As I stepped out of my office, the problem was immediately apparent; Riley and Nathan were arguing behind the bar.I watched as Tiffany smoothly stepped between them and, with a few words, sent them to separate ends of the bar.
When she caught my eye, I could feel the weight of her stare.One brow arched.
She couldn’t have telegraphed, “I told you so,” better if she’d said it.
Riley was serving closest to me, so I decided to start there, quietly asking her to step into my office.She was on the back foot before she even walked through the door.“I don’t know what the hell Nathan told you, but he started it.”
I pointedly shut the door.“I haven’t been told anything.Would you care to explain what that was about?”
“He’s poaching customers off me.He knew I was about to serve that rich suit, and he swooped in when I had my back turned.Now, he’s saying he won’t split his tip with me.”
“I hardly think that’s an excuse to argue in front of the customers.”
“But he’s a lying prick!Ever since I turned his ugly ass down, he’s had it in for me.”
“I’d appreciate it if you lowered your voice.”There was no way I could send her back onto the floor like this.
“Aren’t you going to do something about it?”
“I’ll talk to Nathan.In the meantime, I think it would be best if you went home.I’ll make sure you still get paid for a full shift.”
“This is bullshit.I have to go home?”Riley ripped her apron off, throwing it onto the desk.“Fine, whatever.”With that, she stalked out.
Tiffany’s head snapped to me as I stepped in beside her behind the bar, tying an apron around my waist.After that first meeting, I’d moved from wearing my old uniform of a suit to the more comfortable all-black ensemble that the rest of the staff wore.Not since my years of actually working the bar had I worn a t-shirt with slacks.I hadn’t quite made the jump to jeans, however, and while I was tempted, I hadn’t put a pair on in years.I’d have to work my way up to that.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“That’s twice you’ve asked me that.Can I expect this to be a regular occurrence?”
“Only if you continue to be an ass.”
“I’m still your boss, Tiffany.”
“Oh, I remember.You still haven’t answered me.”
“I sent Riley home, and it left us one short, so I’m stepping in.”
I shouldn’t ask.It was my bar, and it would only invite her to volley back, but the question escaped anyway.“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Only if you don’t know how to mix drinks.”
“I’d wager that I’ve been mixing drinks for longer than you have.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes.“Ok, hotshot.But as head bartender, I hope you’ll respect the hierarchy of authority.”She was baiting me on purpose.I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I did.
There was definitely something wrong with me.
Never in my life had I said or even remotely thought of using the words “yes, ma’am,” but I would be damned if they weren’t sitting at the tip of my tongue at that very moment.
Not trusting myself, I cleared my throat and turned to take a customer's order, thankful that I had already familiarized myself with the bar as soon as I’d gotten the keys from Harry.I was also endlessly thankful that the team who’d installed the POS system had trained me on it before they’d left.
To be honest,it had been years since I’d worked behind the bar.Not since I’d opened my own because my time had been overrun with other duties.But this was where I’d started.
I was a little surprised that I still knew what I was doing, but it came flooding back like muscle memory.
Tiffany threw me a few quizzical looks during the first hour, keeping a close watch, but other than that, said nothing.Which surprised me most of all.I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Instead, we were able to work around each other seamlessly, weaving within each other’s space like a dance.
It made me wonder what it might be like if we actually got along.
