Page 6 of Tied Up in Riches

“Your secrets are safe with me. If you need anything else during your stay, let me know.” His words, his stance–they’re guarded and professional. I wonder what reveals the other side of him. I wonder what Thai Marcus is like.

“Thank you,” I say as he turns to leave, wondering if he knows he handed me so much more than tea.

Chapter four

Brooke

“The vibe in here is great, huh?” Maci asks as we simultaneously slide onto the black leather stools at the wooden bar top in leggings and T-shirts. Even though we ran two miles to get here, I’m hardly sweaty. The lack of humidity is a godsend. I retie my high ponytail as I swivel for a 360 view. An orange glow from the ceiling reflects off the alcohol bottles lining the shelves in front of us. I love the checkered wood flooring and the orange and yellow retro canvases on the wall in the billiards section of the bar off to the right.

“I love it. Have they made a lot of changes? Or is this what it looked like when they bought it?”

“Most of it is the same. Except for the flooring. You should have seen it before. It was this ugly green and brown carpet.”

“Carpet? In a college bar?” I chuckle. “Sounds disgusting.”

“Oh, it was.” I look up to see a light brown ponytail bouncing with laughter as the bartender approaches us.

“Hey, Jess,” Maci greets her.

“Hey, babe. Troy ordered that Sweet Cheeks wine you love. We just got it in.”

“Oooh, yay!” Maci does a happy dance in her seat. I love seeing how much more vibrant she is now that she’s confident about the direction of her life. “Are you good with wine? You’ll love it.” I nod. “Two glasses, please!”

It still feels early, but we’re on a walking tour of downtown Eugene, so why not wine? Jess sets the glasses down in front of us before helping the only other customer. I know it’s only 4 p.m., but it’s dead here. “Do they do well?”

Maci chuckles. “Don’t be fooled by the lack of crowd right now. I don’t know the exact numbers, but Marcus and Troy definitely know what they’re doing.”

“Troy is Lexy’s fiancé, right?” I take a sip of my wine. Damn, this rosé is good.

“Yeah.” She grins. “Long story short . . . I went on a date with Troy senior year of college. Then he ghosted me and ended up running away to California. While I was living there, Lexy and I ran into him. A few months later, they connected and fell in love. You know, with a bunch of drama first, though.” I join in on her chuckle. Always drama when you’re in your early twenties. “Anyway, Troy’s uncle owned this bar. He wanted to sell it and made Troy an offer. Troy knew he couldn’t make it happen on his own, so he teamed up with Marcus. He and Lexy moved here shortly after I got back from Thailand, and here we are!” She takes a sip of her wine.

“At least I’m not the only one who likes to run away from my problems.”

“There would be a shorter list of everyone not in that club.” She laughs.

“Seems like it worked out, though.”

“It really did. I’m so happy with everything.”

Looking into my glass, I smile. “Such a difference from you crying on my couch, having no idea what to do with your life.” Maci was on a self-discovery solo trip when we met at the hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant where I worked. She ended up staying with me for a few weeks before flying back here for Avery’s wedding and making the biggest decision of her life. “You’re Thai Maci now.”

She scrunches her nose over the rim of her wine glass.

“That’s what I call it. For me, Thai Brooke is calm, aligned, happy, and at peace. It’s the version of me where I feel safe to be myself–proud to be myself. I feel like that’s how you are now–ironically, not how you were in Thailand.”

Her hand lands on my arm with a laugh. “Thank God that phase of my life is over.” She sighs. “Now we have to figure out yours.”

“Ugh. Tell me about it. I don’t know what to do. Part of me thinks I need to go ‘home’ since I haven’t been in years, but I feel like it’ll wash away all the progress I’ve created when it comes to choosing paths that make me happy.”

“Maybe you could stay here for a while? I’m sure you could easily get a serving job with how much experience you have.”

“Yeah, maybe. I don’t mind it, but I don’t think I want to do that anymore. I’d rather use my degree.”

“I didn’t know you went to school! What for?”

“Accounting. My mom all but forced me so I could be ‘qualified’ to work as an assistant at my ex’s law firm.”

“Did you like it?”

---