Page 150 of Worst Nanny Ever
“Five miles over?” my guy smirks at me. “I wish.”
I defend my honor, and we all laugh. But as the minutes tick past and there’s still no sign of Briar, Sophie and I start to really worry.
We worry more as people start trickling in, and then gushing in. I introduce Eugene’s son, Cormac, to Travis and Liam, and all three of them instantly launch into a discussion of some band I’ve never heard of and have no interest in. So I pick my way over to Sophie and Rob, who are drinking Liam’s gingerbread beer and talking in undertones.
I point my thumb at the guys. “They’re having a music discussion, Rob. I think that means your presence is mandatory.”
He laughs. “Is this your way of getting rid of me?”
“Maybe.”
He starts saying something but cuts off abruptly and gestures to the front entrance. I look over as Briar enters the bar without a coat, dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans.
Sophie and I hurry over, nearly knocking into Eugene and Mrs. Applebaum, who are making out under some of the mistletoe Travis hung. They barely seem to notice as we charge past them to get to our friend.
As I get closer, I can see Briar is trembling and her eyes are red-rimmed.
“Oh my God, what happened?” Sophie asks as I tug Briar away from the door.
“Wait,” I say. “She’ll want to tell us somewhere private.”
I lead Briar toward the back, grabbing a Big Catch sweatshirt off the merch shelf on the way back and handing itto her. She takes it but doesn’t put it on. She’s still shaking, and after I open the door to the back room, I nudge her through.
Sophie follows us in, shutting the door, and the noise from the party becomes a muted murmur. I dress Briar in the sweatshirt as if she’s a child, and Sophie gently tugs Briar’s long hair out from under the back of it so it’s not trapped.
“What happened?” I ask again, leading her over to a picnic table that’s kept back here. She practically falls onto it.
“I did it. I fired them this morning, because my dad said that if I didn’t, he’d carry through on his original threat and fire three other people. And then my dad …” She wraps her arms around herself, trembling harder even though she must be physically warm now. “He gave me Silver Star Brewery. He said it was my Christmas present.” She pauses. “It’s mine.”
She starts laughing, but there isn’t a hint of amusement in it.
Sophie and I exchange worried looks.
“Right, I’m going to get you a drink,” Sophie says.
She hurries off while I rub Briar’s arm, but Briar just keeps laughing so I give her a light tap on the cheek. “You need to stop that and tell us what happened.”
The laughter cuts off, and she looks up at me, her soft brown eyes filled with tears. “I messed up so bad, Hannah. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“None of us know what we’re doing,” I say, rubbing her arm again. “You’re going to be fine. You’re going to kick ass.”
“You don’t understand,” she says as Sophie hurries in, carrying a bottle of?—
“Seriously, peach schnapps?” I say as I take it from her.
She shrugs and hands out the paper cups she brought with it. “Eugene had it in his desk. My aunt gave a bottle to everyone in the Wise Elders Group as an early Christmas present.”
Yes, peach schnapps, the gift that keeps on giving.
I uncap it and fill Briar’s cup practically to the brim.
She takes a gulp, flinches—understandable—and then says, “Everyone quit. Everyone. They all walked out while playing ‘You Better Watch Out’ over the speakers.” She releases a jagged sob. “They hate me. No one’s ever hated me like that since boarding school.”
Sophie and I exchange knowing looks before Sophie says, “Of course they don’t.”
It’s a sweet lie, to which I add a dash of truth. “They don’t hateyou, Briar. They hate this person your dad’s made you out to be for the past few months. That person’s a lie.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. How am I supposed to run a brewery without a staff? I…I went along with my dad’s tough-love nonsense because that’s what I’ve always done—fallen into line—and I figured I could fix everything once I took over, but now…”
