The Bucket List (A REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE)

3. ALBANY

"I'll lock up Lee," I told her as I walked out of the bathroom in the back and spotted her collecting the dirty dishes. "You can go."

Lee looked up at me and frowned. She waved a hand over the dirty dishes that still littered the metal table in the middle of the kitchen.

We were in such a hurry to get deliver Mr. Miller's order that we left everything the way it was. There had been no time to clean up like we usually would.

"This needs to be cleaned," she said. "You're not planning on leaving it like this, are you?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to cash up and then clean everything before I leave."

"Al—"

"You have somewhere to be and I don't. You're going to be late if you don't leave."

She frowned, dropped the bowl, and grabbed the dishcloth to wipe her hands. "Are you sure? There's still a lot to do."

Walking over to her, I placed my hands on her shoulder and glared at her. "Lee, I've done this a million times before I hired you. I can do this for one night if I have to." Squeezing her shoulders, I stepped back and smiled. "Now go before I throw you out myself."

"I know you'll do that," she muttered. "Fine. Make sure you lock the door behind me."

I nodded and watched her grab her things. With a wave over her shoulder, Lee disappeared and a second later the bell chimed when she left.

My shoulders sagged the moment I knew she wouldn't be coming back. I had a hell of a day all thanks to Lee. She was right about the order taking my mind off things. It helped but only while I kept busy. As soon as the adrenaline faded, my mind once again became a void of memories I was trying hard to forget.

I ran a hand through my hair as I stared at the mess. The smell of muffins and cakes still lingered in the air but it would be gone come morning.

It was like a circle—every day was the same—it was the same baked goods, the same customers, the same routines every single day. Frankly, I was getting a bit sick of it.

My eyes darted around but I decided to cash up before I started on the cleaning. With one last glance at the dirty dishes, I walked to the front of the shop and took a seat on the chair behind the cash register. I grabbed the notepad and pencil and pulled them closer.

I sighed as I unlocked the register and pulled it open. Removing the money, I laid them down on the counter, but something dropped to the floor. Frowning, I leaned down and picked it up.

My hands started to shake as I unfolded it. Somehow I knew exactly what it was. Tears burned my eyes as I stared down at the familiar writing on the pink paper.

Money can buy a lot of things, but certainly not happiness. Don't let it get to your head, Al.

Crumbling the paper into a ball, I threw it to the floor and dropped my head onto my folded arms. Tears escaped and rolled down my arms onto the counter. I bit back a sob and squeezed my eyes closed.

Exhaustion hit. I knew I had something to do, but I couldn't remember what. Just for a little while, I'll rest my eyes just for a while.

***

A hand suddenly gripped my arm and shook me. My eyes shot open and my body jerked up at the same time as my hand shot out.

"Fuck!"

My eyes widened and my hand shot up to my mouth when I realized exactly who I had just punched in the face. "Oh my god," I cried. "Are you okay? Let me see that."