Chet
“Hey, have you seen Arya?” I asked Wyatt as he walked out of the kitchen.
“Nope. Why?”
I turned away. “I’m going outside.”
“Okay.” He followed me. “So are you going to answer my question?”
“What question, Wyatt?” I snapped. I was annoyed and frustrated. It wasn’t his fault, but I was feeling super guilty about having convinced Chip to shut down the 12 Point Buck Bar. Arya was really upset, and now that I’d processed everything, I totally understood why. Obviously, she needed the money and obviously, she felt like she was overstaying her welcome here, but I didn’t know why she wouldn’t just accept my help. It wasn’t like I thought she was a grifter, and it wasn’t like I was doing it because I wanted something from her. I literally just wanted her to be safe and happy. I cared about her as if she were a member of the family. I would do this for anyone.
“Hey, bro!” Wyatt hit me on the shoulder.
“What?”
“Dude, I wouldn’t go looking for Arya if you’re going to be in a bad mood like that, she’s not going to be receptive to whatever you have to say if you’ve got an attitude.”
“What attitude do I have, Wyatt?”
“Can you hear the words that are coming out of your mouth and the tone?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure don’t sound happy.”
I let out a deep breath. “I know, I just feel really bad and I want to speak to her, but I think she’s ignoring me.”
“What do you mean you think she’s ignoring you? She either is or she isn’t.”
“Well, let’s just say the last couple of times I saw her, I called out to her and she either didn’t hear me or pretended she didn’t hear me because she walked in the opposite direction. I don’t think she’s hard of hearing.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So that means she deliberately walked away.”
“So if she’s deliberately walking away from you it means she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Well, I want to talk to her. Obviously, she’s upset with me and I understand why, but she has to see where I’m coming from.”
“Chet, are you listening to yourself? You want to go to apologize to her, but you want her to acknowledge where you’re coming from as opposed to where she’s coming from. You catch more flies with honey, dude, and you’re not going to catch anything.”
“I’m just frustrated and annoyed and I just don’t understand why she just can’t stay here and be happy. We all love having her here.”
“Yeah, but she’s not family, and I understand why maybe she feels uncomfortable. Maybe she wants her own space, maybe she wants to date someone. It’s not like she could invite a boyfriend over here.”
“What boyfriend?” I looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Are you saying that she’s met someone? Is that why she was working at the bar? Who’s she met? What guy, do I know him?”
“Chet, chillax, dude. I wasn’t saying that she’s met anyone yet. I mean, when would she have had the time to meet someone? I’m just saying maybe she wants to meet someone. Maybe she wants to be in a relationship. I mean, come on, Olivia, Lucy, Sadie, they’re all in relationships now. She’s the only single one. I’m sure she must feel left out. Plus maybe she’s looking for a daddy for Eloise.”
“Eloise is her niece, so if she was with someone, that man would not be Eloise’s dad, that man would be Eloise’s uncle.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought about it quite a lot.” Wyatt’s voice was dry
“No, I have—” I looked up and saw Arya. “Anyway, dude, I’ll talk to you later.”
Leaving Wyatt behind, I quickly caught up with Arya. “Hey,” I said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
She looked at me with her lips pressed together and I could tell that she was still pissed off. I was frustrated that she wasn’t smiling at me in her normal happy way and I was also annoyed that she wasn’t thanking me for allowing her to look for another option for a job. Did she really want to work at a bar when she could be doing so much more?
“So, I was thinking …” I started
“What?”
“You were thinking that what you could call Chip and tell them to reopen the bar so that I can actually start my job and move to the apartment I was meant to have?”
“No,” I sighed, “that’s not what I was thinking. I just don’t understand why you really want to work at the bar so badly. Is it because there’s going to be lots of men there?”
“Excuse me?” Her face grew dark with anger. “That’s not the reason I want to work at the bar. And if it was, it would be none of your business.”
“I’m just asking if the reason you want to work at the bar is that you’re looking for a man.”
“You know what? Chet Hamilton, you’re a jerk. You’re an obnoxious, arrogant jerk. And I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to deal with this.”
“I was actually just coming to apologize and to suggest—”
“You know what Chet, keep your apologies and keep your suggestions. I have absolutely no interest in listening to them!” She turned on her heel and strode away.
“Arya,” I said running after her, “I haven’t even gotten to—”
“You said more than enough.” She wheeled to face me. “You know Chet, when I first met you, I thought you were a nice guy, maybe a little arrogant, but basically a nice guy. But I realized I was wrong.”
“Excuse me? You don’t think I’m a nice guy? I’m Mr. Nice Guy. Okay? Everyone says so.”
“Who says so, Chet? Name one person that walks around calling you Mr. Nice Guy.”
“Aside from myself?” I grinned. She didn’t laugh. “Okay. Okay. Well, maybe I’m not known as Mr. Nice Guy. maybe I’m known as Mr. Hunky or Mr. Hot—”
She snorted. “You’re not full of yourself at all, are you?”
“What, you don’t think I’m hot?”
“Really? You really want to have this conversation now?”
I finally realized that my jokes and humor were not going down well. I wanted to alleviate the tension between us, but somehow I was just making things worse.
“Okay. So maybe we can just forget that, but I do really want to help you find a job.”
“Chet, I had a job, and I didn’t need your help. Okay? You butt in because you think you know better, and you don’t. This is my life, okay? And I’m going to do what I want to do, and I’m going to take the job I want. So just leave me alone, okay? I’m done with you.”
And with that, she walked away.