by K. M. Scott
“I can handle my staff, Cash. I don’t need you to talk to Mika.”
More laughing from Kane. Fuck, I was sick of his shit! And I was supposed to be the immature one?
Cash didn’t find any of this amusing, though. Grimacing at both of us, he shook his head. “No, Stefan, it’s obvious you can’t handle this one. I’ll speak to her as soon as she comes in tonight.”
I stood to leave. “Well, this has been fucking fantastic. I’ll make sure to do this again sometime next year.”
“We’re not done yet, Stefan. In fact, we haven’t even begun the meeting.”
He couldn’t be serious. There was more than that? I stared down at Cash in stunned amazement. “Are you kidding?”
“No. Sit down. We have a private party to discuss, and you’re going to love this one.”
Whenever one of my brothers said that, I knew I wasn’t going to love anything that came out of his mouth after it. Taking my seat again, I waited to hear about this private party I knew I’d hate.
“Cabot Marshall booked his birthday party for next Thursday last month, but he didn’t tell me until today what he wanted the theme to be. You ready for this?”
“Let me guess. A circus theme? Marshall has a freaky vibe going for him,” Kane offered.
Cash shook his head and a huge smile spread across his face. “No. Even better. Stefan, you want to take a guess?”
“In so many ways the answer to that is no.”
“Fine. Marshall wants the party to have a Seventies theme. You know, disco, bellbottoms, Charlie’s Angels?”
“Who the fuck are Charlie’s Angels?” I asked, already sick of this meeting and talk of this party.
“Do you know anything other than what immediately involves you?” Kane snapped.
Ignoring his sarcastic insult and my quiet “Fuck you” in return, Cash continued, “Marshall wants the whole nine yards with this one, and since he’s a platinum member, we’re going to give it to him. Most of the staging will fall on your shoulders, Stefan, so you need to get up to speed on the Seventies.”
“Are you talking about the 1970s?” I asked, still confused.
“Yes. The 1970s.”
“And I have to do what concerning this?”
Cash looked over at Kane and then back at me. “The biggest thing you’ll need to do is have your staff dress in costume. Look it up online before you tell them about it. Other than that, you need to get a disco ball.”
“And this is on top of Halloween, which is the next day?”
“No. Marshall wants the party to be open, so we’ll be doing the club’s Halloween party that night too. It will just be the Seventies theme for anyone invited and the staff.”
“And what about Kane’s people? They don’t have to dress up? What the fuck, Cash? Like I don’t have enough to deal with already.”
“My people will be in costume, Stefan,” Kane said in his usual annoyed tone. “But the first thing people see when they enter this club is your part, so your bartenders will need to be in the right look.”
“Fine. I’ll Google the 1970s and see what I can find.”
“And after you do that, you need to convince Shay Callahan to come back to work here. I’ve seen her behind the bar. She’s good. A whole hell of a lot better than Mika, Stefan. I’m not saying I’m going to fire her when she comes to see me tonight, but you need to get your priorities in order, little brother. Lawsuits are bad enough, but you’ve never let the bar suffer before. You need to fix this and fast.”
I wanted to sit there and take my brother’s scolding like I wanted to tear my arm off and beat myself with it, but he wasn’t wrong. I’d messed up with Shay and needed to make that right. Not that I wanted him to know all that, though.
“If we’re done, I have a full day’s work to do,” I said, trying to hide how much this whole Shay thing bothered me.
Looking over at Kane, Cash said, “Unless Kane has anything to add.”
“I have nothing. I haven’t lived in a self-involved cave all my life, so I don’t have to research anything for Marshall’s party. As always, my people will be ready.”
Standing, I looked down at my half-brother. “Maybe if I had a costume designer like you, my life would be easy too.”
Before he or Cash could give me more shit, I left our weekly Monday afternoon meeting, sure I didn’t want to go through anything like that again anytime soon. I was also sure of one other thing. I had to find a way to get Shay to return to Club X.
* * *
LEANING IN toward the bathroom mirror, I examined Mika’s handiwork on my cheek. A thin scab covered where she’d scratched me with her fake nails, except for near the corner of my eye where it still remained red. Thankfully, it seemed to be healing well and I wouldn’t be scarred for life because of that crazy bitch. Shaking my head, I still couldn’t believe all that had happened because of Stefan March.
The worst part of the whole damn thing was I wouldn’t be able to make all that money at Club X that I needed for my trip, and now I didn’t even have a job at all. How I’d pay rent and all my bills I had no idea. This was what I got for being so stubborn.
Elliot padded up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Looking at me in the mirror, he said, “You look tough, Shay. Chicks with scars are hot.”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “Not funny, El. That crazy bitch could have literally scratched my eye out.”
He nuzzled my neck and mumbled, “Is that really possible?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t try to make me happy about this. I’m still angry about the whole thing.”
Elliot looked up at me in the mirror. “Okay, stay pissed. It’s good for the soul.”
“You’re no help at all, you know that?”
He backed away from me, patting me on the ass. “I do what I can.”
I returned to staring at my bruiser look and heard a knock on the front door. I so wasn’t in the mood for dealing with anyone. I waited for Elliot to answer it, but the knocking continued, so I trudged out and opened it to find standing there in the hallway none other than the person who’d caused all my problems.
“Hey, Shay. Can we talk?”
Stefan March looked out of place asking to talk to me at my home, and my first inclination was to slam the door in his face. Nothing he had to say could make the situation better.
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about, Stefan. You showed me who you were the other night, and I don’t want to work for someone like that.”
The hurt from my words registered in his eyes, and for the first time, he looked truly bothered by one of my comments, even though I’d said much worse to him nearly every day since we met.
“If you’d just give me a minute, I really think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
“Unless you plan on apologizing and offering me my job back with a raise, I’m not interested.”
“Well, that’s pretty close. Can I come in so we can talk for a minute?”
An apology and more money? It certainly was tempting. But I knew how this would end up. I’d go back to Club X and the whole Mika problem would still be there. “I don’t think so, Stefan. Nothing’s changed at the club. I can’t work like that.”
I began to close the door, but he grabbed the edge and stuck his face in close. “Come on, Shay. Hear me out.”
He looked so silly with his face pushed in between the door and the jamb that I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You remind me of Jack Nicholson in The Shining.”
Smiling, he shot me a wild look. “Here’s Johnny!” His expression softened, and he said, “Please let me in.”
“That you knew what I meant by my Nicholson reference impresses me, Stefan.”
“Enough to let me in?” he asked as he gave me his best puppy dog eyes.
I backed away from the door. “Yeah. Come in.”
Flashing me that fabulous Stefan March smile, he pushed the door open and came in, happier than I’d ev
er seen him. Elliot moved close by my side as the door closed, and we all stood there awkwardly staring at one another.
Stefan leaned forward and extended his hand to shake Elliot’s. “Hey, I’m Stefan March. Shay’s boss. Nice to meet you.”
“Former boss,” I corrected him as Elliot grabbed his hand to return the handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Stefan. I’m Elliot.”
And then we stood there awkwardly silent again until finally Elliot kissed me on the top of my head and quietly said, “I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me.”
“Nice to meet you, Stefan.”
“Yeah, you too.”
I waited until I heard the bedroom door close and said, “Do you want to sit down?”
Stefan looked around at my old living room sofa and hand-me-down chair my aunt had given me when I moved in and nodded. “Sure. Okay.”
It wasn’t what he was likely used to, but I wasn’t about to be ashamed of what I had. It may not have been the kind of place he had with his millions to spend, but it was my home. I took a seat on the sofa as he sat on the edge of the chair like he planned to bolt out the door at any moment.
“So what did you want to talk about, Stefan?”
He looked toward the bedroom for a moment and then back at me. “So, is that your boyfriend?”
“Elliot? He’s a...my…” I wasn’t sure how to categorize Elliot. We lived together, had sex like rabbits, and acted like boyfriend and girlfriend, but at that moment, calling him my boyfriend seemed wrong. “I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about my personal life, so what did you have to say?”
The look on Stefan’s face was pure confusion at my inability to answer a simple question about the man who obviously lived with me, but he simply nodded and smiled. “Okay, fair enough. I want you to come back to the club. I made a mistake and I need you back behind the bar.”
I had nothing to lose, so I came out guns a’ blazin. “Not if Mika’s still getting preferential treatment.”
“She’s not.”
“Oh? And she didn’t scratch your eyes out when you told her?” I knew I was pushing my luck, but I didn’t care.
“No. She understands one more problem and she’s gone.”
“I won’t come back unless you promise that Lola never gets stuck at the back bar again, especially during a party.”
“I’m not going to discuss Lola’s—” he began, but I cut him off.
I stood and shook my head. “Then we have nothing to talk about.”
“Wait. Shay, wait. Why do you care about where I schedule Lola? I thought your problem was with Mika.”
“Stefan, my problem the other night was that you made my job next to impossible because you showed Mika preferential treatment and stuck Lola at the back bar, where she made next to nothing, I bet.”
With a look I assumed wasn’t intentionally meant to be drop dead sexy, he smiled up at me and said, “I’ve shown Lola preferential treatment on many occasions, Shay.”
I had a feeling he’d just confessed to sleeping with Lola, but I couldn’t be sure. Not that it mattered. Shunting Lola to the back bar not only hurt her but me too. “That has nothing to do with me, Stefan. All I know is that Lola is your best bartender and she belongs up front. You seem to want me to man the front bar, but if you want me back, I want Lola up there with me when we’re scheduled together. Yes, she’s a great teacher for newbies like Kerry, but at what cost? That party could have gone much better if there were two good bartenders at the front bar.”
He sighed and nodded. “Okay. Done.”
“And about that raise?”
“Fifty cents more an hour,” he said with a smile.
“Done.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Shay. I better leave before you convince me to give up my bar to you and Lola.”
Stefan stood to leave but stopped just before he made it to the door. “Oh, before I forget. Thursday we have a private party again. You’ll have to be in costume. Know anything about the 1970s?”
“The Seventies?”
“Yeah. The member wants the party to have a Seventies theme. You know, disco ball and all? So you’ll have to wear a costume.”
Immediately, old Dukes of Hazzard reruns jumped into my mind and I knew exactly what I’d dress up as. “Got it. I’ll be ready.”
“Good. Any chance you can be back at work tonight? I know it’s short notice, but I’d consider it a personal favor if you could.”
Stefan turned on that charm that was so him, flashing me a smile and giving me his trademark sexy look I’d seen time and again with other bartenders and members at the club. It seemed odd to have him acting like this toward me, but as I stood there in jeans and a t-shirt with no makeup on, I suddenly realized why women found him so appealing. He had a way of making a woman feel beautiful, even when she felt anything but. Raising my hand to cover the scratch on my cheek, I nodded. “Sure. I’ll be there by seven, as always.”
“Thanks, Shay. Oh, and I’m glad to see you’re healing nicely. See you later.”
He left me standing there unsure how I felt about Stefan March. An arrogant asshole since the first moment I met him, he now seemed different in some way, as if some of that arrogance had been wiped away leaving a nicer person in its place.
I liked this Stefan much more than the old version.
The bedroom door opened, and I turned to see Elliot staring at me with an icy look. His lips pursed, he said nothing, but his body language screamed his unhappiness.
“Well, now you’ve met Stefan March. See what I meant all those times I complained about him?”
“All I saw was you not able to even call me your boyfriend, even though I live here with you. What’s that about, Shay?”
I had to turn away to avoid the accusatory look in his eyes. I knew what he was saying. I didn’t know how to make things better, though.
“It’s nothing, El. Don’t make it into something it’s not.”
“What’s going on here, Shay? We’ve always been up front with each other from day one. I think I deserve to know the truth.”
I walked past him toward the kitchen, not wanting to have this conversation even though I’d known for a while that it was inevitable. Elliot and I had been good for a long time, but whatever this was between us had run its course. That I couldn’t even call him my boyfriend in front of someone I didn’t care about said more than Carrie ever could about the state of us.
He followed me, refusing to let this go. I couldn’t blame him. He deserved to know how I felt. The problem was I didn’t know how to say it.
“You’re into him, Shay. Just tell me.”
My eyes grew big as I stood there stunned at his statement. “Into him? No. No way.”
“I saw it all over your face. Maybe you don’t even know yet, but you want him.”
I’d pretty much abandoned my plan to play Stefan March, so whatever Elliot thought he saw on my face in front of Stefan was wrong. “No, you’re mistaken. He’s my boss, and that’s it.”
“Whatever. I know what I saw. He’s into you too. All I know is that whatever we were isn’t there anymore. I don’t know what happened, but things are different with you ever since you started working at that club.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t meant for things to end with him like this. Elliot and I had never been something that would last forever, but I’d always thought we’d part ways better than this. It was just that I didn’t feel like I had before.
The hurt in his eyes bit at my heart. “Don’t do this, Elliot. We’ve had a good time, but we both knew this wasn’t anything permanent.”
He hung his head. “I think it’s time for me to go.”
As much as I didn’t want things to end with him like this, I didn’t move to stop him as he turned toward the bedroom to get his things. When he came back out with his black duffel bag in his hand, a lump formed in my throat. All those months together and things were ending just as they began with
him and that one duffel bag he brought with him that first night.
He walked up to me and kissed me softly. “Have a good life, Shay. Remember to have some fun on your way to the top.”
“El, I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what I was apologizing for. I just knew I was sorry it was ending like this.
“Don’t be sorry. I knew what we were. I always hoped for more, but you never lied and even though I think you and that guy are into each other, I don’t think you cheated either. You have nothing to feel sorry for.”
Hating how awkward this felt, I fingered his collar, wanting to feel him one last time. “I never cheated, El. When I was with you, it was only you.”
He pressed a kiss onto my forehead and gave me a weak smile. “Take care, smart girl.”
I watched him leave, unable to move from where I stood staring at my front door for a long time before I looked around my apartment and realized that day I’d always known would come had finally arrived. It had come a little early and not in the way I’d planned, but it had come.
Heading into the bedroom, I saw his side of the closet empty, hangers taking up the space where his clothes had been. As I grabbed one of my work shirts, I slid my hand over those hangers and took a deep breath. “Bye, El.”
Lola stood against the front bar wearing a huge smile as I walked toward her just as the nightly bartender meeting was about to begin. “Nice to see you again, Shay.”
“Yeah, you know how it is. I couldn’t stay away.”
“Stefan told me I’m back up at the front bar tonight and every night. Isn’t that great?” she beamed.
“Right where you belong, if you ask me.”
“Maybe he’ll put us together again. He should. We work terrific together.”
I looked over toward Stefan and smiled. “Well, you know how Stefan is. I can’t figure out why he does the things he does.”
“Gather up! We’ve got a big night ahead of us!”
