Page 30 of Burn Bright
“Not everyone,” I nearly whisper.
She nods more strongly, then slides the simple syrup to me. “You need to triple what I did, and if you’re going to cheat, then maybe you should cheatwell, Cobalt boy, and measure it out this time.”
“Cheat,” I almost laugh. Not at all bruised over being called out. “You know that’s a fighting word in my family?”
“Then you must fight a lot with them.”
She’s not wrong. “If I were smarter, I’d tell you I’m not cheating, I’m just flexing my observational skills.”
“You mean if you were cockier.”
I meantsmarter, but maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s not my lack of wits but my lack of arrogance that separates me from my siblings. I’ve never had anyone give me a new perspective into my life like this, but I’ve also never been this forthcoming with a friend either.
We focus on finishing our whiskey sours as the bar manager returns to us. When Gavin taste-tests, it’s clear mine is still brutally heavy on the lemon. He triple-blinks and is knocked backward. “Whoa, lay off the citrus next time,” he advises.
There’ll be a next time?
He simply nods when he tries Harriet’s, but I know it has to be perfect.Before he can give a final verdict, Harriet gets a call.
“Sorry.” She’s about to mute the ring.
“Go ahead and take it,” Gavin urges, and Harriet hesitates before accepting his permission. She slips into a booth by the window, a good distance away.
I come around the bar beside Gavin, and he leans an arm on the scratched wood, bowing toward me. “So listen,” he says under his breath.
He didn’t want her to hear this.Anger begins gathering in my lungs. I push it down. “Yeah?”
He eyes Harriet for too long. Her phone is propped to her ear, her finger plugging the other to block out the movie, and I see wrinkles creasing her eyes in a heavy frown before she turns away from us.
It pulls my lips downward.
“You’re great,” Gavin says to me, snapping my attention back to him. “Terry is going to love a Cobalt in the bar on the weekends, but I can’t give your friend a job.”
“Why not?” I ask and sidestep to obstruct his view of her. It’s deeply fucking irritating how he keeps staring at her like she’s a problem. “She’s the reason we got interviews. Her friend who worked here referred us.”
Gavin makes a face. “You mean Ashton? She blew him and spent the night on his couch. I don’t think they’re friends, man.”
I force myself not to glance back at Harriet in confusion, in a tsunami of concern, in muddled emotions that I can’t make sense of right now. Muscles burn in my neck, and my aggravation toward Gavin intensifies as I come to terms with what he’s saying. “Regardless, Harriet isbetterat making cocktails than me. If there’s only one position available—it should go to her.” I’m not containing the raw heat in my voice.
He hears I’m pissed.
I am a page-turn away from growling out,Hire her.
“That’s not it.” Gavin holds out his hands in defense. “She’s…” He attempts to glance past my shoulder to get another glimpse of her. I block his eyesight, forcing his gaze on mine. “She’s unapproachable. This entire time, she’s lookedpissedto even be here. Hell, she’s looked angry atme.Like she might rip out my jugular.”
Maybe she should.
Fuck,Imight rip out his jugular at the end of this.
“She can’t be the only pissed-off looking bartender in New York,” I retort.
Gavin opens his palms like,you might be right.“Look, I’m not denying that, but ninety-nine percent of our patrons aren’t going to stop by the bar if she’s behind it. Some might even start fights with her.”
Dammit. I scrape a forceful hand through my hair. I want to prove Harriet wrong—that this interview wasn’t a waste of time or a flop or that she’s the issue, and there’s no way I’m going to accept a job without her. I’m not abandoning Harriet. I’d rather not take the job at all.
I straighten up, no longer slouched while I face Gavin. He doesn’t realize it yet, but I almost always get what I want.
“That’s too bad,” I tell him, glancing at the door like I’m seconds from leaving. “Because the two of us are a package deal. If you don’t hire her, then you don’t have me.”
