Page 28

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“S ebastian Micallef, the man himself! What’s up, my brother?” I laughed at Cooper’s greeting, not sure why I was surprised given the strange and dramatic things he often said whenever I answered his calls.

“Come into the club tonight! Want you to see your drop in the prime position on the top shelf. I’m looking at her right now and she is the highlight of the bar,” his response was a deep chuckle.

“My man. I’ll be there at about eight-ish. I’ll need a drink anyway, been interviewing all day for a book-keeper, and fuck me, I swear some of these fools think they are an accountant just because they own a calculator.”

“That bad, hey?” He mentioned recently that as his business increased, he needed someone to do his books. I’d recommended my accountant, but he needed someone full time and knowing Cooper, he needed someone he trusted wholeheartedly before he hired them.

“Worse than you could imagine. Gotta go, there's a dude here in suspenders–” his exhausted sigh filling the phone, “and he's using a walking stick. I think he's my next interview.”

“See you at eight,” I said, laughing as I hung up, knowing he would be suffering with the long afternoon he had before he would get here.

Sitting back, I stretched my arms above my head and pressed myself into the back of the chair in an attempt to gain some muscular relief. The last few hours were productive and getting through the boring admin always made me feel a little lighter. Although, I had to admit, I wasn’t getting any younger and sitting down for long periods these days brought with it stiff muscles.

I finished the last of my emails before briefing Wayne and changed into my regular work attire ready for another busy Friday night. Marlee and I had barely been able to see each other again this week so I was pleased she was coming in later tonight and staying over.

Since the first night she slept at my house, I discovered I wasn’t sleeping well without her. She was busy with work and she spent long nights at the Centre as some of the kids needed a place where it was safe. I tried not to push, but I hated that our schedules didn’t align well, especially with me working nights on weekends. Glancing at the cameras and through the window, the club was already pumping and before conducting my regular walk through, I sent her a text.

Can’t wait to see you tonight. Have your favourite meal ready for you.

My phone buzzed with a reply before I’d even put it in my pocket and I grinned.

Marlee

Me too. Should be there in a few hours. I’m on bridesmaid duties - planning the bachelorette.

Hmmmm - my favourite meal?

Also, how do you think Andy would feel about strippers?

Three of them?

Andy would absolutely hate that and I didn’t like the thought either. Having naked, slimy blokes around Marlee made me feel lethal, a mist of jealousy stroking against my skin. I wanted to admit that but I took a breath and tucked the envy away.

No strippers. Unless you want me stripping just for you. And your favourite meal, remember? Sausage. Made it myself.

Marlee

OMG! I just laughed way too loud.

I am salivating already.

See you soon, babe.

I was still grinning as I hit the floor of the club and checked in with the VIPs. As always, it was full and with a few reality tv stars in, there was a bigger than normal crowd. Walking over to the main floor, I noticed the bartenders were smashed and I jumped behind to lend them a hand. Most continued to work as normal, other than Clara, who knocked her hip into mine as she came to serve the patrons closer to me. We didn’t have time to talk, which suited me just fine, as I definitely read between the lines of her greeting and didn’t fucking like her familiarity.I still needed to speak to her, but she hadn’t even crossed my mind again until now.

I handed the customer his three schooners, sorting out the payment before moving on to the next group waiting. This continued for a while until I saw Cooper arrive and take a seat at the bar.

“S’up brother,” I said as we slapped palms before turning and grabbing his latest brew from the shelf.

“Pour the bottle and hand them around. My shout! Let’s get these people tasting our drop,” he spoke to the group of men to his left and they nodded appreciatively. I reached for the shelf that only Golden Spades Distillery bottles were shelved and grinned at him as I opened one of the RoyalSpade Reserve , which he bottled only last month. I poured us both a glass over ice, along with a few more, starting with the guys who Coop had offered.

Together, we clinked our glasses and took a sip.

“Niiiiiiiiccceee,” Cooper said as he licked his lips. His huge smile filled his face and he turned to the boys next to him.

“Not bad.”

“Yeh, bro, this is quality. We’ll take another round,” one of the patrons said and I moved to grab some more glasses but before I could they were handed to me. Clara came to stand a fraction too close, watching me pour the nips and I took a small step away.

Cooper, the observant fucker, watched her, darting his eyes back to me before greeting Clara.

“Hey, Coop. Been a long time,” she was pouring a couple of beers as she spoke and I took the opportunity to excuse myself from behind the bar, nodding to Coop to follow.

“Nice seeing you,” he called to her as he followed me. I noticed the way Clara watched us leave, causing her to spill the beer she was holding over her wrist, again reminding me that conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later.

“She's definitely still keen,” he said, the minute we closed the door to my office.

“I’m aware,” I huffed, still irritated with her overt attention. I wasn’t interested and it was pissing me off that she was attempting to blur the lines of professionalism when I was her boss and I’d told her I wasn’t single.

“Still easy on the eyes, though,” I rolled my eyes as I poured us another whiskey. Thank god I didn’t drive in tonight as this was going down smoother than anticipated. We chatted about the distillery and the unsuccessful interviews while I occasionally scoured the cameras. Coop always did tell a good story and I sat amused as he recounted each one in detail.

“I was just hoping one of them was going to be younger than eighty, competent and hot. Is that too much to ask?” I was laughing, still thinking about his impersonation of the woman who used her fingers to show him she could count without a calculator and then danced throughout her presentation.

“You need to get laid, Coop. Are you still seeing Amy?” I asked. He mentioned her name a few times over the past few months but it'd been a while. He didn’t do relationships so the fact he had been seeing the same woman for a couple of months was worth noting.

“Nah, she started seeing someone else and I'm not interested in destroying a relationship. What about you? You have two going at once? Pretty unlike you,” I knew he was only joking because this was what we did with each other, but the insinuation that I wouldn't respect Marlee enough to remain faithful, pissed me the fuck off. The thought that I hadn’t actually told him we were officially seeing each other vaguely crossed my mind as his next question fired.

“Come on, Seb. Who is it, Clara or Marlee?” Before I could retort, I heard the door click open, knowing only one person was invited to my office tonight. Any lingering annoyance evaporated instantly at the look of pain on her face.

“Yeah, Seb. I would also like the answer to that question seeing as Clara just told me she is your girlfriend.”