I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when Hailey's voice barked out, "What the hell is this?"
I immediately snapped my head up to hone in on her as she glared at me. Obviously trying to diffuse the tension, Jim jumped in, explaining with a bit of sarcasm, "For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, this is Kellan Haines. He'll be running things around here."
Gail and the other staff I'd yet to meet smiled politely, while a mix of emotions, ranging from surprise to eye rolling, played on the faces of my former co-workers.
Standing with her jaw hanging open, Hailey volleyed her eyes back and forth between the duo of Georgia and Gail, and Jim and me. "You're joking, right?" she asked in obvious disbelief. "Like, you mean you and Gail are going on a vacation?" She continued her line of questioning. Shooting me a lethal glare, she argued, "Because we don't need him." I cocked a brow and my lips quirked into a sly smile. The sadist in me had always gotten off on watching Miss Priss squirm. As the seemingly confused staff stared at Hailey with rapt attention, her voice raised an octave as she continued to plead her case. "I...I mean we...we can all pitch in and take care of the place while you're gone, right guys?" she stuttered, searching the faces for allies.
As her peers stared on befuddled at the events unfolding before them, Jim held up his hands and interrupted her, chuckling, "It's a bit more complicated than that, Hailey." He gave Gail a loving knowing look before returning to Hailey, "But we are going on vacation. Permanent vacation," he emphasized.
Looking at Jim in astonishment, Hailey pressed on, "What's that supposed to mean? What the hell are you talking about?"
Staring intently at her, my smile broadened even further as Jim motioned to me, sweeping his arm like he was introducing a celebrity, and saying, "Kellan here's your new boss and proud owner of Jimbo's, as of today."
I could feel all eyes swing to me, though mine never left Hailey's. I was proud, alright...proud my presence had incited that riotous fire in Hailey's eyes that I'd missed so much.
Chapter Ten
Kellan
Hailey shot Georgia and Gail a look of indignation before swiftly striding past me as she bumped her shoulder against mine, and stomped down the hallway. As the back door slammed shut, I leaned into Jim, whispering into his ear, "That went well."
Jim clapped his hand against my back, replying, "She'll get over it."
I peered at him, still smiling, and said, "Yeah...when hell freezes over."
"Comes with the territory, Boss," he shrugged, nonplussed. Good to know someone was getting a kick out of this clusterfuck.
Georgia broke into our private musings, saying apprehensively, "I'll go check on her," as she hurriedly brushed past me and down the hall.
I refocused my attention back to my on-looking worker bees, saying with levity, "Well that's our show for tonight, folks."
The group snickered quietly before Dunny piped up, "It's still daylight out."
I looked at him, bemused, and replied, "It's called humor, Dunny...ever heard of it?"
A broad smile creased his face, as he retorted, "Not from you, man."
"Well, there's going to be some changes around here, Dunny," I stated.
"You tryin' to say you're a reformed asshole, Kellan?" he joked.
Chuckles rose up from the group as I quipped, "Recovering asshole, Dunny."
"Yeah? And how long 'till you fall off the wagon?" he asked playfully.
"Keep testing my patience and it won't take long," I said through a smile.
His chest bounced as he let out a hearty laugh, saying excitedly, "Ha! See...still a fuckin' asshole."
I looked at him in mock disbelief before grabbing a bottle of whiskey, waving it in the air, and announcing, "Now, would an asshole give his whole staff a round on the house?"
The group clapped and rejoiced in unison as Gail, now joined by Jim at her side, buried her face in her hands and shook her head back and forth, trying to hide her smile.
"What?" I asked innocently, shrugging my shoulders. "Back in Reno they call me Mr. Nice Guy."
"Must've been a phase," Gail said rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, like puberty!" Dunny shouted.
A wave of laughter rose through the group as I continued to fill shot glasses. "Fuck you guys!" I yelled teasingly. "I was getting laid while kids my age were getting their braces put on."
Out of the blue, Joe, my former next-door neighbor, cut in with a grin, "So how'd you get those pearly whites, Kellan?"
"Eating pussy, brother," I quickly returned, raising my shot in the air.
Mirroring me, Joe replied, "I'll drink to that!"
Jim, Gail, and the rest of the group joined in on the laughter and tipped back their shots. My first day as a bar owner was getting off to a great start. I wasn't about to let anything ruin it for me.
******
Hailey
I couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity as Kellan for one more minute. Hearing the ridiculous news of him taking over Jim's bar nearly had bile rising in my throat. Him? My boss? That'll be the day.
As I paced the parking lot, trying to avoid breaking down, I knew Georgia was probably hot on my heels. I'd be expecting her to come bolting through the door in...3...2...1...
"Oh, Hailey, honey," she cooed, right on cue, as she stepped out of the bar, her arms outstretched towards me.
"Don't you honey me!" I shot at her. "You knew about this?" I accused.
Dropping her hands, she inched closer to me as if I were a wild animal to be handled with caution. Tentatively, she said, "I only found out about ten minutes before you did. Gail spilled the beans."
Throwing my arms up, I exclaimed, "And you couldn't have warned me?"
"I figured you were already on your way here," she said guiltily as she lowered her lashes and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
I reached into my back pocket and raised my phone in the air, shouting, "Ever hear of a cell phone?"
Suddenly morphing back into her sassy self, she placed her hand on her hip and replied, "What would you have done? Turn around and run home like a coward?" I gasped as she continued, "Whether you like it or not, he's here to stay. You can't just run away from your problems, Hailey."
"Correction," I stated solidly, "My 'problem' ran away from me, remember?"
"Look, you know what I'm talking about," she whined.
"What I know is you expect me to work with him, follow his damn orders, and act like nothing happened."
"You're going to have to learn to deal with it," she said soothingly. "Yeah, he's a shit. But you'll feel a lot better if you just do your own thing, and ignore the little prick. That is, unless you plan on finding another job. Good luck around here." She was going for reasonable, but she was coming off as spiteful.
Not backing down, I stated, "I will have a new job." She looked at me in shock as I continued, "As soon as I get my degree," with finality.
Georgia's features hardened as she said, "Well, you've got it all figured out then, don't you?"
After a pregnant pause, Georgia let out a weary sigh, turned, and slowly walked back into the bar.
"I feel like I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone," I mumbled to no one but myself.
******
Kellan
Jim and Gail were anxious to head home and start packing up the U-Haul. They quickly made their rounds, wishing everyone a fond farewell. Without making it a big affair, Jim tossed me the keys to the bar, added a wink, and he and Gail made a mad dash for it like two teenagers sneaking out after curfew. I could see a retirement party was out of the question.
After taking a few minutes to formally introduce myself to my new staff members, and catch up with my former co-workers, I realized it was nearing opening, and I had a business to run. Playtime was over, and I instructed everyone scheduled for the day to get busy; the others I sent home. They eagerly set to their tasks, and I wasn't sure if they were always this driven, or if they were just trying to impress the new boss.
Things were working like a well oiled machine, but I'd been in the bar business long enough to know that one wrong food order, or a sudden party of eight, could back up the entire bar, and cause a trickle down effect, fucking up the whole night. And God forbid someone has a headache or cramps, and can't make it in for their shift.
I wouldn't exactly say we're short staffed, but there's not much wiggle room if someone calls in sick, and we don't quite generate enough revenue to justify hiring another worker.
But like I said, there's going to be some changes around here, and first on my agenda is training the staff to work in multiple areas of the bar in the event any one of them would have to fill in for another. The exception would be Dunny- we need him at the door on weekends, and he works at his father's hardware store during the week, so he's out. But he'd be here even if he had just donated a kidney earlier in the day. He gets half of what we collect at the door, paid in cash, under the table. He rarely has to break up a fight, so in my opinion, the guy makes pretty good money for sitting on his ass two nights a week for a few hours.
Shit, three years ago, Jordan, Hailey, Georgia, and I were the only ones keeping this place running day after day. Jim dragged his ass in a few hours a day to take care of paper work, and Gail was toting a watermelon around in her stomach.
Things were a bit slower and laid back before I moved to Reno, and since then, business at Jimbo's has nearly doubled. It was rare back then that I ever took off work, but shit happens, and I'm wrestling with the idea of merging one of the staff into a managerial role, at least in the event that I have to be away from the bar. My first choice would be Hailey. In fact, she's the only one I'd trust with the job. But I highly doubt she's in the mood to do me any favors. Guess I'll have to implement my finesse strategy... Something tells me I'll need more than 'finesse' to get Hailey on board.
Chapter Eleven
Kellan
The lunch crowd was beginning to arrive, and luckily, Georgia had stuck around to help out, although we hadn't exchanged more than a passing glance. I needed to address the elephant in the room, or rather the missing elephant. Hailey was apparently AWOL. I hadn't seen her since she walked off in a fit of rage. I knew I was being a coward for not going directly to the source, but I needed to gauge where her mindset was at before I pursued the matter any further.
I ambled my way towards Georgia as she wiped down a table, and began to set it up for the next customers. Trying to maintain an aloof demeanor, I simply asked, "How's it going?"
Continuing her work, and without looking up at me, she stated flatly, "Fine."
I paused, gathering my thoughts on the best way to approach her without coming off as desperate. In a friendly tone, I asked, "So...have you seen Hailey?"
Georgia abruptly stopped tidying the table, placed her hand on her hip, and tersely answered, "It's not my day to watch her."
Pushing the urge away to get into a verbal shoving match with her, I sighed, saying, "Isn't that what you two do? Look out for each other?"
Returning her focus to her task, she said, "Yeah, well, she never was any good at taking my advice."
"What kind of advice did you give her?" I pressed on.
Standing to face me, and pasting a saccharine smile on her face, she replied, "I told her to ignore you."
"Well, I'm her boss now, so I think she's gonna have a pretty hard time ignoring me," I replied with edginess.
As her smile faltered, she stared at me intently, barking out, "You think strutting in here with your big-swinging-dick attitude is going to intimidate me? You may have signed a piece of paper saying this place is yours, but you've been gone a long time, Kellan."
Closing the gap between us, I lowered my voice, saying menacingly, "You might want to check your attitude at the door, Georgia. I'm your boss, too."
Standing toe to toe with me, her voice rose as she bit out, "Don't you fucking threaten me. You may have traded in your ripped Levi's and grease stained t-shirts for the uptown boy look, but deep down inside, you're still the same douche bag you've always been." Throwing her rag down on the table, she promptly excused herself.
Jesus. I'm trying to play the good guy, not make any waves...well, on my first day, anyway. But even though I hate to admit it, we both know Georgia is right- I'm still a smug bastard. But I'm tired of pussyfooting around the subject. Reclining back in my office chair, my knees bouncing up and down anxiously, I sit bolt upright, pull open the bottom desk drawer, and retrieve the unopened bottle of expensive whiskey I'd planned to crack open at the end of the night as a private toast to the first day of the rest of my life.
Carefully studying the dark amber liquid as I turn the bottle over and over in my hand, I realize I need to man up and go find Hailey myself...after a swift a drink or two, that is. Maybe I should wait until the lunch crowd disperses. Give her some time to cool off. Yeah, right…like that’s going to happen anytime soon. Maybe I’d just hide out in my office all day and act busy. It would probably be better to approach her tomorrow. I mean, she can’t stay mad at me forever, right?
******
Hailey
Damnit, Kellan's infuriating! He's like a reoccurring nightmare that haunts me.
After Georgia had walked away from me, I climbed into my car and sped off towards home. There was no way in hell I could stand to be in the same room as him today. I would prefer to never see him another day in my life, but Georgia was right, I needed the money, and jobs weren't exactly falling out of the sky around here.
Reaching my driveway, I brought my car to a sudden halt, haphazardly grabbed my things, and slammed my car door with more force than was necessary. When I'd entered the house, my first inclination was to slam the door behind me, as well. But I thought better of it, not wanting to rattle the walls, as I'd taken great care to reframe and rehang the wedding picture of Jordan and me after Kellan had shattered it. It was the only tangible item I had left of Jordan. Other than Kellan's letter I had stolen.
I still haven't read the letter...maybe out of fear? Guilt, or shame? Maybe all of the above. I'd thought about ripping it up and throwing it in the garbage dozens of times, but I wasn't sure which was more disrespectful to Jordan; keeping it, or pitching it. What I did know was that taking it was the equivalent of robbing his grave. I've been conflicted every day since I held that letter in my hands.
But I'm so furious right now that I have the overwhelming urge to find out what's in it. It's probably some weak attempt by Kellan to rid himself of his own guilty conscience, and will most likely only make me angrier. But I need to see it with my own eyes. I need to finally put the past behind me and get on with my life. I refuse to let Kellan get to me any longer. For once, I plan on listening to Georgia, and thumbing my nose at the jerk.
Letting my purse and apron fall to the floor, I cautiously walked towards the bedroom door, and gently pushed it open. My heart rate began to speed up as I opened the drawer on the nightstand, and pulled the letter out with shaky hands. I inhaled a deep breath, slid the letter from its envelope, and slowly unfolded it. Nervously, I began to scan the letter. It read:
Jord,
I guess this really is good-bye, brother. I know you probably hated me for what I did to you, and how I left you hanging. I don't blame you...I hated myself for a long time- still do at times. But I never hated you, brother. I wish I could have had the chance to say this to you in person, to ask for your forgiveness, to express how I really feel. You were always there for me, as my best friend, no matter how many times I fucked up.
When the shit hit the fan with Hailey, I bailed, thinking only of myself, as usual. Had I been here when you needed back up with those two fuckers, you wouldn't be gone today. I'd have put the cocksuckers in the ground myself. I know what it feels like to need to stand up for your woman. You did what you had to do, but unfortunately, you got the shit end of the stick. Life can be sick and twisted...nobody knows that better than me.
Jord...your secret's safe with me. Hailey d
oesn't need anymore shit on her conscience. If she knew the fight with those scumbags was over her, she'd never forgive herself. You did what any decent man, what any self-respecting husband would have done if some dick wads were shooting their mouths off about his wife. I only wish I could have been here to protect you, but life is a bitch, and we can't go back.
Just know the fuckers are gonna pay, one way or another- I'll make sure of it, even if I have to do it myself.
Goddamn, Jord, no matter what happened between us in the past, we could have fixed this shit!
Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) Page 6
