“So what’s up with you and my brother?”
Elizabeth swallowed again. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s not here. He’s totally into you, but he’s not at your birthday party that he planned?”
“We fought. I screwed up, and now he wants to have nothing to do with me.” With her shoes in place, she added, “And I can’t blame him.”
Moira jumped up and gave her a quick squeeze. “Colin never stays mad for long. Trust me. I’ve been pissing him off my whole life, and he likes you a whole hell of a lot more than he likes me.”
“Thanks. Another game after I talk to my dad?”
“You got it. I think some of my other siblings might be stopping by.”
Elizabeth didn’t believe that Colin just needed a cooling-off period. He was plenty cool. The way he’d looked at her after she’d apologized . . . No, she couldn’t go there now. She needed to focus on the bar and showing her dad all that she’d accomplished.
She found Keith and her dad talking by the shoe counter. Their heads tilted toward each other conspiratorially, but Elizabeth did all she could to push that fear down. The alley was noisy, and they could be discussing anything. By now she should’ve learned not to jump to conclusions.
She tapped her dad’s shoulder. “Ready to look at the bar?”
He narrowed his eyes, and she knew he was thinking that it was unnecessary, but as usual, he would indulge her. They made their way around the counter and through the walkway Colin had put in.
The bar wasn’t much quieter than the alley. The TVs blared with a White Sox game. She paused, a little impressed with herself for even recognizing that. After pointing out the improvements that they’d made in the bar, she brought them to her small office to talk money.
“The bar is turning a profit, Dad. It’s not huge, but given that it’s been neglected for a decade, this is an amazing difference. We have a steady flow of customers, and as the summer goes on, we have plans to increase that customer base.” She turned her computer screen so her father could see the spreadsheet.
“You’ve done a good job here, Elizabeth. I don’t particularly like that you went behind my back to do this, but I’m impressed.”
Those were the words she’d wanted to hear, but the look in his eyes did not express what he was saying. His words were the equivalent of a pat on the head. “I went behind your back because you’ve never given me the same opportunities you’ve given Keith. So I stole this one. It was supposed to be mine anyway, right? I did more than you ever thought I was capable of. Why can’t you give me that?”
“What are you talking about? I just acknowledged your hard work on this business.”
She just nodded.
They said their good-byes, and Elizabeth walked them out. In truth, he had acknowledged her work in the same way he always had. It had just been a long time since she’d paid attention. The weeks she’d spent here, away from the stuffy Brannigan attitude, had softened her. She actually expected some praise. When had she ever gotten praise from her father?
Had she really expected a prize for doing her job? She thought back to her early days of working with Colin when he’d thought he deserved a thank-you for doing his job, and she smiled. She had screwed up with him from the very beginning.
Everything was much clearer now. She needed to make some changes in her life. She’d take what she’d learned here and move on. Her life would get better. It couldn’t get worse.
Tonight she’d pretend to party. Tomorrow, she’d move on. Without Colin, there was nothing left to keep her here in Chicago. It was time to get back to the real world, where silly bowling shoes didn’t fit into her life.
After her plane landed, Elizabeth went home to unpack and figure out what to do with her future. The more she thought about her meeting with her father, the more she was convinced that he was ready to hand over control of Brannigan Enterprises to Keith. She’d have to suck it up and move on.
The problem was that she’d never come up with a contingency plan. Being CEO had been her one and only goal. Did she want to work for Keith?
Not by a long shot. Not even after they’d moved in a positive direction. They’d had a lengthy discussion over bowling. She’d been surprised to see how much her brother liked to talk once he had a few beers in him. He kept apologizing for being a bad brother. He thought it was his fault that she didn’t have a family. He wanted her to fall in love and make a new life.
He wanted her to keep the bowling alley.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t continue to hold on to something that wasn’t meant to be. Holding on to the alley meant holding on to Colin. That wasn’t fair to either of them. They’d been clear about that up front. Best-case scenario, they’d have fun while she was in town, but then they’d be over. Her accusations had ruined an amicable parting. He’d never called her back after the party.
She could admit she’d taken the coward’s way out. She couldn’t face him again. His cold indifference tore at her.
After changing into an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers she’d stolen from Colin, she crawled into bed ready to sleep for a week. Before she even closed her eyes, the tears started and, for a change, she didn’t try to control them.
Colin avoided his entire family for the next two days. He’d worked around the clock to keep his mind off Elizabeth. He’d listened to her message a dozen times. I wish you were here. Like some lame postcard. Not “I’m sorry I fucked up.” Certainly not “I love you.” And then she had just left. She went back to Florida without a good-bye, like a toddler who’d lost her favorite game. As if he didn’t have a good reason for being pissed off and hurt. She obviously didn’t want to speak to him, so he got to work to forget her.
He’d received a very businesslike e-mail informing him that the bar and bowling alley would be on the market immediately. She kindly asked him to return to Brannigan’s and complete the kitchen so it would be ready to sell.
The kitchen was finally finished for the bar, and they had a temporary license. Mike and Bianca took it upon themselves to organize and do a taste test for menu items. He heard them laughing and joking in the back. Every now and then, Mike would stick his head into the hallway and ask if Colin needed help.
He needed too much. He’d fallen in love with a woman who didn’t trust him, who lived thousands of miles away, and who planned to sell his business out from under him.
No, there was nothing Mike could do.
The door to the bar opened and his mom came in. For someone who had worked in a bar for years, Eileen O’Leary looked completely out of place.
“Mom. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see what you’ve been doing with your life.” She sat on a stool and looked around the bar, as if she could offer an official appraisal.
His mom nodded. “He would approve.”
There was no need to clarify who she was talking about. Colin had always sought Dad’s approval.
“He’d be proud.”
He felt his face flush. “Thanks.”
“Where’s Libby?”
He cleared his throat. That was as emotional as his mother would get. “Florida.”
“Vacation?”
“For good. That’s where she lives, remember?” He busied himself with wiping down the counter.
“Her business is here with you.” His mother’s back stiffened. It wasn’t often that he witnessed his mother going into mama bear mode, but this time was unwarranted.
“She’s selling the business. That was always the plan.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You just let her walk out.”
How did she manage to spin this back to an attack on him? “What was I supposed to do?”
“Do you remember what you told Ryan after he had brought Quinn to the house for dinner the first time?”
He thought back to almost a year ago and shook his head. “I think I called him a stupid shit for le
tting the best thing in his life walk away.”
Eileen slid from her stool. “You should take your own advice.”
What the hell did that mean? He couldn’t tell his mother that he and Elizabeth had agreed to sleep together and when the project was over, so were they. Talking about sex with a parent was creepy. But beyond that, he knew she would call him on being a liar. His relationship with Libby had evolved, and his mother obviously knew. He just didn’t know what to do about it. Telling Elizabeth he loved her had meant nothing.
He couldn’t offer Elizabeth what she wanted. CEO of Brannigan’s Sports Bar wouldn’t be enough for her.
Sleeping for a week wasn’t in the cards for Elizabeth. She tossed and turned and cried. Being in bed by ten p.m. had become a foreign concept. She sat awake watching Highlander until two every night. She’d tried to meet with her father twice, and both times he put her off.
She was supposed to be using the time to figure out her life, but she couldn’t focus. Every day she went into the office and pushed papers around but accomplished nothing. She checked and rechecked her bank balance and began searching for a project of her own.
Maybe striking out with her own company was what she needed. She’d proven, at least to herself, that she could do it. Starting over was a frightening prospect.
When her father called her into his office, she prepared for his verdict. Her mother had started planning his retirement party, so Elizabeth knew a decision was imminent. She knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
From the door, she saw her father standing in front of his desk, with Keith by his side. Nothing in Keith’s expression hinted at what they’d been talking about.
Her father picked up a box from his desk. “This is for you.”
He handed it to her. A brown box, nothing special. No paper or ribbon. She slid the side open and pulled out a nameplate.
ELIZABETH BRANNIGAN, CEO
“For a long time, I assumed Keith would take over, being the eldest, but I saw a spark in you in Chicago, Elizabeth. You showed some gumption. That’ll take you far in this business.”
Her heart stuttered. Tears welled and she smiled at her father. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t get too excited yet,” Keith said, flashing a nameplate of his own.
“What?”
“Dad wants a trial run. I think it’s a stupid idea.”
Their father bristled. “Nonsense. How else am I supposed to know if you can handle the job? I’ve spent most of my life building this business.”
No, not another competition. She couldn’t do that. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I quit,” Keith said, startling everyone. “We shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for you. We’ve continuously proven we can handle the business. It’s not fair to pit us against each other.”
Both Elizabeth and their father stared in stunned silence.
Keith grew a pair, who knew? He stood and walked out of the office, leaving his nameplate on the desk.
Her plaque weighed heavily in her hand. What the hell?
“Well, Elizabeth, looks like you’re it. Congratulations.”
Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be it. At least not this way. She’d wanted her father to choose her. She didn’t want to be given the position by default. All the work she’d done wasn’t so she could win by forfeit. She wanted more than an empty victory. “I quit too.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Keith was right. I’m done competing for everything.” She thought of the O’Learys. “We’re family, but you’d never know it to look at us. I’m done.”
She slapped the nameplate on the desk beside Keith’s and quickly left the office before she could falter. Working without a plan had never been her forte.
Down the hall, she knocked on Keith’s office door. “Hey.”
He looked up from his desk. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
“Not quite. I quit.”
“Why would you do that? He was going to give you everything you wanted.”
She stood in front of his desk, fingering the small items sitting there. “I didn’t want it as runner-up. Plus, you made an excellent point. He shouldn’t pit us against each other. We’re more effective when we’re on the same side.”
The thought sparked an idea, then another. She and Keith did work well together.
“What’s that look about?”
“Were you serious about quitting?”
“The competition, yes.” He swung his arm out. “But this is my home. I’m fine with my position. Dad can hire someone to be CEO.”
“I have a proposition for you.” A jolt zinged through her at the thought of a challenge, much as when she’d first decided to take on The Irish Pub.
They made plans to meet for dinner to discuss a new business venture. Colin was right; there was no reason why she couldn’t work with a partner.
Colin had spoken to the real estate agent that Elizabeth signed with. The asking price for the bar was out of his reach, but if he had a new partner, he could swing it. Something his mother had said about letting a good thing go stuck with him.
There was no getting Elizabeth back. She’d made it clear that her goal of CEO was more important than anything. He’d gone into their relationship with his eyes open. It was never supposed to be a permanent thing. They were always supposed to go their separate ways. He might not be able to get the woman, but he could hold on to what they’d built. It wasn’t as good as having her, but it would do.
He knocked on Ryan’s office door. “Got a minute?”
“What’s up?”
“Elizabeth left town and put Brannigan’s on the market.” He moved into the room and sat in front of his brother. “I want to buy it.”
“Why? I thought the place was a mess.”
“It’s better.” Colin paused to gather his thoughts. This had been so much easier in his head. “I helped build that place. I really want it, but I can’t afford it on my own.”
Ryan started to shake his head.
“Before you jump all over me, look at this.” He placed his carefully crafted proposal on Ryan’s desk. “This is not some scheme for me. I’m looking for a silent partner. Emphasis on silent. I just need the financial backing.”
“I told you before—”
“This isn’t like before. Look it over. If it’s a no, it’s a no. I wanted to give you first stab since we’re family. I’m not looking for charity. This is a business arrangement.”
Colin stood and left the office. He had no idea what Ryan was thinking. To Ryan, Colin would always be the family fuckup. Colin didn’t know how to change that; he’d earned the title. Eventually, he would prove to everyone that he’d changed.
He drove back to Brannigan’s and let himself in the back door. The place felt like his, more than O’Leary’s as of late. One way or another, he’d own this bar. He’d tried to take over Elizabeth’s office, but no matter how he rearranged the few crap pieces of furniture, it still felt too cramped. The biggest problem was that he couldn’t rid the space of her.
He worked the bar every night and took his laptop home with him to complete the office end. The business stuff still wasn’t his idea of fun, but it also wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought it would be. He gave himself a mental pat on the back. Hell, if no one else could recognize that he had succeeded, he would.
The delivery of food for their newly opened kitchen arrived, and Colin started unpacking and organizing when Ryan walked in.
Showing up the same day that Colin had asked for a partnership could only mean one thing: Ryan was going to shoot him down. He probably hadn’t even looked at the proposal.
“Hey,” Ryan said.
Colin looked at him and waited.
“Your proposal makes sense. You obviously put a lot of thought into it.”
He’d actually read it?
Colin waited for the “but.” He knew it was coming.
>
“But I wonder if this place is worth the asking price.”
Colin set down the box he held on the stainless-steel table. “We’d obviously negotiate a better deal, but I’m willing to pay for this place. It will be successful. I’ve worked too hard for it not to be.”
“Why now?”
Colin leaned against the table. “What do you mean?”
“Why should I trust you now?”
He shook his head. He knew he couldn’t win Ryan over. What a waste of time. “It’s pretty sad that a total stranger had more faith in me than my own brother.”
“Sometimes a clean slate is easier to work with.” Ryan inhaled deeply. “I don’t understand why you left, but you expect me to forget you did. Why didn’t you stay and prove O’Leary’s should’ve been yours?”
The fear Colin had buried crept up again, and he wanted to lie as he had been but couldn’t. He sucked in air before forcing out the words. “I left because I couldn’t hack it. Without Dad here, I knew everyone would look to me to be in charge. And I was a fuckup. I knew I’d let everyone down. So I left.”
“Leaving let us down.”
“I’m sorry. I owe an apology to you more than anyone. I never considered what my leaving would do to you, but I knew, no matter what, you’d handle it. It’s who you are.”
Colin turned back to the box of food. “I can’t make up for not being here, but I can promise not to leave again. Every day for three years, I wanted to come home, but I didn’t have the balls to do it. I’m not the same man I was. Hell, I wasn’t much of a man then.”
He dropped burgers into the chest freezer and waited for some response from Ryan.
“What about Elizabeth?”
That sure as hell wasn’t the kind of response he’d expected. Hearing her name caused another arrow of pain in his chest. He unclenched his jaw. “She’s gone. What about her?”
“Did you think about going after her?”
Colin turned back to his brother. “Honestly? Yeah. But I can’t walk away from home again. Even if I did, what would I do? She has a career. She travels nonstop. She doesn’t have room for me.”
Something to Prove Page 26
