Page 4 of Scout

“Uh ... um, yes. Yes, sir. I’m sorry. You caught me off guard. Yes, I can start tomorrow.”

“Good. Report here first thing in the morning at eight o’clock sharp, and we’ll go over what I expect from you as my personal assistant. I purposely have a light schedule this week, but come Monday, be readyto hit the ground running. Are you old school and use a day planner or will a tablet work?”

Another question that caused him to shift gears and make a sharp turn in a different direction. That time, he recovered faster from the verbal whiplash. “A tablet is preferable.”

“I’ll have one waiting for you in the morning. Delilah will give you directions to personnel on your way out.”

Assuming he was dismissed, Alex turned to go but stopped when he remembered his manners. He still reeled from the abrupt job offer. When Turner raised an eyebrow at him, Alex smiled. “Thank you for hiring me, sir. I look forward to working for you and will do my best to get up to speed as soon as possible.”

“Good to hear. Oh, by the way, did you bring the dog’s vet bill?”

“Um, no, sir, it wasn’t ready yet.”

Turner nodded as he retook his seat. “That’s fine. When you get it, give it to Delilah, and she’ll make sure it gets paid.”

“I will, Mr. Turner.”

“It’s Scout, Alex. Mr. Turner or sir are only suited for formal settings.”

“Okay, Scout it is. Thanks again.”

Alex left the office, controlling the urge to throw a few fist pumps into the air. There would be plenty of time to celebrate later.

After he finished with personnel and security a littleover an hour later, it was dinnertime. The hotel’s classy restaurant wasn’t something he was into while dining alone, so he exited the building and glanced around. Across the street was a pub that looked pretty good, and Alex chuckled at its name—the Cock & Bull. Since San Francisco had a large LBGTQ+ population, the name was undoubtedly a play on words. He wouldn’t be surprised to find it catered to the gay community. When the traffic in front of him came to a stop, he waited for the crossing signal to turn green and joined a small crowd of people making their way to the other side of the street.

Three men entered the pub ahead of him, and the last one held the door open for him, giving him a flirtatious smile as he did so. He was cute but at least ten years Alex’s junior. At thirty-four, Alex no longer wanted to date guys who preferred to spend most of their time at clubs and parties.

When the threesome stopped at the hostess stand, Alex stepped around them and found a seat at the bar. He didn’t mind eating alone but hated sitting at a table by himself. At the bar, he could probably find some casual conversation or watch sports games or the news on one of the many large TVs hanging on the walls around the area sectioned off from the main dining room.

After ordering a beer and asking for a menu, he took a moment to hang his suit jacket on the back of the stool, loosen his tie, and undo the top button of hisshirt before sitting down. A glance around the place told him it was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. The bar took up one whole wall, from front to back, while counter-height tables and chairs were evenly spaced along a half wall behind Alex. On the other side of that, tables and booths surrounded a dance floor in the main dining room. A small stage, which he assumed was for musical entertainment, was at the far end of the room. At the back of the bar was the entrance to the kitchen and a hallway where the restrooms were located. Over by the hostess stand was a set of stairs leading to a second level. An expansive balcony along the entire perimeter held more dining tables and allowed the patrons to observe what was happening below.

The bar and tables were half-filled, but it was still early, and every few minutes, more people flowed in through the front door. It looked like the place did a decent business. If the food was good, Alex might visit often after work.

Before his mind could fully shift back to his new boss, hishotnew boss, the bartender placed a pint of Guinness and a menu in front of him and asked, “Do I know you? You look really familiar.”

Alex eyed the man for a moment—dark hair, brown eyes, broad shoulders, about six-three, and around Alex’s age. He thought the other guy was familiar-looking too. Suddenly, a name popped into his head. “Gino Demara?”

A smile spread across the bartender’s face, and recognition flashed in his eyes. He reached across the bar for a handshake. “Yeah! Holy crap! Alex Shepherd—thatisyou. I think the last time I saw you was our five-year reunion. How’ve ya been?Where’veya been?”

Gino and Alex attended high school together and were in several classes with each other. While they hadn’t been close—their graduating class had over 300 students—they’d still been friends and hung out with many of the same people. “I’m doing great, and I just moved back here from New York. My mom had a stroke, so I came back to help out.”

“Aw, that sucks, man. She doing okay, though?”

“Yeah, she is. It just made me realize how much distance there is between New York and here. What are you up to these days?”

Gino shrugged. “Little of this, little of that. For now, I’m working for my cousin, Rico, who owns the place. He’s a couple of years older than us, so I’m not sure if you remember him.”

He shook his head. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t conjure up an image of the man. “Not really, no.”

“He’ll be in later—I’ll introduce you. So, where are you working now?”

“Actually, I got hired to work for Scout Turner across the street. Just came from the interview.”

Gino’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s awesome. Scout’s a great guy and really takes care of his employees.He’s good friends with Rico. In fact, he’s a silent partner in this place.”

Alex filed that surprising tidbit of information away in his mind. It appeared Turner was involved in more business ventures than Alex had uncovered. Although, with his new position, he would learn a lot more about the man.

“Hey, Gino, I need two Heinekens, a chardonnay, and a dirty martini up,” a female server at the end of the bar called out to him.

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