Page 11 of Single Girl in the City
“And?” Josh asked.
“One was a no show and the other’s balls hadn’t even dropped.”
“And the manager?”
“Qualified but not the right fit.”
“You mean not Chris,” Rhett said, referring to the old manager, who was reliable, trustworthy, and great with the staff. Plus, he and Owen went way back. All the way to high school. “They don’t have to have a history with you to be right for the job.”
“Maybe, but I’d rather be down a few employees than try to explain to my shareholders,” he pointed to the peanut gallery, “why we’re losing money.”
Owen had bad luck at picking trustworthy employees. In fact, he’d had a long run of hiring people who liked to break the rules and leave him high and dry. His record with women wasn’t all that different.
“This is about control,” Gage said. “You are a control freak.”
“I run a seven thousand square foot pub and grill.” While he ran the day-to-day operations, his family all had equal shares with the bar split six ways. A share for each brother and one for his mom, who also inherited Kyle’s share after he died. Yet, Owen ran the entire place by himself, down to managing the cleaning crew and overseeing a staff of thirty employees.
Thirty employees who counted on him to make sure everything was in order and ran smoothly and efficiently. So if that took around the clock supervision, then so be it.
“What about Seattle?” Gage asked, then shook his head as if he already knew the answer. “No way. You’re seriously going to miss Clay’s game?”
No matter how much he wanted to make it, he was strapped to the bar until he found the right manager. That didn’t stop the guilt from seeping in. It was the first game of the season and the Seahawks were favored to win. The whole family was road-tripping it to Seattle to watch his baby brother kick ass, and odds were, Owen would have to miss it.
Hell, these days he missed everything.
“You’re going,” Rhett said. “Even if it means leaving Clive in charge.”
Owen paled. Clive was one of his mom’s hires. As the nephew of Margo’s manicurist, she’d hired him without talking to Owen. With only eight months of managing a coffee truck under his belt—employees numbering three—he’d been brought on as an assistant manager. And while the kid was a hard worker, he didn’t know the first thing about overseeing a place with as many moving parts as Stout.
Plus, there was the fact that he was a pushover. He’d rather leave the state than get caught in a confrontation. And confrontation was part of managing—the worst part, but a part all the same.
“He’d crack under the pressure in under two hours.” Another reason Owen couldn’t afford to lose focus.
Josh leaned in, shoving all that big-brother ’tude in Owen’s face. “Then you better find someone else and not just another manager. We’re talking an extra bartender or two.”
Owen stared him down. Josh might be two years older, but Owen had three inches and a good thirty pounds on all his brothers. With his buzzed head, more tattoos than fingers, and sheer size, people often mistook Owen for the bouncer rather than the owner.
And that went with women as well. While he wouldn’t mind finding a sweet girl like his brothers had, it was usually the bolder barflies who flocked to him.
Tonight was Ladies’ Night, and usually he’d look forward to getting his flirt on. How funny was it that the only hot girl he wanted to flirt with would rather ride her bike in the rain than be in a car with him?
He must be losing his touch, he decided. He never had a hard time attracting women. He loved women. But after being with Abi yesterday, flirting with other women didn’t sound so appealing. Case in point, Red.
Nope, all he wanted was more time with Abi rather than surface banter with a one-night stand.
After watching his brothers find their person one by one, he’d begun to wonder if that would ever happen for him. Which was a ridiculous thought since he didn’t have the time or interest in being anything other than the king of one-nighters.
“I’d rather hire the right one than hire anyone,” he explained.
“He’s got a point,” Rhett said quietly. “Nothing good comes from rushing into things.”
Owen’s heart went out to his brother who was no longer talking about the bar. Two years ago, Rhett had a whirlwind marriage with a woman who decided she no longer wanted to go the distance. The ink on the divorce papers wasn’t even dry and Stephanie was already seeing someone else.
Rhett didn’t talk much about it and Owen was the last person to drag something out of someone who wanted privacy. He just hoped Rhett was talking to someone. Owen knew firsthand what it was like to be walked out on and it was as gut-wrenching as it was isolating.
He wasn’t sure if it was the betrayal that hurt so much or the idea of failing at love. His parents had loved so easily. In fact, he and Rhett were the odd guys out when it came to love and relationships. He knew Rhett would find his person, but Owen didn’t really see that for himself.
Being vulnerable wasn’t exactly in his wheelhouse.
