If the Sun Never Sets - Ana Huang Page 0,25
used to date. Because the opposite of love wasn’t hate; it was indifference.
So, he’d pushed her. Forced her to show her hand and admit, if only to herself, that she may not love him anymore, but he still affected her. Short term, it gave Blake satisfaction to see the heat in her eyes. Long term, it was a fucking terrible strategy. The more Farrah was aware of her attraction to him, the more she would avoid him.
Case in point: the past two weeks.
“Understandable. This is a big opening.” Patricia snapped back into chief of staff mode. “Is there anything else you want to go over.?
“No. That’s it. Thank you.”
Patricia left to supervise the bar setup, and Blake swept his eyes around what would soon be the crown jewel of the Legends empire. The New York branch wasn’t going to be just a sports bar—it was going to be a destination. And it wasn’t going to be just a destination—it was going to be the hottest destination on New York’s nightlife circuit. A sports mecca spread over three stories, complete with a bowling alley, state-of-the-art recreation room, and upscale cocktail bar/nightclub.
In the cutthroat hospitality world, stagnation meant a slow, painful death. You have to innovate to stay on top of the game and beat back the hungry upstarts frothing at the mouth to take your crown.
Blake had no intention of getting dethroned.
That was why it was time to expand the Legends brand. He was keeping the casual, down-home business model where it made sense, but places like New York, Dubai, Miami, and Vegas? They wanted big, they wanted glitzy, they wanted out of this fucking world. And he was going to give it to them.
Now, if only he were on top of his personal life as much as his professional one.
Later that night, Blake made the mistake of asking his friends for advice.
“Dude, you’re doing this shit all wrong.” Justin cracked open his beer. “You gotta play hard to get. Make her come to you.”
Blake rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t realize we were back in middle school.”
“You make fun, but that shit works. Girls like a challenge.”
“Not this girl. Not after what I did.”
Blake already regretted bringing Farrah up in front of Justin, who was a good bartender and a cool guy but also a major pain in the ass when it came to the opposite sex. Specifically, when it came to advice pertaining to the opposite sex.
Like Blake, Justin didn’t have to work hard, if at all, to get a woman into bed. Must be the tattoos and devil-may-care attitude. Unlike Blake, he blazed a path through Manhattan’s female population with the enthusiasm of a drug addict hopped up on coke. His perception of how the whole dating thing worked was warped because he didn’t date. His love life was a flimsy string of one-night stands and casual flings.
“What did you do?” Justin’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Forget her birthday? Bang her best friend? Tell her what you really thought about her outfit?”
“No, dickhead. That would be you, you, and, oh, you.”
“Wrong. I’ve never forgotten a birthday because I’ve never asked.”
“Charming.” Landon entered the room with a fresh bowl of popcorn and a six-pack of beer. “You’re in the running to be Bartender of the Year.”
“Hey, you don’t need to know someone’s birthday to be a good bartender.” Justin reached for the popcorn before the bowl even touched the table. “I listen to people cry, dispense invaluable life advice, and supply them with alcohol to numb their pain. I’m a goddamned saint.”
“I’ll call the church,” Landon said wryly. He glanced at Blake. “You still moping about Farrah?”
Blake scowled. “I’m not moping.”
He, Landon, and Justin were watching the NBA playoffs in Landon’s decked-out den. The Celtics versus the Warriors. It was a nail biter, and a fun night with the guys was just what he needed after a long day at work.
Of course, it would be a lot more fun if his guy friends weren’t acting like jerks.
“Sure you’re not.” Landon chuckled. “This girl has got you more twisted than an episode of Game of Thrones. You should’ve seen his face when he saw her again for the first time,” he told Justin. “He just stood there like an idiot, gawking at her.”
Justin guffawed. “I’ll one-up you with the way he nearly tore my head off for just talking to her at The Egret a few weeks ago.”
“Fuck you both.” Blake tossed a handful of popcorn at his so-called friends.