“Never mind,” I muttered, brushing past him to get back behind the bar.
“Wait,” he said, lifting a hand to stop me. “We need to talk about the future of this place.”
“I’m sure whatever you do, Mr. Fancy Pants, it’ll be fabulous.”
“I don’t want to change anything,” he said, low but clear.
“Then why buy it? So you can own one more thing in this town?”
I hadn’t planned to say that part out loud. But it came out anyway. It was more personal than he could ever imagine.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall beside the bar. The corridor led to the restrooms, the storage room, the back door, and a tiny office Jeff always kept locked. But when West tried the handle, it opened.
He pulled me inside and shut the door behind us.
“You need to watch how you talk to me,” he said, voice low and tense.
“I’m not scared of you,” I snapped. “You’re just some rich guy in a suit. Don’t expect me to bow down and kiss your feet.”
“And don’t expect me to let my employees talk to me like that,” he fired back.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” I said in a sugary, mocking tone. “Please tell me why you decided to buy Fiddlers.”
“After last night,” he said through clenched teeth, “I made Jeff an offer he couldn’t refuse. Cash. He signed this morning.”
“Well, congrats,” I clapped once, slow and sarcastic. “How would you like me to serve you?”
“Just get back to work,” he muttered, exasperated. “You’re the manager now. Run it however you want.”
Then he left, slamming the door behind him.
And I stood there, stunned, staring at the door like it had personally betrayed me.
Chapter Six
WEST
Other than leavingtown when I was eighteen, I did very little on impulse. Even leaving when I was eighteen wasn’t exactly an impulse. I had thought about it for years, planning and dreaming about being as far away from my parents’ death as possible. But I didn’t wait a month, a week, or even a day. As soon as I blew the candles out on my cake and had a slice with my family, I threw everything I owned into the bed of my dad’s old pick-up truck and drove into the city.
But now I had made three impulse decisions in a row, and all three were going to change the course of my life if I didn’t get my head screwed on straight.
My first mistake was telling Mr. McConnell that I was engaged. I still wasn’t sure what to do about that lie, especially since my secretary had called early Saturday morning to tell me Mr. McConnell sent a bouquet of flowers to the office and a note of congratulations. A fake breakup was now out of the question.
My second impulsive mistake was going to Fiddlers for a fucking drink. Whatever made me think that would be a good idea was something scientists should explore once I’m dead.There was nothing good that could come from West Brooks sipping bourbon in the back of a dive bar.
Last, and probably my craziest impulse decision was when I called my office and made them work all night and day to secure the sale of Fiddlers to me. The owner, Jeff, was all too happy to receive my offer of double what the bar was worth, paid in cash. He had practically run to my offices in Atlanta to sign the paperwork as it was being prepped.
By the time I got word that everything was official, I made my way to the police station to pay Captain Davis a visit. Miles had told me that his old boss wasn’t a bad guy, but he had been letting the goons at the bar get away with way too much. It was time he understood that as a business owner in Harmony Haven, I would expect his utmost support in keeping Fiddlers a safe place to not only visit, but to work.
“I assure you Mr., Brooks,” he said, nodding emphatically. “Those Murphy boys only got away with what they did because the old owner refused to press charges. Financially, it just isn’t worth it to this community to move forward with any fines or jail time because the owner didn’t give a shit.”
Well this owner did and I made sure he knew it. Something about seeing the bartender being confronted the way she had made fire burn inside of me. So much so that I did whatever I had to do to make sure it never happened again.
Now, I just had to make sure that the staff knew I had no intention of changing anything. It wasn’t my desire to do anything different, other than protect their peace of mind. I may have gotten a business reputation that made people think the worst of me, but I had never been cold and heartless. I would have never taken the heart of Harmony Haven and closed its doors just because I could.
I did, however, expect the fiery bartender to be a bit more thankful. What was her problem? What was her deal? I alwaysbelieved knowledge was power, and I was determined to find out more about the gorgeous girl with the colorful name.
Luckily, by the time I had made it back to the lake house, I had a sure fire plan to help me learn more. I just needed Easton to answer his fucking phone. I had only called eight times so far, but my willing amount of tries was infinite.
