DAN JUMPED as Ariel squealed loudly. The last time he checked, she was writing an essay at the far end of the bar. Now she was an inch away from his ear.
“Speed dating? That’s perfect.” She beamed at him. “Leave it to me.”
Dan stared at her with a sinking feeling. “What are you going to do?”
“Find you a date, silly. We’ll set up a speed-dating night at the bar.”
“Ariel, baby, Cowboys and Angels doesn’t do events. We’re not that type of bar. You know that.”
She tossed her hair. “Only because you guys never make an effort to organize anything. I’ve been telling Daddy he needs to hold events here. I have a ton of contacts who can help. All we need is another nineteen men as potential dates.”
Dan shook his head. “I only need one date.”
“You need to find the right one. Look, you can call that guy who keeps bothering you, or you can let me help. Come on, Dan, you don’t want to be taking a man you hate to Marty’s wedding.”
“I can find my own date, thank you. Wait, does the speed dating count as me finding myself a date or you finding me a date?”
Maybe he should call Disastrous Date. It would shut them up and get the dude to stop texting him.
Ariel tossed her head again, and her ponytail bounced wildly. “You find a man at this event, and Daddy has to pay up.”
Gideon had been watching them talk from the other side of the bar, but he hadn’t gotten involved until then. “That wasn’t the bet, darlin’.”
“It’s only fair, Daddy,” Ariel pointed out. “And an event like this will bring in more customers. It’s perfect.”
“How do we get it organized?” Gideon asked.
“You aren’t serious, boss?” Dan protested.
“Deadly serious. We’ll have to do it on a Monday night, and we need to warn the regulars.”
“They’re not going to be happy.”
“It’s one night, for a couple of hours,” Ariel said. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Dan could think of a million things more fun than speed dating, but from the determined looks on Gideon’s and Ariel’s faces, he wasn’t going to win the battle or the bet. It was kind of spooky how fiercely determined and identical their expressions were.
It was annoying, but Ariel was right. Dan had also suggested to Gideon that they hold special events and private functions. He just never thought he would be the focus of the event.
Gideon shook his head. “Ariel, darling, you get the men here. And Dan, you make sure there are drinks and food for them.” He twinkled at Dan. “And make sure you look your prettiest. I’ll forget the $500.”
Ariel burst into peals of laughter, and Dan stalked away to the basement, where he could bitch to the kegs about his absurd situation. Ariel and Gideon could laugh themselves senseless at his expense, and then he’d remind them who really ran the bar, and life would return to normal. Or not.
FOR THE rest of the week, life did return to normal as Dan dealt with a series of issues at the bar. He didn’t have time to think about the dating event. Three of the barmen caught the flu, the dishwasher broke down and flooded the kitchen, and there was an issue with the lines of one of the beers. The barrel had been changed, but one of the barmen told him it wasn’t working, so he was in the basement again, trying to sort out the problem.
“Dan?”
He looked up as Gideon clattered down the wooden stairs to join him. “Hey.”
“Problems?” Gideon came up behind Dan, so close Dan could feel Gideon’s breath on his neck.
“Damn thing’s still not working right. Liam changed the barrel yesterday, and it hasn’t worked since. There are no kinks in the line.”
“Did he clean it through?”
Gideon stepped forward to take a closer look at the line, and his long body pressed against Dan’s. For one moment Dan forgot how to breathe, but then he focused on what Gideon had said.
“Juan told him to, but it’s Liam.” Gideon insisted the lines be cleaned and replaced regularly, and usually Dan or whoever the senior barman was took care of the barrels and lines, but Dan hadn’t been on the shift, and Liam wasn’t the most conscientious of the staff. The customers liked him well enough, but he frustrated the hell out of Dan. “I’ll clean the line now. Hopefully that’ll fix the problem.”
“Okay. I’m gonna talk to Liam.” Gideon sounded resigned.
Dan pressed his lips together. He wasn’t the manager yet, but when he was, Liam was going to pull his weight or he’d be out on his ear.
Gideon looked over his shoulder and obviously caught Dan’s expression. “You wanna talk to him?”
“Why do you keep him on? He’s lazy and inefficient.”
He’d had that argument with Gideon before, but Gideon always insisted that Liam just needed more training. Dan had pointed out Liam got the same training as all the other staff, and they didn’t fuck up, but Gideon insisted that Liam stay.
“He’s Sarah’s nephew.”
Dan frowned. “Sarah? Your wife?”
“Yeah. He couldn’t find a job after high school, and his mom, Sarah’s sister, asked me to help. I didn’t realize how lazy he was.”
“You never told me.” Dan felt strangely hurt, which was stupid, because he’d never really talked with Gideon about personal stuff.
“Liam asked me to keep it quiet, and I agreed. He said he didn’t want people using him to get at me. I didn’t think he was gonna take advantage of our relationship.”
“He’s been here two years,” Dan pointed out. He should have noticed. Gideon had no issues firing staff who didn’t match his standards, but Liam had always been off the table.
Gideon sighed. “It’s the one thing I can’t do. I can deal with anyone but family.”
“If you’re making me manager, Liam either pulls his weight or he’s fired,” Dan warned. “And you back me up, family or not. Are there any other family members you want to spring on me?”
“None. Just Ariel and Liam.” The relief in Gideon’s voice suggested Dan could ask for the world if Gideon didn’t have to deal with his errant family.
“Do you need to talk to his mom first?” The last thing Dan wanted was to get caught between Gideon and his late wife’s family.
Gideon shook his head. “He’s not a kid. There’s no reason why he can’t stand on his own two feet now.”
Footsteps sounded on the steps from the bar.
“Dan? Is the line fixed?” Bradley appeared. “Oh hey, Gideon. I didn’t realize you were down here. Is it fixed?”
Dan shook his head. “I’m gonna clean the line. See if that solves the problem.”
“’Kay.”
Bradley clattered back up the stairs and left Dan and Gideon behind. Dan shivered, bone-cold after the time he’d spent down in the basement.
“Send Liam down here,” Gideon said. “We’ll clean the line. You go back up, Dan.”
Dan shivered again, and his teeth chattered. “Are you sure?”
“You stay down here any longer and you’ll turn into an icicle.” Gideon gently pushed Dan to the stairs.
“Thanks.” He took the stairs two at a time and headed for Liam, who looked at him warily.
“Am I in trouble?” Liam asked.
“Don’t know yet,” Dan said. “Did you clean the line when you changed the barrel?”
Liam flushed and looked away. “No. I meant to—”
“Just get downstairs. Gideon’s down there.” He couldn’t fail to notice Liam brightened at Gideon’s name. Dan pressed his lips together. Any reprimand this time was up to Gideon. He would talk to Liam separately, but it was time Liam found out who was in charge. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Liam, get your butt down here,” Gideon roared.
Dan worked his way through the waiting customers, soothed his regulars who were annoyed at the temporary loss of their favorite beer, and made lists of what was needed for the speed-dating evening. He and Ariel would meet later to finalize plans. He also dealt with a blocked toilet in the men’s bathroom and averted a potential fight with two guys over a card game.
After a while a subdued and cold-looking Liam emerged, followed by Gideon. Dan didn’t have time to talk to either of them because it was happy hour and a gaggle of students entered in search of cheap drinks and good music. To Dan’s amusement, Liam went as far away as he could to man one end of the bar.
Gideon joined Dan to help at his end. “It’s working again, and if Liam screws up again he’s out the door.”
“Great. Buck will be happy.”
“I’ll take him a pint.”
Dan poured the beer and handed it to Gideon, who went over to Buck, a customer who’d been coming to the bar for as long as it had been open. The old man gave a toothless grin and a salute as Gideon handed him the glass and exchanged a few words with him.
“He’s a happy man,” Dan said on Gideon’s return.
Gideon flashed him a bright smile. “Buck likes the idea of us serving burgers and fries.”
“You asked him?”
“I don’t want our older customers to feel pushed out.”
“What did he say?”
“That it was about time the old girl got a makeover and I stopped playing at running a bar.” Gideon gave a wry smile. “Buck thinks I need to hand the bar over to someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Dan tried and failed not to snort with laughter. Buck was renowned for telling it like it is. “Did he have any suggestions?”
“He said I could do worse than ask you to take over. He said you wouldn’t fuck it up as much as I do.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I’d consider his idea.”
“You didn’t tell him you’d already asked me?”
Gideon grinned. “Not yet. Let it be a surprise.”
“At least someone ’round here appreciates me.”
“Gideon thinks the sun shines out of your ass, Dan,” Bradley said as he walked past with a tray of empty glasses.
“’Course I do,” Gideon said cheerfully.
Dan rolled his eyes, flipped them off, and served the next customer.