Page 1 of Secret Billionaire

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Faye served a round of beers to the table of guys still lingering. The place had cleared out. They and the solo patron at the bar, were the only customers left. She set the six beers in front of them and had turned to leave when one of them called her back.

“It’s our boss’s birthday.” The guy nodded his head toward the man Faye had been drooling over the entire night. “Since Jesse here, can’t seem to take his eyes off of you, how about you make his day and give him your phone number?”

Faye grinned at the gray-haired man who’d thrown his friend under the bus.

Hands on her hips she said, “You behave yourself, ya hear. I don’t give my number out…even if it’s an extra hot birthday boy.”

They all guffawed with laughter, then the teasing began in earnest.

“Hear that Jesse? Extra hot!”

“You might actually have a shot,” another one chimed in.

“His name’s Jesse Carlisle, and I’m Stan, his foreman.” He tipped his beer bottle at her.

Faye curtsied playfully and then stuck out her hand towards the embarrassed hunk. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. Happy Birthday. I hate to be the bearer of bad news guys, but this is last call,” she said, as she laid their bill on the table.

Jesse tipped back his chair and looked up at her through ridiculously long lashes and smiled. “Don’t listen to these guys. They’re full of hot air.”

“What business are y’all in?”

Stan answered for them. “Construction. We build houses.”

“Maybe I should take that back then and give Jesse my number after all. I’ve been dumped. I had a construction company all lined up, and they just up and quit on me.”

The five men all looked curiously at Jesse waiting for his response.

He shrugged and said, “That’s brutal. This is the busiest time of year for construction. You’re going to have a tough time finding someone else.”

Faye was not the least bit surprised that he didn’t step in and offer to help. She knew the timing was horrible.

“Don’t I know it.”

The building, once a favorite dive bar for the locals, had been closed and neglected for years. She renamed it The Pelican and had big dreams to bring it back to life with live music, open mic nights, great tasting bar food. Since the kitchen required a major overhaul, her customers would have to be content with peanuts, potato chips and jerky for now. There was still a ton of work to be done and she was trying to be patient. It was hard to not feel overwhelmed.

“My dream is to restore the outdoor seating area. I had hoped to have that done in time for tourist season this year.” She sighed, “Oh well. It didn’t stop you boys from coming in tonight.”

Jesse’s forehead furrowed as he listened to Faye. “I can give you a couple of numbers of some workers I know, but I can’t promise anything,” he said.

She put a hand to her heart. “You’d do that for me?” She laid on the southern charm.

“I’ll drop off a few cards this week.”

“That would be great. Can I use you as a reference?”

His amber brown eye’s crinkled when he smiled at her. “Of course.”

Stan looked out at the pier and said, “It’s a shame to waste that outdoor space. You’ve got the perfect location.”

The deck was adjacent to a marina, and when the renovation was completed, customers would be able to drive their boats up, secure their vessels and come through her own private entrance. However, before that could happen, the covered deck needed repaired, possibly replaced, then stained and sealed. Right now, it was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

They were interrupted by the guy at the bar who yelled, “Can a guy get a fucking beer around here?”

Faye reluctantly returned to the bar to serve him.

“Last call,” she said to him, her voice clipped.

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