by Erin Lyon
That’s your boss? she mouthed to me.
I nodded.
Once Brad caught up to us and wrapped an arm around Mags’s waist, we all walked toward the bar. The bar itself looked almost as though it had been salvaged from some old pirate ship. The amber lights above the bar were in the shape of bronze crabs and the bartenders were garbed in something pirate-themed, just subtle enough to be cool and not kitschy. Once I reached the bar and sat on a stool, I realized that, set into the wood of the bar, was an actual fish tank. I looked down at it, mesmerized for a moment, before I looked up at the pretty bartender who was smiling at me.
“This place is kind of amazing,” I said.
“I agree,” she said. She was African American, with high cheekbones and a perfect array of springy dark curls. She was wearing black-and-white-striped tights under little black shorts, with a white T-shirt and a red headband. She might not have looked like she was channeling “pirate” at all, except that she had an eye patch pushed up onto her forehead. “What’ll it be, sweetie?”
“Gin and tonic with Hendricks, please.”
“Put it on my tab, Jenny,” Jared said, giving my shoulder a friendly bump with his own.
“Thanks, boss.”
“You’re welcome. First round is on me. And the second. What do you guys want?” he asked, looking at Brad and Mags.
Brad pointed at Mags. “Rum and coke?” Mags nodded. “And I’ll have a Stella.”
Jenny nodded at those requests and started bustling around. Jared turned to Logek.
“Oh, sorry. Jared, this is my good friend, Logek McLean,” I said, with a gesture to Logek. “And Logek, this is Jared Mann, one of the partners at my firm.”
They shook hands. Logek looked at Jenny the bartender and said, “Dirty martini.”
Jenny winked at her, never slowing down as she reached for various glasses and bottles.
I looked at Logek and Jared, facing each other. Quite a pretty picture, actually. Jared with all his chiseled good looks and Logek being all … Logek.
“Logic?” Jared asked.
Logek wiggled her head side to side in the usual fashion. “Yeah, pronounced that way but spelled different.”
“Interesting,” he said. Then Jared tipped his head to the side a little and started to do his trademark staring thing.
After a minute, Logek snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Buddy, you’re staring.”
I chuckled, because she did in sixty seconds what I hadn’t been able to do in a month—call him on his staring thing.
Jared smiling cordially. “I’m sorry—it’s a bad habit.”
“Apparently.”
“Call it an occupational hazard.”
“How so?” she asked, looking skeptical.
“As an attorney, I’ve seen a lot of people talk, but most people’s facial expressions and body language end up saying a lot more than their words actually do. So I guess I spend more time observing people’s actions—I guess I don’t think about the fact that I’m awkwardly staring at someone.”
“Hm. So what ‘unspoken intel’ did you pick up from me?”
“None,” Jared said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans and frowning a little. “You seem very … genuine.”
Logek’s face softened, her big, blue eyes widening. “Thank you.”
Jared rubbed a thumb against the side of his jaw, thoughtfully. “I just don’t see many people that put their real self out there. I can see why you’re friends with Kate.”
Logek looked at me and smiled. She turned back to Jared. “What’s the point in putting on a show? The real you comes out eventually.”
Jared nodded, looking a little mesmerized. So weird that this combination never occurred to me. Sure, Mags said Jared was scary, but scary was no match for Logek. And you take away the scary part and you’re left with brilliant, handsome, thoughtful, successful …
Jared reached past Logek, picked up the drink Jenny had set down, and handed it to Logek.
“Thanks,” Logek said, taking the drink from his hand. She sipped the drink, still watching Jared. “Dude, you’re still staring.”
Jared smiled broadly, warm and disarmed. “Sorry.”
“I guess I’ll let you off the hook since you bought this round.”
Jared smiled at Logek and then turned to me, suddenly remembering my existence—and probably the fact that he was my boss—and looked a little embarrassed. I smiled approvingly. Far be it from me to discourage a worthy man’s pursuit of my BFF.
I suddenly felt big, heavy hands resting on my shoulders, and everything inside me went liquid for a minute. Adam was here.
I looked up over my shoulder at him and he looked down at me, his green eyes familiar, his dark hair tousled, and, suddenly, kissing him in front of everyone felt like the most natural thing in the world. Thankfully, I’m not a total moron and I stopped myself from trying to kiss him. But I did lean back into his body a little before I could stop myself. He reciprocated by squeezing my shoulders a little tighter for a moment before reaching past me to say hello to the group.
Logek and Mags gave him a quick hug.
“Adam! I wasn’t expecting to see you!” Jared said, clearly happy to see his old college friend.
“Long time, man,” Adam said, shaking his hand. As he reached forward to clutch Jared’s hand, he rested his other hand in the small of my back. And I really need to stop thinking about every little touch. It doesn’t mean anything, Kate. It’s incidental. And completely distracting.
“So, how do you know this crew?” Jared asked.
Adam looked at me. “I happened to meet Kate … what … about two months ago?”
Six and a half weeks. But whatever. Close enough. I nodded to Jared and Adam. “About that.”
“And met Mags and Logek through her. I don’t believe we’ve met,” Adam said, extending his hand to Brad. Brad shook it, smiling.
“It was Brad’s client that gave me the black eye,” I said.
Adam raised his eyebrows. “So you knew you were going to have your hands full when she managed to get punched the first day on the job, I’m guessing?”
“Pretty much,” Brad said. “But she took it like a champ, so we knew we had a keeper,” he said, looking at Jared.
Jared shook his head. “I knew we had a keeper when she didn’t want to sue the firm for getting hit.”
I frowned. “Why would anyone sue for that?”
Jared laughed. “Are you sure you’re a lawyer?”
I just smiled and set my empty glass on the bar and made eye contact with Jenny for another.
I looked at Adam. “And Brad and Mags are signing,” I said, gesturing between the two of them with my finger.
Brad looked at Jared, wide-eyed. “We informed HR. We’ve been sure to follow the rules.” Oops. Didn’t think about that being untimely disclosure in front of the boss.
I looked at Mags and mouthed Sorry. She just shrugged like she couldn’t care less who knew about it.
Jared ignored it like firm protocol was the last thing on his mind. As he turned back to Logek, I was pretty sure it was.
Adam must have caught the vibe between Logek and Jared as well, because he looked down at me with lowered brows. In response, I tucked up one side of my mouth and shrugged.
Adam gave me a last squeeze on my shoulder and wound his way over to a space at the bar, on the other side of Jared, to order his drink, which I suspected would be Scotch.
He had been over there a couple of minutes before I followed him with the excuse of looking for my refill. When I reached a spot next to him, I found Adam, relaxed with his elbow propped on the bar, and Jenny mirroring his position. Then I noticed just how gorgeous Jenny was. And I was right back to dreading this whole stupid friendship thing, which was likely a disaster in the making.
Adam looked at me, without surprise, and smiled.
“Have you met Jenny?” he asked.
I nodded, smiling at Jenny.
/> “Jenny is one of the owners. We went to college together.”
“Oh! Well, then I didn’t need to tell you this place was awesome—you already knew,” I said.
“Well, I think it’s awesome, but I was very glad to hear that you thought so, too,” she said, giving me a full smile and a view of a cute little dimple at the corner of her mouth.
“So cool you guys finally did this, after talking about it for ten years,” Adam said.
Jenny nodded, looking around the crowded room with a small smile. “My parents are less enthused,” she said, looking back at Adam. “They aren’t quite seeing how my bachelor’s in marketing and my MBA were necessary to become a bar owner.”
Adam chuckled. “It’s all marketing and business.”
“Well, I think they feel like the only good money they spent was on my bartending classes.”
“This place will be a hit. Then they’ll get it.”
Jenny placed her hand over Adam’s and gave it a grateful squeeze. Don’t think it. Don’t think it. Too late. Did they date? Were they a thing? Wait … what difference does it make? Adam already said he’s never been in love. Perfect. So any other female he’s known has never gotten any further than me. Well, as long as I’m not counting sex. Plenty of women have gotten further on that front. Enough! I shouted inside my head. Enough obsessing over things you can’t change for one night. I know it’s bad when I’m even annoying myself.
I smiled at Jenny. “This place is unique. I think you guys are really on to something.”
“Thanks. Tell me your name again?”
“Kate,” I said, reaching over and shaking her hand.
“So,” she said, looking at Adam and then back to me. “How long have you two been together?”
“Oh, we’re not,” I muttered quickly.
Adam casually draped an arm over my shoulder. “Kate’s my best friend.”
I looked at him, with one eyebrow raised.
Jenny didn’t seem to notice. “Oh,” she said, nodding. “That’s cool.” She patted her hands on the bar top. “Kate, let me get your gin and tonic.”
When she walked away, Adam turned to me. “You look pretty tonight.”
“Thanks, bestie.”
He chuckled.
Jenny was back a moment later with my drink and another glass for Adam. “I gotta get back to work, but don’t you dare leave without saying good-bye,” she said to Adam, pointing a finger in his face.
“Promise.”
Jenny hustled off, and Adam and I sipped our drinks.
“So, have you heard anything yet about the partnership?” I asked.
Adam looked down at his glass for a moment before looking back into my face. “Yeah, they ended up going with someone else. Said I’d be considered again for the next cycle.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Adam, I’m sorry. That really sucks.”
He gave me a bland smile and made a slight shrug. “Not a big deal.”
Such bullshit. “Why do you do that?” I asked, showing all the frustration I felt.
“Do what?”
“Act like nothing affects you?”
He shrugged again in an attempt to reinforce his nonchalance. “What good would it do?”
“It doesn’t have to do any good. That’s not what this is about. You’re entitled to feel things. To be disappointed.”
“What’s the point?”
“The point is that I see all of these feelings under the surface. Your denying they exist doesn’t change that. It makes the words coming out your mouth meaningless.”
Adam narrowed his eyes at me. He looked annoyed. “What good comes from sharing my disappointment? It changes nothing.”
“It matters to me. What’s the use of being friends if you don’t talk to me about how you actually feel?”
“I don’t want to be your friend just so I have someone to listen to me bitch and moan,” he said quietly.
“But a real friend would never see it that way, Adam. When I look at you and I can tell you’re feeling one thing but you say another? It feels dishonest.”
“I’m not trying to be dishonest, Kate,” he said, leaning down a little to be closer to my eye level. “I’m just trying to keep it simple.”
“Well, people aren’t simple. People are messy. I prefer messy.”
He threw his hands up a little. “Fine. I’m disappointed,” he said in a firm but hushed tone.
“I know you are.”
He looked at me and his face softened. “They went with a guy that came from a big East Coast firm, who has only been with us for two years. He does have a lot of experience, but I had the best year of anyone with the company.”
I shook my head. “Doesn’t seem like that sends a good message to the longtime employees, to pass them over for a recent hire.”
“Exactly.” Adam ran his hand through his hair and took a drink from his glass.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. When they gave me the news, they definitely wanted to soften it so that I’d stay. Told me I’d be the front-runner in the next cycle. It’s just that these are the type of jobs where you’re either on the partner track or you’re not. Usually, if you get passed over for partner, it never happens.”
“But they wanted to be sure you knew that wasn’t the case where you’re concerned.”
He nodded. “We’ll see. I just need to simmer a little and not make any snap decisions.” He smiled at me. “But I’m still pretty damn disappointed.”
“You have every right to be,” I said. I reached out and laced my fingers through his. “Now, we’re not going to read into this or overthink it or anything. But I don’t know how to sit here with you—like this—and not hold your hand.”
Adam laughed and wrapped me in a tight hug. He made a grunt noise. “Kate.”
Not sure I can decipher his meaning in that one word, but I was beginning to believe he was sincere when he called me his best friend.
He let go of me and turned toward the bar again and took a long drink of his Scotch. He set his glass down and frowned. I leaned over to look at his face, and he glanced over at me and then poked his finger against the glass of the bar. I followed his finger down and peered into the fish tank.
There was a dissipating cloud of red in the water. As the cloud cleared, a pretty striped fish floated on its side, midway in the tank, dead.
Adam and I looked at each other. “Uh, Jenny?” Adam called out to Jenny, who was near the end of the bar.
“Yeah, sweetie?” she said, coming to stand in front of us, palms down on the bar.
“Any chance you have a piranha in your tank?” he asked, pointing to the carnage below.
“Damn. Drew!” she called out. A lanky guy with blond hair and thick-rimmed black glasses hustled over. He was wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt which, with the glasses, made him look a little more like Waldo than a pirate.
Jenny pointed to the dead fish in the tank.
“Shit,” Drew mumbled.
Jenny looked up at us. “We’ve got a fish eater.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“This is our third dead fish in two weeks,” she added.
“Did you call the guy that installed the tank?” she asked, turning to Drew.
“Yeah. He said he didn’t give us anything that should be eating the others. Just to keep our eyes open and figure out which one it is and he’ll come and remove it.”
“Keep our eyes open?” Jenny asked, sounding edgy. “There’s one hundred fish in this tank, and when we’re here, we’re working. How are we supposed to babysit the damn fish?”
Drew shrugged, looking a little whipped. He glanced toward Adam.
“Hey, man,” he said, breaking into a grin. “Good to see you. How ya been?”
“Good,” Adam said, giving him a clap on the shoulder, bro style. Men are funny animals. “Congrats on the place. So awesome to see it come to life.”
“Thanks. We�
�re pretty excited.”
“Drew, this is my friend Kate.”
“Nice to meet you,” Drew said, giving me a firm handshake. “So, I don’t suppose either of you happened to spot our little Jack the Ripper tonight, did you?”
“Sorry,” Adam said. “I only noticed it after it happened, because of the blood in the water.”
Jenny responded to a beckoning from the other end of the bar, and Drew leaned in toward us and said quietly, “This tank was my idea, and Jenny wasn’t thrilled with it. If I can’t figure out which little fucker is eating the other fish, I’m never gonna hear the end of it.”
Adam laughed, and I gave Drew a sympathetic smile.
Drew opened a cabinet behind him and pulled out a little net. He opened a panel on his side of the tank and proceeded to fish out the partially eaten carcass.
“Sorry, little fella,” he said, dropping the fish into the trash can. “Good to see you, Adam. Nice to meet you, Kate,” he said, before scurrying away to mingle with other patrons.
We both took one last look into the tank, I guess making sure no other fish-on-fish crime was being perpetrated, then we picked up our glasses and headed back to the group.
“Where’d you disappear to?” Logek asked, with a subtly suspicious look.
“We were getting a drink and Adam was introducing me to his college buddies,” I said, making a vague gesture toward the other end of the bar. “And then we witnessed a massacre,” I said, casually.
“Excuse me?” Mags asked.
“They’ve got a murderous fish in the tank eating its neighbors,” Adam explained.
“Ew,” Mags said, without inflection.
Jared frowned. “What kind of fish is it that’s eating the others?”
“They don’t know yet or else they’d get rid of it,” Adam said. “I guess this is the third fish it’s killed, but they’ve got a hundred in the tank, so they haven’t caught it in the act.”
Jared looked thoughtful.
“Why?” I asked. “Do you know anything about fish?”
“Yeah, I’ve actually kept a tank for years,” Jared said.