And then she was gone, coffee in one hand, bag in the other, leaving me alone in our apartment with nothing but time and nervous energy.
I lasted approximately seven minutes before I grabbed my phone and called Mark.
He answered on the first ring. “Finn? Do you need a medic? Should I call an ambulance?”
“What? No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re calling me at eight in the morning, and you might be the least morning person I’ve ever known. In fact, I doubt you’ve ever seen a sunrise.”
“That’s ridicu—”
“You haven’t, have you?”
“No,” I muttered. “This is why we didn’t work out.”
“No, it was the kissing. My brutal honesty would’ve saved us had your tongue not been a limp fish.”
“My tongue—”
“Moving on.” His voice was too chipper. “So, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just—” I pacedacross the living room. “I quit my job. Last night, I texted Brad and told him I was done, effective immediately.”
Silence on the other end.
Then his voice shot up an octave. “Holy shit, you did it.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I’m stunned. You’ve been at Riley’s for seven years. I thought you’d at least give notice—”
“I texted him at 9 p.m. on a Sunday and blocked his number.”
Mark burst out laughing. “That’s the most impulsive thing I’ve ever heard you do. You sent your boss a Dear John text? I’m so proud.”
“Don’t be proud yet. I’m currently unemployed with eight hundred dollars in my bank account and a rent payment due in weeks.”
“So let’s get started. What do you need?”
I stopped pacing. “What do I need?”
“Yeah. You’re the detail guy. I’m assuming you’ve already made a list.”
I hadn’t made a list.
There were no lists.
Listing had not occurred.
But now that he mentioned it, my brain immediately started generating one. “I need to see the space. Like, actually see it. We should measure things, figure out the layout, then we’ll need to price outequipment—bar equipment, kitchen equipment, furniture, POS system. Oh, and we’ll need to start interviewing. I can’t run a bar by myself. We need a barback and maybe another bartender. I mean, if you work behind the bar with me, we won’t have to hire—”
“Finn.”
“—and someone for the kitchen. We can’t serve food without a cook. They’ll need a prep cook or whatever they’re called, someone junior and cheap. Do you have suppliers lined up? What about the liquor license? You said your lawyer’s handling it, but what’s the timeline—”
“Finn.”
“What?”
