Chapter Two

Blake

My life was forever changed the day I planted my ass on a barstool in Belgium and struck up a conversation with a fellow soldier by the name of Zane Mitchell. Of course, I didn’t know that then. My plan was to come back to the States and find a job in security or something along those lines, but then I met Zane. Zane’s family was loaded. Zane had ideas and dreams and the money to pursue both. For weeks, we met in that bar, sat on those stools, and talked about a time when we would be free from service and duty. We spoke of women and drank awesome Belgian beer, but mostly we talked about our futures. Zane wanted to own a bar. I had no such fantasy, but had to admit, he made it sound interesting.

Out of the blue, Zane’s mother passed away. This resulted in an early discharge. The night before he took off for home, we met one last time for drinks. That night Zane told me to come find him when I got out. He said that he was going back to Charlotte to make his dream a reality and wanted me there to see it through. I didn’t believe him, but that didn’t matter. Those nights in that bar were what got me through a difficult time in my life.

Imagine my surprise when Zane called two months later and told me he’d bought a restaurant and was turning it into a bar—just like we’d talked about. When he asked me to sketch out some plans, I didn’t hesitate. Forget that I knew nothing about the food and beverage industry. Zane didn’t care. His dad had owned hotels. He’d grown up in the service industry and could teach me. More than that, he wanted me to be a part of his dream. I spent weeks mulling it over. In the end, I took a leap of faith, and instead of going home, I moved to a place I’d never stepped foot in.

Before I even arrived in Charlotte, I was made manager of a bar called Whisky’s. Three years later, not only was I managing one of the most lucrative bars in the city, but I was also part owner in a beer distributorship, starting a new venture with Zane and Hunter, and making more money than I’d ever dreamed was possible. All of this was because of Zane Mitchell, a man who wasn’t just my friend, but was also now my brother-in-law.

When I introduced my stepsister Cat to Zane, the last thing I expected was for them to hook up. Zane was not her type...at all. He was a player, not a one-woman man, and definitely not the man for my sister. One minute they hated each other and the next they were in love and getting married. Goody for them. Not so much for me. In the blink of an eye, I’d lost my wingman. Not just that, but I was drowning at work. While Zane was busy getting the new bar up and running, I was carrying Whisky’s. Hunter, our co-manager and friend, could sling a drink like no one’s business, but was absolutely useless everywhere else. This left me to bear the brunt of it all. I was exhausted. I needed to let off steam, preferably by getting laid. Something had to give.

“Good morning, boss,” Sonya called out as I entered the building.

I gave her a nod and asked, “Hunter?”

“He’s up on the roof having coffee,” she replied with an eye roll. Of course he was.

With another nod, I headed up to the roof to find Hunter. On the way up the stairs, I thought about Sonya and her tight little ass. Maybe I should consider taking a page from Zane’s playbook. It wouldn’t take much to lure Sonya into the office and bend her over the desk. Then I thought about when Zane hooked up with our ex-bartender Sally and how well that fiasco had ended. Yeah, probably not a good idea. Maybe I would give Belinda a call. Then again, maybe not. Now that she would be working at our new bar, Sazerac’s, continuing to sleep with her probably wasn’t a good idea. The last time I’d seen Belinda was at the wedding. She’d called several times since then, but I’d been too busy to respond. That, and I really wasn’t all that interested. Hadley Jacobs’ naked body popped into my head as I reached the top of the stairs and Hunter came into view. As usual, he was sitting at the bar. On approach, I quickly set aside all thoughts of Hadley and our night together.

“Hey, boss!” Sammy, our new rooftop bartender called out from behind the bar. Sammy was smart, pretty, and married, which is exactly why I’d hired her. Hunter was a dog when it came to women, but especially women who worked for us. He fucked them. They fell for him. He rejected them. They quit. Rinse and repeat.

“Zane called,” Hunter informed. “He and Cat will be here in ten. They want to talk to us about something.”

I nodded for Sammy to fill the empty coffee cup before responding. “Did he say what that something was?”

“Nope, just that they wanted to meet when they got here.”

“Thanks,” I mouthed at Sammy and waited for her to refill Hunter’s cup before we both headed downstairs.

Bieber’s voice on the opening of “Despacito” poured from the speakers as we passed through the downstairs bar to the office, and I couldn’t help but think of the You Tube video I’d watched a few days ago: “I Wear Speedos.” Now I couldn’t hear the song without thinking about dudes in nut huggers.

“Is it just me, or does the wait staff seem really young these days?” Hunter asked.

“Are we referencing ages or musical preferences?” I questioned.

His reply of “Both,” made me smile. Hunter, Zane, and I were all in our mid-thirties. As of right now, Sammy was our oldest employee, and she was twenty-eight. Maybe it wasn’t just me who was feeling my age these days. Before I could give Hunter shit about it, Zane and Cat walked in.

“Good, you’re both here,” Zane announced. Cat gave hugs and once we all were seated, he launched right in. “We’re on track for a soft opening in three weeks. Cathryn’s done an amazing job with hiring, which is why we’re here.” His eyes sliced from his wife to us. “I know we talked about splitting our time between Whisky’s and Sazerac’s, but with the opening looming, I really want you both at Sazerac’s with me.” He held up his hands before either of us could protest, and added, “It’s just until we get off the ground and running.”

The Mitchell was one of two hotels that Zane’s father had owned. When his father passed away, he left the hotels, Riverbend, and a shit-pile of money to Zane and his mother. Sadly, Zane’s mother squandered her share. Not only did she sell off the hotels, but she also tried to steal Zane’s part of the inheritance. After she passed away, Zane made it his mission to recapture what she’d let go, and this past year, he’d managed to buy back both hotels.

Zane’s first order of business was to revamp the hotel lobby. This meant adding new shops, restaurants, and an upscale piano and jazz bar. Sazerac’s on 6th would be an upscale bar that served craft beer and cocktails as well as heavy hors d’oeuvres.

“What about Whisky’s?” Hunter asked.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. As you know, I’ve been trying to get Elena Owens on our payroll for months now. Cat thinks we can get her to join us if we offer her a job as an assistant manager, but first, I wanted to run it past the two of you.”

Elena, or Lena as she preferred to be called, was a resident at Riverbend and currently working for a rival bar in town called Dragonfly. Both Dragonfly and The Last Call were partially owned by Dillon Whitaker, a friend and an ex-employee of Zane’s. Lena was beautiful, competent, and definitely more capable than Dillon gave her credit for. If not for Hunter’s secret obsession with her, she’d make a great manager. However, being that Hunter had slept with her and she’d broken his heart—something he’d disclosed one night when he was hammered beyond all reason—I was pretty sure this was a bad idea.

“We don’t need Lena. Hunter can work Sazerac’s and I’ll stay here,” I offered, hoping that Zane would get the hint. Hunter’s head whipped around and he glared at me.

“Fuck that. Do you know what you’re asking?” His contentious tone caught everyone off-guard, and we all froze.

“Enlighten me,” Zane clipped back at him.

“I haven’t had a day off in three months and neither has Blake.”

This caught Zane’s attention. By Cat’s surprised facial expression, I’d say it caught hers too.

“Well, take one,” Zane said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Hunter blinked. Then he burst into laughter.

“As if,” he commented between bouts of laughter. I wasn’t in the least bit humored.

Zane’s eyes shifted to mine. A long, silent moment passed between us as I considered what to say and how to say it without causing major shit to fly.

Finally, I just gave it to him. “We can’t just take a day off, Z, and if you split us up, we’ll never get one. Hiring Lena is a good idea, but there’s no way she can handle this place by herself...but I can,” I assured them both.

Ignoring my comment, Zane turned to Hunter and asked, “If I take Blake with me to Sazerac’s, can you handle Whisky’s with Lena?”

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Hunter replied, and smiled when I shot him a ‘what the fuck’ look.

Turning to Cat, Zane said, “Do what it takes to get Lena on board.” He followed it with, “What’s the status on Hadley?” I visibly stiffened at the mention of Hadley’s name. I had no idea what my sister did or didn’t know about what happened between me and Hadley. My best course of action was to play dumb, but that didn’t stop me from wondering.

Cat’s eyes sliced to me when she answered, “She’s due in today.”

“Hadley who?” Hunter questioned.

“You don’t remember my friend Hadley Jacobs? She was at our wedding. She was my college roommate and is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known. Well, she just finished her culinary degree and we’ve hired her on as Sazerac’s new chef,” Cat explained. Hunter’s eyes shot to his forehead.

“The dark-haired beauty with the rocking body?” he asked, and I wanted to punch him in the face. Cat smiled.

“I’ll be sure to tell her you said that,” she mused. Her smile widened when she caught the scowl on my face, and I could tell that she knew something. Shit.

I’d tried to erase that night with Hadley, but my mind—and my cock—seemed to go there on a regular basis...as in way too often.

Hadley fucking Jacobs.

My stepsister’s best friend from college. I’d watched her walk into the party. Hell, everyone noticed her walk in. She was the only one wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but not just that. She was like a fresh breath of air. Her hair was pulled off of her face into a ponytail and she didn’t have a lick of makeup on. Something about her drew all eyes her way, mine included. When she reappeared wearing that fucking dress and those silver heels, with her dark hair falling across her bare shoulders, her face made up, and her lips glossed to match her dress, I lost all ability to think straight. All I knew was that I wanted her. So much so that I told Belinda, who was my date for the evening, that I had a work emergency. After she left, I stayed and proceeded to get Hunter hammered so I could get him out of the picture.

Hadley was as cool as a cucumber. That is, until I got a few drinks in her. Then she lit up like a Roman candle. I’ve never seen anything like it, or her, for that matter. Hadley, with her big, brown eyes, porcelain skin, hourglass figure, and tits to die for, was off limits. Sleeping with her was the stupidest thing I’d ever done. Only, it wasn’t stupid then. It was hands down the best sex I’d ever had. No, it wasn’t stupid until she ran. It would figure that the one and only time I trashed my rules and actually spent the night with a woman, I would awaken the next morning to discover her gone. I don’t know why she ran and I didn’t fucking care. As far as I was concerned, that night never happened.

“Cat, you’re on Lena today. I don’t care what you have to offer, just get her on board. I’ll train her once she’s here. Starting next week, I want Blake at Sazerac’s. Blake, take tomorrow off. Hunter, you take the day after. I’ll figure out how to cover you. Sound good?” he asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Hunter quickly answered. All eyes came to me.

“Sure...sounds great,” I muttered. When in truth, it sounded anything but.