"I hear your boyfriend's in town," Sue grinned as she looked at Isabella wiping the tables vigorously, trying to get stains out of the wood that had settled in years ago. "How come he ain't here with you?" she asked when the brunette merely nodded.
"He's comin' later, he wanted to check out the town," she said, smiling when the blond chuckled. The town wasn't exactly big and the only thing worth visiting, in the opinion of the girls at least, was the bar.
"So, he'll be here in five minutes?"
"Sounds about right," she laughed, finally giving up on the stains and tossing the cloth in a bucket before she made her way to the back. "Tatum should be here any minute now, I'll be in the back," she said, stopping in her tracks when the door opened, and a skinny brunette walked in.
"I can't believe it," she squealed in a nasal voice that made Isabella cringe. "My cousins told me girls were runnin' this excuse of a bar, but I didn't think y'all would have the balls to come back to our town," she sneered, her gaze resting on the owner, who stood up straight and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Who the hell said this is your town?" she asked in a steady voice as she narrowed her eyes. She didn't look much like the Miller brothers, but if she had to guess, she'd say this woman was part of that same clan of rich assholes.
"I am Vivian Miller. Actin' like you don't know..." she huffed, obviously not expecting to hear that question. Isabella could vaguely remember the Miller men having a cousin, but she couldn't remember ever meeting her.
"And zero fucks were given," the Cuban girl shrugged as she picked up her bucket again. "If you ain't buyin' a drink, get out," she added before she pushed the door to the kitchen open. She could feel Sue's wide eyes following her until the door closed behind her. It wasn't until she was sure Vivian had left the bar that she dared to fully exhale. She'd been feeling tense ever since David pulled up in his car the day before, it felt good to let some of the tension go. She decided to check the inventory when she heard her sister walk in.
"Oh god, I can't remember the last time I felt this vile," Tatum groaned as she leant forward with her arms on the bar and her head on her arms. She really hoped she wouldn't start retching again. She'd put a tub under the bar just in case, but she really didn't want to have to use it.
"Maybe you shouldn't be here then?" Sue suggested carefully, trying not to pull a disgusted face. She too really didn't want her friend to be sick; the sound and smell of it would probably be enough to make her throw up too. Plus, if it was a stomach bug, she really shouldn't be around their customers.
"No, I gotta, I can't be sick already," the redhead started to shake her head, but stopped when it brought on another wave of nausea. She breathed out deeply, wishing this horrible feeling would go away already. "Can you get me some water?" she asked.
"Sure thing, boss," the blonde nodded and headed out back into the kitchen for it so she wouldn't keep looking at her in frightful expectation.
"Please don't be sick," Tatum whispered to herself, still breathing deeply. She glanced up when she heard the door, about to tell whoever it was that they needed to come back later, when she saw it was Aaron and Sean Miller. The sight of Aaron was nearly enough to make her retch. "Please don't..." she started to tell them to get out, but as she spoke she caught a whiff of one of their aftershaves and what had threatened to come up all day finally did. She coughed as her stomach did its best to rid itself of the meagre breakfast she'd had, eventually just dry retching.
"Gross, that's an even worse greeting than your pa managed, this place has become even more of a dump than it already was," Aaron said as he quickly took a step back in case she decided to go Exorcist on him.
She took a few shallow breaths, hoping not to catch that scent again, as she tried to calm her body down and eventually managed to right herself. "Just the sight and smell of you is enough, Aaron," Tatum told him with the best smile she could manage right now. She assumed it had been his aftershave, as she couldn't imagine his soft-spoken brother choosing anything that overpowering. "What can I do you for?" she asked now, trying to maintain her composure when she felt her stomach object again.
"Just thought we'd stop by... see if you changed your mind about stayin'," the oldest Miller said now, braving the step towards the bar so he could lean in with his hands on it and make himself as big as possible. "Surely this place ain't worth all the hassle," he added. He grinned, pleased with himself, when she took a few steps back.
"Don't flatter yourself, I just don't wanna be sick again," she set him straight, knowing what he would be thinking. He turned around with a glare when he heard what he thought was a chuckle from his younger brother. Sean innocently smiled back at him. "And I don't need to think about nothin', coz we ain't sellin' or leavin' any time soon," the redhead answered the question, regaining the bully's attention.
"Seriously, do yourself a favour and think 'bout it," Aaron advised her, clenching his fists and flexing his arm muscles to remind her of what damage he could do if he wanted to. His father hadn't made them an offer to buy them out yet, but that would only be a matter of time. Tatum managed an eye roll at his blatantly obvious posturing.
"Yeah, yeah. Run along now," she dismissed them with a wave of her hand, wanting them to leave already so she could die in peace. His fist slamming onto the bar, millimetres away from hers, made her flinch before she could stop herself.
"Just remember who's callin' the shots here," Aaron threatened before he finally left, taking his foul aftershave and his brother with him. Sean paused at the door opening and glanced back at her, as he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her when he heard her retching again. He eventually followed his brother out.