Page 4 of From the Start

“Less close, but you’re on the right track.”

“Mermaid!”

“Ding. Ding. Ding.” I open the door and usher them inside. They immediately hurry to the table of women.

“Sorry, boss,” Trent says when they’re out of hearing range. “I could have handled them, but they asked to speak to the management.”

I brush my sweaty bangs off my forehead. “No worries.”

“Harper!” my other bartender, Dave, yells. “The Depth Charge Stout keg is out, but I can’t leave the bar because Sloane is on break.”

“I got it.”

I shoulder my way through the crowd to the wall behind the bar. I tap on the wall and a door opens to reveal the hidden walk-in cooler. People murmur behind me in awe. I smile to myself. I love this old bar with all its quirks and secrets.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket. I swipe to answer before setting my phone on a shelf while I disconnect the empty keg.

“Hey, Dad,” I greet. “What’s the emergency?”

I’m not exaggerating. If Dad phones, it’s an emergency. There’s a reason I’m the money earner for the family after all.

Welcome to my glamorous life.

Chapter 2

Kai – a goofball who might understand the meaning of the word responsibility but chooses to ignore it

Kai

Iwhistle as I open the door toBuccaneer’s Whiskey & Distillery,the business I own with my five brothers. Technically, my oldest brother, Eli, owns fifty percent and the rest of us share the remaining fifty, but it’s all good. I don’t need the responsibility of owning a business.

“You’re late,” Jaxon says when I enter the distillery.

“Dude.” I shake my head. “Time is a construct designed to bring the man down.”

He glares at me. “We’re expanding the distillery. There’s a lot of work to do. As the operations manager, you need to handle this.”

Ugh. I never asked to be the operations manager. Especially after I realized the operations manager is a tough job. The list of items on my to-do list is never-ending – manage the equipment to ensure safety and environmental regulations are met, manage the staff working in the production area, ensureproduction targets are met, coordinate movement of raw materials and finished products, etc., etc., etc.

I’m exhausted merely thinking about it all.

“I thought you’d be more laid back since you got married to Blossom.”

Their marriage began as a ruse to convince Blossom’s ex to stop trying to steal from her but they fell in love and now they’re blissfully happy. My stomach sours. I want what they have.

But the woman I want, doesn’t want me. Harper thinks I’m a child. So, she’s eight years older than me. Big deal.

“I want to work less,” Jaxon says. “I can’t keep doing your job and mine.”

I frown. “You don’t do my job.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “Really? Who handled the safety inspection last month?”

I bristle. “I was here.”

“You were physically here, but you didn’t finish the preparations we agreed upon. I did them.”

This discussion could go on for hours. “I’ll do better next time.”