Something to Prove (3 page)

Ryan left on that note, and Colin felt the most at ease with his position in the family
since his return. When their father died, Colin had taken off for three years. Everyone
thought he’d done it out of anger because Dad gave O’Leary’s to Ryan. He let them
believe it because the truth was so much worse.

Now he finally had the chance to redeem himself. He no longer had to be the irresponsible,
lazy O’Leary. He could finally become the man his father had expected him to be.

Elizabeth stood and stretched her back. She’d been hunched over the crippled desk
for hours attempting to make the office usable. Mitch had come in and explained what
he called accounting. She was on her fourth cup of coffee and she knew better than
to keep drinking it, but without it she might fall asleep. Sleeping here would never
be an option.

Although Mitch grunted at her when he left the office, she hadn’t heard much noise
coming from the bar. She wanted to see what his opening routine was, so she ventured
out. She found Mitch sitting on a barstool with a beer in front of him watching a
small TV.

“What are you doing?”

“Waiting for customers.”

“Isn’t there work that needs to be done while you’re waiting?” This was a new business
to her, so she pushed down the urge to fire him on the spot. He was the only one who
knew what had been going on with the place for years.

He shrugged in response.

“The bar is filthy. It needs to be cleaned.”

“Honey, the guys who come in here aren’t staying for the décor.”

She inhaled through her nose and bit down hard. This would take more than patience.
“I understand that you’re used to doing things, or not doing them, your way for a
long time. Things need to change. That’s my purpose for being here. I’m telling you,
as your boss, that you cannot drink while on the job, and I expect you to clean the
bar.”

He picked up his glass, gulped the beer, and slammed the empty glass down on the bar.
Turning the volume up on the TV, he grabbed a rag from the bar and pretended to wipe
the surface.

“Hey, Mitch,” a man called as he entered the bar.

Elizabeth turned to look at him. He stood in a smudged T-shirt and ragged jeans. He
had a red bandana wrapped around his head.

“Hey, Rick.” Mitch dropped the rag on the bar and shot a quick look at her.

Rick looked her up and down. “You lost?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Can I buy you a drink then?”

“No, thank you. I don’t drink while I’m working.”

“Rick, this is the new boss, Elizabeth.”

Rick laughed loudly and slipped onto a stool. Mitch had moved around to the other
side of the bar and began pouring a beer. It was three in the afternoon. If these
guys started drinking this early, how drunk would they be by nightfall?

She knew Mitch had to go. He wasn’t on board with the changes she would need to make.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to fire him just yet, but it was coming soon.

The idea of returning to that office was something she couldn’t stomach. “I’m going
out. I’ll probably be back later.”

“We’ll be waiting.” Mitch tossed her a smile.

She stormed out, trying not to let him get to her. She’d been in worse situations
with pigheaded men. This one, however, wasn’t something she was used to. Keith tended
to hire the best he could find. She always had some trusted people to rely on, even
when she had to fire the ones who didn’t work out.

If she got rid of Mitch, there was no one else. Her first order of business would
be to find someone who could take over the daily operations of the bar. Back in her
hotel room, she opened her computer and began placing ads. Mitch would be gone by
the end of the week.

CHAPTER 2

F
our days later, she’d conducted eleven interviews and hired two new managers. They
were set to start the following day. Between the two people she’d hired, Gary and
Mike, she’d be spending only slightly more than Mitch was being paid. Now all she
had to do was fire Mitch. It was probably the worst part of her job.

She waited until closing, yet another endless night for her. When the last drunk left,
she called him into the office. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“I’m letting you go.”

“What?”

“You’re fired. The books don’t add up, and while I believe you’ve been skimming, I
have no proof. I’ll give you two weeks’ severance so you have time to find a new job.”

He stood in the middle of the cramped office with his mouth hanging open. The creases
on his face appeared to deepen. His eyes weren’t quite focused, and she wondered how
much he’d drunk.

“You can’t fire me.”

“I can and I did.”

He wasn’t the first person she’d had to fire, so this conversation was nothing new.

“Keith hired me. I’ll call him and straighten this out.” He pulled a phone from his
dirty jeans.

She hadn’t counted on that. She stood and held up a hand. The last thing she needed
was Keith getting involved. She wasn’t ready for him to know she was prying into his
business. “First, he won’t answer his phone at this hour. Florida is an hour later
than here, and he’s an early-to-bed kind of guy. Second, if you make that call in
an attempt to go over my head, the severance is off the table. I will bring in a forensic
accountant to find out exactly how much money you’ve stolen and I’ll prosecute to
the fullest extent of the law.” She was totally talking out her ass, and she prayed
he wouldn’t call her on it. Given that he didn’t seem too bright, it appeared her
threat might work.

“Three weeks’ pay.”

Maybe he wasn’t as dumb or drunk as he looked; he wanted to negotiate. “Two and a
half and you don’t try to collect unemployment.”

“Fine. I’ll have a job by tomorrow. You have no idea what you’re getting into. My
guess, you’re gone inside a week.”

He had no idea how tenacious she could be. There was no way she was leaving until
she’d accomplished her goals. She pulled out the checkbook and wrote his check.

He snatched it from her hand, turned on his heel, and left.

“Nice doing business with you,” she called after him. She dragged herself to the front
door and locked up. Tomorrow would be a fresh start. Both of the men she had coming
in were experienced bar managers. It had to be an improvement over Mitch.

She looked back over the darkened room and wondered what she was doing. She’d made
employment decisions for other jobs, but this felt different. Doing it on her own
made the difference. She really had no backup here, and preventing Mitch from calling
her brother was the deciding moment. She was going to do this.

Early the next morning, her phone rang. Groggy, her blurry eyes attempted to focus
on the screen. Dad. She’d known this call would come; she’d hoped it would’ve taken
longer, though. She had to make a quick decision about what to tell him. She knew
she wouldn’t be able to disappear without being noticed.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart. Where are you? I haven’t seen you for days, and I don’t remember
sending you to a job.”

“I’m in Chicago. I’m visiting with Janie. You remember her, don’t you? I was feeling
burned out from all the work travel, so I decided to take a break.” It was only a
partial lie. She was burned out; she really did want a break. Unfortunately, Dad never
truly heard her desire to take over the company and stay at home. He was always more
focused on her social life.

“Oh. Why didn’t you say something?”

“It was spur-of-the-moment.” She sat up and scrubbed her hand over her face and waited
to be busted for that. Spontaneous wasn’t her style. Dad didn’t seem to notice her
lapse.

“When do you plan to come home?”

“I’m not sure.” She knew what was coming next, and her stomach turned.

“I have a new property I’m considering. If I get it, it’ll be ready for takeover within
two months.”

Two months? Too bad this wasn’t really a vacation. She didn’t want to head to another
job, in another city. “Can’t Keith do this one?”

She heard fumbling on the other end. She’d caught him off guard since she’d never
turned down a job before, but she had a feeling about this bar. This project would
surprise her father. She would prove that she had the ambition and initiative to take
over his spot. She could be him.

“Well, if that’s what you want. But you know I try not to send him out of town for
too long. The kids miss him. It’s hard on a family.”

She flopped back on her pillow. And there it was, the accusation beneath it all. Didn’t
she know how hard it was on a family to have a dad who traveled? She’d lived it. It
was hard on her nieces when Keith was gone, which was why Dad leaned toward giving
the company to Keith. But she shouldn’t be knocked out of the running because she
didn’t have a family.

“We’ll see how it goes. If you get the property, send me a timeline.” She hesitated
and then pushed forward. What was a little more truth stretching? “I’m actually looking
into some options here myself.”

“You are?” More shock.

“Yeah. I’m pretty tired, Dad. I was out late and I’m an hour earlier than you.”

“Sure, honey, go back to sleep.”

“Give Mom my love. I’ll call you soon.” She turned over with the intention of getting
more sleep, but her mind wouldn’t cooperate. She hated lying to her dad. That wasn’t
the kind of relationship they had. She picked up the phone again and brushed her fingers
over the buttons, but didn’t engage a call.

No, she’d started this and she’d see it through. If she hadn’t made significant progress
within a couple of weeks, she’d tell Dad the truth. All she had to do now was dodge
Keith. He’d see right through her and ruin her plans.

With that settled, she rose and took a shower. Her brain was fuzzy, but she intended
to use the extra time wisely. She needed to make improvements quickly.

Colin strode through the back door of O’Leary’s to grab a cup of coffee before heading
up to shower. He was getting a little old for this.

Mary sat at the bar drinking coffee and reading the Sunday
Tribune
. She looked over her shoulder as he got closer. “The walk of shame again, Colin?”

He shrugged and smiled. She didn’t need to know that it was a poker game with the
guys and not a woman that had kept him out all night. He enjoyed his reputation as
a ladies’ man. If he got half the action everyone thought he did, he’d be a very happy
man. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I like the quiet here on a Sunday morning. Don’t you have family dinner today?”

He nodded and poured a cup of coffee. O’Leary family Sunday dinner was early afternoon
to accommodate the bar schedules. He checked his watch. “I have time for a nap before
I go. You need anything down here before you open?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

And she was. Ryan had totally lucked out in hiring Mary. She ran the place in Ryan’s
stead, a job Colin should’ve had years ago. He took his mug with him up to his apartment.
This, too, used to be his brother’s. When Ryan moved into his house with Quinn, Colin
decided he’d rather live above the bar than with their mother.

He set his cup on the counter and lay across the couch his brother had left for him.

Hours later, Colin sat on the couch in his childhood home and felt the cushions sink
and curve around his body. The nap hadn’t done him any good. He needed a good night’s
sleep. Liam sat and handed him a beer.

“Mom know you grabbed these?”

“Hell, no. She’s in the kitchen talking babies with the girls.”

That had such a strange ring to it, but it fit. The girls Liam referred to weren’t
their sisters, but were family just the same. Ryan’s wife, Quinn, waddled into the
dining room carrying the basket of silverware. He jumped up to help.

“Go sit down,” he suggested.

“If one more person tells me to take it easy, I’m going to hurt him. I’m fine. I want
to move. I want this baby out of me.”

Colin took a step back. The woman was downright scary. This hormonal version was worse
than anything he’d experienced with his two younger sisters growing up. He didn’t
have a response. “I’ll get the plates.”

“Thank you.”

In the kitchen, Quinn’s sister, Indy, stood with a baby cradled in her arms. He leaned
in and kissed her cheek. “Hey, good to see you. Where’s Griff?”

“He went with Ryan to get dessert. Ryan forgot it was his turn, which pissed off Quinn
because she would’ve made something. Bugged me too, because she probably would’ve
made chocolate cake.” The baby squirmed.

He reached out. “Let me have her.”

Indy’s brow furrowed. “You sure?”

“I’m the oldest of six. I spent most of my childhood with babies around.” He scooped
the tiny girl from her mother’s arms. She weighed nothing, but then again, she was
little more than a week old. She had that baby smell no one could resist. While he
held Colleen against his chest, he said, “I need the plates for dinner before Quinn
gets mad at me.”

Indy brushed past him. “Don’t mind her. She’s mad at everyone right now. I’ll get
the plates.”

He followed Indy back through the house and took Colleen into the living room with
him. Holding her like a football, he returned to his spot next to Liam and drank from
his beer.

Liam slapped Colin’s free arm. “You look kind of natural holding a baby.”

“Shut up.” He took a drink from the bottle again. The truth was that he had been thinking
about marriage and babies a lot lately. How could he not? Ryan had gotten married,
then Michael. Griffin and Indy were engaged. He was surrounded by marriage and babies.

Colleen squirmed again, so Colin set his beer on the table and shifted her onto his
shoulder. It did feel natural.

Some old cowboy movie played on TV in front of them. “What’s going on at work?” he
asked Liam.

“Nothing. I guess I don’t have to ask how the bar is going. Ryan would’ve told us
if there was a problem.”

“Let me ask you something.”

Liam shifted to face him. Of all of his brothers, Liam was by far the most serious
and level-headed.

“Do you regret not getting involved in the bar?”

“What do you mean? We all grew up in that place. We all work St. Patty’s Day. I’m
involved.”

“Not in the daily stuff, though. You never wanted to run it?” He smoothed a hand over
Colleen’s back.

“No. It always belonged to you and Ryan. It was your place with Dad. We all kind of
knew it.”

Liam said it with no animosity, but Colin wanted to know. “Did we push you out? Make
you feel like you couldn’t be there?”

“No. We all found our own things. You and Ryan, though, O’Leary’s has always been
yours.” He finished his beer and stood.

Liam’s assessment didn’t fit. Eight years ago, sure. O’Leary’s was his until he fucked
it up. Now, he felt like a foreigner. Maybe not that bad, but he didn’t fit. For a
year now, he was pushing to find that fit, to make it feel like home, and it wasn’t
happening.

Of course, it didn’t help that Ryan kept him at a distance either. He didn’t know
how many other ways to apologize. Maybe it was time to move on again.

Colleen fell asleep in his arms, and he laid her in the cradle his mother had bought
for the grandbabies. She’d turned his old bedroom into a nursery. He watched the baby
sleep and knew he wanted more than what he had.

Ryan and Griffin came into the living room holding a grocery-store coffee cake. “Before
anyone bitches, Blackstone’s was already closed. I did what I could.”