“Understood,” I say.
“Or I’ll have to fuck you up,” he adds, and I grin.
“Got it,” I nod.
I take a sip and wince when the whiskey hits my split lip.
“How’s that mouth feeling?” he asks after tossing back his glass.
“Like shit,” I say.
“Good. Keep that as a little reminder,” he says.
“I want to remind you whose office you’re in. And whose whiskey you’re drinking.”
“Oh, you mean this whiskey?” he holds up the bottle. “The whiskey that, if I remember correctly, I gifted to you. Which, by the way, is really hitting the spot today.”
Jaylen pours himself another glass and then refills mine.
“You know you really are a pain in the ass sometimes,” I say as I prepare myself for another painful sip.
“You know it,” he grins, and I’ve never been so happy to be putting up with him in my life.
Chapter 44
Harper
“Hey, I’m looking for Mindy, she here?”
A guy wearing a fedora nods up at me from the other side of the bar. Meanwhile, Reggie, the bartender I am working with, shoots me a sideways glance with a headshake.
“Nope. No Mindy here,” I say as I reach for the next drink ticket. It’s a Saturday night and my first official shift as lead bartender at the Gatsby Underground. It’s been non-stop since we opened our doors. It’s been pretty chaotic, but I love it. There’s live music in full swing, the food and the drinks are coming out perfectly, and the atmosphere is as swanky as ever. I honestly gotta hand it to the guys. It really is the perfect speakeasy. I hope that Ash and Jaylen will soon be friends again, but that is still up in the air, unfortunately. While Ash has been constantly reassuring me that Jaylen will come around, I’m not so sure.
“Well, when does she work again?” he asks.
“Mindy doesn’t work here anymore,” Reggie says from down the bar line. An eccentric theater kid, he has less patience for assholes than I do. It comes in handy when I’m getting harassed. It’s probably why Jaylen hired him.
“Well, that’s a shame,” the guy says, walking off.
Reggie shakes his head, and I just smile. I’m loving working behind the bar, especially in a place like this, even if it means dealing with guys like that.
“I doubt he would have talked to you that way if he knew you’re Ash’s girl,” Reggie says, reaching around me for the bitters.
“Yeah, well, I try not to let it get to me,” I say.
“Your brother would have lost his shit too,” he says. I don’t love it, but I know it’s true. Jaylen has no tolerance for guys being in my face, and he never has. The current state of Ash’s face is proof of that. It’s been a week, and his lip is still swollen. It’s making certain things very tricky.
“So, are you and Jaylen still on the outs?” Reggie asks.
“What makes you think we are on the outs?” I ask as I load a tray with shots of Patron.
“I mean, there was that little public dispute at the opening,” he says, and I look at him.
“You weren’t at the opening,” I say.
“No, but I heard about it. A lot of people heard about it. It was on social media too.”
“Well, that’s just lovely,” I say with a sigh. “For the record, Jaylen and I haven’t really patched things up.”
