Chapter Thirty-Four
Killian
Four days after his party, Zeke asked me to meet him for coffee.
“The things I do for you,” I told Eden, my phone pressed to my ear as I left the bar to meet Zeke. “If he’s wearing that flowered shirt, I’m leaving.”
Eden laughed. “I think it’s sweet. You and Zeke are bonding.”
“I’ll see him at work in less than an hour,” I said, striding up South Fourth Street. “Why does he need to drag me away—”
“Be nice.”
“Yeah, yeah. What are you wearing?”
“I’m naked,” she said, in her sexy, sultry voice.
“Jesus. Don’t tell me that. You’re doing your art naked?”
“Mm. I’m covered in paint. All the colors.”
“I’m coming home. Fuck coffee.”
She laughed. “Connor’s here. You really think I’d roll around on your living room floor naked in front of your brother?”
Good point. She’d better not. I stopped outside a real estate agent’s office and glanced at the photos and listings. I already knew what I wanted, and it wasn’t in this window. “You almost done with that piece?”
“I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow. Will you be ready to trespass and help me paste illegal artwork tomorrow night?”
“I think you know the answer to that.” Although, if the fire escape on the side of the warehouse wasn’t sturdy enough, we’d need to find a new spot. I didn’t mention that, though. She had her heart set on pasting that piece on the tower above the warehouse.
I heard Connor in the background asking Eden if she wanted pizza tonight. “Sounds good. Pepperoni?”
“Hell yeah,” he said. “I’ll even let you pick the movie.”
“You’re too good to me. It’s a date.”
“Hey,” I said, getting her attention. “Remember which brother you get naked for. The one who loves you.”
“Ooh. You’re pulling out the big guns.”
“Oh baby, you know it. Size matters.”
“I never realized how much until I met you.”
“Luke had a small dick?” I asked, unable to help myself.
“Well…it was normal. Not…you know, like you.”
Damn, I wished I could see her face. I bet she was blushing right now. On my end, I was stupidly happy I’d won the biggest dick contest.
“Just for that, I’m going to treat you to the Killian special tonight.”
“What’s on that menu?” she asked.
“Dessert. A lot of it. I’m starving.”
“You don’t like sweet things.”
“I like your sweet thing.” I let out a low moan. “You taste so good.”
“Okay, you can stop now. It’s getting hot in here.”
I chuckled. If I hadn’t already reached the coffee shop, I would keep teasing her. “I’m at the coffee shop.” I saw Zeke through the window, busy doing something on his phone.
“Say hi to Zeke for me, and if Daniel’s there, tell him I missed him today.”
I snorted. Like I’d pass on that message. I stepped inside the shop, the bell over the door alerting him to my presence, and Daniel’s gaze swung to me. Was he the only one who worked here? “I’m not your social secretary,” I said. “I don’t have that kind of time.”
“Love you,” she said.
“Ditto.”
“Ditto? What kind of answer is that?”
“I’m in the coffee shop, standing in front of Daniel.”
Daniel who just winked at me and was doing a full-body scan. Daniel whose name I’d never known after one year of ordering coffee from him. But now I knew it because Eden was all chummy with him. She probably gave him updates on the progress of our relationship.
“Okay, it’s not like we need to say it every day,” she said, but I heard the disappointment in her voice.
“I love you, Eden,” I said, loud and clear.
“Sa-woon,” Daniel said, gripping the counter for support after Eden and I said our goodbyes. A little over the top there, Daniel.
I exhaled loudly. He didn’t get the message. He kept staring at me while he chatted about my relationship with Eden. “Coffee,” I reminded him, jerking my chin at the brewed coffee behind him.
He shot me a finger gun and winked. “Gotcha.”
What felt like a million years later, I had the coffee in my hand, and took a seat across from Zeke.
“Thanks for meeting me,” he said, with more formality than I’d ever heard him use before. It immediately put me on the alert. “I wanted to catch you alone. There’s something I needed to talk to you about.”
Oh shit. Zeke and I had two things in common—work and Eden. I’d only discuss one of those things with Zeke, and it wasn’t Eden.
“You unhappy at work?”
He shook his head. “No. Not at all. Listen, I could be off-base here, but I don’t think I am. I’ve known you for over a year now and…”
“Zeke.” I motioned with my hand for him to get on with it.
“Right.” He took a deep breath and let it out. This did not look good. I’d never seen this serious expression on his face before. His leg kept bouncing up and down. I wanted to reach under the table and smack it down. Instead, I took a drink of my coffee. “Okay, here’s the deal. I want to be a partner in the bar.”
“Come again?”
“I want to invest in the bar. What are your thoughts on that?”
I had a lot of thoughts on that, but I voiced the most obvious one first. “Why isn’t Louis here? He’s my partner.”
“Yeah, I know. But if you want out, I’d like to buy your share.”
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “What makes you think I want out?”
“Just a hunch,” Zeke said.
Just a hunch. Right. In the form of a conversation with Eden, no doubt. What had she said to Zeke? I’d talk to her about this later. She could have warned me in advance.
“Eden didn’t say anything, in case that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You just came up with this on your own?”
“Yeah, I did.” He looked me right in the eye, with an open, honest face. Nothing to hide. Zeke wasn’t bullshitting me.
“Assuming I did want out…” I did want out, but I had no idea what I’d do if I weren’t running a bar. I’d been thinking about buying a loft in a converted warehouse on the waterfront in Greenpoint. If I bought a two-bedroom, Eden could move in with me and Connor, and stop paying rent on her place. I still had a lot of money from my fighting career, but I’d always been a saver. If I spent the money in my account, I worried I wouldn’t be able to replace it. “Where are you going to get that kind of money?” I asked, although I didn’t know why I bothered. Daddy was loaded.
“My dad is looking to make an investment,” he said, confirming my suspicions.
“Right.”
“I know how that must sound to you, but he made it clear this would be a loan. I’d pay him back. Eventually.”
I let that one go. None of my business. “I thought you didn’t want the aggravation,” I said. “Or responsibility.”
“I didn’t. But things have changed. I’m ready to man up.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that getting your daddy to invest in your latest passing fancy wasn’t exactly manning up.
“How much was your initial investment?” he asked me.
I didn’t answer. Zeke was undeterred by my silence. “Half a million?” he guessed. He was pretty damn close. It was north of that, but not by much.
“Close enough.” I leaned back in my chair and gave him an appraising look. Zeke still looked like a rich kid who’d lived a good life and had never wanted for anything. He was only two years younger than me, but life had gone easy on him, so the age difference felt more like a decade. Zeke was carefree and easygoing and even if I’d consider letting him buy me out, I didn’t know how well he’d handle the responsibility.
It was one thing to show up for work on time, follow the rules, and do a good job, but when the night was over, so was his job. He didn’t need to worry about renewing the liquor license, paying the taxes, doing the shitload of work required to keep a bar running day in and day out. Louis was over there right now, dealing with a beer distributor who had jacked up the prices. I told the guy we were taking our business elsewhere. Louis claimed I’d been too hasty. We’d see how far he got by ‘calmly discussing the situation’. Chances were, we’d take our business elsewhere.
As I was thinking this, Louis texted. Fuck him. I’m calling other distributors.
I chuckled and sent him a reply. Good plan. Why didn’t I think of that?
“There’s something I never told you,” Zeke said.
Oh Jesus. I didn’t need to hear Zeke’s confessions. “Unless it’s job-related, I don’t need to hear it.”
“It’s kind of related. I’ve been to a lot of your fights. I even met you once about five years ago. And I followed you on social media.”
I stared at him. What the fuck?
“I wanted to tell you during our interview, but you were…it wasn’t a good time to mention it.”
No shit. I met Zeke one month after I walked away. Not a good time for anything. “You’re an MMA fan?”
“My dad’s company was one of your sponsors. Sterling Technologies.”
It was the first sponsorship I’d gotten, and it was a big one. Fuck, I had no idea Zeke’s dad owned that company. I rubbed my hands over my face. This coffee meeting was full of surprises, and not all of them were good. “What do you want from me?”
“Maybe you should look at this differently. It’s what I could do for you.” He held up his hands. “Just hear me out. My dad chose you personally. Out of all the fighters he could have sponsored, he wanted you. Not just because you won more than lost. But because you had a presence in and out of the Octagon, and you made a positive impression in both places. When we met, you were a different person than the guy on social media, the guy I met the first time, and the one who used to be a fighter.”
Why was everyone trying to analyze me? This shit was getting old.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you,” I said sarcastically.
“The point I’m trying to make is you don’t belong in the bar business. But I do. And I’m not just a pretty face. I have a business degree from Columbia. I’m a better people person than you because I actually like people whereas you’re more…selective. I notice shit that’s going on around me. I know your beer distributor is ripping you off. Just like I knew Chad was. And Ava deserves a raise. She built the business through her social media savvy, just like she built your brand in the UFC.”
I raised my brows. “How do you know that?”
“Good guess. You’re not that tech savvy.”
“And I guess you are.”
“You’d guess right.”
I’d underestimated Zeke. In fact, I barely recognized the guy sitting across from me. If he’d told me any of this a few months ago, I would have shot him down within the first two seconds. But now I was listening to his opinions. What had the world come to? I was declaring my love in coffee shops, considering a move to a waterfront loft so Eden had good light in a building with good security. I’d gone rug shopping with her and hadn’t complained about it. I didn’t slam out of my house when she overheard all the shit that went down in my life. I made peace with Connor even though I was tempted to kick him out, punch him in the face, or stuff his head in the toilet bowl to shut him the fuck up.
The house of cards had fallen, but I was still standing, and Eden was still standing by my side. Despite everything, she loved my fucked-up self and accepted me exactly as I was. I had nothing to hide from her anymore, and I’d never known this kind of freedom. Now, I was listening to Zeke. Unbelievable how much my life had changed.
“Just think about it. That’s all I’m asking. This could be a win for both of us. Louis likes me. I’m sure he’d come around when he figured out I’m serious and I could be an asset to the business. Not saying you’re not good. You’re very good at what you do. But it’s not your jam.”
“Not my jam.”
He gave me one of his shit-eating grins. “Nope. I’m offering to lighten your load. Free you up for something you’re better at.”
“And what’s that?” Jesus. Was I asking his advice now?
“You still have all the skills of a fighter and your name holds currency. Use it.”
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Not happening. I was a one-trick pony.
When are you gonna smarten up and get back to fighting? It’s the only thing you’re good at.
But I promised Zeke I’d think about his offer. While we prepped the bar for opening, I did think about it. I also thought about what he’d said about my fighting skills. I’d never step foot inside the Octagon again, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t teach other people those skills. As I worked next to Zeke, I felt something taking hold—something I hadn’t felt in so long, I almost didn’t recognize it. Hope. Possibility. It’s a new day and a world of possibility. I was starting to believe in this world of possibility.
Throughout the night, my belief grew. Until I got the phone call from Eden that changed everything.