35
Sam
Despite the fact that the back bar changes were now dead in the water, I’d at least been able to make progress with the rest of the bar.
Removing the booths required only some heavy hands and a destination for the materials, and after reaching out to a few contacts I'd made in the area, I’d been put in touch with a local group who reclaimed the wood, and they’d worked quickly.They were in and out in two days.
After that had been done, I’d had the walls repainted, and the new tables were due to arrive tomorrow.
I still needed to decide on a name.
Tiffany strode into my office, unexpected but looking beautiful in her determination.I fought the urge to kiss her breathless or lock the doors and keep her in my bed for hours.
She stood, arms crossed.“Right.I hope your calendar is clear this morning because a reporter from The Tribune is going to be here in ten minutes for an interview.”
“What?How?”
“I know a guy.Now, I figure if you kiss Pierce’s ass a little and mention that you’re about to replace the head bartender before you reopen, you should be able to fix this shit show with the contractor and get things back on track.”
“If I say it like that, it’ll sound as if I’m firing you because of what happened with Pierce.”
“Exactly.He’ll love it.”
“That’s hardly fair on you.”
“Please,” she said, dismissive.“I can handle whatever backlash there is on me.You need to look after yourself.”She cleared her throat.“After the bar, I mean.This is the perfect way to amp up the re-branding as well.You can’t lose.”
I stared back at Tiffany in disbelief.But before I could say anything further, there was a knock on the front door.Tiffany turned on her heel and opened it to let in an attractive man dressed in jeans and a button-down.His wide smile tucked into Tiffany’s shoulder as they hugged, an obvious familiarity between them.
Putting aside my reluctance, I straightened my clothes and walked over, offering my hand out to the man, who quickly took it in a firm hold.His eyes were bright.“Mr.Cooper, it’s an honor.Diego Garcia, from the Tribune.”
“Pleasure is all mine.Please, come in.We can use my office.”
“Great.”
Diego followed me into the office and spent the next few minutes arranging his things.“I appreciate you being free on short notice,” he said, placing a handheld recorder on the desk between us.
“Of course.I’m pleased that Tiffany was able to arrange this.”
“She’s a good friend to have.”His tone seemed to be reaching for something, but it wasn’t my place to dig, so I left it alone.Diego, however, did not.“I owed her big time after she helped host my sister’s birthday a few years back.I’ve actually been hoping to finally get her to agree to start a column at the paper.”
“That sounds more like a favor to you than to her.”
“You know Tiff.She either has everything she wants or is halfway to getting it.Anyway, she said this was more important.”
My mind screeches to a halt.“Excuse me?”
“The interview.”He motions between us.“Tiff called in her favor so that we could set this up.She didn’t mention it?”
“No.”
He shrugged.“It’s a damn shame.Not that I’m not excited for this,” he corrected himself.“And it clearly means a lot to Tiff if she’s passing up a job for it.”He pressed a button on the recorder.“Ready to start?”
I blinked.
“Mr.Cooper?”
Shaking off my shock, I nodded, feeling my professional mask slide back into place.
