Page 19 of The Bluffing Game

“You’re not the manager, Lucia,” I remind my sister. “You just help out.”

“I run the place, essentially.” She giggles as she points at me. “But aren’t you glad I hired these two?”

I look over at Rosie and then let my eyes linger on Sage as she sips her Coke with lemon and nods. She looks up, her eyes wide and innocent as she stares right back at me, and then she leans back.

“You can plead the Fifth, Dalton. I won’t be offended if you say no. I can’t say I was super ecstatic when I found out you were going to be my new boss.”

“I don’t need to plead the Fifth. I am a very honest man.”

“I see.” She nods slowly, and then she leans forward. “I think that⁠—”

“Mom’s calling.” Rosie holds up her loudly ringing phone. “Do you mind if I take this, Dalton?”

“Not a problem.” I shake my head, and she grins in response before answering it.

It strikes me that Rosie is so much less guarded than Sage is, and I’m sure that’s because she is the younger sibling. I recognize the same lack of worry in her that I see in Lucia. And I sense the same protective spirit in Sage that I have in myself.

“Hey, Mom. Yes, we’re here in beautiful California. Guess what? We got jobs already. Yes, Sage is right here. Sure.” She pauses, and her eyes seek Sage. “Hey, Sage. Mom wants to⁠—”

“Did you say you needed to have me learn something at the bar?” Sage speaks over her sister, and the glint in her eyes practically begs me to help her.

“I don’t—oh, yes, I think I remember. Can you come with me, please, Sage?”

“Yes, I suppose so.” She lets out a long, deep sigh, like she didn’t just practically beg me to give her an excuse to not talk to her mom.

“If you’re⁠—”

“I can come. I do want to keep my job.” She looks over at Rosie and shrugs. “Tell Mom I’ll have to speak to her later.” She jumps up out of her seat. “Okay, show me, boss. What do I need to learn at the bar?”

I hide my smile. If I didn’t know the truth, I’d think I had something to show her at the bar and that I just forgot. She’s that good of an actress that she has me doubting my own mind.

As I walk by one of the potted plants, I notice the soil is dry and stop to grab the hose hidden behind some stones.

“Do you mind if I just water these first? These plants cost me a lot of money, and I’ll be damned if I let them die from thirst in this hot sun.”

“Sure, go ahead. I don’t mind. Do you want me to water them for you?” She reaches over and delicately strokes one of the monstera leaves. “This is beautiful. I’ve never seen these leaves with white in them before.”

“This is a Thai Constellation monstera,” I explain with a smile. “It has a lot of variegation in the leaves. Though my personal favorite is the Albo. But you have to be careful if they have too many white leaves.”

“Oh, wow.” She looks at me in surprise and watches me water the monsteras. “You’re into plants?”

“It may shock you, but yes. You should see my house. I actually have a greenhouse.”

“That’s cool. I love plants, though I don’t have a green thumb.”

“I’d say it’s expensive, even more than cool.”

I turn off the water, and we head inside to the restaurant, then to the bar.

Jimmy “The Fish” is standing there, wiping down glasses with a white rag. He looks up, then past me to Sage, and raises an eyebrow. He knows I normally don’t like anyone hired without my vetting, but I’ve decided to give Sage and Rosie a chance.

“Sage, that there is Jimmy. He’s the bartender here. He works three to four nights a week. On the days and nights he’s off, you guys will cover the bar.”

“Oh, okay.” Sage looks surprised but still waves to Jimmy. “Nice to meet you, Jimmy.”

“It’s Jimmy the Fish.” He grunts and goes back to cleaning the glasses.

“Did he say Jimmy the Fish?” Sage looks at me with an astounded expression. “That’s his nickname?”