CHAPTERFIVE

Working at a bar proved to be exhausting. Harder work than she anticipated. It gave her a deeper appreciation of bartenders and staff. As in, Lanie went home each night after a shift and fell into bed. And she slept hard and long. The first few days she ached. Whether from standing on her feet for hours or the vigorous sex, but she hurt in places and in muscles she forgot or never knew existed.

Over her first weekend at Raphael’s, Gavin cornered her in the cooler, the storage room, and in the employee break room and ravaged her. Luckily, they hadn’t been caught—more importantly, interrupted. And he insisted they stay at the beach house. She left the bar before he did because he had to supervise closing and complete paperwork, so on Friday she went by her place and packed a bag. A weekend away from home and with Gavin overjoyed her. Everything around her appeared brighter and fascinating as if she woke from an extended period of hibernation. And internally, her heart beat fiercely and distinctly. When he arrived in the wee hours of the morning, he woke her, and they made love. Those were the occasions they didn’t rush. He worshiped all of her. And her him. They caressed and kissed and gazed into one another’s eyes. They made slow, meaningful, rewarding love.

Serving beer, wine, basic mixed drinks weren’t problematic. The younger patrons always asked for shots she’d never heard of. Gavin and the other bartenders were extremely helpful and patient. And the entire ordering and billing software intimidated her. She usually sweet-talked one of them to enter her tickets while offering to deliver their orders.

And when you throw in the incoming orders from the restaurant, they remained swamped. But she loved it. She enjoyed being with Gavin. The sneaking around to be alone with him and having magnificent quickies were huge bonuses. She felt like a new woman. As if she’d been given a second chance to live a life so different from the one that she had. Or, she had a chance to live young again and have all the ‘feels’ of a fresh relationship.

It gave her even greater satisfaction knowing she would receive compensation for her efforts and time. She realized how fortunate she was to not have to stress over money. David proposed and she accepted an advantageous divorce agreement. She remained in the mortgage free home. If, and when she decided to sell, they would both meet and agree on a selling price and split the profits evenly. He also gave her fair alimony. It’s not as if she ever went on wild shopping sprees or required the newest, most expensive model vehicle. No, David had been more that personality in their marriage.

The owners of Raphael’s set the meeting for noon on Monday. She and Gavin both moaned when the alarm sounded at ten that morning. He coached her on the personalities of the partners. He considered Mr. Arnold Dobbs to be a more conservative, formidable man in his later sixties. He liked the man immensely and respected him. And in a good number of successful businesses, Jeff Mathers carried the easy-going reputation. Gavin suspected him to be in his early fifties with quick wit and great sense of humor.

She listened the best she could while fending off Gavin’s roaming hands as she applied her makeup, fixed her hair, and packed up her items to vacate the beach house. Before she dressed though she relented and allowed him to bend her over the kitchen island and take her from behind.

“I’ve been hesitant to bring it up, Elaine, but I left myself off the schedule for Friday.” Sitting on the couch, he finished putting his shoes on and eyed her.

Friday. The wedding reception.She’d been caught up in the whirlwind of her life, job, and Gavin and forgot all about it. But she understood his motivation. How could he not expect to go with her? They did spend the previous three days and nights together. She thought women normally were in a rush to take things to the next level. How come she wasn’t? Bad for her to think that way. Such a cliché.

“Forget I mentioned it, Lanie. No big deal,” Gavin huffed. He stood and approached her, taking her bag. “I’ll take this to your car. We need to get going so we won’t be late.”

Her focus needed to be on the meeting. Not on Gavin and his unnecessary sulking. He took her off guard. Damn if she had a moment or the initiative to think beyond the now, she might have been prepared for his inquiry.

She drove off thinking he left immediately after her. Obviously not. She sat in her car and waited for him to pull up at Raphael’s. The clock indicated eleven fifty-nine. Shit. She usually showed up early for any appointments and now she could show on time if she ran inside.

So, she did. She wouldn’t be late. Clicking through the massive hotel lobby in a half-jog, she found that entrance unlocked. Neither entrance to Raphael’s would usually be open until 4 p.m., but she assumed they would unlock that one before the one directly accessible from the parking lot. Spotting two men sitting at a table in the restaurant area, she halted and took a deep breath. When had she last been on a job interview? Well before Hunter’s birth. Switching her laptop from her right arm to her left, she approached and extended her hand. “Mr. Dobbs and Mr. Mathers, I am Elaine Richards.”

Both men stood and shook her hand telling her how excited they were to meet her and implement her concepts. She thanked them for their confidence in her ideas and in her.

“Hope I haven’t missed anything. Traffic decided not to cooperate with me,” announced Gavin from behind the bar. He had a key to come in through the back. She didn’t. Rounding the bar, he walked over and pulled a chair out for her. He patted Mr. Mathers on the back and nodded at Mr. Dobbs. “Have you all introduced yourselves?”

“We were just getting acquainted,” Mr. Dobbs stated, and he got straight to business. He commanded the first fifteen minutes of the meeting. She appreciated his direct manner and no-nonsense approach. He clearly told her what was acceptable and what was not. Mostly in relation to drink specials. Raphael’s had a reputation to uphold. The theme nights would not occur on weekend evenings. He explained their goal as appealing to the younger professionals employed in the area. There would be no live music. And because the bar and restaurant shared the sound system, they would however do their best to incorporate music coinciding with the chosen regions during the featured event.

Mr. Mathers interjected, “We believe Thursdays would be the best night. It’s almost the weekend and people want to wind down and enjoy themselves, but not get carried away because the work week isn’t over.”

“I don’t know if you’ve given any thought to advertising, but Lanie has created some great graphics,” Gavin boasted, cuing her to present them. She looked from him to Mr. Mathers and Mr. Dobbs. Were they interested in viewing them?

“We were hoping Elaine took the initiative on that. There will be an advertising budget, but we don’t want to take on the task of managing any of the promotions. We are happy to know she is willing,” Mr. Mathers stated and grinned at her. “Let’s see what you’ve designed.”

Ninety minutes later, she left the meeting with her head in the clouds. They loved all her ideas. The contract they offered shocked her. Either salaries had increased substantially over the last twenty-five years, or they had high expectations of her. Between the great tips from the bar and the consulting salary, she would have money of her own— money she earned.

The moment she and Gavin stepped out the door and out of sight of Mr. Mathers and Mr. Dobbs, Gavin twirled her to face him and lifted her off her feet in a huge hug. “You rocked it. You charmed the hell out of them.” He laughed into her neck. “You and your brilliant mind that is.”

It had yet to sink in for her. To top off her astonishment, a sexy, handsome, awesome guy held her in his arms gushing about her. Bumping him in the head with her laptop case to keep from dropping it, he placed her back on her feet.

“So, I have to be back in two and half hours, but we could grab something to eat. We will officially celebrate later,” he winked at her.

She loved the sound of ‘officially celebrate’, but they supposedly no longer had use of the beach house. She didn’t feel anywhere near ready to invite him to her house. If she did, did that mean she accepted them as a ‘couple’? What did they do tonight after work? Would he invite her to his place?

“I think going somewhere and sitting down together sounds wonderful. Plus, I’m really not happy that I agreed to dress up for the event nights. What was I thinking?” She scrunched her face and physically cringed. What a ridiculous idea. She hated costume parties. Always had. And now she agreed to wear clothing associated with the themes. A fifty-one-year-old woman playing dress up. What a joke.

“Oh, come on. I’m doing it too. It will be fun. I’m rather excited to see you as a slutty French maid,” he bantered and threw his arm over her shoulders squeezing them. “Better yet, a sultry senorita.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “Not gonna happen darlin’. At least not outside of the bedroom.” Did she just say that? She did. And she would role play with him anytime.

He kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t think I haven’t been dying to introduce it. Now I know your game. It’s on.”

* * *

Tags: Sheri Lynn Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net