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havin’ some fun on her day
off,” Joe said. “That girl works too damn hard.”
    “Amen to that,” Marlie said. “I’m gonna
miss her around here when she graduates. She’s only got a few months left, and
then I think she’s apprenticing with some big company. Isn’t that what she
said, Joe?”
    “Something like that.” He looked uneasy as
he looked into his near-empty glass. “Seems we’re gonna be losin’ her a little
sooner than we thought, honey.”
    “What?” Marlie looked alarmed. “She’s not
quitting, is she? I thought she was happy working here.”
    “She’s not quitting,” Jaxon interjected,
trying to take some of the heat off his friend. “I’ve asked Joe to let her go.”
    “Why the hell would you agree to do a
stupid thing like that?” Marlie asked, nudging her husband’s arm. “Sela’s like
family. I love that girl. Besides, she needs this job, what with her parents
refusin’ to help her out. She’s got rent and—”
    “We’ve offered her a job working in our
V.I.P. lounge, working fewer hours and making a lot more money.” Jaxon had no
idea she’d lined up an apprenticeship already. He’d have to act fast.
    “She agreed to work for you?” Marlie
frowned. “I can’t believe that. No offense, but you’re not exactly her favorite
person anymore.”
    “I’m hoping to change that.”
    “You mean you realize how stupid you were
to let her go and now you want her back?” Marlie said with a gleam in her dark
eyes. “I knew it wouldn’t be long before you got tired of those empty-headed
pin-up dolls and came lookin’ for a real woman again.”
    “There hasn’t been anyone since I broke up
with Sela,” Jaxon admitted. “An occasional date maybe, but nothing more.”
    “Is that right?” Marlie sized him up. “I’m
surprised to hear that. I didn’t think you’d be alone for long.”
    “No one measures up to Sela. I know that
now.”
    Marlie reached for the water glass her
husband hadn’t touched. “Maybe it’s too late for y’all. Ever thought of that?
Some sins are unforgiveable. She told me what you said to her, the way you
treated her toward the end. I don’t think I’d be too quick to forgive if I were
her.”
    Joe gave his wife a sharp look. “Give the
guy a break. We all make mistakes.”
    “Yeah, but it took him a whole year to own
up to his. Sela’s moved on. She has a new man, and he seems to make her happy.
Maybe you ought to leave well enough alone, Jaxon.”
    “Can’t do that,” Jaxon said, taking a sip
of his scotch. “I want her.”
    “Yeah, well, we can’t always have what we
want,” Marlie said.
    Jaxon looked Marlie in the eye. They’d
always gotten along, but she was testing his patience. No one would convince
him he couldn’t win Sela back. “We’ll see about that.”
    “I hate like hell to do it,” Joe
interjected, “but I’ll talk to Sela tomorrow before her shift. I’ll tell her
the truth: Business is always a little slow this time of year, and the
full-timers have been whining about not getting enough hours. She’ll
understand. I hope.”
    “I wanna go on record right now,” Marlie
said. “I don’t agree with this, not one damn bit. It feels wrong, dirty, to
deceive that poor girl this way.”
    “I’ll tell her the truth,” Jaxon promised,
“just as soon as we’re back on solid ground.”
    “Any idea how long that’ll take?” Marlie
asked. “I don’t want her holding a grudge against us.”
    “She’s a smart girl,” Joe said. “She’ll
understand that I have to look out for those who are gonna be here for the long
haul. Could be Jaxon did us a favor by makin’ the decision for us.”
    Marlie snorted and glared at her husband.
“Last time I checked, this was our business, and we made the decisions.”
    “Look, I don’t wanna cause any problems
between y’all,” Jaxon said. “I’m grateful you’d even consider going out on a
limb for me like this, and I promise I won’t let you down. All I