Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter Nine

Hailey

Now that summer is approaching and classes have let out, the
bar is typically busy most nights with a mixed crowd. The younger locals on
summer break from college, filter in to shoot some pool, throw back some shots,
and the slightly older patrons come in to get away from the daily grind for a
few hours and catch a baseball game, or race, on one of the five new TV screens
that Jim had installed above the bar. When we had just the one prehistoric TV,
customers were always arguing over which channel to have playing, and now that
we broadcast a diversity of channels for their enjoyment, business has
definitely increased.

We still have a DJ Friday nights, and a band on Saturday
nights, but we keep the televisions on until they start playing. So far, we
haven't gotten any complaints, and even more of the older crowd has begun to
stick around when the music starts; I'm guessing they're more interested in
people watching than the music itself.

Jim's called us in today for a 'team meeting', which usually
means he's either hired a new staff member, or it's time to take inventory.
With the amount of staff we have, we've been doing a pretty good job keeping up
with service, so that leads me to believe we're about to get sentenced to
dreaded inventory duty. This is exactly why I threw on my old jeans, a t-shirt
with the bar's logo on it that's seen better days, slipped into a pair of worn
sneakers, and pulled my hair up into a bun. Since I'll be busier than hell
multitasking tonight, my appearance isn't at the top of my priority list.

Pulling into my usual parking spot behind the bar, I noticed
Georgia leaning against her car with her arms crossed defensively, as she
glared at me intently. She was impeccably dressed, as always, no doubt the
reason for her large tip count at the end of each night. I presumed I was
correct in my assessment of what the day was going to bring, and she was
probably fuming that she'd worn a skirt and four inch heels.
Poor Georgia.

Sighing with resignation, I mentally gave myself a pep talk,
readying myself for what was sure to be a mind-numbing rant from her.

I couldn't just sit here all day in my car, hoping she was a
mirage that would vanish given enough time. No, I'd never get that lucky. After
I'd geared myself up, I hastily gathered my belongings, exited my car, and
began to approach her unenthusiastically. "What's up?" I asked
nonchalantly.

Her features tightened as she tilted her head towards the
door and replied, "You're gonna freak."

Knitting my brows together, I asked, perplexed, "Why?
Did we lose somebody? Did we get someone new?"

"You could say that," she replied with a bit of
annoyance.

"Well which is it?" I asked, confusion marring my
brain.

"Both," she said indignantly.

As she turned on her heel, making her way to the back door,
I followed in tow, saying, "You should be used to it by now. You know some
of them breeze in and out like the wind." I added a shrug unseen by
Georgia, continuing, "It can't be
that
bad."

With her hand poised to open the door, she paused, turned
slightly to face me, and replied in a warning tone, "You'll see."

At her cryptic words, I was suddenly overcome by the feeling
that I was about to face a firing squad.

******

Hailey

As I followed Georgia down the hallway past Jim's office, I
did a double take as I noticed his office door was closed. He rarely closed it,
as he had a
literal
'open-door'
policy, and I could hear muffled voices behind it, though I couldn't make out
the conversation.
What's with the mystery
meeting?

I quickly brushed my curious thoughts aside as I stepped
behind the bar, immediately noticing the majority of the staff perched at the
bar with dull expressions, no doubt eager to get this meeting over with. It
suddenly struck me as odd when I'd spied Dunny, our bouncer, sitting at the far
end of the bar. Since he only came in on the weekends, and wasn't here on a
daily basis, he wasn't normally required to attend the staff meetings, as they
generally didn't concern him.

My eyes lingered on Gail and Georgia as they huddled next to
the kitchen doorway, staring at me conspicuously.
What the hell is going on?

I cautiously brushed past them, and headed down to talk to
Dunny. His elbow was propped up on the bar, and he had his chin resting against
his hand, looking like he was about to fall asleep from boredom. Reaching him,
I nervously shoved my hands in my back pockets, rocked back on my heels, and
said, "Hey Dunny," in a cheerful greeting.

He tipped his chin towards me, returning simply,
"'Sup?"

"I was wondering that myself. Any idea what the deal
is?" I asked.

Shaking his head he replied, "Not a clue. I never get
invited to these damn things, so I just hope I'm not going to have to head down
to the unemployment office come tomorrow." My brows rose, and I began to
bite my lip nervously as I contemplated the same thing, now that he'd mentioned
it. As Jim's office door creaked open, the idle chitchat of the crew suddenly
ceased. Dunny pointed over my shoulder and continued, "Looks like we're
about to find out."

******

Kellan

As Jim and I paused in the doorway of the office, I felt I
was standing on the proverbial precipice of my own destiny. Jim tipped me a
small smile and asked cautiously, "You sure you're ready for this?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I quipped.
"You sayin' you wanna back out, old man?" I teased.

Chuckling, he replied, "Not a chance." As I
stepped over the threshold, Jim patted me on the back, adding, "No turning
back, now," as he motioned his head towards the bar.

I rubbed the sheen of sweat that had begun to gather on my
forehead, and let out a nervous laugh as we stepped in time with each other,
approaching the bar. Truth be told, I should've been sweating bullets at the
thought of taking on the responsibility of this venture; but the fear that was
gripping me had nothing to do with business. I knew what was waiting for me
around that corner, and the thought scared the living shit out of me. It would
be a miracle if Hailey were to stick around, and even if she did, facing her
day after day, having to work alongside her would probably be far more
challenging than actually running the bar.

As Jim and I rounded the corner, time seemed to screech to a
halt as I took in a deep breath and lowered my head as my heart rate spiked,
fearful to meet the eyes of my...
what?
Ex? Lost love? A living, breathing, walking, fantasy I can't seem to get out of
my head every goddamn night?

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when Hailey's voice
barked out, "What the hell is this?"

I immediately snapped my head up to hone in on her as she
glared at me. Obviously trying to diffuse the tension, Jim jumped in,
explaining with a bit of sarcasm, "For those of you who haven't had the
pleasure of meeting him, this is Kellan Haines. He'll be running things around
here."

Gail and the other staff I'd yet to meet smiled politely,
while a mix of emotions, ranging from surprise to eye rolling, played on the
faces of my former co-workers.

Standing with her jaw hanging open, Hailey volleyed her eyes
back and forth between the duo of Georgia and Gail, and Jim and me.
"You're joking, right?" she asked in obvious disbelief. "Like,
you mean you and Gail are going on a vacation?" She continued her line of
questioning. Shooting me a lethal glare, she argued, "Because we don't
need
him
." I cocked a brow and
my lips quirked into a sly smile. The sadist in me had always gotten off on
watching Miss Priss squirm. As the seemingly confused staff stared at Hailey
with rapt attention, her voice raised an octave as she continued to plead her
case. "I...I mean we...we can all pitch in and take care of the place
while you're gone, right guys?" she stuttered, searching the faces for
allies.

As her peers stared on befuddled at the events unfolding
before them, Jim held up his hands and interrupted her, chuckling, "It's a
bit more complicated than that, Hailey." He gave Gail a loving knowing
look before returning to Hailey, "But we are going on vacation.
Permanent
vacation," he emphasized.

Looking at Jim in astonishment, Hailey pressed on,
"What's that supposed to mean? What the hell are you talking about?"

Staring intently at her, my smile broadened even further as
Jim motioned to me, sweeping his arm like he was introducing a celebrity, and
saying, "Kellan here's your new boss and proud owner of Jimbo's, as of
today."

I could feel all eyes swing to me, though mine never left
Hailey's. I was proud, alright...proud my presence had incited that riotous
fire in Hailey's eyes that I'd missed so much.

Chapter Ten

Kellan

Hailey shot Georgia and Gail a look of indignation before
swiftly striding past me as she bumped her shoulder against mine, and stomped
down the hallway. As the back door slammed shut, I leaned into Jim, whispering
into his ear, "That went well."

Jim clapped his hand against my back, replying, "She'll
get over it."

I peered at him, still smiling, and said, "Yeah...when
hell freezes over."

"Comes with the territory, Boss," he shrugged,
nonplussed. Good to know someone was getting a kick out of this clusterfuck.

Georgia broke into our private musings, saying
apprehensively, "I'll go check on her," as she hurriedly brushed past
me and down the hall.

I refocused my attention back to my on-looking worker bees,
saying with levity, "Well that's our show for tonight, folks."

The group snickered quietly before Dunny piped up,
"It's still daylight out."

I looked at him, bemused, and replied, "It's called
humor, Dunny...ever heard of it?"

A broad smile creased his face, as he retorted, "Not
from you, man."

"Well, there's going to be some changes around here,
Dunny," I stated.

"You tryin' to say you're a reformed asshole,
Kellan?" he joked.

Chuckles rose up from the group as I quipped, "
Recovering
asshole, Dunny."

"Yeah? And how long 'till you fall off the wagon?"
he asked playfully.

"Keep testing my patience and it won't take long,"
I said through a smile.

His chest bounced as he let out a hearty laugh, saying
excitedly, "Ha! See...still a fuckin' asshole."

I looked at him in mock disbelief before grabbing a bottle
of whiskey, waving it in the air, and announcing, "Now, would an asshole
give his whole staff a round on the house?"

The group clapped and rejoiced in unison as Gail, now joined
by Jim at her side, buried her face in her hands and shook her head back and
forth, trying to hide her smile.

"What?" I asked innocently, shrugging my
shoulders. "Back in Reno they call me Mr. Nice Guy."

"Must've been a phase," Gail said rolling her
eyes.

"Yeah, like puberty!" Dunny shouted.

A wave of laughter rose through the group as I continued to
fill shot glasses. "Fuck you guys!" I yelled teasingly. "I was
getting laid while kids my age were getting their braces put on."

Out of the blue, Joe, my former next-door neighbor, cut in
with a grin, "So how'd you get those pearly whites, Kellan?"

"Eating pussy, brother," I quickly returned,
raising my shot in the air.

Mirroring me, Joe replied, "I'll drink to that!"

Jim, Gail, and the rest of the group joined in on the
laughter and tipped back their shots. My first day as a bar owner was getting
off to a great start. I wasn't about to let anything ruin it for me.

******

Hailey

I couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity as Kellan for
one more minute. Hearing the ridiculous news of him taking over Jim's bar
nearly had bile rising in my throat.
Him
?
My boss? That'll be the day.

As I paced the parking lot, trying to avoid breaking down, I
knew Georgia was probably hot on my heels. I'd be expecting her to come bolting
through the door in...
3...2...1...

"Oh, Hailey, honey," she cooed, right on cue, as
she stepped out of the bar, her arms outstretched towards me.

"Don't you honey me!" I shot at her. "You
knew
about this?" I accused.

Dropping her hands, she inched closer to me as if I were a
wild animal to be handled with caution. Tentatively, she said, "I only
found out about ten minutes before you did. Gail spilled the beans."

Throwing my arms up, I exclaimed, "And you couldn't
have warned me?"

"I figured you were already on your way here," she
said guiltily as she lowered her lashes and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

I reached into my back pocket and raised my phone in the
air, shouting, "Ever hear of a cell phone?"

Suddenly morphing back into her sassy self, she placed her
hand on her hip and replied, "What would you have done? Turn around and
run home like a coward?" I gasped as she continued, "Whether you like
it or not, he's here to stay. You can't just run away from your problems,
Hailey."

"Correction," I stated solidly, "My 'problem'
ran away from
me
, remember?"

"Look, you know what I'm talking about," she
whined.

"What I
know
is
you expect me to work with him, follow his damn orders, and act like nothing
happened."

"You're going to have to learn to deal with it,"
she said soothingly. "Yeah, he's a shit. But you'll feel a lot better if
you just do your own thing, and ignore the little prick. That is, unless you
plan on finding another job. Good luck around here." She was going for
reasonable, but she was coming off as spiteful.

Not backing down, I stated, "I will have a new
job." She looked at me in shock as I continued, "As soon as I get my
degree," with finality.

Georgia's features hardened as she said, "Well, you've
got it all figured out then, don't you?"

After a pregnant pause, Georgia let out a weary sigh,
turned, and slowly walked back into the bar.

"I feel like I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone," I
mumbled to no one but myself.

******