Page 32 of Living with Fire
For tonight I’m just going to count my blessings, that despite being out of a job, and out of my home, I have somewhere to go, and someone who cares that I’m okay.
When I get back to the table, Nate slides over to where I was sitting, and I slide in next to him. The three of them are quiet, all eyes turned on me, and I look down to make sure I haven’t spilled something on my top, forgotten to pull my pants up, or something else ridiculous like that.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?” I ask, picking my cuticle self-consciously.
Nate levels me with a serious look, lips pursed in thought, his fingers tapping on the side of his beer bottle. I feel like whatever he’s about to say is going to carry a great deal of weight, and I’m not wrong when he asks, “How would you like to come work for me?”
CHAPTER 12
NATE
“Morning brother,” Jordan greets me as she walks into the kitchen, ready for work in a pair of blue scrubs. She grabs a coffee mug from the cupboard as I grunt a “morning” and go back to reading the news on my tablet. “I see you’re in a great mood.”
It’s not that I’m in a bad mood, I’m just in a mood where I don’t want to talk to my sister. I made a rash decision last night, something that isn’t like me, and I know she’s going to question me on it. Christ, I’m surprised she’s not questioning me on a lot of choices I’ve made in the last twenty-four hours. Then again, she probably sees the decisions as part of my love life, and she wouldn’t dare negatively question that. It’s the only reason I think I might get through this conversation without her having a heart attack.
“I thought you’d be all smiles this morning given that we have a house guest,” she muses, leaning against the counter as she sips on her coffee, studying me. “Then again, it looks like said house guest slept in the guest bedroom, so maybe that’s why you still look grumpy.”
“I’m not Liam.”
“Clearly.”
I swipe down to the next story on the news, picking my mug up to take a sip of my own coffee, ignoring my sister, although I need to talk to her. I may run the majority of the bar, but Jordan is still part owner, and I gave Savanna a job without consulting her. I’m pretty sure there are rules against that, or at the very least it’s frowned upon, especially when you’re facing a world of unknowns where finances are concerned. The bar does well, but given the tax situation, I don’t know where we stand and I won’t know for a few weeks, something that Jordan is well aware of after the meeting with the accountant.
I sigh and push my tablet away, looking up to find her still watching me. Damn her perceptive eyes and knowing me so well. It’s like she’s been standing there waiting for me to spill whatever is on my mind.
Deciding to get it over with, I sigh. “I hired Savanna as a server last night.”
“What? Nate!” Jordan hisses, eyes bugging out of her head.
I don’t mention that it took Liam and I some convincing to get Savanna to agree. Brody was useless, sitting there minding his own business the entire time. After Savanna left the table, Liam was on me like white on rice, bringing up the fact that she didn’t have a job, and if I had more help I could take more time off.
It didn’t take long to persuade me because the thought had already been on my mind when I watched her walk out of the kitchen with that serving tray held like she had done it all her life. But after everything I had already done for her, Savanna wasn’t as inclined to take the offer until I told her it didn’t need to be anything long term if she didn’t want it to be. Which was stupid as shit of me because it’s pointless to train someone only for them to leave shortly after.
I think I was feeling a little desperate to keep her in my life somehow because, despite our flirting—super hot, leave me semi-hard all-night flirting—I get the sense that Savanna is skittish when it comes to men and dating. It’s nothing that she’s said specifically, minus the whole thing with her boss, but more what she hasn’t said. There were times last night when Liam or I would ask her a question about her life prior to moving here and she would avoid answering, usually by asking a question of her own.
“I know, I’m sorry. I should have consulted you,” I apologize, meeting Jordan’s eyes.
She’s moved to lean against the island instead of the back counter, her cup set down in front of her. She looks pissed and I can’t say I blame her. I’d be angry if the situation was reversed.
“I thought you liked this girl?”
“What? I do. What’s that got to do with anything?” Except I already know, and I was hoping to hell that Jordan wouldn’t call me on it.
My sister’s eyes narrow at me, and she already knows that I know what she’s going to say, but she says it anyway. “You and I own the bar. Do you really think it’s appropriate to be dating someone who works for us?”
“We aren’t dating,” I point out. “Besides, we’re the owners. Don’t we get to make the rules? Is this really what you’re questioning me on? My love life? I thought I told you to stay out of it.”
Jordan snorts. “Since when do I do what you tell me?”
Hardly ever. I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Look, I know what you’re saying, but we’ll cross that bridge if we ever come to it. In the meantime, I’m trying to help her out. She’s had a shitty time since she moved here, and I can do something to make it better.”
“My brother, the hero,” Jordan says with a roll of her eyes, but I know she wouldn’t try to change me. “Okay, fine. On to the other problem—can we afford it?”
“I’ll make it work,” I tell her, firm and confident. “I don’t know if she’ll stick around long or not, but if she does, I think she’d be an asset. You should have seen her last night.”
In my time working at the bar, I’ve seen my fair share of servers come and go. I’ve learned to observe someone carrying a stack of dishes, both plated and dirty, to tell if they’ll be good or bad at the job. Savanna passed a test that she didn’t even know I had with flying colors.
“Bryn is going to be cutting her hours, we’re going to need someone…”