“I don’t feel right taking your money,” I told him for what felt like the hundredth timethismorning.
“You wouldn’t be taking my money,” Cam corrected me. “I would be investing.”
I didn’t like talking about it, but business wasn’t doing well. The building I currently owned, needed a lot of work. It took me years to be able to afford opening my bar there. Now I felt like I had to start all over again.
“I don’t know.” I stood from my chair and went up to the mini-fridge I kept stocked. I poured myself a tumbler of scotch, shot it back in one gulp and repoured a drink.
“It’s not even nine in the morning, Rhett.” Cam came up to my side and took the tumbler from my hand.
“Yeah, well, when your business is about to go under, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is,” I mumbled, the reality of the situation weighing heavily on my shoulders.
“That’s fair.” Cam threw back the amber liquid in one shot as well before placing the tumbler back on top of the fridge. “I have an idea.”
“You do?” Now this I had to hear.
“Why don’t you and Coffee Beans & Love collaborate on something. It could be marketing, drink or food deals, a huge fucking party or something else entirely. They’re doing well, so I think it could be good for your business to work with them.”
“I don’t want my son knowing that I’m in the hole.” Brady would worry and I didn’t want that for him.
“He won’t know anything.” A dark shadow passed over Cam’s face. “But I really don’t like keeping secrets from him.”
“I know and I’m sorry I’m making you do this,but right now, I need to keep this to myself.Collaborating wouldn’t be too bad.” An image of someone suddenly popped in my head. His smile that, as cliché as it sounded, reached his eyes and made those baby blues twinkle. The freckles on his nose and cheeks. His dark blond wavy hair that always appeared messy but hot as fuck.
“Um…Rhett?”
I jumped, giving myself a shake. “Sorry.” I coughed, forcing those images out of my head.
Cam only grinned. “Let me make some calls and I’ll set something up. Also, don’t you worry. I’ll make it sound like this was all your idea.”
“Thank you.” I thought a moment. “Shane handles the books over there. Maybe he would want to collaborate.” I really hoped that it didn’t sound like I chose him because I wanted to spend time with him. No, in fact, I didn’t want to just spend time with him. I wanted to rip him apart.
“I’m on it.” Cam pulled his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket and began typing away. When he was done, helooked up at me. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s make me breakfast.”
I sighed, following him out of my office.
My bar was a full restaurant. Reviews came back often stating how good the food was and that it was the best in the downtown area of our city. But it wasn’t enough. Those reviews wouldn’t pay for a complete renovation. The building was old. It would cost more to fix up the place than what I originally paid for it years before.
“We’ll sort this out, Rhett.” Cam clapped my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I promise that you won’t lose your place.”
“You don’t know that.” I shrugged him off. I appreciated what he was saying but he had no way of knowing the outcome.
“I do. You don’t have to believe me right now but this collab will help and you will eventually believe me. Since you refuse to let me invest and all.”
I hoped he was right because if I lost my business, I had no back up plan. I was too old to start over and definitely didn’t have the money to retire yet. Maybe Shane could also help me with the books. I had always sucked at keeping track of money and where it went and what I spent it on, but I wasn’t trusting enough to hire someone to do it for me. So, I took care of it all myself. That was my issue. But I thought over Cam’s words. Maybe I needed to take him up on his offer.
While Cam placed an order for his breakfast, I greeted my customers to make sure they were happy and had everything they needed. I refilled coffee, took more orders and made sure everyone was satisfied. This was my favorite part of running a restaurant. I loved being around people. Even though most times I was quiet and also known to be grumpy, customers brought out a different side of me. Sure, they weren’t always great, and we had to deal with some shitheads, but that didn’t happen too often.
When I was behind the bar, getting things ready for the lunch rush, the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly tingled. I looked up from the fruit I had been cutting and saw Shane sitting down on a stool right in front of me.
“Morning,” he greeted, his deep voice sliding over every inch of me.
“Morning.” My voice cracked, earning me a smile.
“So, I was told that you want to collaborate.” He reached over the counter and grabbed an orange wedge from the cutting board.
Cam worked fast. I didn’t even realize he had left. He must have gone over to Coffee Beans & Love and now here we were.
“I think it could help both of us.” I tried averting my eyes from that orange wedge between his lips that he was currently sucking on. I tried but failed. My dick twitched. “Did you want a coffee?” I asked, needing to distract myself from that damn orange.
