by Jami Wagner
A hand comes into my view and catches my attention. My eyes travel the length of the toned arm to a huge bicep, and my eyes go wide when I see what’s standing in front of me. A black t-shirt hugs a large, solid chest, and dark blue jeans hang just right around a set of hips with a brown belt. A man, who looks to be around my age, with short, black hair and light green eyes studies me. His lips form into a half smile.
“You aren’t even going to try to act like you weren’t checking me out just now?” he asks as he glances over me. His smile grows wider. “Interesting.”
“I—”
Crap. How am I going to explain that one?
“I’m sorry,” I finally say once I’ve stood and brushed myself off. I’m wearing a red dress that flows just above my knees, and now you can see small divots in my knees where tiny bits of gravel have been.
He laughs and then slings a black backpack over his shoulder.
“Actually, I’m glad you were checking me out. I have an interview today, and I think you just gave me all the confidence I need to go in there with my head held high.”
“Oh—”
“Sorry about your phone. I was looking for this new bar, but I can’t seem to find it. The Silver Tap, have you heard of it?”
I swallow the embarrassing amount of spit that formed in my mouth from watching him. That’s my bar; he’s interviewing with me. Crap again.
“Ummm, yeah—there isn’t a sign yet, but it should be up in the next few weeks,” I tell him.
“No way, are you Sara? I’m Liam,” he says, extending his hand. I give it a firm shake before I respond.
“That’s me.”
“But, you look so young.”
“I am, but not too young that I don’t know how to run my own business,” I respond with more of an authoritative tone. “Let’s move inside. I need to make a phone call before we get started.” And sadly, the phone in the office is the only one I have now.
“Yeah, okay. Cool.”
Liam follows behind me as we make our way to the bar, and I can feel his eyes on me the entire way. It’s … different. Someone once told me that you become more desirable the moment you’re off limits. Maybe that person was right after all. I am pretty damn desirable. I laugh inwardly at my own joke. Sneaking a peek over my shoulder, I grin when I notice Liam isn’t paying any attention to me. Good, can’t have him thinking he is about to be working for a crazy lady who laughs at her own mental jokes.
I unlock the door and flip the switch to turn on the lights. This place looks like a spitting image of the BA. The only difference is the platform the entrance is on. In Wind Valley, you step down when you walk in—here, you step up. Everything else, down to the colors inside, are the same. It’s been working for the BA, so what’s not to say it won’t work well here, too?
“Why don’t you just pull up a seat at the bar and I’ll be out in a minute,” I tell him as I walk toward my office. He nods and heads for the bar. I hear his backpack hit the floor and I jump a little. The noise reminding me that I’m in an empty, unopened bar with a total stranger and no cell service.
I close the door behind me as I step into the office and quickly lock it. It’s small. Much smaller than the one in Wind Valley, and here the metal desk takes up half the room. Stacks of papers and rolled up posters fill the corners. A few have fallen over. I lean them upright and then let my body fall into the squeaky leather chair behind the desk.
I had argued with my father about having a landline in here. I knew eventually we would need one, but I thought it was silly to want one when the place isn’t even open. But now that my cell is shattered, I’m thinking my dad can be pretty smart.
I should call him first, but I dial Logan’s number quickly instead and wait as it rings.
A flashback to the first time I ever called Logan makes me smile. I swear he didn’t answer that day on purpose just so I’d have to call back. The more I dialed, the more committed I became to winning his attention.
When I get his voicemail my smile fades and I glance at the clock. It’s not early. He should be up by now. Did something happen to him? What if he’s hurt and no one thought to contact me?
The knocking at the door pulls me from my trance.
“One minute,” I call out. I need to pull myself together before this guy runs because his potential new boss is a hot mess. I take a deep breath and unlock the door.
Liam is back sitting at the bar when I come out. His backpack is lying on the seat next to him and he has a mini bar set up in front of him. I clear my throat and he turns around quickly.
“Hey, so, your father mentioned the place isn’t stocked yet and told me if I really want to impress you, I would find a way. So, here it is.” He pulls a Vanna White to display everything on the bar top. “As you see here, I have all the ingredients to make you the best Bloody Mary you will ever taste. Vodka, spicy tomato juice, pickles, olives, salt and pepper, a celery stick, and even one of these fun, little, plastic knives to hold it all together.”
I press my lips together to hide my smile. This guy has creativity and definitely came prepared. A mind like that could be useful around here.
“I hate to break it to you,” I say, pointing to his set up and then to the empty shelves behind him. “But we don’t have any glasses for me to try this best Bloody Mary ever.”
He smirks and holds up a finger while he reaches for his bag. He then pulls out a single glass and a few other supplies to make the drink.
“Huh.” I take a seat at the bar and swing my legs around to face the back wall. I sit up tall and lace my hands together. This should be good. “Okay, go around and pretend I’m a customer. Let’s see how your social skills are. I need someone who is a good people person. All employees will need to be capable of working every area in the bar.”
“Easy,” he says with a cocky grin and moves to the other side of the bar. “If we’re going to make this real, at least pretend you just walked up to the bar. I would never make a customer wait as patiently as you have been,” he says with a wink. Hopefully, I get up fast enough before he can see me blush. Between his smile and his smooth winking skills, he will definitely make good tips from the ladies. I take two steps away from my seat, then turn around and walk back to it.
“Hey there, welcome to The Silver Tap. What can I get you to drink this fine afternoon?” He gives me another wink as he uses the flirtiest tone I’ve ever heard. His smile grows bigger, and I know this time he didn’t miss the rosy color in my checks.
“A beer is fine. Thanks,” I say calmly. Ha! Now who’s uncomfortable?
“I hate to break it to you, pretty lady, but I’m fresh out of beer. However, as luck would have it, I have everything needed to make you the best Bloody Mary you’ve ever tasted.”
I don’t even get a chance to let him know I don’t like vodka before he continues.
“And if you don’t like it, it’s on me.”
His confidence is good but almost comes off as cocky. Men will definitely hate it, and women—well, on second thought, it’s going to be hit or miss until they are drunk enough to think he’s flirting with only them. And I’ll definitely tell him that if he ever buys a drink, it better come from his pocket and not the bar’s because that will not work for me. But I’ll take the bait.
“Okay, let’s see what you can do, oh grand bartender.”
“Perfect!” He claps his hands together and gets to work making my drink. “So, what brings you to Colorado?” he asks while never taking his eyes off what his hands are doing.
“Oh, it’s a long story,” I say, waving my hand in the air. Did we put fans in here?
“I’ve got time,” he says, still not looking up at me. Man, he is really focused. I watch him for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything. He seems nice enough, and I haven’t really had a moment to vent since I got here. As long as his paperwork checks out, I’ll probably end up hiring him since it sounds like he has already been introduced to my father and he did go through
all this trouble to impress me.
“Well, my dad bought me this place as a birthday gift. So, here I am, leaving everything and everyone behind to come open up the place.” I let out a long sigh. “Which shouldn’t bother me, except it does and that annoys me. I should be happy, right, that my father is helping me move forward? I shouldn’t be sitting here wondering what anyone else is doing or who they’re hanging out with while I’m in an entirely different state. Which then leads me to the question of whether or not I should be making friends while I’m here. I’m distracted enough by the idea of Logan that adding a friend might add to the focus I already don’t have.”
A quick glance tells me I’ve rambled so much that Liam has finished making my drink and is now looking at me with confusion.
“So,” he starts, “we’re not still in the role of bartender and customer?”
Crap.
“Oh—”
To keep myself from saying anything else, I grab the Bloody Mary in front of me and quickly begin drinking, ignoring the straw. One gulp. Two. This is good. Three gulps.
“Whoa, whoa! These are some sneaky drinks. You don’t want to be drunk all day, do you?” Liam asks as he takes the drink from my hands. Concern etched in his eyes.
That’s not a bad idea. It has been almost a year since I’ve been drunk. It’s not something I enjoy doing, but it happens.
“I don’t think I’ll have to interview anyone else. You’re hired,” I say quickly and dart once again for my office. “Be here tomorrow at ten in the morning.”
I give him a half-assed wave goodbye because I’m too embarrassed to face him, and hide in my office until he’s gone. I need to call Dad ASAP to find out how exactly he found Liam. If he was that intent on Liam impressing me, he clearly knows this guy knows what he is doing.
I pick up the landline and instantly dial Logan, again. This is one of those situations when he told me to call him, and talking to him might actually help me concentrate. The trick now is whether or not he answers.
Logan
“Abby, can you answer that for me?” I call out as my phone rings from across the room. It’s been ringing nonstop all day. After the first few calls weren’t from Sara, I gave up expecting her to call me until later tonight. Until then, I’m in the middle of inventory and would like to get it done today.
Turns out, no one wants to come to work early on a Monday because it doesn’t include tips. As the new manager I should just assign employees to come in, but everything still feels awkward and I’m having a hard time telling my friends what to do. Lucky for me, Abby and Beth both volunteered. I’ll have to ask Sara how she handles being a friend and a boss when she comes home next weekend.
My phone continues to ring, and I stand from my spot behind the bar to see where Abby ran off to. I’m a little thrown to find her standing in front of my phone just looking at it.
“You want to answer that?” I ask again.
“Oh, uh—” She looks at me quickly before she taps the screen, cutting off the ringtone. “It was an unknown caller. I wasn’t sure if I should or not.” She gives my phone a little push away from her. Her arms swing at her sides as she heads in my direction.
Abby is trouble. I’ve known this all my life, but for some reason, we keep her around. Somewhere down inside—deep, deep down inside—she’s a good person. But lately not so much and right now as she steps closer with a flirtatious smile on her face, I know she’s up to something. That spark in her eyes is another dead giveaway.
“So, when was last time you talked to Sara?” she asks, tapping her fingers on a table as she passes it.
Oh yeah. The tone in her voice definitely confirms she’s setting me up for something not good. Whatever she has planned isn’t going to work well in her favor. Damn, hasn’t she figured out that we all grew up together and that we know her better than she thinks?
“I appreciate your concern, Abby, but right now, we need to get this inventory done.” I use my best strict management voice. “And I’m pretty sure you asking about my personal life crosses a line now that I’m your manager.”
I flip the top paper on my clipboard back as I shake my head and look at the list of items we still need to account for. Between Abby and inventory, this day is more challenging than I want it to be. If Sara would call, it would definitely help me take away some stress.
Abby shuffles her feet in front of me, and when I look up she pushes her bottom lip out and gives me a sad look. Then she lets out the most exaggerated sigh I’ve ever heard.
“You’re no fun anymore. I don’t like the person Sara has turned you into. You used to love talking about other people.”
“First of all, I never like to talk about people when they aren’t around. You must have me confused with someone else, and second, I’m still the same person I was yesterday or six months ago, and finally, Sara hasn’t done anything to change me. How could she? She isn’t even here.”
Her smile is back.
Damn. She was looking for information and I just gave her exactly she wanted.
This girl is sneaky.
“I think you need someone who would pick you over their job, Logan. You deserve someone who wants to treat you better then you are obviously being treated and not turn you into one of her father’s little soldiers just like her. A girl who wants to be with you every—”
“Oh, give it up, Abby. If you cared even an ounce for someone other than yourself for sixty seconds, you would see that Logan and Sara do nothing but bring out the best in each other.” Beth rolls her eyes as she comes out of the back room and sets a box of Bud bottles on the bar top. “What’s next, Logan? We better get a move on since it looks like we’re the only ones who came here today to actually work,” she says, cocking her head and glaring at Abby. “Unless, of course, Abby, you’re done trying to ruin another relationship between some of our friends. Oh wait, no that’s right—my friends. Because if they were your friends, too, you wouldn’t be pestering Logan right now about Sara.”
And this is exactly why I need to hire more men in this place. Drama. Now that Ethan is gone and Lucas, another bartender, is in Florida for three weeks, I’m the only one left.
“Okay, let’s all just get to work,” I say before this can get out of control. “We are really off topic right now, and Beth is right. I want this done before we open.”
Abby releases another sigh that screams for attention and when no one says anything, she narrows her eyes at me. Typical. I’m the only guy so this is my fault.
“Fine, what do you want me to do?” she asks with her hands on her hips.
“Why don’t you go do some work in the storage room, away from Logan?” Beth says, wasting no time.
Fuck. I have to get some control over this place.
Abby glances back and forth between us, glaring at Beth. I tilt my head toward the storage room in agreement.
“Let’s just get this day over with without any more drama,” I say to her and then glance at Beth as well. I didn’t forget the one rule Sara emphasized: Never make direct eye contact when making a rule or statement that applies to everyone. The person you’re looking at will always take it personally if you do.
With her arms crossed, Abby finally storms off. My head falls back as I close my eyes.
“You’ve really got to get a handle on being the boss, Logan. That girl takes extra work, and if you don’t man up soon, she will walk all over you.”
I groan to myself. “I know, I know. I wish there were more guys in this town who wanted a bar job.”
“It’s easier for girls to make tips off drunk men than it is for men to make tips off drunk women.”
I nod. “Again, I know.”
“But I heard the other day when I was having lunch with Kelsey that her brother is in town. I’m not sure if he is staying for a while or not, but even temporary man help is good, right?”
Conner Brian, Kelsey’s brother. He’s perfect. I’ve always liked that guy. We get along great, and
he doesn’t take shit from anyone. They only downfall: he’s single.
“One problem,” I say holding up a finger. Switching from my index finger to my thumb, I point to the storage room. “That girl senses a single man ten miles away and pounces.”
Beth laughs. “Better him than you, right?”
I consider it for a moment, and when I hear a crash from the storage room, my decision is made. “I guess it won’t hurt anything,” I tell Beth as she disappears to join Abby in the back. My phone rings again and this time I choose to answer it. I make my way to the table where I left it and pick it up mid-ring.
“Hello?”
“Logan, it’s Dean.”
“Mr. Connelly, it’s great to hear from you. I hate to sound rude, but is everything okay?” It’s not common for Mr. Connelly to call my cell.
“Oh yes, Logan, everything is fine. I was just calling to inform you that Sara has broken her phone and probably won’t be able to be reached until later today when she has time to get a new one.”
Weird. Why wouldn’t she just call me? I know she has my number and the BA’s memorized.
“Oh, alright. Well, thank you for calling.”
“Of course, Sara asked that I call you since you haven’t been answering your phone.”
When did she call me?
“Logan, we need help!” Beth calls from the back room.
“Well, there you have it. It sounds like you’re busy. I’ll be sure to let my daughter know. Have a lovely afternoon, Logan.”
Before I can clear up the assumption in his voice, the line goes dead. When did Sara call? And what number did she call me from? And why didn’t I … fuck. I quickly scroll through my contacts, but other than Dean’s number, I have no unknown numbers in my phone. Damn it, Abby!
I take a long deep breath before I head for the storage room. That girl needs to cut this shit out. As for me, what am I supposed to do? Do I really accuse her of being that crazy? I need to hire another guy in the next twenty-four hours. I tap a text to Ethan and ask for Conner’s number before shoving the phone into my pocket, then open the storage door to find an entire case of beer bottles shattered on the floor.
