The bane of my current existence materialized suddenly.“Excuse me?”Of fucking course, Sam had heard that.He stood stiffly at my side.“I believe what Miss Young meant to say was that as the new owner, I’ll be signing any contracts.”
No, what I meant to say was, I hate you.
I plastered on a smile, wishing my best friend didn’t look so gleeful.“Auds, meet Sam Cooper, Harry’s brother.Sam, Audrey Adams, the rep from Bespoke Beverages.”
Sam’s smile was warm and inviting.My jaw clenched tighter.“Lovely to meet you, Audrey.”
“You, too, Sam.”She mouthed “Miss Young?”to me while Jackson introduced himself.If Sam recognised him from the wildly popular tv show he starred in, it didn’t show.I rolled my eyes, and Audrey hid her smile behind her glass.
Sam returned his attention to Audrey.“I apologize if that came across a little insistent, but considering that there appears to be a personal relationship here, I would argue it is a conflict of interest for Tiffany to be involved in approving any contractual obligations on behalf of my bar.”
I could practically hear the grinding of my teeth.Made all the worse by the way even Jackson looked to be holding back his laughter.
Just you wait, pretty boy.
“Of course,” Audrey replied sweetly because she was ten times the person I was.“Would you prefer to make an official appointment?I can call you from the office on Monday.”
“I’d appreciate that, thank you.”He shook her hand.“Nice to meet you again.Enjoy the rest of your evening.”He turned to me.“Tiffany,” he said before stepping away.
I’d never met anyone who could weld a name like a challenge before, but Sam fucking Cooper managed it.
Keeping a straight face, I attempted to exhale the frustration.My eyes narrowed at the two amused people I dared call my friends.“Not a fucking word.”
Jackson’s smirk increased.“Seems you’ve met your match.”
“One more thing out of you, and I’m going to elope with your fiancée before you get the chance to marry her.”
He simply laughed.I missed the days when I still intimidated him.Those were good times.
“Maybe it’s best if we leave you to it, Tiff.I don’t want to cause any more issues between you and your boss.”Audrey worried her lip.
“Great, now he’s running off my best friend!I really, really hate him.”
“Take it easy on him.You know how you are.”Audrey stretched up as far as she could from her seat to give me a half hug and kiss on the cheek.I caught Sam’s raised eyebrow from where he stood before saying goodbye to her and Jackson.
There wasno shortage of rich douchebags in the city.Possibly less than in New York or LA.But like.No shortage.
And I had a very short fuse when it came to rich douchebags.
Especially ones who drank past their limit and started verbally abusing the staff.When he reached over the bar and roughly grabbed my elbow, the last straw broke.“Out.Now.”The crowd around him parted as he yelled profanities on his way out.
Sam was hovering behind the bar when I moved to serve another customer, and I waited for the inevitable comment, letting our eyes meet as I dumped the beer bottle in the trash.
His quietly commented, “Nicely handled,” which wasn’t what I was expecting, but I shook it off and continued to work.
Sam shocked me again as I was clocking out for the night.“I’m surprised you held out for so long.I was about to kick him out myself for his attitude.”It took me a moment to realize he was referencing the douche in a suit from earlier.
What was his play here?Was he trying to butter me up for something?Oh, god, was he about to tell me I had to keep working?Hannah would kill me.
Still rattled from the drunk, and now off-kilter from Sam’s compliment, I hid my confusion under a joke.“He kept calling me doll.If I didn’t throw him out, there would have been bloodshed.”
Something resembling a huff, but may have actually been a laugh, escaped him.“You really hate pet names, don’t you?Tiffany.”
“When they are that belittling.Yes, I do.Samuel.”
As his eyes darkened, I felt a rush of adrenaline.Good.Let him know I could give it just as well as I could take it.
When he took a step towards me, my pulse rose.Sam didn’t get close.Sam kept a respectable distance.So, why was I suddenly aware that this was the closest we’d ever been to each other?And was it just the blood rushing to my ears, or was his voice rougher than usual?“I believe that’s sir.”
My mouth gaped open.“If you think I’m going to call you—” But he’d already walked off.Asshole.
Every time I thought maybe we could work together, that maybe he was ok, he’d pull something like that.
I checked the time.Dammit, I needed to get out of there to meet Hannah and her parents on time.At least dinner would take my mind off of work.
