Dropping into the closest seat, I started with slow breaths.I needed to think clearly, get a plan in order.
Jesus, had this really all happened because of Pierce?Because of a single interview in a single newspaper?He turned out to be worse than I’d realized.
I knew this wasn’t solely a by-the-books situation.This was a statement.A declaration.I’d stepped out of bounds.And I needed to be put in my place.
The sinking realization that this wasn’t wholly Pierce’s fault sat like lead in my stomach.Yes, this shit show was his doing.But it wasn’t his fault.
No.That laid entirely with me.
For months I’d been poked and goaded into a grudge match with Pierce, but I’d refused to play that game.Why?Because Iknewthis was what it would lead to.The entire time, I’d stuck to defending the bar and myself but never made any direct remarks about Pierce or his bars—at least publicly—because you could never walk them back.
So, why had I?What a great question.
It had made so much sense at the time.Months of Pierce’s snide personal attacks against me, the bar, Tiffany.Defending her came easy.I couldn’t help it.And it felt like the right thing to do at the time.
It should be the right thing to do.But what was right didn’t always factor into business, did it?
What a lesson to learn twice.That was what stung.Hadn’t I already worked out that love and work didn’t mix?That if I wanted to do this job and do it well, I needed to keep those two things as far away from each other as humanly possible?
What had I been thinking?The truth was, I hadn’t been.Not like myself, in any case.In a moment of anger, I’d done something completely out of character.No planning, no strategy.Just a few choice words, aimed at the wrong person, at the wrong time.
Months of work, and now I was potentially facing losing the bar entirely.Another loss for the books.Another notch against my reputation.
My head hung heavy in the silent bar.There was a lot to do.Someone needed to tell the staff not to come in.Visit my lawyer.Check the paperwork.Call our distributors.Shit.Announce the closure publicly.
I should have …
Well, I should have done a lot of things.I should havenothave done a lot of things.
Within minutes, I’d called Jordan, awaiting his arrival at the bar.If anyone knew how to handle this, it was him.
It was startlingly obvious now where I’d gone wrong.Coming home, this bar had been my priority.However, I’d gotten distracted by attraction.By Tiffany.Now, I was acting irrationally and upending everything I’d been trying to re-establish.
I needed to refocus.Get back on track.Put the bar before anything, and everything, else.
Breaking it off with Tiffany wasn’t something I wanted to do, but the bar had to come first.Once this mess was sorted out, maybe we could see how to make it work.
By the time Jordan arrived, I had barely moved, too lost in the cavalcade of emotions running through me.
As he took the seat beside me, I let my head fall into my hands.There was no time to sugarcoat anything.“I’ve fucked up.”
He faced me head-on, serious.“Talk to me.What’s going on?”
“Where do I start?”
“The beginning usually works.”
So, that’s where I started.I told him about Pierce, the permit issue, the problems with the contractor, and then further back, to my first day at the bar, meeting Tiffany, the arguments, the growing respect, the attraction, the surprising night that she showed up at my apartment and announced she was quitting—“Ballsy move.I really like this one, Sam.”—as well as my inability to stay away despite knowing I might be putting myself in the same position I’d found myself with Piper.
“You were there.You saw how I blinded myself with her.It’s happening again.No matter what, I’m always going to put her first.And so far, all it’s done is make things harder for the bar.”
“You’re allowed to have both, Sam.You don’t have to choose.”
“I do.Maybe if I’d waited until after the bar was a success, it could have worked out differently.But you can’t tell me that I haven’t been dropping the ball here.”
“Fine.Yes, you’ve clearly let your emotions get in the way of work.And after seeing what you went through with Piper, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t warn you against making the same mistakes.I just want you to be sure that this is what you want.”
It wasn’t.But what choice did I have?How many more setbacks would I accept before I realized this relationship was a problem?“If we end it now, it’s still recoverable.”
“For you or Tiff?”
“She’ll be fine.I’ve never met anyone as self-sufficient as she is.Not even you.”
Tiffany was tough, perhaps not as tough as she acted, but tougher than anyone else I’d ever met.Or maybe tough wasn’t the right word.Resilient.She would move on.Even though I knew I’d never meet anyone like her, it would eventually be fine.I would concentrate on the bar, which is what I’d come here to do.
I’d been so busy defending her against Pierce that I’d put her before anything else.
It was time to get my priorities in order.
