Page 96 of The Barkeep and the Bro

He stumbled back as if I’d stabbed him. “I need to sit down.”

His frame flopped onto the couch where moments ago, he’d seduced me into, uh, fraternizing.

“I was planning to tell you and the staff. The deal is still in progress. It’s still early.”

“Not that early if you’re already reviewing contracts. Do you have a lawyer? You should really have a lawyer review this for you.”

I chuckled at his sincerity. Even flustered, he was looking out for me.

“Yes, I have a lawyer.”

He opened and closed his mouth. A million starts and stops hung on his lips.

“I didn’t mean to ambush you. Hannah’s husband, Vince, is in real estate investing. He sees great potential with Stone’s Throw. He thinks he can build it into something spectacular.”

“It already is spectacular.” Charlie took a breath and tried to play the cool and collected boyfriend.

“He sees a lot of potential here.”

“Thanks to you and the hard work you’ve already put in for the past hundred years.”

“Thirty years.”

“You know what I mean. He’s going to profit off your hard work, your family’s hard work.”

“Trust me, I’m going to profit, too.” Vince called me after the wedding, asking for the chance to at least make an offer. When he emailed over the offer, I nearly fell out of my chair. I’d never seen that many zeroes in my life. I really tried to keep my cool because, to him, it was just another business transaction.

“It was never about the money to you.”

Ah, youth. I remembered when I was that innocent that I didn’t care about money. Then I had a child to raise. “Charlie, we live in a capitalist society. It’s always about the money.”

His Adam's apple quivered in his throat. “Not everything.”

“Why are you so upset? I still want to be with you. I’ll have more time to spend with you. And you can get a job at another bar. I’ll recommend and refer the hell out of you. You’re a damned good bartender.”

“I know I can get a job elsewhere. You don’t think I’ve been approached by other establishments?”

Apparently, I hadn’t. Even in the midst of angst, he found a way to be cocky.

“But I don’t want to work someplace else. I want to work here. With you.” His earnest, full eyes blazed into my soul, giving me serious pushback against my decision. “You gave me a chance when nobody else did.”

He was breaking my heart.

“I’m tired. I’ve been at this for most of my life.”

Charlie let out a dark chuckle. “You say that…”

“I mean it.”

“You love it. You won’t admit it, but you fucking love all of it.”

I snorted a laugh. “Bullshit. It’s a slog.”

“The best things are. The things we love to do can suck at times. Do you think the players on the New York Rangers love playing hockey every day? It’s probably a slog for them, too, but overall, there’s no other place they’d rather be.”

“They’re also very well-compensated.” I had to admire Charlie’s passion.

“When the bar is busy, and you’re zipping around putting out fires, checking on customers, and dealing with vendors,you can’t get enough. It lights you up. I’m a bartender. I see everything.” He flashed a smirk, proud of this newfound power that bartenders possessed. “Yeah, this wasn’t the life you chose, but maybe it chose you for a reason. You could’ve sold the bar and gotten some nine-to-five desk job at any point in your life. But you didn’t.”

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