I nodded and prayed I would have the stomach of steel I knew I would need for this horrible task. Ms. Mary directed me to a wash sink, pulled out an empty bucket, and placed it inside. She brought a large stainless steel bowl and put it on the other side of the sink.
“Here.” She handed me a shrimp, which I did not like to see or touch battered and fried, much less uncooked. “First you peel 'em, just like this, then you take this here deveiner, you slip it into the top right here, and use it to pull out this black string. Throw all the peeling and black strings in here, and then put the clean shrimp in the bowl.”
I gave her a small nod then swallowed the bile in my throat. “What is that black string?” I asked.
She smiled at me. “Girl, from the color of your face, you do not want to know. Now, you just ought to be glad Mr. Greg got here early and beheaded these fellas for you because if you are thinking this is gross, you would have a fit pinching the heads off.”
I held up my hand in protest. “Please, no more, stop,” I said, my stomach churning.
She patted me on the back. “When you are done with these, you'll be a true south Alabama girl.”
I studied the gross creatures in front of me and decided right then and there that if this is what it took to be a true south Alabama girl, I'd much rather stay a true Tennessee mountain chick.
Four hours later, after some help from Marcus, and even a little help from Mr. Greg, there were twenty pounds of clean shrimp. Now, I will never put one in my mouth, but I sure can peel and devein one “like nobody’s business”...or at least Mr. Greg said I could. Ms. Mary walked over and handed me a bowl of lemon juice and water.
“Here, girl, soak those hands in this. The smell will be gone in about ten minutes.”
I stared in horror at my hands and realized the smell I managed to get use to after hours of working with the nasty little things, now clung to my hands. I sank them down into the cleansing concoction as quickly as I could. My face must have expressed my thoughts because Ms. Mary threw back her head and laughed one of her deep belly laughs that always made me smile.
“Girl, you sure keep this place interesting. I don’t know what I did before you came here to make me smile.”
I grinned and shrugged sheepishly. Marcus walked into the kitchen and saw my hands in the lemon juice mixture, and then sat down beside me and slipped his in it too.
“I just got a whiff of these fingers outside and realized I needed some help.”
I slid my hands over and gave him plenty of room. “What I don’t understand is why people eat these things willingly. I would think their appearance is all it would take to turn them off. And if the nasty look of them isn’t enough, they should sit and try to peel and devein the little things.”
Marcus grinned and shrugged. “I happen to like them.”
I rolled my eyes. “It is because all you beach people think they are the food of the gods, when they are really just nasty old ocean floor feeders.”
Marcus wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe so, but they sure taste good.”
I made a gagging noise, and he laughed.
“Okay, you two, I need you cleaned up and dressed within the hour.” Ms. Mary stood with her hands on her hips. She said to Marcus, “When will William and the others get here?”
Marcus glanced over at the digital clock on the large stainless steel industrial size refrigerator, and then back at Ms. Mary. “In 23.4 minutes, ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back toward the stove. “Once they get here, I expect you and William to give them their orders. Sadie, just do as Marcus directs you. He has done this thing before for Master Jax, and he knows the ropes.”
Marcus slipped his hands out and dried them on the towel beside me. I considered taking mine out, too, and decided I'd touched more shrimp than the rest of them and needed more soaking, so I stayed put.
“It’s not like when you’re feeding the family. You will be expected to smile and mingle among the guests with food on a tray, and not bump into anyone, or drop it.”
His gaze darted to Ms. Mary, whose back was still turned, and then back at me. “One thing I want to warn you about is the fact there will be guys here tonight. They are not going to find you invisible.” He reached up and tugged at one of the curls falling down out of my ponytail. “This hair and those eyes are hard to miss, and although I have to give it to Jax, he is a nice guy and not like most guys in his position, some of the guys here tonight will not be so nice.”
I nodded not sure what he meant by this. “Okay,” I said, hoping he would elaborate.
He leaned down toward my ear. “They will flirt with you heavily and some may touch you in areas they have no business touching. Tell me if they do. I don’t care who they are or how much money they have, it isn’t all right for them to do those things.”
“Okay,” I said again for fear my voice would betray my nervousness if I said more.
Marcus stood. “You won’t be alone, so don’t worry. Preston and Rock are coming. Which is another reason you should tell me if someone messes with you. If Preston were to see, I think he might get us all fired.” With a wink, he left the room.
I sat there with my hands in the lemon juice and thought of what flirting heavy may entail, and how I might get out of tonight’s event.
“Girl, the smell left your hands an hour ago. Now you’re just turnin' them into lemon-scented prunes.”
I took them out of the lemon mixture and dried them off on the same hand towel Marcus used. I sniffed them to ensure their fresh scent and smiled at their lemon aroma. “Ah, much better.”
Ms. Mary laughed and shook her head. I stood, took the bowl to the sink poured it out, and placed the bowl in the dishwasher. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to get changed before the party started, so I forced myself to get focused and not dwell on what might happen. Besides, I’m pretty tough. Heck, I’d just peeled and deveined twenty pounds of shrimp. I could do this. I couldn’t expect Marcus to sacrifice his job to stand up for my honor. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy made unwanted advances at me. Preston might be a concern, but I wasn’t convinced Marcus was right about Preston’s interest in me. How long could this last anyway? I could handle anything for a few hours...right?
The outfit the girl servers had to wear reminded me of a French maid’s costume with a little more fabric. Marcus seemed so worried about making me comfortable about tonight, I couldn’t let anyone know how nervous I really was. First off, I knew I would see Jax tonight. The fact that he’d made no effort to see or speak to me after our trip to the grocery store stung, but honestly I shouldn’t have expected more. He was famous, rich, and beautiful, and I worked in his kitchen. It irritated me when I thought of all the things I told him. Something about his eyes made me want to spill my soul. I was too mature to stoop to mooning over a teenage rock star. I pulled my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head, which I always thought made me appear older. Right then, I needed all the confidence I could muster. If I dwelt on my actual age, I tended to freak out in stressful moments. I would be serving the oysters, nasty little things, and the shrimp cocktail, which I seemed to have formed a weird bond with, so I didn’t mind those as much. Marcus stood in the kitchen talking to Preston and Rock. Trisha and a girl I remembered from the pool were standing over to the side giggling.
“Hey, guys,” I said, forcing a smile. Butterflies had settled in my stomach, but I acted casual.
“Sadie, you can work with me,” Preston offered with a wink, and Marcus elbowed him.
“Stop it, or I will send you home without the money.”
Preston sighed and shrugged. “Can’t a guy be nice?”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Now, everyone, remember what I said. Girls ignore and discourage any advances.” We all nodded.
Ms. Mary cut in. “It’s show time! I want you all lined up so I can inspect you.” Seeing Ms. Mary get all serious caused me to smile. In the beginning, she seemed intimidating, but now I knew better. Ms. Mary was just the sweethearted lady who kept things under control.
“Your trays will always be on the receiving table lined up and in the same place. You will go to your assigned pick up and get whatever tray I have set out for you. There is no time for breaks, and if you must go to the bathroom, I have to approve it. I hope none of you smoke 'cause I won't tolerate you taking a break for a puff.” She wiped her hands on her apron and nodded. “Let’s get moving”.
Everyone stepped forward and took their tray. Marcus led us down the hall into the dining room. “We will enter through here. When I send you out, I am going to instruct you which way to go first. Do as I’ve instructed and this will be the most interesting cash you’ve ever made.” He grinned at us, and the other girl giggled.
I wanted to roll my eyes at her giddy expression over the fact she was about to meet Jax, who was at least two years younger than her. I wanted to tell her to grow up, but I remembered the butterflies in my stomach, and as bad as I hated to admit it, I knew they were there because of Jax. I really couldn’t cast stones.
My turn arrived, and I stepped up to the door.
Marcus smiled at me and winked. “I’m here, you will be great. Now, head left and work your way around the room in a big circle.”
I took a deep breath, stepped out into the dining room, and made my way directly into the ballroom. A familiar band warmed up on a stage, obviously brought in for the occasion. The guests all reminded me of walking Abercrombie ads. They were mingled together, dancing and talking. I tuned out the overload of sight and sound, focused on the oysters on the half shell on my platter, and began my circle. Things were going smoothly. I smiled as I walked up to each group of gorgeous people, some of whom I recognized from television or magazines.
They took the oysters as if I were serving something that actually tasted good and slung those nasty things down their throats before placing the shell back on the tray. It ranked high on my chart of one of the grossest things I’d ever seen. I kept my smile in place and watched Marcus and the others out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I found Marcus, whom a guest was flirting with openly, and bit back a smile. Warm breath tickled my ear. I froze, but didn’t turn to find the source.
“It appears my guest likes your friend,” Jax whispered in my ear.
I turned my head toward him. “He is an interesting person.”
Jax studied me as if he were trying to gauge my attitude. I offered him the tray, and he grinned. “Your feelings won’t be hurt if I choose not to take what you’re offering, will they? I just can’t bring myself to try one of those things.”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “I don’t blame you,” I whispered.
Jax raised his eyebrows. “We have something in common.”
I gave him my best carefree smile. “Apparently.”
I knew standing and talking to Jax would start talk, and I didn’t want attention, so I nodded my head as I left him. Without a backward glance, I walked up to the next group. It took all my concentration to forget the warmth still clinging to my ear and focus on my job.
“I’ll only eat one if you let me feed you one first.” A tall ‘all American blond’ winked at me, and I woke up out of my Jax daze. I gave him a forced smile, and then shook my head.
“Sorry,” I managed to get out without my voice betraying my nerves.
“You won’t let me feed you oysters, huh? Well, what about a little stroll down to the beach?”
I started to say no when the guy next to him stepped beside me, and I recognized him instantly as Jason Stone. “Trey, leave the help alone. Jax will send you packing.”
Trey frowned and turned his attention back to me. “I would think if she is all right with a walk, then after she gets off tonight Jax would have no say in the matter. Besides, what did he expect when he let a gorgeous, blond southern belle serve food? He is flaunting her in front of people. He should expect this.”
Jason glanced over to where Jax stood, but I didn’t dare do the same. I noticed Jason seemed a little nervous. “Listen, Jax doesn’t hire people. We have someone else to handle the hiring of employees. He didn’t purposely put her here as if on the menu, so leave her alone.”
Jason nudged me, and I took it as my cue to leave. I took a step toward the next group with my hands shaking and my heart racing.
“Wait, I never got my oysters.” Strong fingers clamped around my arm, and I fought the urge to jerk free and run. I let him pull me back since my other option would involve dropping oysters all over the floor. I quickly searched the crowd for Marcus, worried he would come flying to the rescue and lose his job. I needed to remain calm to keep him from knowing about my predicament. Keeping the pained expression off my face from the tight grip of his hand was starting to prove difficult. Suddenly, another set of warm fingers gently, but firmly, took my other arm.