a lot of effort into learning his shit, and if Sean didn’t like it because he was a bit of a rambling know-it-all, then too damn bad. He put me in charge of the deck, and Xander would just have to be part of that deal.
I opened my mouth to ask Sean if I could speak to him privately, when I saw a ghost of a smile appear on Sean’s lips.
“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Sean said. “You’re hired.”
“Really?” Xander sounded as surprised as I was, but he looked elated.
“Yup. You can even shadow Wyatt for happy hour if you want to get your feet wet.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d love that.”
Sean gave him a nod before getting up and walking past me, patting me on the shoulder. “I hope the girl you’re bringing in later is as good as that one,” he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Xander.
I bit my tongue to keep myself from revealing that Aamee likely wouldn’t be, but who really knew? Stranger shit had happened. Like Xander impressing my boss with skills he learned from YouTube.
I settled for a nod, and Sean walked away. When I looked back at the bar, I saw Xander absorbing every word that left Wyatt’s mouth like it would lead him to a pot of gold and decided to leave them to it.
I made my way outside to where Brody was inputting purchasing orders into an Excel spreadsheet, looking focused and professional.
It was like all my friends had up and become responsible adults when I wasn’t looking. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
Chapter Fifteen
D R E W
I scrolled a bit more on my iPad before handing it to Brody.
“What about bumper stickers?” I asked. “Like the magnetic ones. You think people would use them?”
Brody took a look at the ones I’d chosen—oval with a black border. “What would they say?”
“The Yard,” I answered slowly.
“I know, dumbass. But is that it? Would people know it’s a bar with just that?”
“We can put the city and state below. Or the website or something so people might look it up.”
Why was deciding on advertising merchandise so difficult? We’d already chosen black T-shirts with the logo for the employees, and we’d ordered the same design in a few different colors to sell.
“I feel like people will think it’s a bar just because of the logo alone,” I told him. It was a clever design, and one neither of us could take credit for—the Y in Yard was made to look like a martini glass, and the d looked like a stake with a ring that had landed on it. I had no idea how Sophia had designed it, but it looked amazing.
“Okay, yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, not sounding so sure.
“What? What is it?”
He shrugged and settled back against the lounge chair before putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. “Just hope it all works out, ya know? And this place comes together like it should.”
“It’s already looking better. The bar’s almost done, and we’re almost finished with the landscaping.” I looked around at the previously barren space where we’d planted some bushes around the perimeter and installed some permanent benches for added seating.
“No, I know all that’s going well. I just mean the whole thing.” He sat up and folded his hands, cracking his knuckles nervously.
I didn’t know how to respond because I was scared too. Terrified, actually, when I really thought about all of it. But it was a good kind of fear. The kind that helped motivate you to get shit done because you don’t want to see what’d happen if you don’t. I wanted to tell him it would be okay, but I didn’t know if that was true. And more than that, Brody needed to figure this shit out on his own. We both did.
“Yeah, I know” was all I could come up with.
“I don’t know, man. Like my dad wants to see our plans and shit, but I’ve never been much of a planner, you know?”
I nodded and tried not to laugh. “I think your dad knows that. You know, since you told him you got married to someone your parents had never met.”
“Fuuucckk.” He drew out the word as he steepled his hands in front of his face. “The fact that figuring out what to do about my fake marriage has been on the back burner lately should tell you all you need to know about my