by Logan Chance
“Yes, the fighter. Well, today when I left the gym he said goodbye.” She beamed as she stirred the black straw in her yellow drink.
I smiled at her, indulgently. “What are you in seventh grade? Maybe you can pass him a note during third period,” I teased.
“Shut up. This is a big deal.” She giggled. “You know I’ve been trying to get his attention for weeks.”
She tried many different things to gain the awareness of a certain MMA fighter who worked out at the same gym she did. Ripped with muscles in places I didn’t know muscles existed, he never gave poor Margo the time of day—well until today.
“You’re right. It is a big deal. What did you say?”
She twisted on the stool trying desperately to contain her excitement. “I said goodbye back.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Oh god, Margo. You rushed down here to tell me this?”
“Of course not. I rushed down here to get a drink and soak up the sun. It’s my day off, but I also wanted to tell you about sexy fighter guy.”
We didn’t have a name for the unknown muscled man, but we were currently working on the small detail. And by working on it, Margo asked everyone at the gym for the mystery man’s name.
As I laughed I felt body heat radiate behind me, and then Theo’s koi fish tattooed arm reached around me as he extended it out to Margo for a handshake. “And who is this lovely lady here?” he asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice.
“This lovely lady is Margo, Penny’s roommate and best friend,” Margo said, extending her hand out. “You’re the boss, huh?”
They shook hands and my body stiffened as his chest pressed against my back. I side-stepped out of his way so they could continue the conversation I no longer cared to hear.
Theo was ‘the boss’ and he sure liked everyone to know it. I moved over to a lone man standing at the bar and offered him a drink.
“I’ll take a blow job,” the blond-haired man said, winking.
“One blow job shot, coming up.” As I turned away, he reached across the bar and grabbed my arm.
He leered at me. “No, I’ll just take a blow job.”
I lowered my glare to where he still held my elbow, his stubby fingers digging into my skin, and tried to yank my arm away.
“Let go of me, now,” I said through clenched, tight lips.
His beady eyes swept over my body. “You’re a pretty little thing.”
“And you’re about to be a dead little thing,” Theo’s forceful voice sounded from behind me. “Let go of the lady and let me walk you to the door.”
“I’m not done talking to her yet,” blond guy said.
“The fuck you are,” Theo said.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” blond guy questioned.
Theo, in one fell swoop, leapt across the bar. It was sexy as hell. He slammed the man’s face down and leaned down to his ear. “I’m the owner, and I’m throwing you the fuck out.” Still gripping the man by the back of his neck, Theo led him to the door.
Margo rushed over to where I stood.
“Did that really happen?” She took a seat, all of her attention focused on Theo and the raucous ensuing.
Theo was in a heated discussion with the blond guy, and by the time Seth made his way over to offer back up, Theo had the jerk out of the door.
“Yeah, that guy’s an asshole.” I rubbed my elbow, my eyes glued to the action at the entrance as well.
“He’s like some hot as hell superhero,” she said, turning to me.
“It’s him,” I leaned in and whispered, “The Lord of my O’s.”
Her brows shot up. “Are you serious?” She looked over at Theo and then back to me. “Penny, what are the chances of The Lord of your O’s buying this bar?”
I lifted my brows at her. “Apparently excellent.”
After kicking the guy out, Theo rushed over, taking my elbow in his hands, glancing it over. “Are you ok?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m used to it.” I shrugged.
He locked eyes with me. “No one will touch you again while I’m around. I won’t have anyone manhandling my employees.”
“Thanks for helping, but I can take care of myself, just so you know.” I held his stare as he dropped my arm.
“It’s my job to protect my workers.”
His sincerity caught me off guard and a current of want flowed through my body, settling in my core.
“Thanks,” I muttered as he walked away.
“Oh, damn. I can’t believe he’s the guy from the beach. It must be fate,” Margo said in an all too self-assured voice. She walked back over to her previous spot at the bar and grabbed her drink. “I’ll be over on a lounger wishing I was you.”
“He doesn’t even remember who I am,” I whispered to myself as she walked away.
***
A few days later, Dex called before I left for work. When I mentioned Theo Sullivan he sat silent for a moment and then told me to stay away from him. When I questioned why, he abruptly cut the conversation short. This behavior was odd and out of character for Dex. When we first met he was so charming, and lately he’d turned into something different.
Chaos greeted me when I walked into work. It was a later shift, and the afternoon rush destroyed the bar. The liquor order wasn’t put away, and I didn’t see anyone manning the bar.
I let out a sigh and threw my handbag into its usual spot. “Who worked today?” I asked Fiona. “This place is a disaster.”
“Theo worked the bar himself to cut labor costs.”
“And now he’ll pay someone else to clean up after him.” I threw my hair into a messy bun and glanced at the floors covered in trash. Theo stepped around the corner of the bar and our eyes met.
“Hey, Penny, the liquor order needs to be put away,” he called out to me. “Can you get to it?” He brushed past me with a case of Amstel Light in his hands and set it down along the bar to refill the cooler. “Also, the bar could use a little cleaning before the dinner rush.”
I rolled my eyes to Fiona as she laughed. “Normally, the person working the day shift takes care of the liquor order,” I said as he removed bottles. “You would know this, if you knew anything about a bar.” Frustrated with how he always left the bar in complete disarray, I huffed out an agitated breath.
His arm stilled and he turned his head slowly my way. A muscle ticked in his jaw. Hard flints in his eyes followed my movement as I slowly bent down into a squat and flourished my arm to grab the receiving order clipboard from the lower shelf. “Wouldn’t want to hurt my back.” I smiled and stalked off toward the kitchen to take care of the order after he rolled his eyes.
As I put away a few bottles of Tanqueray in the liquor cabinet, I realized Theo would never take me seriously.
I’d never be moved from a lowly worker into a position of power. Maybe my father was right. Maybe bartending was a dead end job.
But, right now it was a means to an end. A stepping stone to a bigger dream.
I worked diligently to put away the cases of liquor. As each bottle hit the shelves, my hatred built like a full force hurricane.
When I finally finished, I ventured behind the bar to find every liquor bottle in the wrong place. Dirty bar glasses lined the wash sink, and it appeared as if Theo didn’t clean a thing.
“This bar is trashed,” I said, glancing at the fruit tray with no freshly cut fruit for the cocktails.
“Yeah.” Bottles clinked as he filled the cooler.
“Why didn’t you cut any fruit for the night shift?” He leaned up, finally giving me his attention, and I pointed to the tray as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Can’t you do it?”
I didn’t like his tone and I grew frustrated with his lack of teamwork. “I guess I’ll have to,” I said, snatching up the empty tray. “Usually the bartender for the day shift does it though.”
“Well, I’m not a bartender, I’m the boss.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed you’re n
ot a very good bartender. Fiona,” I called out, “could you get me a pen and paper? We may need another sign. Theo here is the boss.” The words slid out before I could stop them.
I moved to go past him and he reached out an arm blocking me. “Are you kidding? I’m not here to do your busy work, Penny.” He leveled me with a patronizing stare. “That’s what I pay you for.”
My face turned hot as I thought about what he said. Busy work? My workload had doubled because of him and I fought down my anger not to blow up. I wanted to mouth off more to him but didn’t want to risk pushing him too far.
I went to the kitchen and slammed down the tray. Grabbing a cutting board and knife, I got to work, chopping out my frustration. While slaving away, I sliced into the tip of my middle finger and dropped the knife.
This was all Theo’s fault. Lord of the Signs.
I ran my finger under the faucet and again my thoughts flew to Theo and his forehead I wanted so badly to flick.
After bandaging myself up and finishing off the fruit, I returned to the bar. Theo waited with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What took you so long? I need to get out of here for the night.”
“Sorry, I cut my finger.” I stuck my middle bandaged finger up to him in a fuck you type of way.
“Practice makes perfect. Maybe you should be the only person to cut all the fruit from now on.”
“You can’t make me do that.”
He stalked closer as I lowered my finger. “I can make you do whatever I want. You want to know why?”
“Yeah, because you’re the boss. I get it. But, you should learn you can’t treat your employees this way. Pretty soon, you’ll have none left.”
He laughed. “Bartenders are a dime a dozen. I’ll always be able to find someone hungry for a job.”
“Good luck,” I said, biting my tongue as he walked away.
Once again I was left to clean up the disaster which was Theo Sullivan.
SEVEN
THEO
What a shitty week. This bar would break me if Penny didn’t first.
After sitting in my office at the Bearded Goat, I decided I would need to seriously figure something out to keep this bar afloat. The past two weeks were a testament to how bad off this bar truly was. The only good things about my days were getting a rise out of Penny.
I took great pleasure in seeing the crimson flush of anger creep up her neck when I made her clean the seagull shit off the back patio after she poured my drink into a baby bottle.
I then went and took the Roses Lime Juice and poured it over the liquor bottles and watched as the bottles slipped from her hands while she tried to serve the guests. It was unprofessional but I didn’t give a shit. The next day she’d sent me a “Running a Bar For Dummies” book. She’d left it on my desk with a note telling me to read up.
One instance, of Penny engrossed in a book, kept replaying over in my mind. It was a rainy day and the bar was empty. She was zoned out, bent over the bar, her chin resting in her palm. I walked up behind her and cleared my throat.
She jumped. “Shit, you scared me.”
“Are you reading about how to bartend?” I grabbed the book from her hands and flipped it open, reading aloud,
“She lay with her legs spread wide before him as he stared longingly at her. Her heart beat faster as he closed the space between them.
With a wild passion burning through his system, he struck out his tongue to taste the sweet nectar she possessed.”
“Give it back,” she demanded, reaching for the book.
“What is this smut?” I turned away from her and continued reading,
“His throbbing member entered her love slit as she moaned loudly. “Make me come, Thorne.”
His jagged movements brought Babette to her own tumultuous orgasm.”
“It’s not smut, it’s romance.” Her tits pressed against my back as she tried to reach for the book I held in the air.
“No this is smut. What the hell is a love slit? Do you enjoy reading these filthy books?” It felt personal to be knowing these intimate details but, what the fuck was she reading this stuff for at my bar?
“Yes, I love these books. Now give it back.” Her temper rose as she once again reached for the book.
“Oh right, here’s your book,” I said, handing it to her, trying not to think about her reading alone at home, late at night. “I guess you need to get some ideas.”
“Maybe you should.” She leaned down, stuffing the book in her handbag under the bar. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about romance.”
“Romance? What do I need to read a smutty book about romance for? I do just fine.”
“It’s better than the comic books I’ve seen piled in your office.”
I took a deep breath, my smile faltering. “They’re graphic novels, there’s a difference.” I crossed my arms. “Besides, at least my books don’t talk about pulverizing a pussy to smithereens.”
Her cheeks turned a bright crimson as she propped a hip against the bar.
“Well maybe you’re not mature enough to read about pussies since you’re obsessed with those cartoon books.”
I cocked a brow. “Cartoon books? Again, they’re graphic novels. And you’re right, I don’t need to read about pussy. I can always go out and get it.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re The Lord of One-Nighters.” Her bangs blew off her forehead as she made a pfft sound.
“Is that an offer?”
“No. Never.” She was angry. I could tell by the way her face scrunched up, and I noticed the freckles along the bridge of her nose. She really was quite adorable, but I wouldn’t allow a second glance her way.
Every fucking day it was something with her. But, I realized she knew her shit and the regulars adored her. At first I ignored her, I pretended she didn’t exist. Yet, working in the tight confines of the bar, and having her tits brush up against me occasionally during the rush, it became harder to not think about her—really fucking hard. I pushed away thoughts of her everyday but at night the thoughts came back with a vengeance and pushed me over the edge to the depths of hell.
She teased me daily with the way she bent over to get things and her ass would press against me. Or the way the Bearded Goat tank barely held her breasts in and her nipples would harden after a visit to the cooler. Sometimes her bangs would hang in her eyes and I would have to fight the urge to brush them off her face. It became too much to bear. I needed to get my shit together and figure things out with this bar so I didn’t have to be here everyday. Especially with the summer months around the corner. Most high-society wintered in Florida, creating enough business to usually keep many businesses up and running through the summer. Not the Bearded Goat.
I slammed the quarterly reports down on my desk and ran a hand across my face. Fuck.
My mind wandered briefly to my silver moon goddess and our one fateful night many months ago. Where was she?
Thinking of her, and the way she disappeared made me angry. I pushed away from the desk and decided a drink was in order. I would head over to the neighboring clubs and see what trouble I could get into for the evening.
We didn’t normally have a big night crowd, so leaving Seth to handle the place was a no brainer. Turning out the lights, I left the bar. As I walked down Ocean Drive, Mekka shook with energy and adrenaline. I opened the glass door and nodded to the bouncer who stood guard as I walked inside.
The dance floor was packed with sweaty bodies as they rocked to the loud beat of the bass.
Neon lights and glass tables were all the eye could see. A bit of overstimulation but they were packed, so they must have been doing something right.
“Macallan neat,” I called to the man behind the fiberglass bar.
He poured the brown-stained liquor straight from the bottle and slid the drink my way. I threw a few bills down as I took a swig of the whiskey.
The pounding of the music vibrated through my body as I watched a few scantily dr
essed ladies float by. The further I ventured into the club the more I wished away all the anxiety I felt the past few weeks.
I scanned the club once more and my eyes landed on a lightly-freckled nose. It scrunched at me when our eyes met. It took me a moment to actually recognize her, wait, yes it was her and what the fuck was she wearing? Christ, she looked like a slut and my mouth watered at the sight of her.
Her heels rocked back and forth as she swayed to the music without a care in the world.
The way she eye fucked me was sexy, and I couldn’t stand here and take it any longer. She teased me, like she did every damn day at the bar. Filled with irritation, I stalked over.
She danced next to her blonde friend whose name was not coming to mind. Nothing came to mind. Only a dirty reel of images of Penny taking off everything she wore except the black high heeled-shoes with the tiny pink bows on her feet. They were sweet, too sweet, and the sight of them made my cock pulse.
She didn’t acknowledge me until I practically stood right next to her.
“Oh, it’s you,” she slurred as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder to steady herself. “Don’t bother me. I’m trying to have fun, something you know nothing about.”
“I know how to have fun. But you’re right, I only came over here to chat with your friend.” I took her friend’s hand in mine and laid a kiss on her yellow polished nails. Margo? Marlo?
“Hi there, again,” her friend giggled.
“Margo.” Penny slapped her friend’s hand from mine, and I smiled at the jealous expression on her beautiful face.
“What’s wrong, Penny? Don’t want me having fun with your friend here?”
“There are a million women in here. Take your pick of any of them, and leave us alone.” Her feet were unsteady as she waved a hand in my face.
With a quick snap, I gripped her wrist and yanked her body closer. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m the boss, stop telling me what to do,” I hissed never breaking eye contact.
“Ok, on that note, I’ll see you two later. Penny, I’ll be right over there at the bar if you need me,” Margo said as she left Penny and me standing toe to toe with my hold on her tightening.
