So Irresistible by Lisa Plumley Read Free Book Online Page A

break she needed.
    Thank you, new guy . No one else would have let slip the information about where after-hours drinks were happening.
    “Well, maybe I’ll see you there.” Stifling a sudden spurt of excitement, Gabriella grabbed her dress. Affecting coolness, she headed for her tiny back-of-house office, where she kept a spare pair of heels. Although she came to work in civvies, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt—plus pink high-tops—weren’t exactly going-out clothes. “Otherwise, see you tomorrow, Frosty!”
    His grateful gaze followed her. “Thanks! See you later.”
    With that, Gabriella was on her way. She’d even done a good deed by relieving Adam of his non-nicknamed status, too. It was hard enough being a newbie. At least now “Frosty” had the boss on his side. Plus, that meant she had an ally, too.
    It wasn’t much, but it was a start. She’d take it.

    Midnight . . . or near enough to it
     
    Gabriella would have been the first to admit that crashing her own staff’s after-hours drinks party wasn’t the world’s most solid idea. But it was all she had. So she went for it.
    “Pinkie!” Just as though it were the old (better) days, Gabriella rushed over to her friend. She wisely didn’t try for another hug. “Wow! I’m so psyched to run into you here.”
    “Hey, boss.” Semisuspiciously, Pinkie nodded. “I didn’t think you knew where after-work drinks were happening these days. You know, given that you’ve been out of town, and all.”
    “Yeah.” On a bar stool, Emeril scowled. “Out of town.”
    “Gallivanting with another crew in Astoria,” Scooter accused from the next bar stool, gripping a bottle of his preferred IPA. “Cheating on us with a bunch of strangers.”
    Gabriella sighed. “It was a coffeehouse, not a pizzeria!” she explained at a near shout to be heard over the thumping music. For the umpteenth time, she added, “I didn’t want to leave. But my dad didn’t want my ideas for revamping Campania, and I didn’t want to work for someone who didn’t respect me.”
    It was the short-order version of what had happened. No nuance, but no teary-eyed drama, either. It was enough. For now.
    However much Gabriella wanted to defend herself and her unwanted estrangement from her dad, tonight wasn’t the time.
    “Save the sob story for someone who cares.” Bowser shouldered into the space between her and Pinkie, correctly identifying the weakest link in their freeze-out-Gabriella chain. “’Cause we don’t care. Not anymore. Not ever again.”
    “Well. That lays it on the line, Bowser. I respect that.”
    “Damn right you do.” He slugged back some oatmeal stout, then wiped his mouth with his tattooed hand. “Leaving yet?”
    She shook her head. “Not yet. I don’t scare easily.”
    Grudgingly, he nodded. “I’m still not buying you a beer.”
    Gabriella hefted her porter. “I already bought my own.”
    “Be sure to wipe off the bottle!” Hypo got into their conversation, glancing up from the medical app on his phone. “Bottles are very germy. You can get listeria. Or mono.”
    “Shut up, you hypochondriac.” Pinkie gave him a good-natured push. She nodded at the barkeep. “One more over here.”
    Between the shoving, the teasing, and the necessarily close quarters in the crowded brewpub, it felt almost like old times.
    At least it did until a while later, when Jeremy arrived.
    Drink in hand, he made it a priority to glare at Gabriella. “I thought we weren’t telling her where we were going.”
    “We weren’t.” Jennifer stepped up with Adam by her side. She pointed at her linebacker-size date. “But Frosty here did .”
    Everyone groaned. Expletives were shouted. So were ribald accusations of a hookup between Jennifer and Frosty. They both blushed, making their newfound alliance obvious. Impromptu relationships blossomed among Gabriella’s people, especially after hours. Just like badgering did. At any time of day.
    “You couldn’t keep me away from