When the inevitable question came up regarding my return and finding my place among the established bar owners in town, I was reminded of Tiffany’s sentiment earlier, and anger curdled in my stomach.
It never occurred to me that she would throw herself under the bus like that.And all because that overinflated pompous douche Pierce had decided he had a bone to pick with the both of us.
When I arrived in town, I’d understood that my reputation would result in some ruffled feathers that I would need to smooth if I wanted to make this work.
What I hadn’t expected was for none of that to matter because I was dealing with a group of toddlers who were angry that a woman had stood up for herself and called them out.
Frankly, Tiffany had been right.Stephen Pierce could go fuck himself.
It shouldn’t have taken this to happen to show me that I wasn’t doing enough to protect my bar.
I should have been the one to set Pierce in his place.
It seemed I’d acted passively for long enough.
And Tiffany.Going out of her way to arrange an interview where I could kiss the shoes of that … that ass.
In the past, I would have questioned the motives behind it.Not because it was Tiffany, although perhaps I would have initially, but because I was far too used to every person acting in their own interest.
For her to apologize and ask me to give Pierce exactly what he wanted …
I knew there was not a chance in hell I was going to say what she’d told me to.
I hadno idea how things would turn out after my comments to Diego made their way to Pierce, but I was done caring what that man thought.Of course, I could guess that he wouldn’t be pleased, and that wouldn’t result in any change with the contractor.
But that was a lesson I’d have to move on from.
On the plus side, Devon had come through yet again, his sister’s resumé was rather impressive for her age.I saw a lot of ambition in between the lines of her experience, and I’d agreed to a probationary period, hoping to see how she worked under Tiffany’s guidance while Tiffany was still around.
Which wouldn’t be for much longer.And when she left, this fanciful blip in my behavior would be over, and I could focus.
Jade was ready and willing to start that night.It was easy to see the resemblance to her brother.Same kind eyes, same steely determination.And when she got behind the bar, she was impressive.Smart as a whip.Picked things up quickly, asked questions, practiced until she felt confident, and then moved on.
I could already tell she was going to be a good addition.Not quite a replacement for Tiffany, but that was always going to be an impossible task.
After Devon had taken her through the basics, Tiffany took over, testing her knowledge on recipes and selecting a few for Jade to prepare so that she could judge.There was no reason for me not to be in my office, except for a flimsy excuse to keep an eye on the proceedings, but no one questioned my presence, perched on a stool at the bar instead of my usual seat in the back corner.
Almost no one.
Tiffany’s fond glances at me between directions washed over me.This was nice.The camaraderie was light, teasing.It reminded me of friends I’d had when I was growing up, big families who got along.Harry and I were close, but we’d never had this.I might not be a part of this, but I was glad to be near it.
After a while of watching them work, two things became glaringly obvious.Tiffany was pleased with Jade’s skills, and Jade was very interested in Tiffany.
I honestly couldn’t tell if Tiffany had picked up on this second fact because she wasn’t acting any different than she did with the rest of the staff, and, I realized with a start, I hadn’t ever witnessed Tiffany flirt with anyone apart from myself.
“This is good,” Tiffany said, pleased with Jade’s replication of one of her recipes.
“It’s easy when you have such a good teacher.”Jade tucked a tuft of tight curls behind her ear, head cocked, smile warm and inviting.
Tiffany let out a delighted laugh, then caught my eye again.“I like this one.You did good, Sam.”
I couldn’t help the curl of my lips as Jade preened under Tiffany’s compliment, and I wondered again if Tiffany had any idea that Jade was putty in her hands.Wondered if this was just how Tiffany rendered everyone she interacted with.
She was a force.A magnet.A revelation.
What had begun as a teasing amusement at the interaction twisted into something darker when I began to wonder whether it was time to step aside; end things with Tiffany now before it became too difficult for me to do so.If it wasn’t already.She deserved someone who could give her a future.Give her all of themself.
Whether it was Jade or not, it wasn’t for me to say.Still, the truth was that I had always known where my limits were, and even though I had been selfish enough to indulge this attraction, I couldn’t let my selfishness ruin any possibility of her finding someone who would treasure her and be what she wanted in a partner.
