When I meet you in the summer - Part 3
Summary: Working as a bartender in a five star hotel while a rich and famous family is staying over for a month, and one of their sons, Bucky, happens to have an eye for you, is a dream right? Right? Wrong!
Chapter 3: Get it together!
Fandom: Marvel
Y/N: your name
Warnings: language.
A/N: Here it is, the third part of the series. And I’m introducing someone who will be definitely one of my favorite characters (I hope yours as well!). The only and irreplaceable... Just kidding, you’ll have to keep reading to find out.
Previously:
“Wow… Thank you…” his kindness shakes me and, tentatively, I lie my head softly on his shoulder. When he doesn’t pull away, I let my body weight onto him and he shifts his balance so that I’m more confortable, making sure he touches me the least possible.
“No problem. He needs to grow for a damn time.”
“Wait, are you on his side or not?”
He laughs and leans a little over my head. “Well, he doesn’t know how to make gin tonics as well as you do, does he?” I laugh softly at his comment. “He’s still my brother, Y/N. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what happened to that eleven year old that claimed he wanted to be a gentleman when he grew up. And the only conclusion I arrived to is that our world destroyed him. I like to think he’s still in there, somewhere, but I lose hope every day. He’s turning into a monster before my own eyes, and I’m unable to help him. My own brother.” he breathes in deeply. “I’m sorry for… Everything.”
I shake my head, but when I’m about to answer, Maria Hill, the ‘Big Boss’ as everyone calls her, appears on the doorframe.
“Y/N, we need to have a conversation.”
Y/N’s POV:
When the Big Boss wants to talk to you, you know you’ve messed up.
I walk with Maria to her office in a tense silence. She sits behind her gigantic glass desk and looks at me seriously for a few seconds, making me even more nervous. Just when I’m about to scream, she sighs and starts talking:
“Look, Y/N. You’re not a troublemaker. In fact, you’re an exemplar worker. But Mr Barnes has put up a complain about your attitude.”
That fucking son of a bitch. I’m gonna kill him.
Before I can defend myself, Maria raises her hand. “Now, I don’t know what happened, but a complain like that would put you job hunting immediately. However, Mr Barnes has a reputation of playboy and troublemaker in this hotel, so I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.” Maria smiles briefly, but then her face darkens. “Despite that, I can’t let the complain go unnoticed. Look: a few days ago, Sarah quit her job as the night bartender. She claimed the work was too stressful, with all the parties and discos we do at night, and we couldn’t afford to pay her more. So I’ll make you an offer: you can either choose to be fired altogether or take over Sarah’s job, but without pay.” She lets me think about it for a while. “What do you say?”
I have to make a conscious effort not to cry “Do I even have a choice?”
Maria doesn’t answer.
I leave her office and head immediately to the staff’s bathroom. When I close the door behind me, tears are already steaming down my face.
From now on, my workday will last from ten o’clock in the morning to two in the morning, with an hour rest for lunch and an hour and a half from seven to half past eight. I won’t be able to go home during weekdays, probably not ever during weekends. A shiver runs down my spine when I realize I won’t be able to be there at night, to protect my sister from my father.
I’ll have to be near Barnes the whole day, because he doesn’t look like the kind of person who misses a party. Add to that the ten wasted men that will try to sleep with me each night. And then add to that minimal sleep. Great.
The future looks bright, man. A deep laugh comes out of my chest, stained with fear and desperation. I raise my hand, wanting to punch the mirror out of frustration, but a hand stops my wrist midair.
“Whoa. Be careful girl. What’s the matter?” I look up to see Peggy Carter holding my wrist tightly and looking at me with concern.
“I-I…” I start to cry and she rests my head on her shoulder as I start to vomit words and fears. When I’m done, she looks at me in the eyes and takes out a bag of makeup from her locker.
“Let’s fix you up girl. Look: now you’re going to go out there and rock that cocktail maker. I’ll bring you something to eat in a while and make sure Bucky doesn’t go anywhere near the pool today. Later, I will talk to a few contacts, make sure you always have backup. Don’t worry, you’ll make it out of this. Trust me.” She moves around me, fixing my hair and makeup. When she’s satisfied with the result, my best friend and accountant of the hotel gives me a perk in the cheek and walks out of the bathroom.
Peggy is right. No matter what happens, I have to keep fighting.
I’ve been making cocktails for two hours and Peggy has kept her promise: Barnes hasn’t showed up and about half an hour ago, one of the waitresses, Natasha Romanoff, brought me a sandwich.
She tried to talk about Bucky, mainly just trying to get information out of me, and I tried my best to avoid the subject. Luckily, she was soon called back to the kitchens and left me alone.
Steve isn’t at the pool either, but that doesn’t mean I have less work. In fact, now that the pool is open again, I barely have time to do all the drinks people ask for. I feel like a hurricane as I leave three fruit cocktails on the bar and get an order for a mojito.
The afternoon flies away, and when Scott finally allows me to close the bar, my hands and feet hurt like crazy. At least I haven’t had a chance to think or go over what happened. Now, however, everything I have to do before my next shift overwhelms me as I lean against a wall in the hall.
“Y/N!” I look up to see Peggy walking towards me. “Come, we have to talk a few things.”
She guides me through corridors until we reach a room in the staff floor. She opens it with a card and motions me in. It’s a big and very simple room with a bed and a sofa, a desk, a TV, a mini fridge and a bathroom. I’m still confused and I turn to my friend, looking for answers.
Peggy is smiling excitedly, like a kid. “What do you think?”
“It’s… nice? What’s all this about, Peg?”
“It’s your new room!” she nearly screams, jumping on the balls of her feet.
I feel like a bucket of ice cold water has been dumped over me. “Oh… But Peggy, I can’t pay this.” This rooms are specially designed for the members of staff that can’t go back home after their shift. But they still cost a good amount of money.
“I know. That’s why it’s actually my room!” she throws herself on the bed.
“I’m confused.”
She smiles “I had been thinking for a while about living in the hotel for the rest of the year. It’s way easier, as I don’t have family waiting for me at home. So I decided to book a room for us! You don’t have to pay anything. The only condition is that you sleep in the sofa. It turns into a bed”
I open my mouth to protest, but Peggy is… Peggy. She doesn’t allow me to talk, just pushes me out and orders me to get my bags and come back. When I do so, she helps me place my few clothes in my side of the wardrobe.
“Done! Now you’re just missing…” she takes a card out of her purse and hands it to me “Your key. I’m so excited! I’m gonna have a roomie!”
“Peg, you’re not going to pay this room alone.”
“Of course I’m not. But you’re in a difficult situation right now, so don’t worry. We’ll split the price when things are back to normal. Right now, focus on getting everything together.” she hands me my phone “Message your sister, get some friend of yours to look after her, and while you’re at it, get them to send you some of your stuff. After that, you’ll have time to take refreshing nap for an hour and then half an hour to have supper and get ready for your next shift.”
“You have a slight obsession with control, my friend.” I smile, taking my phone.
“That’s why you love me.” she laughs, winking at me and taking her heels off. “Now if you excuse me, you’re not the only one on break.”
She falls asleep quite fast, so I text and make my phone calls as quietly as possible. Once I have everything more or less together, I turn my phone off and lie on the sofa-bed. I love Peggy’s ability to make everything seem simple and exciting. She’s able to make you feel calmed and organized even when when the world is falling to pieces.
I’m out as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Part 4: Coming Soon!
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