Like A Boss by Logan Chance Page B

Inc. I tore the letter open.
    After scanning the words written on the paper, I crumpled the letter in my hand. A land developer wanted my oceanfront property.
    Fuck, Dex.
    I knew my asshole half-brother worked for Pardo Inc., and now they were all of a sudden interested in my bar? I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Xavier.
    “Hey, Theo. How can I help you?” Xavier asked.
    “Are you busy? I need to talk.”
    “Sure, what’s up?”
    “I got a letter from Pardo Inc. They’re looking to buy the Bearded Goat.”
    “Hmm,” he hummed.
    “Well?” I snapped, pressing the phone closer to my ear. I leaned back in my chair. Xavier was always calm, and right now, I wanted to shove my fist through the wall.
    “How’s business?”
    “Not good. I should have researched a little more before I made the hasty decision of buying this dump.”
    “Do you think Dex is behind this?” he asked.
    “Absolutely. How could he not be? He’s a fucking asshole. He always wants what’s mine.” My fist tightened on the crumpled letter. “What can we do?”
    “Well, you could not sell to them. Pardo will stop at nothing though. You know how they are.” He paused and I leaned up, rubbing my palm on my forehead. “The fuckers may even try to put liens on your building. They have deep pockets. They’ll get you shut down in no time.”
    “Yeah, crossed my mind, too.” I shifted in my seat as I ran my hand down my thigh, nervous energy careening through my legs.
    “Do you think you could offload it?”
    “I’m not sure there’s another idiot quite like me who would buy it,” I cracked a smile. “Maybe I should see what Pardo offers.”
    “Don’t beat yourself up, Theo. I went over the paperwork with you. It appeared like a great deal at the time.”
    “Yeah, fuck little did we know. I invested a lot of money into this.” I paused, my nervous energy dissipating, and let out a deep breath.
    “Is there a way to drive more business? I mean your bar sits in the heart of South Beach.”
    “Yeah, but summer’s coming.” I leaned closer. “I’ve got this bartender and she gave me some great suggestions.” Maybe it was the way I said it, or the tone of my voice, but he could tell more was at play.
    “You’re not fooling around with her are you?”
    I blew out a breath, and rubbed the back of my neck with my hand as I tried to stall for time to answer.
    “Jesus, Theo. Are you trying to give me a coronary? You don’t need a sexual harassment lawsuit on top of everything else.”
    “I know,” I said, shaking my head at my own stupidity. As bad as I wanted to never speak to her again, I still couldn’t get the taste of her off my mind.
    “Alright, first order of business, stop whatever is going on with her,” he said firmly. “Next issue, keep her happy at work. No firing her. We don’t need her to become a problem.”
    Ah, such little faith in me.
    “Ok. What else?”
    “If you think her ideas have merit, try them out. See if it helps. Maybe she has more.” Maybe everyone did, and I should stop being the pompous asshole they pegged me for and listen to them.
    “And as for Dex?”
    “Let me see what I can dig up. Have you talked to him recently?”
    “Not since the moment I caught him fucking Blair,” I answered with a gruff voice.
    I hated talking about Dex, hated thinking about him. He’d never even apologized for his betrayal. What a dick.
    My other main concern was Penny. To make matters worse, I had to implement her ideas for the Goat. I finished my conversation with Xavier and headed off to Blair’s to pick up Lucy for dinner.
    With Lucy in the car, I knew I would need to make nice and call Penny.
    “Lucy, want to go to dinner?”
    “Yes,” she giggled.
    “Let’s get you home first, and we can put on your pretty dress, ok?”
    “Yes,” she giggled louder.
    With a quick rush into my condo, I dressed Lucy and pulled her hair into two pigtails. How would I be able to keep Penny happy at work. I