile.

Seeing my expression, Kane smiles apologetically. "It looks like there's more than there actually is. You should be done within the hour, which will leave us with another hour to go through your training before we open."

"Okay," I say before carrying the paperwork over to one of the booths along the side wall.

Thankfully, Kane is right and I finish in less than half an hour.