A Designer Dress From Heaven and Your Dirty Wedding Ring

ix. the rumor burned straight through the town (and as it grew, so did her vow)

this chapter contains warnings for the following: alcohol, injury mention, blood, brief dismemberment, dead bodies, body disposal

Kyle doesn't think much of you the day you first walk into the club.

A few words immediately come to mind: under-dressed, polite, vague. You keep yourself professional, but he can see the anxiety that bubbles just beneath the surface.

He lets Alex handle you, keeping an eye on you from the bar.

He's never seen you before. There're no marks—that he can see—on you that would suggest affiliation with another family.

Still, they've been awfully quiet recently, and it never hurts to be too cautious. It wouldn't be the first time an outsider had been hired.

Alex tries to usher you out, and for a moment, Kyle thinks that they may have to take more physical measures, but then—

"I have an interview."

And suddenly, Soap's handing him a flyer you've produced from your jacket.

The thing's ancient, so old that Kyle can barely even remember the last time the club used them. How you could've come across one, he doesn't know, but his interest is piqued, and the instinct to know more kicks in.

So, he invites you in, lets you get comfortable in the booth, and introduces himself properly. You seemed surprised that he's not the club owner—something that concerns and interests him. You give your name in return, conveniently absent of a surname, followed with a sweet smile, and Kyle begins to realize that the two of you may be playing a similar game.

He shifts tactics, listening to you, laughing with you, and watching.

You don't ask him anything that gives him cause for concern. Instead, you seem singularly focused on the job aspect. You're not prepared in the slightest—no references, minimal experience, and an obviously fake resumé—but something about you tickles the back of his brain.

You amuse him.

He tries his hand at one last question, a small warning that he knows you're not here just for a job, and watches you watch him. You give him a typical sob story—something, something, shitty ex, bad divorce, something, something—and he laughs, despite the disappointment. If this is a new strategy by a rival gang, then it's a fun one. You entertain him, and the urge to keep you around and see how long this lasts overpowers his caution. So, he makes up a position for you and hires you on.

He's sure his father will be upset, if not surprised, but better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?

-

He wonders if he'll have to beg for forgiveness instead when you get caught in the back office on your first day.

It would've been funnier to him had he not already been dealing with Price's withering look of disappointment at home. He watches you joke back and forth with Soap and Alex, obviously not deterred by what he's sure was a slightly traumatic experience with the Boss.

His father's a frightening man when he wants to be, with a reputation so infamous that simply invoking the family name could send the most fearsome men cowering.

Kyle wonders what made you so nervous before if you were here joking about a threat from John Price, of all people.

He takes it upon himself to show you the ropes, get you used to the club layout. You pay attention a little too well, he notices, but don't seem to be looking for anything specific. He leaves you to work, curiosity creeping into his head.