Like A Boss (7 page)

I lowered my forehead to rest along hers, whispering, “Penny, I’ve never been a good guy, and I can’t handle what you do to me.”

“I have a boyfriend,” she cut me off.

My heart beat through my disbelieving ears. Disappointment washed over me, drowning me. I couldn’t believe the words she spoke which stabbed me with their jagged meaning.

“Fuck.” I squeezed my eyes shut, punching my fist at the wall.

Shaking my head, I walked away from her, beelining straight for the exit.

Run
, was the only thing on my mind as I raced to my car.

Run from this girl and her beautiful eyes and her cute fucking freckles.

Once seated inside I took a heavy breath.

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel.

Fuck, I wasn’t expecting any of that.

***

I needed to eighty-six Penny once and for all.

I almost went too far, I was ready to take her right then and there, fuck her up against the wall in Mekka, a few nights before, until she mentioned a boyfriend and shell-shocked my entire system. Which lucky for me she stopped things, because wanting her should be the furthest thing from my mind.

Now, Operation Get Rid of Penny’s Ass was my only mission.

By the time Friday rolled around, I called Blair to tell her I was on my way over. She lived not too far from South Beach in a quiet neighborhood.

I climbed the brick steps leading up to her front porch and stopped, steeling myself, before I could knock. Blair was a touchy subject for me, and the thought of seeing her never got any easier. She’d been beautiful to me a lifetime ago, but now when I looked at her I only saw lies and deceit. After knocking on the bright red door, I thrust both hands into the pockets of my jeans and rocked on my heels as I waited.

“Hey, right on time,” Blair said with her smile lighting up her hazel irises. Her long black hair was swept up into a bun, and she glanced over her shoulder as our daughter came running down the hallway behind her.

“Daddy, Daddy,” Lucy called. Her brown-haired pigtails bounced with every step. Pushing past her mother, she leapt into my arms. Blair leaned against the doorway watching as I hugged her tight.

“Hey, Boo Bear,” I said, calling her the nickname I created the moment she was born.

At three years old she held my heart in her tiny innocent hands.

Blair and I dated a few years back, and when she found out she was pregnant I wanted to marry her. I loved her, or so I thought.

On the day I planned to propose, I found her in our apartment fucking my half-brother and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

The worst part of the whole fiasco was the fact my daughter was inside her as she fucked him.

I blew up and never spoke to my brother again. Blair, however, was a different story. We shared joint custody of our daughter and I remained pleasant whenever I saw her, for Lucy’s sake. Even though Blair tried desperately to creep back into my good graces ever since I left her, I would never forgive her betrayal.

“She just ate, so she’s ready to go,” Blair said, handing me Lucy’s red backpack.

“Have fun, see you on Tuesday.”

We waved goodbye, and I kissed Lucy’s bright red cheeks as I carried her to the car.

“Ready to get out of here?” I asked as I buckled her into the car seat

“Ready,” she squealed.

We were off and I couldn’t wait to get her home. I missed her when she wasn’t around.

Being a father changed my life, and my daughter was everything to me. Somedays, I didn’t know how I would make it from one day to the next. Was I scared? Fuck yeah, I was. I worried about everything. Life was good as a real estate investor, and the bills were always paid. But the dream of one day owning a bar wasn’t going away, and I wanted to give it a go. Living in South Beach the clubs along Ocean Drive were the pulse of the city. I wanted a piece of it.

And now at thirty years old, I sank most of my money into the Goat, and I needed this to work.

Life was hard though, finding love and companionship was a no-go.

Chaos, headaches, and utter madness were a part of my regular routine and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The life of a single father left me little time for love.

PENNY

“I bet no one could make you come as hard as I can.”

“You did,” my mind screamed.

For the next two days after the club incident I never left my apartment. I cleaned, and cleaned some more. Sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing every part of the tile floors—anything to keep my mind occupied. Anything to not think about the look on Theo’s face when I told him about my boyfriend. When he slammed his hand against the wall I felt the devastation pour off him.

I avoided Dex’s phone calls. He called a few times over the past few weeks, and every time I asked about coming home he would have to rush off the phone. Confusion over everything took up residence deep within me. As much as I tried to think about anything else, Theo’s hurt expression kept rolling through my overactive mind. I was a bitch for not stopping it sooner.

Having his hands on me was something I never thought I’d experience again. Or want, to be honest, after the way he treated me at the bar. My body pulled to his, fucking traitor, and I needed to stay far away.

I was the worst girlfriend ever.

When Saturday morning arrived, work was on the agenda.

As I finished getting ready, smoothing lotion down my legs, Margo threw herself on my bed.

“Fuck my life,” she complained as she covered both arms over her eyes. Her blonde curly waves splayed over the bright orange pillowcase.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking over at her.

She propped up onto her elbows and glared. “Hottie fighter has a whore girlfriend.”

I sat down on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mar.”

“It’s ok. I’ll figure it out or find someone new to stalk.”

“Yeah,” I whispered, barely listening.

“What’s wrong? What happened with Theo at the club the other night?” She sat and waited for my answer.

“Nothing happened. Nothing at all.” Part truth. He didn’t touch me, but I felt the ghost of his hands everywhere.

I hated myself, completely hated myself. I hated how turned on I was. It was wrong. Dex should have been on my mind, but I couldn’t focus with Theo’s hot breath saying those things to me.

His filthy mouth I loved on the beach, now dripped with poison.

Once I arrived at work my stomach filled with butterflies. Dread set in at seeing Theo. Saturdays were busy, and I couldn’t wait to drown all my nervous energy with tending to the happy guests who would need some liquor to enjoy their day further.

“Ready for a hot day?” Seth asked as I set up the bar.

“I heard it’s going to be a scorcher.” I threw my hair into a low ponytail.

“Yeah.”

“Wish we had some fans.” I felt the heat of the pending afternoon looming in the air.

The crowd picked up as we sweated to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ over and over.

What was it with Jimmy Buffett being the epitome of tiki bar music?

I worked the outside bar while Seth took care of the guests inside. Around three o’clock I went on my lunch break.

I decided to stroll the beach while I let the salty air flow across my skin. I stopped at a few of the vendor booths lined along the large sidewalk on Ocean Drive. Glancing at the jewelry for sale, I saw a beautiful turquoise bracelet with little turtle charms. The silver and blue sparkled in the sunlight. After purchasing the bracelet and slipping it onto my wrist, a squeal of laughter caught my attention.

Down by the water, I saw Theo chasing a small brown haired child in a pink swimsuit and knew instantly he wasn’t lying the night we first met. I moved away from the jewelry booth and tried to get a closer look. He laughed as he grabbed her and lifted her above his shoulders.

What really made my jaw drop was the sight of him without a shirt. His shoulders were broad and his muscles lean. His sun-soaked body was lickable, and I remembered the one fateful night we shared when his body pumped inside me. A shiver skated across my arms and down my back.

After kicking off my tennis shoes and socks, I took a few steps onto the sandy beach. Theo and his daughter sat plopped down in the sand close to the shore, the waves crashing beyond them. He picked up a yellow shovel as she picked up a purple one and together they dug into the sand. I laughed quietly to myself as she tossed a shovel-full of sand in his lap and squealed with little girl giggles. Watching the carefree way he played with her made me doubt him to be the asshole I pegged him for.

I stalked closer as I watched. He lurched forward, picked her up, and tickled her.

I could hear her this time as she squawked and laughed calling out “Daddy” which in turn rooted me to the spot, I was too close.

It was sweet the way they played together and I smiled as I noticed the carefree expression on his gorgeous face. Without knowing it, my feet moved of their own volition until I stood mere inches away. I blocked his sun, casting a shadow over his ripped chest, and he glanced up.

His smile vanished as soon as the recognition dawned on his face. “Penny, are you stalking me now?”

“I…I didn’t mean to.” My attention flitted to the little girl covered in sand, who looked curiously at me. “I should go,” I said. Feeling like an intruder encroaching on his time with his daughter, I took two steps back.

“You don’t need to,” he whispered. “Penny, this is my daughter Lucy.”

With a wide grin, I sat down in the sand next to her.

“Hi,” Lucy said, not stopping her task of filling her bucket with sand.

“Lucy, do you want to be the pretty princess who lives in the castle?” I asked.

She thought about it for a moment and glanced at her Dad. “No, this castle will be too small.”

I laughed. “Then we better make sure we build it really big.”

“Bigger than my daddy’s house?”

“Hey now.” Theo laughed, grabbing his daughter around the waist and tickling her down to the sand.

She squealed with laughter and I tried to remember why I was there.

What was I doing? You hate him, leave.

He handed over his yellow shovel as Lucy showed me the method of their building plans. We were building a castle with a huge moat around it.

She laughed and scooted in next to me as I dug out the moat. Theo sat across from me with his long legs criss-crossed, leaning back on his palms behind him as he watched us. I tried to focus on the moat and not the way his swim trunks rested just below a perfect v.

I took a moment to gaze at the tattoos on his chest and arm. An intricate ink pattern wove over his pectoral muscle and wrapped around his shoulder. The koi fish swimming up his arm, intertwined with the pattern.

It was sexy, and I wanted nothing more than to trace the pattern with my tongue.

What the hell, Penny? Stop.

Adoration filled Theo’s eyes as he watched Lucy.
Was this the same man who taunted me daily?
I felt I was in the twilight zone.

“I have to get back to work,” I said to Lucy, as I stood and wiped the loose sand from my shorts.

“Bye,” Lucy said with a bright smile.

“Bye, sweetie.”

“Penny.” Theo hardly acknowledged me as I stood there saying goodbye to his daughter.

“Goodbye, Theo.” I walked away without a second glance to him.

I felt his gaze on me the entire way back to the bar. It’s funny how you know when someone’s staring at your ass as you walk, and right now I didn’t care. Let him stare. He would never touch it again. Or any other part of me.

Dex was the one I should want touching me. I tried to conjure images of his blue irises and dark, short hair. Nothing. The fact he was being so distant since he left town didn’t sit well with me, and we needed to talk soon. I wouldn’t put up with this shit from him. I must focus on my goals and not a boyfriend who didn’t call and certainly not Theo Sullivan.

When I returned to work, I decided to take action into my own hands and stop letting the men in my life dismiss me.

I sat down in Theo’s office and wrote him a note he would see tomorrow when I’d be off work.

I told him I wanted to set up a meeting for early Monday morning and would like to discuss all of the ideas I had for the Bearded Goat.

Maybe if I could get him alone, and he could see how serious I was, it would change his mind about promoting me.

I left him my number to text me if he agreed to meet with me.

Late Sunday evening, I received a text stating Monday morning was a go. Now I needed to woo him with my brilliance.

***

I was a nervous wreck for my meeting with Theo on Monday morning.

As I drove to work, my stomach a bundle of nerves, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

I pulled along Ocean Drive and found a spot near the bar. It was early, the sun barely creeping up from the horizon, and only a few people were out and about. A few seagulls circled in the bright blue sky.

Even the vendors with their jewelry and t-shirt stands weren’t fully set up.

A warm breeze blew off the ocean and swirled my hair around my face. Taking a deep breath, trying my hardest to gain confidence, I entered the bar.

Theo held his clipboard in his strong hands standing behind the bar when I stepped inside. He stopped, stared, and then returned his attention back to what he was doing.

“Hello,” I said, nervously.

“Penny,” he said, not looking up from the clipboard.

It felt eerily strange being in the bar alone with him.

I stood frozen as he laid the clipboard down along the bar and rested his arm over top of it.

His attention all on me, almost as if a fire was lit in his eyes, made me weak in the knees.

Moving wasn’t happening, forget about breathing properly.

I cleared my throat and tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.

“Are we going to start? Or are you going to stand there all day?”

Why was he only ever mean to me?

“No, we can begin,” I said as I took a seat on a barstool with the wide oak bar between us.

“Ok, so start already. We have lots of work to do today.”

Who was he kidding? It was Monday, and we would be empty all afternoon. But, I played his little game and smiled. “Of course. Well, I have some solutions to improve a few things around here.”

“Continue,” he snapped.

I could already see I had my work cut out for me this morning.

I opened my mouth to speak right at the moment he licked his full lips, and I stumbled over my words. “I think... we... could have theme days to drive in more business. Maybe Martini Mondays and we can run a discount on martinis.”

He didn’t move or acknowledge my idea so I continued, nervously. “And we could do Two-for-Tuesdays. Almost like a buy one get one free.” I sounded like a child as I rushed the words out. Silence loomed between us. His dark eyes moved back to focus on his precious damn clipboard with no interest whatsoever in what I said. He wasn’t taking me seriously and a fire ignited in my chest.

Who the fuck did he think he was?
He could turn me on in a random club a few nights ago and now he couldn’t even comment on what I said?

“Are you done?” he asked.

Was he for real?

“No, I’m not. You should listen to my ideas, Mr. Sullivan. They’re good, and you don’t have a clue what you’re doing here.” I could tell I crossed a line when his eyes snapped up to meet mine.

“Come here,” he demanded.

Slowly, I slid from the stool, and walked around the bar. I didn’t know what he wanted from me. Maybe to show me what was written on the clipboard?

“I’m here. Now what?” I asked with one hand on my hip, waiting for him to explain whatever it was he wanted.

“You think you’re so superior, don’t you?” He stepped closer, placing each hand on the bar, and enclosed me in his arms. I was trapped with nowhere to go as he leaned in closer.

My heart slammed in my chest as I tried to remember the question.

“Yes,” I smarted off to him.

My chest rose and fell underneath my pink tank top. His eyes dropped to watch the action as I tried to step away.

“You think you’re smarter than me?”

“Maybe a little,” I breathed.

He was too close, way too close. He needed to back away.

“You don’t think I can run this bar properly?” he asked, inching closer.

I tried to escape his muscled arms. “I don’t.”

“You’re a fool. A stupid little girl who is mad about not getting her way.”

“Am not,” I said, sounding like the little girl he claimed. What was I doing?

“You infuriate me, Penny,” he breathed across my cheek. His warm breath hit my skin and my nipples hardened instantly.

“You infuriate me more.” A deep burning erupted in my core and I knew I shouldn’t be feeling this way. I hated him.