Just One Night (Black Alcove #2) (7 page)

“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.

Fuck.

Sara

The next few days drag
on like they’re never going to end. Liam is learning fast and some
of the stress of getting this place ready is being lifted. Since I
couldn’t get ahold of Logan, I girled up and called my father to
ask how he and Liam knew each other.

He met Liam a few
months back when he was searching for new buildings during a trip to
Colorado. A friend of my father’s invited him to speak during one
of his business administration classes at the university. Liam was in
this class and, apparently, my father saw “great” potential in
him right away.

He wasn’t entirely
wrong. Liam has been nothing but “great” since he started, but
every day that I see him, I wish he were Logan. They say absence
makes the heart grow fonder. Well, not only does it do that, but it
scares the shit out of me too. A lot can happen when two people are
apart for too long.

“So, do you want all
high-top tables?” Liam asks, the sudden sound of his voice causing
me to jump. “Or just some around the outside of the floor with
short tables in the center or vice versa? I mean, I guess we could do
all regular tables.” For the last hour he has been sitting at the
bar, browsing on the computer for someone we can purchase tables
from. There was an issue with our original contact, who said they
won’t be able to get the tables we want delivered by the day I
want. A delay is not in my plans.

Tapping against my
temple the pen I’ve been using to mark up a liquor order, I glance
over at him. He runs his hand through his hair and lets it fall to
his lap.
Logan does that.
Liam has on another pair of dark wash jeans and a red tee shirt. If I
weren’t so crazy about Logan, I would probably have fallen for
Liam’s dark and mysterious appeal by now. After all, I never
thought a guy could remind me so much of Logan, but Liam acts just
like him.

“I think mixing it up
would make the most sense. Don’t you?” I ask, setting the pen
down and crossing my arms. “I mean, we’re mostly a bar, not a
restaurant, and the BA has mostly high-top tables. I want people to
know these bars are connected. We better stick with it.”

Liam’s eyes search my
face and he nods his head.

“You seem a little
out of it today. Is everything alright?” he asks, and I’m a
little taken back at how sincere his voice is. It’s only been a few
days. How can he already tell when something isn’t right?

I shake my head and
force a smile. “Everything is fine.” I pick up my pen and focus
on the liquor order.