Sold on the Beach_A Reverse Harem Romance

by Sierra Sparks

  “You never had chicken vindaloo in your life,” scoffed Kenner. “What restaurant do you go to that serves that one?”

  “Double Knot,” insisted Travis.

  “Double Knot’s Japanese,” reminded Jax. “They don’t make that there.”

  “Okay, fine! You got me, okay? But I liked it! That’s the important thing!” said Travis. “Jeez, guys.”

  “I’ve had chicken vindaloo and this is wonderful,” complimented Brax. “But I imagine it’s not the normal sort of fare for an Irish pub.”

  “Only if we were in England,” I countered. “They can’t get enough of this there.”

  “I’m actually a pretty good cook myself,” said Kenner.

  “What’s your specialty?” I asked.

  “I make this marinated beef I used to make for— Someone in the past,” said Kenner correcting himself. “I use it in a stir fry.”

  “I also cook,” announced Brax.

  “What? When?” demanded Jax, very skeptical.

  “Beef Wellington,” said Brax. “Had to learn to make it myself. So few places really know how to make it.”

  “That’s the meat baked in the loaf of bread, right?” guessed Travis.

  “To you Philistines, yes,” said Brax. “But for the rest of us that enjoy could cuisine beyond a power bar, it’s a cut of mean, wrapped in dough and spices and then baked, so…”

  “So, I was right then?” asked Travis.

  “In the most technical and vulgar way, yes,” Brax reluctantly admitted.

  This seemed to greatly satisfy Travis, who went back to eating his chicken vindaloo.

  “I’m more of a breakfast guy,” said Jax. “I can cook just about any breakfast, but my favorite is French toast.”

  Everyone nodded and made noises in the affirmative. I mean, after all, who doesn’t like a good French Toast? Terrorists, maybe, but that was it.

  “I’m not much of a cook,” admitted Travis. “But I do an okay quinoa salad.”

  “Yes, but who would eat it?” added Kenner with some level of disgust. “It’s like eating stuff you found on the floor of the forest.”

  “Hey, you don’t get this body by jamming a bunch a crap inside it, ya know?” lectured Travis. “You should think about that. Healthy body, healthy mind— You’ll live longer.”

  “If you call that living,” quipped Jax. “I’ll die with my hamburgers, whiskey and cigarettes if you don’t mind.”

  “And that, dear brother, is something we can both agree on,” said Brax, toasting him with his drink.

  “Can I ask you a question about the bar, Claire?” asked Jax.

  “Sure.”

  “It’s weird, but how are you struggling with this place with so many customers?” asked Jax. “I mean, not that I’m implying you’re not running it right, but…”

  “No, I get it,” I assured him. “Honestly, that was an unusual happy hour slam. Normally, I’d be struggling through it with the guys. You okay over there?”

  I called out to McCleary and Stetson and noticed they already had three full beers in front of them.

  “I thought it was best to get them ready for our break,” said Brax. “Thinking ahead.”

  “Not sure if that’s legal or wise,” I said warily. “But whatever. If I could get that many customers in her on a nightly basis, my problems would be over. You think I need to class this joint up?”

  “Well, it would help if you weren’t the only other business on this block other than the bakery. Just looks bad,” said Jax.

  “Yeah, well, sprucing this place up might help, right?” I asked hopefully. “I mean, you guys know business, right?”

  “Well, it’s a bit like asking a lion tamer if he has any tips on training a cat to use the litter box,” said Brax. “I would say the lighting could be brighter. The entire décor is too dark for my tastes.”

  “Got to appeal to a younger crowd,” said Jax. “No offense to your regulars. You gotta get more college kids in here.”

  “Yeah, in the future, you’re supposed to card them before you bring them beer,” explained Claire. “I could get in a lot of trouble for what you did.”

  “Believe me, I was in more trouble,” assured Jax. “I just had to stay away from that table.”

  “A young crowd is definitely not classy,” said Brax. “College kids are looking for the cheapest way to get completely soused and have sex. I think you have to go higher than that.”

  “I disagree, bro,” said Travis. “The college kids know what’s trendy and hip. People want to be a part of that as they get older. You want the image that college kids like, but you raise the prices so very few of them can afford it.”

  “And keep the riff-raff out,” said Kenner, mocking Brax. “I say, would you like a Guinness for you and your friends?”

  “I do not sound like that,” insisted Brax, mildly annoyed.

  As we were sitting and eating, I was holding Kenner’s hand under the table. He was just such a kind guy. I could see it in his eyes and I wanted to reciprocate without the other guys feeling bad. Travis was on the other side of me, gently stroking my thigh. I gotta say, it was all a bit of a turn on— The attention, the touching— Having four guys this into me was weird, but it was a good kind of weird. The kind of weird I could get used to.

  No, I thought. That’s crazy talk. Get that out of your head.

  “Claire?” said Jax. “You okay?”

  “Sorry, I zoned out,” I lied. “You were saying?”

  “I was saying, maybe you could get a DJ in here and have some kind of dance thing,” suggested Jax. “I know it costs money, but those guys will bring in the ladies and where the ladies are, the guys go.”

  “That’s not a bad idea, actually,” I agreed. “Without other tenants next to me, we could be as loud as we want. Who would care?”

  “Plus, the bakery should be closed by the time the dancing starts,” added Kenner. “I know a DJ. He’s probably too expensive, but I’m sure he knows people in the business. Maybe he could recommend an up and comer with a bit of a following that you could afford to hire.”

  “Who cares about money?” said Brax. “Let me hire someone for you. It’s not a problem for me.”

  “That’s nice of you to offer, but I’m not a charity case yet,” I said. “I have to earn this money and save the bar without a hand out.”

  “I knew you were going to say that,” said Brax, sounding a little disappointed. “But good for you. I respect that work ethic, Claire. I really do.”

  “How’s your website?” asked Kenner. “Is it up to date?”

  “I update it, but it’s a bit antiquated,” I admitted. “We built it using a template ten years ago.”

  “Oh, God,” laughed Kenner. “Let me take a look at it. I know a few tricks if you give me access.”

  I looked into his eyes.

  “Sure, I trust you,” I smiled.

  I really did trust Kenner. He just had that trusting look about him. I almost kissed him there, but I wasn’t sure what the etiquette would’ve been with the other guys. Would I then kiss them all too? Wait, what am I saying? Am I really thinking about dating four guys at once? No, that can’t work. I was sure they would never go for it. Although, they all came down to help me and they all stayed. Here we were, all having dinner. It felt nice.

  “What you really need to invest in,” suggested Brax, “is a deep cleaning by a team of professionals. Not that this place is that dirty, per se, but it is old. I’m sure that ceiling hasn’t been cleaned in decades.”

  I looked up at the ceiling. Was it originally that color? I had no idea. I remembered in old pictures of Grandpa, the ceiling looked like it was coated in some kind of metal. Looking up at it now, it looked like paint or could it be decades of patina? I didn’t know for sure.

  “You’d have to close down for a day and hire the team,” said Brax. “Or get your staff to do it.”

  “You guys wanna come by Monday morning and—"

  “No, t
hat’s fine,” said Brax, stopping the thought. “We are definitely not professional cleaners. Quite frankly, you should see our conference room sometimes.”

  “Or Travis’s office,” added Kenner.

  “Woah, seriously? After what you do in your bathroom?” said Travis.

  “What does he do?” I asked.

  “He brushes his teeth in there,” said Travis, sounding horrified.

  “Wait, it’s not a public bathroom, is it?”

  “No-no,” said Kenner. “It’s in my office, but I’m usually the only one that uses it.”

  “Usually is the key word in that sentence. Usually,” said Travis.

  “Am I missing something, Travis?” I asked. “Because that sounds normal to me.”

  “Travis is kind of a germophobe,” said Jax.

  “It’s not that at all!” insisted Travis. “Listen, Kenner handles Roger Banks of Banks & Flattern.”

  “Yeah, so what?” asked Kenner.

  “Hey, the guy is like four hundred pounds! He sweats pushing the button on the elevator! It’s gross!” insisted Travis.

  “He’s a nice guy,” defended Kenner.

  “It’s not about being nice. The guy is a walking heart attack!”

  “I still don’t understand,” I said, confused. “What’s the big deal about the toothbrush.”

  “Kenner lets the big guy use his bathroom! His toothbrush is in there!” said Travis horrified. “He doesn’t have it in a container or anything. It’s just sitting out on a shelf. How can you use your toothbrush again after a guy like that has been in your bathroom?”

  “I actually never thought about it until now. That’s why you’re grossed out?” asked Kenner.

  “Yes!” said Travis.

  “Okay,” agreed Kenner. “I’m throwing away that toothbrush when I get back to the office.”

  “Really?” I asked, kind of amazed these guys were so squeamish.

  “Yes, absolutely. I didn’t even know, now I can’t stop thinking about,” said Kenner in horror.

  “You get the website spruced up and the DJ,” said Jax. “Maybe spend a little promotion at the colleges. You need something.”

  “We could put flyers around the neighborhood. That’s cheap, right?”

  “What is this,1982?” joked Jax. “No one does flyers anymore.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” insisted Kenner. “It would be retro. You could use it to advertise an 80’s night!”

  “I do love the 80’s music,” I admitted.

  “Like every other female on the face of the Earth,” joked Jax.

  I frowned at him and stuck out my tongue. Not every woman loves 80’s music, right? I thought. Or if they do, oh, well. That’s what would make it a good promotion.

  “You know what I would offer,” said Brax. “A two for one drink special when you bring a friend. Just for the first drink. Perhaps you’d get some more couples through the door. You could take advantage of the dim lighting.”

  “Oooh, what about a singles night!” suggested Kenner. “These dating websites organize them all the time. You offer a discount to the people who come, but the place fills up with desperate lonely singles. They drink— believe me.”

  “Hey now, you sound like you know a little bit too much about that,” said Travis, staring at him.

  “Okay, I’ve been on speed dating a few times,” admitted Kenner. “It’s not a crime. Never drank so much in my life at some of those events.”

  “Drink specials,” said Travis. “I used to love drink specials in college.”

  “I can’t afford to cut back too much,” I admitted. “My profit margin is already thin.”

  “That’s the thing,” said Travis leaning in and whispering. “You just make it sound like you’re having a sale. The customers don’t know you’re charging the regular price. Diners do it all the time!”

  Travis looked over at McCleary and Stetson. McCleary raised his glass and Travis acknowledged the gesture.

  “Except the old guys,” he added. “They’ll know, so you might have to give them a real discount.”

  “Are you guys this ruthless in your business?” I asked. “What does Cadance Tech actually do?”

  “We manufacture various electronics and sell them,” explained Brax. “We’ve also branched out into other avenues. Things like software, consumer audio equipment, cellphone components, you name it.”

  “I thought all that stuff was made in China,” I said.

  “It is,” admitted Brax. “But we don’t like to brag about it.”

  I must’ve made a face, because Brax got a little flustered.

  “Oh, but, uh, don’t worry. We check out our suppliers very thoroughly,” he assured. “No slave labor. Only honest-to-goodness workers. We pay a little more for that, but I like to be able to sleep at night.”

  “Hey, I just thought of something,” said Jax. “You’re going to have a packed house on Saint Patrick’s Day, why not give them something that will make them come back?”

  “That’s a good idea,” I replied. “Like what?”

  “T-shirts!” said Travis. “Or muscle shirts.”

  “No, that’s cheesy. Maybe a custom emoticon?” suggested Kenner.

  “I like it, but that’s something you could download,” said Jax. “What about a mug that you could bring back for one free beer that weekend? You could give away the cheapest beer your have, but who would complain?”

  “Wow, that’s a great idea!” I exclaimed. “I should be writing this down.”

  “I’ll remember,” said Jax. “Maybe you and I could go over a promotional plan.”

  “No-no, no-no,” objected Kenner. “I see what you did there. You’re just laying the ground work to move in ahead of us. That’s not right.”

  “Are you--- Are you holding her hand under the table?!” said Jax, horrified. “What the Hell do you call that?”

  “Relax, bro. It’s cool,” said Travis.

  “And this one has his hand on her thigh!” noticed Brax. “This is a violation! You should have to trade seats. Trade seats with us!”

  “Okay, sorry, that’s on me,” I said, taking the blame. “I just got comfortable. I shouldn’t do that until I’ve made my choice. I really do like you all, though. Especially after what you did today. I hope I can thank you all sometime.”

  “Well, this dinner is definitely a fine way to thank us,” said Brax. “Even though we had to work for it, I don’t think we get this kind of service in our own club.”

  “The whole place is crazy overpriced,” dismissed Jax. “I’m so glad we got out of there.”

  “Well, the auction’s coming up,” reminded Travis. “That should be fun.”

  “Auction?” I asked.

  “The club does a bachelorette auction to fundraise for operating expenses. Hey, let’s get Claire in, she needs the money,” suggested Travis.

  “Wait, what would I have to do?” I asked.

  “You would have to spend an evening with the gentlemen who won the bid,” explained Brax. “Not that there would be anything sexual in the exchange. You would earn half the money for your time at the club and the rest goes to the club for operating expenses.”

  “Huh, interesting. How do they normally get women for the auction?” I asked.

  The boys looked at each other. None of them really knew.

  “I think the Director of Membership must organize it,” he guessed. “You know, I’ve never asked.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said. “Sounds interesting, if I can make the time. Guess a room full of millionaires and billionaires, it would be worth it.”

  “Make no mistake,” said Travis. “Some of those guys are the cheapest human beings on the face of God’s green Earth. But all of them go a little gaga trying to buy the best girl. It’s an ego thing.”

  “It is fun to win,” admitted Brax. “Some of the ladies are quite beautiful, but they hardly compare to Claire.”

  “Aw, you’re a charmer,” I smile
d.

  “I see what you did there,” said Kenner, mildly annoyed.

  “You’re still holding her hand,” noted Jax.

  “And you’re still ruggedly handsome, so we’re even,” said Kenner.

  “I am ruggedly handsome,” smiled Jax, accepting the compliment.

  “Feels weird buying a date to keep the club open,” said Travis. “Bottle service alone should pay for the expenses for a year.”

  “How can you be as rich as you are and still complain about money?” said Jax, shaking his head.

  “Hey, easy come, easy go,” said Travis. “You never know. It might all go away tomorrow. You could should remember that. What if the government collapses, bro? Then what are you going to do?”

  “The government collapsing?” I said curiously. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  “He spends too much time on Info Wars,” noted Kenner.

  “That’s just one of the sites,” assured Travis. “Believe me, there are plenty more on YouTube.”

  “The only thing I watch on YouTube are cat videos and fails,” I noted. “Never watched the news on them.”

  “Not very reputable sources, I say,” said Brax. “When any crankpot can have his own channel it’s the crankpots who get them.”

  “Crankpots?” asked Jax. “I think you mean crackpots.”

  “You’re probably right,” said Brax, looking at his whiskey. “I think I had a few too many of these.”

  “Maybe it’s time to cut back,” said Kenner. “You don’t want to be hungover.”

  “Speaking of which, gentlemen, we do have an early day tomorrow,” reminded Brax. “That meeting with Lakewood. Your attendance is required and mandatory. We all need to be there.”

  “Ah, dammit,” muttered Jax. “Totally forgot about Lakewood. Okay. Yeah, we should bail soon, Claire.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “You guys have been such a help today. Finishing the ten o’clock and after crowd; that’ll be nothing. Speaking of…”

  Some new customers walked in. I had to start running the bar again.

  “You’ll have to excuse me,” I said, bowing out. “You can just leave the dishes, I’ll get them later.”

  “No, c’mon,” insisted Travis. “Now we know what we’re doing.”