Page 12 of Thrown for a Loop
The bar itself is a work of art—a long curved counter made of rich black marble with veins of gold running through it. Behind the bar, shelves of liquor are backlit so that the bottles appear to float.
“Wow,” Darcy murmurs, her pale eyes sweeping the red leather banquettes. “I was trying to be cool, but I think I overshot.”
The place is way out of my budget, and in my Legends jacket I feel underdressed. But now I’m starving. “There’s a free table,” I say, nudging her.
“On it,” Darcy says, darting toward the table.
I follow her past a smirking waiter who looks like a European model and slide into the stylish curved booth just after Darcy.
She grabs the drink menu. “You won’t be surprised to hear that the menu is pretentious.Our mixologists craft cocktails with an almost reverential attention to detail, making each drink into a sensual experience.”
“How sensual are we talking about here?” I ask, peeking over her shoulder. “If one of those cocktails could give me a back massage, I’d be into it.”
“I know, right?” Darcy says, slowly paging through the menu. “I don’t even recognize half these ingredients. What do you think Cynar is?”
I pull out my phone to ask Google. “It’s an Italian bitter liqueur made from…artichokes?”
Darcy makes a gagging sound. “Hmm. The food looks weird, too. Do you want to bail?”
I’m thinking it over when another impossibly hip waiter dressedin leather pants and a black mesh polo approaches our table. “Good evening. Which elixirs can I prepare for you tonight? The elderflower and ghost pepper mélange is particularly clarifying.”
Darcy and I exchange a worried glance while he spends several minutes describing the drink.
For some reason, Chase’s blue eyes flash through my mind. And I have to ask myself—what would he do in this scenario?
The moment the waiter stops talking, I channel my inner Chase Merritt and lay all my cards on the table. “It’s like this—we just had a rough day. What we really need are a couple of margaritas the size of a kiddie pool and a platter of snacks that could see us through the zombie apocalypse. How close can you get us to that?”
The waiter blinks, giving us a better view of his truly impressive command of liquid eyeliner. “I think I understand the assignment.”
“That’s what we like to hear,” Darcy says, her pale eyes lighting up. “Appreciate you!”
He turns on his heel and leaves us alone.
“Thank you for handling that. I knew you were fun.”
“I’m not. I just fake it sometimes.”
She laughs like she thinks I’m kidding. Then she puts her head in her hands. “The boss was on a tear today. I’m glad I’m not on my way to Chicago.”
“Do you ever travel with the team?”
“Oh sure. At least once a month—it’s in my contract. We get a temp to cover my phones, and I go along to support Nolan. He wouldn’t know how to handle himself if he didn’t have someone to bark at in person.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m whining. He’s notallbad. The pay is good, the benefits rock, and everyone else is nice to me.”
“That’s good to hear, for both our sakes.”
“I really don’t want to scare you away from the Legends,” sheinsists. “Nolan is the worst part of the organization. He’s effective, though. That’s why he gets away with it.”
“I figured. He signs winners and keeps them in line. He’s got the salary cap under control. He’s a ruthless businessman.” These are all things I learned while researching the team. “Maybe you have to be an asshole to stay in this business for thirty-five years.”
“That’s probably true,” Darcy agrees. “Just don’t let him get in your head. I don’t.”
“How’d you get this job, anyway?”
“Ah.” She looks away, and it’s almost shifty. “I’ve always liked hockey, so I applied for an opening in the travel department. The head of travel is super nice, and I was really looking forward to working for her. But everybody who gets hired by the Legends has to have a final interview with Nolan, and he poached me.”
I bark out a laugh. “Really? From his own employee?”
She nods seriously. “He said, ‘Regan speaks so highly of you. What would it take to get you to work up here instead?’ He was such a grump that I didn’t want to say yes. So I told him I’d only work for him if he paid for my college classes during the summer. It was just the first thing that popped into my mind. And he immediately said yes.”
