* * *
Shit,shit, fucking shit.
I had been awake less than an hour, in town for less than twelve, and I had already managed to piss off my boss.
A biker, no less.
An honest to God biker club owned half of my bar.
My dad had mentioned I was going into partnership, but he had failed to fill in the details. And like a fool I had trusted him.
“You seem surprised.” Hansel stepped past me and slipped onto one of the bar stools like he owned the place. Which of course he did.
Half of it anyway.
“I...” Stumbling over my words, I shut the door. I needed to pull myself together.
Sure, this wasn’t exactly who I imagined going into business with, but it could be worse. Bikers got a bad rep, but I could use that to my advantage. I could use them to keep me safe.
“No one told you who your partner in this little venture was, did they, sweetheart?”
I shook my head. “No, my…” I almost said father but the word stuck fast. I couldn't let anyone know who my dad was, or who I was. News travelled fast, especially in small towns. I had to keep up the pretence that I was Gypsy. I was Gypsy. “My lawyer just said that this was a great opportunity. But now…” I let my eyes wander over him.
“We want this to be a success, we are silent partners. Nothing more. The bar is yours. The Sons will just be on hand to keep it running smoothly.”
“And to take their share of the profits?” Cocking my head to the side, I studied him. He didn’t look away. The grin on his tanned face just grew. “And to take our share, of course… I can’t see why this…” He paused, narrowing his eyes. “You really do look like hell, sweetheart. Maybe we should do this over coffee so your head is in the game?”
“I don’t have any, I got in late last night and…”
“Oh, I know when you got in. I passed Mrs Romanov on my way in, and she told me that they helped some drunk chick in here last night. Didn’t take much to put it all together.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Thought it best I came and introduced myself before I told Fang you were here.”
My eyebrows shot into my hairline. “Fang?”
“President of the Sons, but I can tell you all about him over coffee. You look like you need it.” His eyes appraised me, and his lips quirked up at my messy hair and smudged make-up.
I frowned. Asshole.
“Maybe I don’t drink coffee.” I was being deliberately difficult. I liked coffee. Of course I did. There was more caffeine running through my veins than blood most days. Sleep was the enemy to a woman in my position, and coffee the holy grail.
“Well I doubt you will find any of that green tea shit here, sweetheart, so you best get used to drinking coffee.”
5
Fang
“What the fuckare you doing back so soon?” I eyed my vice president as he swept into my office without knocking. Flopping down onto the chair opposite me with a sigh, he eyed me, a frown marring his face.
“I still live here right?”
As always, his tone bordered the line of insubordination.
Shaking my head, I went back to the papers on my desk. I had come back thinking the club would be in shambles, that all our business ventures would be lying in ruin, but I had been pleasantly surprised.
Not only had my womanising, borderline alcoholic vice president kept things afloat, he had actually turned a profit.
“I expected you to party some more…” Peering at him, I waited for him to laugh, to brush off his partying ways like he always did.
Hansel was a good man and great vice president, but the man liked to live on the wild side. He had since the moment his wife had left him. Gretal had been his entire world, and she had ripped his heart out.
