Nina Levine - Fierce

Looking at Nash, she said, “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

It was time to hammer the message home.  “No-one’s changing their mind so I suggest you get back to your pole.  We clear?”

Now she turned her glare to me, and she didn’t look pleased.  “You can be a real asshole sometimes, Scott.”

I stood up, and moved into her space.  “Been told that already today, Jodie, and it’s completely fucking true.  I employ you to shake your ass at our customers, not to throw your self at club members who aren’t interested.  Now, get back to work before I find someone to replace you,” I thundered, letting loose the anger I’d been holding in for hours.

She was visibly shaken at my outburst but that was too fucking bad; I’d had it with people today.  Taking a step back, she hissed, “You’re going to lose your best girls if you talk to them like that.  The sooner you find a new manager the better.”  She blasted me with a foul glare and then turned and stomped back to the stage.

Sitting back down, I placed my hands behind my neck, and stretched my aching back.  “Fuck,” I muttered.

Nash chuckled.  “She’s right, asshole.  You need to rein it in if you’re going to manage this joint till you find someone else to do it.  Dealing with people is not your strong point.”

I scowled at him.  “I know, and I’m fucking trying here, okay,” I retorted, and then grumbled, “Shit.”

Harlow

I looked up from what I was doing when the door bell sounded.  It was Madison, one of my favourite customers.  A nice way to start the day.

“Hey, Harlow,” she greeted me with a huge smile.  She’d been coming here for a couple of months now and I always looked forward to her daily visits to collect coffee.  Sometimes she came in with her brother, Blade, but he wasn’t with her today.  I was thankful for this; he scared the crap out of me.  They seemed so different to each other.  Madison came across as a warm, fun person, whereas her brother seemed dark and serious.

I smiled at her.  “How’s your day going?”  I was already making her coffee because I knew from memory how she took it; skinny cappuccino, no sugar.

She dumped her huge handbag on the counter and sighed.  “I haven’t been in the last two days because J’s back, finally.  It’s so good to have him home but getting into a routine together is kinda hard.  I’m working some long hours at the dress shop at the moment and J’s busy getting back into his work which is keeping him out at all hours.  So, even though he’s home, I feel like I’ve hardly spent any time with him.”  She paused and gave me a rueful look.  “Sorry to whine.”

From what I could work out, her boyfriend had been away for a couple of months.  Although she’d been upset about it, she’d still seemed upbeat and happy.  I figured Madison was one of those people who made the best out of whatever life handed her; she seemed like a strong person and I really liked that about her.  She didn’t complain about stuff too often so I figured she must really need to vent.  “No, go ahead.  Get it out.”

I placed her coffee in front of her and she rummaged in her bag for some money.  She was always rifling through her huge ass bag and I often wondered why she didn’t replace it with a smaller one.  After she found what she was looking for, she handed the four dollars over to me and I rang the sale up.

Waving her hand at me, she said, “I’ve finished; that was all I had to whine about.”  She drank some of her coffee and a glazed look came over her face.  “Seriously girl, you make the best damn coffee in Brisbane, I swear.”

“Thanks, love.  I just wish more customers thought that too.”  I bent over and leant on the counter.  “Mum’s really struggling to make ends meet and even though we’ve picked up some new orders for cakes, I worry how she’s going to pay her bills.”

Madison contemplated that for a moment.  “Maybe I can get my brother to consider using you to make the cakes for his restaurants.”

“I didn’t know that Blade owned restaurants.”

“No, not Blade.  My other brother.  He runs four restaurants.  I’m sure I can twist his arm to take on your cakes.  If not, I’ll get to him through J,” she said, winking at me.

“Is J close to your brother?”  Her family sounded pretty close although I didn’t really know anything about them.

“God yes, they’re best mates.  Sometimes it irritates the fuck out of me.”

A shot of jealousy ran through me.  I envied people with extended family; my father had died when I was young and it was only my mother and I left after that.  It would have even just been good to have a brother or sister.  “Must be nice though.  I mean, you hear stories about in-laws who hate each other and rip families apart, so for your brother and your boyfriend to get on that well would make it easier.”

She nodded.  “Yeah, you’re right there.  Hey, what you are you doing on Sunday?”

“I’ve got the day off.  Why?”

“I’m having a barbeque at my house and I want you to come.”

This surprised me; we weren’t exactly friends.  “Ah, sure.”

She laughed.  “I know that we don’t know each other very well but I’d like to get to know you better.  You up for it?”

When she put it like that, I realised that I’d like to get to know her more too.  I didn’t have a lot of friends in Brisbane yet.  “I’m in.  What do you want me to bring?”

“Just yourself and anything you want to drink.”

“How about I bring some cake too?”  I’d make one of Mum’s red velvet cakes.  They were always a hit at parties.

“Sure, honey.  That sounds great.”  She started searching through her bag again, retrieving her phone.  “I better go otherwise I’ll be late for work.  Thanks for the coffee.  I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”  Swiping her keys off the counter, she turned to leave but then looked back at me.  “Thanks for listening to me whinge.  I don’t have many friends in Brisbane so it’s nice to have you.  I’d better get your phone number and then I can text you my address.”

Smiling, because she’d said what I’d been thinking too, I rattled off my number for her.  She keyed it in to her phone and then thanked me one last time before leaving to go to work.  I was really looking forward to Sunday now; meeting Madison’s family and friends would be fun if they were even half as nice as her.  Her boyfriend, J, intrigued me; I wasn’t sure what he did for a living or why he was away for so long, but the way that Madison talked about him made me think he was a nice guy.

Scott

Juggling a tray of steaks, a tray of sausages and a huge bottle of tomato sauce, I strode through J’s front door and down the hall towards the back of his house.  Out of the corner of my eye, I vaguely took in the paint tins on the floor near the back door and the pile of paint chips on the kitchen table.  Madison must have gotten her way; she wanted to repaint the house but I knew that J hadn’t been keen.  She had him wrapped around her little fucking finger.

I placed the food on the kitchen bench and surveyed the back yard where they had everything set up.  J had a large undercover area outside; it was usually where we liked to drink and shoot the shit but now that Madison was around, I could see more of these barbeques happening.

“Scott, you made it,” Madison said as she approached the back door from outside.  “Did you bring the meat?”

“Yeah, you want it outside now?”

“Not yet.  Why are you late?”  She slid the door open and came inside.

“I had to deal with Lisa’s cat again.  That fucking cat has a death wish and it doesn’t help that Michelle couldn’t give a shit.”

Madison started pulling food out of the fridge and then said, “God, I dislike that woman so much.  What happened to Monty now?”

I leant against the counter.  “He got out of the house when he should have been inside.  Then he climbed a fucking tree and I had to get him down.”

She started laughing.  “You climbed a tree?” she asked.

“Yes, I climbed a tree.  The fucking cat jumped down so it was a waste of time.  Anyway, Lisa caught him and got him back inside.  So, crisis averted, but I had strong words with Michelle.  That bitch really needs to get her shit together.”

Madison went quiet and I knew what she was thinking.  I reached out and lifted her chin so she was looking at me rather than the floor.  “You’re nothing like her.  You’re working on your shit, handling it; she doesn’t give a fuck.  And she should because she’s got a kid.  Okay?”

Nodding, she said quietly, “Yes, but I still feel like she just needs someone to help her; someone who cares enough to show her what she’s doing.”

I shoved my hand through my hair.  “Christ, we’ve done that.  Nash, Griff and me... we all tried to get her to own up to her shit before we fired her.  The thing is, if someone doesn’t want help, there’s not much anyone can do.  She needs to hit bottom before she’ll see it.  Either that or she’ll be dead without ever seeing it and I hope to God that doesn’t happen for Lisa’s sake.”

“But at what point do you give up on someone?  Would you have given up on me?”

“No, but you wanted help and took it.  And you’re my sister.”

“Doesn’t Michelle have any family who are looking out for her?”

“I don’t know, but if she does, they’re not around.  I’ve only ever seen her junkie friends hanging around her house.”

“Maybe I should go over and see her; try and get her some help.”

My sister had always been a bleeding heart.  “Sure, but don’t be surprised when she spits in your face or tries to screw you over.”