Page 99 of Beneath Your Beautiful
“Just a hunch,” Zeke said.
Just a hunch. Right. In the form of a conversation with Eden, no doubt. What had she said to Zeke? I’d talk to her about this later. She could have warned me in advance.
“Eden didn’t say anything, in case that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You just came up with this on your own?”
“Yeah, I did.” He looked me right in the eye, with an open, honest face. Nothing to hide. Zeke wasn’t bullshitting me.
“Assuming I did want out…” I did want out, but I had no idea what I’d do if I weren’t running a bar. I’d been thinking about buying a loft in a converted warehouse on the waterfront in Greenpoint. If I bought a two-bedroom, Eden could move in with me and Connor, and stop paying rent on her place. I still had a lot of money from my fighting career, but I’d always been a saver. If I spent the money in my account, I worried I wouldn’t be able to replace it. “Where are you going to get that kind of money?” I asked, although I didn’t know why I bothered. Daddy was loaded.
“My dad is looking to make an investment,” he said, confirming my suspicions.
“Right.”
“I know how that must sound to you, but he made it clear this would be a loan. I’d pay him back. Eventually.”
I let that one go. None of my business. “I thought you didn’t want the aggravation,” I said. “Or responsibility.”
“I didn’t. But things have changed. I’m ready to man up.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that getting your daddy to invest in your latest passing fancy wasn’t exactly manning up.
“How much was your initial investment?” he asked me.
I didn’t answer. Zeke was undeterred by my silence. “Half a million?” he guessed. He was pretty damn close. It was north of that, but not by much.
“Close enough.” I leaned back in my chair and gave him an appraising look. Zeke still looked like a rich kid who’d lived a good life and had never wanted for anything. He was only two years younger than me, but life had gone easy on him, so the age difference felt more like a decade. Zeke was carefree and easygoing and even if I’d consider letting him buy me out, I didn’t know how well he’d handle the responsibility.
It was one thing to show up for work on time, follow the rules, and do a good job, but when the night was over, so was his job. He didn’t need to worry about renewing the liquor license, paying the taxes, doing the shitload of work required to keep a bar running day in and day out. Louis was over there right now, dealing with a beer distributor who had jacked up the prices. I told the guy we were taking our business elsewhere. Louis claimed I’d been too hasty. We’d see how far he got by ‘calmly discussing the situation’. Chances were, we’d take our business elsewhere.
As I was thinking this, Louis texted.Fuck him. I’m calling other distributors.
I chuckled and sent him a reply.Good plan. Why didn’t I think of that?
“There’s something I never told you,” Zeke said.
Oh Jesus. I didn’t need to hear Zeke’s confessions. “Unless it’s job-related, I don’t need to hear it.”
“It’s kind of related. I’ve been to a lot of your fights. I even met you once about five years ago. And I followed you on social media.”
I stared at him. What the fuck?
“I wanted to tell you during our interview, but you were…it wasn’t a good time to mention it.”
No shit. I met Zeke one month after I walked away. Not a good time for anything. “You’re an MMA fan?”
“My dad’s company was one of your sponsors. Sterling Technologies.”
It was the first sponsorship I’d gotten, and it was a big one. Fuck, I had no idea Zeke’s dad owned that company. I rubbed my hands over my face. This coffee meeting was full of surprises, and not all of them were good. “What do you want from me?”
“Maybe you should look at this differently. It’s what I could do for you.” He held up his hands. “Just hear me out. My dad chose you personally. Out of all the fighters he could have sponsored, he wanted you. Not just because you won more than lost. But because you had a presence in and out of the Octagon, and you made a positive impression in both places. When we met, you were a different person than the guy on social media, the guy I met the first time, and the one who used to be a fighter.”
Why was everyone trying to analyze me? This shit was getting old.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you,” I said sarcastically.
“The point I’m trying to make is you don’t belong in the bar business. But I do. And I’m not just a pretty face. I have a business degree from Columbia. I’m a better people person than you because I actually like people whereas you’re more…selective. I notice shit that’s going on around me. I know your beer distributor is ripping you off. Just like I knew Chad was. And Ava deserves a raise. She built the business through her social media savvy, just like she built your brand in the UFC.”
