The Marriage Contract

concerned. “Does she have a way to get around?”
“She’s okay for right now,” Hannah said, pausing only for a second before she said it. “Chloe was pretty smart about finding ways to have her own independence. She created an account for herself years ago and would do cash advances and just deposit them into the bank so they couldn’t trace the money. It was how she ended up paying for her journalism classes in school.”
“That’s pretty resourceful,” I said.
“She said she has enough to pay off the rest of the car and keep the hotel for a little bit, but she’s going to need income sometime soon.”
“Perfect,” Jordan said, surprising me. I turned to him, and he shrugged. “Remember Sarah? The girl we hired a month ago to waitress? She just quit.”
“No way. She seemed like she enjoyed being here,” I said.
“She did. Or at least she said she did. But she decided she was going to go back home to Toronto,” Jordan said.
“That’s where that accent was. It was Canadian,” Hannah said. “I never really talked to her long enough to find out anything about her.”
“She was nice,” Jordan said. “A little ditzy, but nice. If Chloe can waitress, she can come work here.”
“That would be perfect,” Hannah said. Suddenly, Jordan turned to me and hit me lightly on the arm.
“That is if you’re okay with it,” he said. “I know you like to discuss new hires and stay in the loop. Is hiring Chloe alright with you?”
I didn’t even flinch.
“Yeah. That’s good with me. Besides, this helps Hannah take care of family. That’s too important to pass up.”
“Then I’ll tell her,” Hannah said. “She’s going to be so happy!”

6 Chloe
Black shirt. Black slacks. Black sneakers?
Ugh.
It wasn’t like I was a fashion expert or that I was conceited about how I looked or anything. I just never really thought about the fact that waitstaff never wore color. It made sense in a way—the job wasn’t really about the person, it was about service. And stains were harder to see on black, which I guessed happened a lot. But the all-black aesthetic just seemed depressing.
I had to run out to a local department store to get them and standing in front of the mirror in the hotel, looking at how plain and dreary it looked, I frowned. At least I was doing something for myself. At least it was a job.
And it was going to be my first day of work anywhere, ever. I hoped I didn’t let Hannah down.
I could do it. I knew I could. I had to tell myself that over and over again in the mirror as I threw my hair up in a ponytail. I knew it was worth it, that went without saying, but I had to know I actually could manage it. Hannah believed in me. And she would be there in case I had questions or got overwhelmed. I just had to be brave.
It was pretty warm outside, and I needed to do something with the nervous energy I had, so I decided to walk to the bar. It wasn’t very far, and I needed to get used to the city a bit better anyway. I gave myself plenty of time to get there, knowing it should take far less time, in case I wanted to stop for a coffee on the way in. Sure enough, a coffee shop near the bar lured me in with the smell of dark roast, and I grabbed one for Hannah, too. When I got to the bar, it seemed pretty empty, and I took a deep breath.
You got this. You’re a badass, independent woman. Slay bitch, slay. Walking in, Hannah greeted me at the door and brought me back to the office. I sat down at the table and filled out the paperwork as best I could. I had never had to fill out tax information before, so I kind of winged it and hoped I wouldn’t get arrested later. Pretty soon, Matt was at the door.
“Finished?” he asked.
“I think so,” I said, handing him the papers.
He glanced over them. “Looks good to me. I’ll let you know if there’s something missing when I enter everything in on the computer. Hannah’s going to let you shadow her for the first couple of days so you can get the hang of things.”
“Great,” I said. “Thank you again for giving me a job.”
“It’s no big deal,” he said, grinning. “We needed a waitress, and you needed a job. Everybody wins.”
“I hope so.”
“Alright, well, tonight should be a pretty busy night. Since we’re down one waitress, Hannah will be moving fast. Try to keep up. If you have questions, you can always come grab me. I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said.
“Okay, thank you.”
Matt walked away, and I stood up, heading to the door. A busy night. It was a lot of pressure, but I had to get over it. It was time to sink or swim.
“That’s it,” I said as I spilled the fourth drink of the night all over myself. “I am clearly not cut out for this.”
“Oh, Chloe,” Hannah said, her mouth pursed in what I assumed was loving disappointment. She grabbed a towel for me from the bar and handed it over. I began to pat myself dry before mopping up what was on the floor. “Don’t worry, this happens sometimes. I have klutz days, too.”
“Yeah, but they aren’t your first day,” I said.
“No, but everyone makes mistakes. It’s okay. Dry off and bring a new drink to table four. Diet, remember,” she said, heading toward the table.
I kept patting myself dry, wondering what it was I had gotten myself into. Busy was a good word for it, but while everyone else seemed to think it was manageable, my head was spinning. Trying to learn the shorthand for orders, keeping drink orders in my head so I could fill them myself, remembering which person ordered what at each table… it was a