Discussing it was the last thing I wanted to do. Discussing it meant that I’d have to listen to the two of them lecture me once again on how I shouldn’t sleep with my bar staff. Thanks, but I already figured that out.
“There’s nothing to discuss, Cash. Two of my bartenders had a problem at the private party last week and I had to handle it. That’s all.”
“That’s not what I hear,” Kane said in that snide voice that made me want to hit him. “I hear that shitty bartender Mika took a shot at Shay, and you let Shay go.”
“Well, you heard wrong.”
Cash’s eyes darted back and forth between Kane and me like he was watching a tennis match. When neither of us offered any more information, he asked, “Well? What happened if what Kane heard isn’t right?”
“There was a problem between Mika and Shay at the front bar. A misunderstanding more than anything else. I spoke to them and settled it, but Mika got a little excited and ended up scratching Shay. Nothing big.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kane lean back and smile. “He’s conveniently leaving out the part where Shay was bleeding from this scratch and quit.”
“Is this true, Stefan? Did Mika actually attack her? Did Shay quit?” Cash asked, his voice getting more impatient by the second.
“It wasn’t an attack so much as she was excited and her hand caught Shay’s cheek.”
“Jesus Christ, Stefan! And then, after Mika attacked Shay, you let Shay quit? Have you lost your mind?”
“Maybe if he wasn’t fucking the attacker Shay would have fared better,” Kane said with a chuckle.
I turned toward Kane and let my anger explode. “You’re just pissed off because of our bet! You don’t give a fuck about my bartenders and their problems, which by the way are nothing compared to what my people and I do to make this bar a success.”
“What bet?” I heard Cash ask as I stared Kane down.
“Why don’t you tell him, Kane? Tell Cash how you made a bet with me that involved your area of the club.”
Kane’s face twisted into an expression of disgust. Turning to face Cash, he explained, “Stefan and I made a bet about Shay. He believed he could get her to fall for him and I bet against him. He seems to think that because I agreed to putting my part of the club on the line in this bet that you’ll be angrier about that than his sleeping with yet another bartender, a shitty one at that, and losing a good one because he couldn’t defend her or risk another lawsuit from the girl he’s fucking.” When Kane finished, he turned to look at me and sneered. “Sound about right, Stef? I hope I didn’t miss anything.”
“Fuck you, Kane.”
“Enough!” Cash bellowed. “Stefan, as much as I know I should care that you two are making bets about you sleeping with yet another bartender, the immediate problem is that you let one of our employees get attacked by another employee and then let her quit. That’s a whole different kind of lawsuit. Why didn’t you discipline Mika?”
Kane laughed out loud at Cash’s mention of discipline. This was why I didn’t bother attending these goddamned meetings.
“I told her she couldn’t do that. She knows. She was just excited about something Shay said.”
Cash pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’m not going to bother asking what Shay said to upset Mika so much, but regardless, we can’t have bartenders attacking one another. Mika needs to come see me immediately, Stefan. As for Shay, I suggest you find a way to get her back.”
“I can handle my staff, Cash. I don’t need you to talk to Mika.”
More laughing from Kane. Fuck, I was sick of his shit! And I was supposed to be the immature one?
Cash didn’t find any of this amusing, though. Grimacing at both of us, he shook his head. “No, Stefan, it’s obvious you can’t handle this one. I’ll speak to her as soon as she comes in tonight.”
I stood to leave. “Well, this has been fucking fantastic. I’ll make sure to do this again sometime next year.”
“We’re not done yet, Stefan. In fact, we haven’t even begun the meeting.”
He couldn’t be serious. There was more than that? I stared down at Cash in stunned amazement. “Are you kidding?”
“No. Sit down. We have a private party to discuss, and you’re going to love this one.”
Whenever one of my brothers said that, I knew I wasn’t going to love anything that came out of his mouth after it. Taking my seat again, I waited to hear about this private party I knew I’d hate.
“Cabot Marshall booked his birthday party for next Thursday last month, but he didn’t tell me until today what he wanted the theme to be. You ready for this?”
“Let me guess. A circus theme? Marshall has a freaky vibe going for him,” Kane offered.
Cash shook his head and a huge smile spread across his face. “No. Even better. Stefan, you want to take a guess?”
“In so many ways the answer to that is no.”
“Fine. Marshall wants the party to have a Seventies theme. You know, disco, bellbottoms, Charlie’s Angels?”
“Who the fuck are Charlie’s Angels?” I asked, already sick of this meeting and talk of this party.
“Do you know anything other than what immediately involves you?” Kane snapped.
Ignoring his sarcastic insult and my quiet “Fuck you” in return, Cash continued, “Marshall wants the whole nine yards with this one, and since he’s a platinum member, we’re going to give it to him. Most of the staging will fall on your shoulders, Stefan, so you need to get up to speed on the Seventies.”
“Are you talking about the 1970s?” I asked, still confused.
“Yes. The 1970s.”
“And I have to do what concerning this?”
Cash looked over at Kane and then back at me. “The biggest thing you’ll need to do is have your staff dress in costume. Look it up online before you tell them about it. Other than that, you need to get a disco ball.”
“And this is on top of Halloween, which is the next day?”
“No. Marshall wants the party to be open, so we’ll be doing the club’s Halloween party that night too. It will just be the Seventies theme for anyone invited and the staff.”
“And what about Kane’s people? They don’t have to dress up? What the fuck, Cash? Like I don’t have enough to deal with already.”