GARRETT
I smile as Julianna’s face turns pale, then red.
This. Is. Fun.
“B-boss?” Her mouth opens and shuts several times. “Of this place? You?”
I make a show of looking around idly.
Liam has done a pretty bang up job fixing this place. He mentioned he had friends in construction here, but the standard of this place blows every expectation I have out of the water. The only input I had given was recommending a Wild West theme—because who doesn’t dig that?—and this place delivers. Dark wood floors, ceiling and walls, a huge-ass bar that serves as the centerpiece of the place, and local brews on tap.
I turn back to Julianna and smile. “Surprised?”
“Yes?” She stares hard at me, likely cursing her luck in coming in today. “So you’re like, moving to town or something?”
“That’s not my plan for now. I’m only here for the weekend.” I lean back against the bar counter and give her a bland smile that I know will piss her off. “And I’ll be spending the time touring the area, breathing in the fresh country air… seeing how my restaurant is being run.”
Julianna’s face blanches again, and I bite back a grin as I watch her try hard to hold back a curse.
This country girl isn’t just a spitfire, she’s also cute as hell, especially when she has her blue eyes flashing at me, and those plump lips pursed together so tightly that it makes me want to coax them open with my tongue—
“We’re a pub, Garrett,” Liam cuts in, “not a restaurant, don’t kid yourself on that.”
Julianna looks away from me the moment he speaks, breaking our gaze.
I roll my eyes at Liam in irritation. I’ve known him since freshman year at college, and we’re closer than most brothers.
But damn does the guy know how to ruin a moment.
“I refuse to be labelled a mere pub owner,” I tell him curtly.
“You’re not labelled owner of anything.” Liam folds his arms and narrows his eyes at me. “This is the first time you’ve shown up since we opened. You don’t run this place, I do.”
I scoff. “You’re fucking kidding. I own twenty-five percent of this place, Evans. What do you call that?”
“An investor.”
“If I get the mountain hermit on my side, it’ll be our fifty-five percent against your forty-five.” I smile pleasantly. “Who’s the owner then?”
“All these years and you’re still such a pain in the ass,” Liam mutters.
“What are you talking about, I’m just a simple restaurant owner.” I turn to Julianna. “And the first decision I’m making as owner of this place is to promote you.”
She gasps, her hands flying to cup her mouth. “Really?”
Shit, she’s so damn cute when her face lights up like that.
I grin. “Nah, just playing with you. I thought you know better than to trust a miserable city boy like me.”
Julianna whirls to face Liam with wild eyes. “Liam, do something. I’m this close quitting right now.”
Liam massages his nose bridge. “Fucking hell, Hudson, will it kill you to not be a jackass for five minutes?”
I tilt my head and watch the two of them closely. Julianna is standing close enough to Liam that their arms are brushing against each other, and Liam calls her by a nickname. The latter probably means nothing, but the two of them speak pretty familiarly to each other. Do they have some kind of history?
If they do, then Liam’s a stingy bastard. Isn’t there a better position available for his girlfriend since this place is doing well?
“Whatever,” I mutter, feeling irritated for some reason.
“Look, here’s an idea.” Liam squeezes his temple with one hand. “I think it’ll be good for you to get acquainted with the business during your week here.”
Hold. The fuck. Up.
I do not like where this is going.
“I am going to acquaint myself,” I say carefully. “From a distance. Across that fucking hill outside would be a good place to start. I’m not touching this place with a ten mile pole.”
“Up close and personal is better,” the asshole says smoothly. “You’re twenty-five percent owner, and that’s pretty substantial like you so eagerly pointed out.”
Oh, hell no.
“I’m here on holiday, Liam. To visit you, and to get away from my soul-sucking job, not to be a fucking waiter—”
“What’s wrong with waiting tables?” Julianna snaps.
Je-sus. Now it’s my turn to pinch my nose bridge.
“I’ve decided, man.” Liam shrugs, looking damned pleased with himself. “I’m exercising my authority as forty-five percent owner.”
Is this asshole for real? I haven’t seen him in years and this is how I’m greeted the moment I step into this godforsaken town he’s decided to hole up in?
“Fuck you, I’ll buy you out,” I growl. “Right fucking now. Name your price.”
“You hate getting your sleeves dirty that much?” Liam shakes his head like he’s some golden boy ready to expound the virtues of hard work. “I’m not for sale, jackass.”
And now I’m pissed as hell. “Who are you and what did you do to my friend?”
The idiot has the cheek to grin. “You said you own this place. Earn it.” He turns to Julianna, who is watching our exchange and not bothering to hide her gleeful grin. “And Jules, I’ll need you to show Garrett around. Teach him the ropes, use the entire weekend that he’s here, and put him to work.”
Her smile drops instantly, but I can’t even feel satisfied at that.
“Evans,” I say threateningly, but Jules beat me to it.
“The weekend?” she protests. “But he such an ass—I mean, I’m busy! It’s lunch hour soon, and the crowd will be coming…”
Liam isn’t fazed. “I’ll get Rick to cover for you.”
“But—”
“Have fun.” He strides back to the kitchen, then pauses at the doors to look back at us. “And Garrett? Don’t screw up my pub. Please.”
I don’t say a word in reply, because I’m stunned. I’m completely floored.
A week. I’m going to be stuck in this place for the entire bloody weekend. This isn’t how I envisioned my holiday to go.
Apparently Julianna is stunned too, because she stares into space for a full ten seconds.
Then she swivels around to face me, glaring formidably. “Come with me.”
I’m not one to argue with a wild-eyed woman when she starts snarling, so I simply head after her as she stomps up to the second floor of the pub, which has been converted into a few office rooms, all of which is empty since it’s a weekend.
Julianna takes me into a supply closet and shuts the door, trapping us into the dimly-lit five-by-three foot space. We’re practically chest-to-chest, which I gotta admit, isn’t a bad feeling at all.
“If you wanted to get close with me, all you had do was ask—”
She angrily stabs her finger into my chest. “I can’t believe you dragged me into this mess with you!”
I shrug, bumping my arm against twelve brooms and twenty-three shelves in the process. “Take it up with Liam, I don’t want this shit any more than you do.”
“If you try anything funny, I will not be nice!”
“If that was a threat, I suggest trying harder,” I say sarcastically as I stare down at the angry woman in front of me. “Look, let’s just get this shit over and done with. We’ll do it in a day and I’ll be out of this fucking town by tomorrow morning.”
Screw Liam. If he wants to meet, he can damn well visit me in Manhattan.
Julianna rolls her eyes and folds her arms. “You can’t do this in a day, it’s a lot harder than you think.”
“And I’m a lot smarter than you think, sweetheart. Give me some credit.”
“Oh yeah?” she asks sweetly. “And what do you do in Manhattan that’s so smart? I recall you mentioning it’s soul-sucking. Is it secretarial work? Call center operation?” She gasps in feigned horror. “Are you a barista?”
I give her a droll look. “App design.”
“Oh.” Julianna blinks at that. “Oh. What company?”
Just thinking about it gives me a migraine, and I close my eyes briefly. “Astoria Inc. Heard of it?”
“Are you kidding? Who hasn’t, you guys are spitting out social media apps left and right! I have a couple of them on my phone right now.” Julianna’s shocked look also holds a frown, as if the idea of me not being a dumbfuck doesn’t sit well with her. “Wow. What you’re doing is really trendy now, isn’t it?”
“It’s flashy,” I allow. “Gets media attention, which gets investors attention, which gets money, which gets more media attention. It’s an ever-growing monster, one you can’t stop feeding or it’ll turn on you.”
Jules nods like she’s mentally taking notes. “And er, what do you do there? You’re a coder or something?”
“Chief developer.”
“Chief—?” She stares harder. “Isn’t that like, everything?
Yeah, unfortunately for me.
I exhale and rub the back of my neck. “Trust me, it’s not all fun and games. The company pays my team our weight in gold, but in exchange they demand our lives. Every fucking second of it. I had to turn off my cellular service just to get away from the calls.”
Julianna bites her lower lip, and the animosity in her eyes dims just a little. “No wonder you’re so pissed about working on your vacation.”
I laugh sharply. “You can say that again. My first break in years, and I’m spending it in this dusty storage room.”
Though I gotta admit, it’s not so bad when there’s a stunning woman in there with you. It still sucks, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely less unpleasant.
I frown down at Julianna as I consider a new option for us. “I have an idea to get us out of this quickly,” I begin.
She perks up immediately. “Yeah? What is it?”
“I’m going to screw up so damn badly Liam will want me gone.”
“You mean sabotage your own business?” She wrinkles her nose. “Don’t you have any self-respect at all?”
“I have too much of it,” I retort, “which is why I won’t be spending my vacation at a diner. Come on, play along with me, and I’ll be out of your hair by the end of today.”
Julianna appears to consider this. “If you get me fired…” she threatens.
“Relax, your job is safe.” I raise my brow. “I’m also your boss, don’t forget that.”
“Hmm.” She nibbles her lips, sending my mind straight to a dirty place. Bad idea, seeing how our bodies are inches away from each other’s. If I get any more ideas, she’ll know it. Feel it.
I take a subtle step back from her. “So?”
“I guess…” she says uncertainly.
“Good, then let’s get started. Show me the ropes, and I’ll do my best to screw up every step of the way. Deal?” I hold out my hand in an offer of a handshake, but because the closet is so cramped, my hand comes out awkwardly.
Julianna nibbles her bottom lip again, squinting her blue eyes at me. I give her my best imitation of a harmless dude.
Then finally, her shoulders slump. “Oh, what the heck,” she mutters.
She takes my hand to shake it just as awkwardly. “Deal.”