Two Truths & a Lime (The Love Game #3) - Elizabeth Hayley Page 0,34
that’s cool. I’ll take Aamee back to my place.” Brody turned to look down at Aamee before continuing. “We’ll stop at that bistro you like on the way and get takeout. They even sell gelato for…later.”
Brody’s emphasis on the word “later” let me know exactly what they planned to use it for.
“Drew, make it stop,” I begged.
“No need. We’re going,” Brody said as he ushered Aamee toward the door.
“Your sister is such a prude,” I heard Aamee remark as the door shut behind them.
My mouth dropped open in outrage. I was just about to go after them and give them a piece of my mind, but Drew’s arms stopped me.
“It’s okay. We can be extra noisy next time they’re here to show them just how not-prude you are.”
I relaxed and gazed up at him. “You’re the best.”
Then I led him to his room to get a head start on being noisy.
Sitting at work the next day, I brainstormed ideas for Drew and Brody’s venture. Once Drew and I had come up for air and ordered edible food for dinner, he’d filled me in on his vision for the place.
It had taken some pointed questions on my part for us to get to what was actually achievable within his time frame. Obviously summer was fast approaching, so we didn’t have time to shoot for the moon. But there were still things we could do to make the launch and beyond successful.
I was scribbling notes on a legal pad, looking furtively around the room every so often to make sure no one sneaked up on me. It would probably be frowned upon to be coming up with marketing strategies for my boyfriend while I was at work, but it wasn’t like I was getting a paycheck, and most of these people never gave me anything to do other than fetch them drinks and supplies anyway.
What I thought Drew needed was to treat the deck as a separate entity. It had its own entrance from the parking lot, so it could function independently of Rafferty’s, other than needing to share the kitchen. That way we could launch it as a grand opening, gathering a little more intrigue behind it. Not to mention that Rafferty’s was a place where regulars congregated. It got some random foot traffic, but a lot of its clientele were older neighborhood guys.
Drew wanted to attract a younger, professional crowd who worked in the surrounding office buildings and needed a place to spend their happy hours. A lot of the businesses in the area had taken to a more laid-back work environment, so Drew’s bar could fit in nicely there.
To do that, I felt he’d either have to go trendy or comfortable. Considering the atmosphere and setup, comfortable was the way to go. I’d also done some research on other bars in the area. Only two others offered outside seating, and both were much smaller than what Rafferty’s had going for it.
All in all, I thought Drew was potentially sitting on a gold mine if we played our cards right. But beyond the money, I also really wanted this for him and Brody. There was so much potential between them—mostly on Drew’s side of things—and I wanted to do whatever I could to help them realize just how great they could be at this.
“Whatcha doin’?”
I jumped at the voice, startled so much that I threw the pen I’d been writing with.
Jake laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up on ya.”
I shuffled the papers together on my workspace to hide what I’d been doing while Jake picked up the pen. Thankfully I’d been hunched over, so I doubted he’d seen anything. Not that I necessarily thought it would matter if he had. No one talked to or listened to him around here either.
“Thanks,” I said when he handed the pen back.
“Writing your memoir?” he asked with a smile, gesturing at the papers in front of me.
“Nah, just trying to keep myself busy.”
He looked at me for a second as if waiting for me to elaborate. When I didn’t, his smile shifted to something a little less genuine. “Okay, then, I guess I’ll leave you to it.”
I nodded, and he started to turn away, but something made me call his name. He was a nice enough guy, and I didn’t want to alienate the only person in the office who talked to me.
“Want to go out and grab lunch today?”
His smile looked less forced after my invitation. “Sure.”