Stacked, p.17
Stacked, page 17
That much was obvious by the look Anya gave me when I showed up at the nightclub on my idiotic mission to explain myself. How much of a dumbass did I have to be to think showing up would do any good? That was a party for Morgan, not a regular night. She made that clear when she ordered me away. Anya didn’t want anything to do with me.
That was probably the least I deserved.
After Anya’s justified rejection, I realized it would be too painful to remain in New Burlington. To see her on a regular basis. To watch her move on with another man.
Yes, I knew what I had to do.
“Here we go,” I said to Jason as I straightened the barstools one more time. True to Javier’s word, the renovation finished ahead of schedule, and it was finally opening night.
“It looks great, man.”
“Thanks.” I crossed behind the bar and took a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle I’d bought for this occasion. I placed it on the counter, glad I had the moment alone with him as the catering staff put the final touches on the food in the mobile truck kitchen in the back parking lot. “A small token of my appreciation.”
“Whoa.” Jason raised both his hands. “I don’t deserve something like this.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“Why?”
“We won the float contest off your idea. I never had the chance to thank you properly.”
Beaming, my friend lifted the bottle. “I think this is the nicest bottle of bourbon I’ve ever had.”
I braced my elbows on the shiny, clean bar. “How’d you like to help me with managing this place?”
Jason’s jaw slackened. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve been offered a significant business opportunity in Miami, and I’ve decided to take it.”
“But what about Tomes and Tumblers?” he asked, glancing around the space we’d worked so hard on over the last few months.
“I know. But this offer won’t last.”
“Still—”
“I’m going to do it.” I paused. “Taking this job means I won’t be able to do the day-to-day management of the store. I’ll have to be more hands off than I expected, so I want you to take it over for me.”
He placed the bourbon back on the marble. “Except I don’t have any experience in store management.”
“You know how to lead people.”
“A few guys on a real estate team.” He shrugged.
“That’s enough for me to know you’d be great at this.” I slapped the counter. “So, what do you think?”
“I’ll consider it,” he replied, and I saw a bit of a twinkle in his eye, a hint that he wasn’t going to say no.
Satisfied with his answer, I moved on to one more review of the bookshelves on the far side of the room. Less than ten minutes, and the store would be open. That made me proud. Working in finance had once felt like the only thing I was good at—managing numbers and seeing market trends was the only real thing I could do professionally.
This project changed that perception. It showed me I could do more than one thing well.
And that mattered.
We officially threw on the lights and opened the front doors at six that evening. It wasn’t long before a smattering of city officials, residents, and even the teenagers from the Fourth of July parade packed the space. They ate appetizers and milled through the store sipping coffee drinks and samplers of the craft cocktail selections, and mocktails I thought would be a great addition for the minors. Kayleigh arrived with a small fern she insisted was good luck; Javier showed up with some craft tequila, and Julie Cross presented me with a first edition of her bestselling Chicago Veterans series. By seven, I estimated at least one hundred fifty people filled the main room, including one unexpected guest.
My mom.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming,” I said when I saw her walk through the front door. She was tanner than I’d ever seen her and a brightness shone behind her eyes. Florida agreed with her in a big way.
“Sometimes it’s fun to pull off a surprise,” she replied, and pulled me into a tight hug that crushed me against her large turquoise necklace. “Especially on opening night.”
“I’m thrilled you came. Let me give you the official tour.”
I steered my mom to the bar and had the bartender make her an old-fashioned, then took my time weaving her through the crowd and around the store. I pointed out all the small details Javier and I had worked on over the summer—the original brick we blasted and sanded to perfection, the chevron pattern on the inlaid wood flooring, the way we made sure to align the bookshelves with the stained-glass window, and more. And when we ended the tour at the small stage, I was proud of what I’d shown her. Really proud.
“This place is so warm,” she said, her drink halfway finished. “And I see your personality in so much of it.”
“I’m going to guess that’s a good thing.”
“It sure is.” She patted me on the arm, but then her face changed. “But I have to say, I’m also... worried.”
“How so?”
“Well,” —Mom took a deep breath and glanced around the room— “I know there’s a lot of excitement for a new store in town, but... how much of it is going to last?”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Meaning?”
“Just that I know it’s so hard to run a small business. Probably the hardest thing to do these days.”
“I’ve got a plan.”
“Good.” She rubbed my arm. “If anyone can figure out how to make a business work in this spot of New Burlington, it’s you.”
Nodding, I guided my mom to a small group of city leaders gathered around the charcuterie board at the end of the long bar. She knew a few of them, and quickly lost herself in conversation, catching up on town gossip and the latest about mutual friends.
And for the first time that night, my thoughts were free to turn to Anya. She hadn’t shown up, even though I’d taken the time to drop off an invite earlier in the week at The Green Frog. Not that you expected her to take you up on it. I pulled my phone from my pocket, a little hopeful that I was wrong. Nope, I wasn’t. There was no text, no word from her. Nothing at all. Yes, I didn’t deserve her showing up for me given the way I treated her. But I was surprised how much that hurt. Although she clearly wanted nothing to do with me, it stung and made me realize how much I missed her.
Maybe it all was for the best.
After all, Mom had a point. It was hard to run a small business. Rent, labor, inflation... most of that was on the side of the business owner. And this bourbon bar-slash-bookstore was a labor of love. Why not use the opportunity in Miami to fund it?
Besides, Anya was probably right too. Whatever happened between us was a stolen moment in time, and the sooner I realized that the better off I’d be.
The better off we’d be.
Even if I have missed her more than any other woman before.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
ANYA
“These sales figures are impressive,” Gwen said, putting the printed spreadsheet on the table between us. “We haven’t had numbers like this in a long time.”
“It seems like our moment of internet fame was the catapult needed to really jump-start new customers.” I took a sip of the coffee she offered me when I arrived. Today was a good day for Gwen. She looked well-rested and happy.
“I don’t pretend to understand viral videos, but I think it’s more than that. I think a lot of the success has to do with you.”
I nearly choked on my tea. “With me?”
“Absolutely.” She bit into one of the chocolate sandwich cookies she’d also placed on a plate. “I knew hiring you was going to be a great decision, but over the last few months, you’ve really proven to me that it was more inspired than I could have imagined.”
“Thank you, that’s really kind of you,” I said, feeling a blush hit my cheeks. Despite a lower salary than my job at Second City, managing The Green Frog had unexpectedly become the most successful job I’d ever had. The spreadsheet only proved what I hadn’t wanted to admit to myself.
I’m good at this.
“Going over the latest sales figures was only one of the reasons why I wanted you to come over.” Gwen leaned across the Formica table and took my hand. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m getting old. My kids don’t want the store.”
“I sensed that,” I said, mostly to fill space in the conversation.
“Last week, I talked to my attorney, and we made some changes.” She grinned, her wide smile showing off a set of still-healthy teeth. “I’m giving you the store, Anya.”
I gaped at her. This was probably the last thing I expected to hear from her when I walked in, my mind so focused on how I was going to explain the store’s newfound success, and how I was going to couch it to her so she’d understand I couldn’t guarantee the sales moment would stick around. I hadn’t seen something like this coming at all.
“Are you serious?” I managed.
“As a heart attack,” she replied. “And it’s all done.”
“What about the rare books? Your children won’t... won’t contest that?”
“No, dear. They won’t. We had a long discussion about it a few days ago. They understand the sacrifices you have made to run the store. They know how happy you’ve made me, and how hard you’ve worked to keep the business going. You love the store as much as I do; that’s obvious.”
She patted my hand, and I swallowed a lump in my throat. I was on the verge of tears. It had been so long since I allowed myself to cry, so long since I let myself be vulnerable. After what happened in Chicago, I’d spent more time walling myself up, shutting myself away from people who wanted to get close to me.
But they still managed to do so.
“Wow. Well, thank you,” I said. “I would be so honored to keep The Green Frog running as long as I can.”
I stood and rounded the table so I could embrace Gwen, pulling her close to me so we could deeply hug for the first time since I started working for her. In the past, there had been plenty of times when I felt close to her, and a handful of moments when I felt like we’d gone to a deeper, more heartfelt level, but this was different from all of those.
This was real. This was true. And it was a future I could depend on.
I was still thinking about it later, when I left Gwen’s place to head home. Somehow, a lot of things in my life were going right. Moving back to New Burlington had been a great idea, and it showed me that life was full of twists and turns that could be scary but also fulfilling.
Too bad my love life isn’t also that way.
Stopping at a red light in the center of town, I glanced at the clock on my car dashboard. Six forty-five. The opening night for Robert’s store would be in full swing by now, and I imagined most of the movers and shakers in town were there, congratulating him and remarking on the renovation.
No matter.
I didn’t want to be part of it. Sure, I’d gotten the invitation he dropped off a few days earlier, slipped underneath the front door of The Green Frog, a handwritten note attached to it that practically begged me to attend. But I wasn’t giving in. Nothing said I had to go.
Especially not after the way he treated me, regarding his Miami “business trip.”
No, that part of my life was in the past too. The light changed from red to green, and I turned onto Friendship Avenue, taking the longer way home that wound through the outskirts of town instead of past the main business district.
Robert had his future, and I had mine. That was all I needed to know.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ROBERT
Stepping out of my Lamborghini, I tossed the valet key to the attendant and straightened the cuffs on my navy linen blazer. Tonight was another party on Hudson’s yacht, this time teaming with investors from Singapore and South Korea. A short distance down the dock, the evening was already in full swing, the crowd spilling from the main cabin onto the decks, champagne glasses in hand, laughter, and conversation. Models of every hair color and body type mingled in tight dresses with guys who looked like Hudson clones, a tableau broken up here and there by men who were clearly not American and more than a little overdressed for a Miami summer night.
After boarding the boat, I took the nearest wine glass from a passing tray and threaded through the guests. I’d hardly said hello to anyone before Hudson waved me over from his place next to a group of men that I knew were some of his most important investors.
“There you are,” he said with a large grin. “The man of the hour.”
“I’m hardly that,” I replied before greeting the other guests. Still, I chaffed at it a bit—the way he seemed almost gleeful by my presence. In fact, he’d been doing that a lot.
“Nonsense,” Hudson said, clearly oblivious to the flatness in my voice as he clapped my shoulder. “You’re my secret weapon.”
“What do you mean by, um, this secret weapon?” asked one of the balding men to my right. I didn’t recognize him from the business meeting we had that morning at the Four Seasons, so I guessed he was one of the last group of arrivals for the weekend.
“You haven’t heard? Robert’s famous.” Hudson’s voice was loud, and he smelled like a mix of cigars and bourbon. “He’s a big TikTok star.”
I shrugged away from him. “There’s no such thing as a TikTok star.”
“Sure, there is.” Hudson waved at the rest of the small group. “They invented it. And now, they’re hanging out with you, the secret advantage we have toward making our firm a success.”
I narrowed my eyes at the last part of his sentence. It confirmed a suspicion I had, something that I’d pushed to the back of my thoughts ever since our first meeting on this very yacht. That day, things had almost felt too good to be true, as if something else was afoot that I couldn’t place. Hudson hadn’t spoken to me in years and didn’t keep in touch on social media or email after college. We’d been friends, sure, but that was in the past.
The distant past. And yet, I’d decided to throw my new life away and move to Miami. Start again somewhere else, as if my life in Ohio had meant nothing. I’d liked who I was becoming there. Liked the small-town vibe... and the people there. Someone in particular.
God, how could I have been such an idiot? Was I really that swayed by money? This is not who I want to be.
I sized Hudson up one more time before I gestured to an open area on the far side of the deck, opposite the DJ and most party guests. “Let’s talk over there,” I said in my most serious tone. “I have something you’re going to want to hear.”
“About what?”
“Business. And money.”
I’d said the magic word. Hudson followed me across the deck without any more protests. When we were alone, I cut right to the chase.
“I’ve been wondering why you hired me,” I said. “After all these years, why did you reach out to me?”
“Come on—you know why.”
I shook my head.
“You’re a finance genius. Everyone knew you were going places.”
“I wasn’t that good at the hedge fund.” I laughed and braced my hand on the boat railing. “Anyone could do what I did. Plenty do the same every day.”
“But—”
“Did you hire me because of the TikTok video? Because you thought that would give you some kind of edge?”
Hudson shrugged.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “How could I be so fucking stupid? I should have seen this coming.”
“Should have seen what coming?”
I pushed off the railing and ran a hand through my hair. The city was in front of me, the party behind me, and yet I was somewhere else entirely.
“I’m not okay with this,” I said. “I fucking quit.”
“You quit?”
“Yep.” I gritted my teeth, pissed at myself, and annoyed with him. “My lawyer will be in touch to sever the contract.”
At that moment, I had only one place I needed to be, and it wasn’t Miami.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ROBERT
“I screwed up,” I said, and dropped my head in my hands.
“You sure did,” Morgan replied from across the table. We were in the dining room of the elegant Hollow Hills Country Club. When I called that morning, she’d been kind enough to invite me to the property for a meeting. Now we were ruminating over club sandwiches and Arnold Palmers. The space was busy with members, and I was grateful she’d made room in her schedule to talk to me. She certainly didn’t have to. “Also, Anya can be stubborn.”
“I like that about her.”
“Me too, but that also means she doesn’t always see things when they are right in front of her.”
“I tried once.”
“How could I forget?”
“I just... I had to see her again, and I didn’t know what to do.” I ate the first bite of my sandwich. The food at the club was great, and prepared by a meticulous executive chef, but it still tasted like cardboard in my mouth. Probably because I’m so focused on fixing this mess.
“She had a right to be angry at you.”
“And you should have been pissed that I showed up too. It was your bachelorette party.”
Studying me, she sipped her drink. “I was honestly so drunk I had no idea what was happening. For all I knew, you were randomly at the same club as us. Hyde is popular.”
“I thought a grand gesture would do it. But she won’t even talk to me now.”
Morgan put her glass down on the table. “Still can’t believe she didn’t come to the bookstore opening. Everybody was there.”
I nodded. Everybody was there, and while I considered the night a triumph, and I’d been so happy about the community response to the new business, it still felt so empty and meaningless when I thought about all the other things that had happened. Going to Miami had been such a stupid idea. Sure, my mom had a point about how hard it could be to run a business but leaving everything I had invested just to hightail it to South Florida and chase more money had been a bonehead move. I deserved what had happened since—because it turned out I could be stubborn too.
