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She turned back to the computer, going through her accounting program, checking the work he had done that day. Not that she didn’t trust him. She was anal; she admitted it.
He’d of course done everything perfectly.
“Tabitha mentioned you were talking about opening the banquet room for reservations in a few weeks,”
he stated as he poured his own coffee. “You can’t handle it alone. ”
No kidding. She almost snorted at that statement.
“I’m not begging Natches to approve a general manager,” she told him with an edge of anger. “The newspaper won’t even run my ad now. ”
“Talk to him, Janey,” he stated again. “He thinks you’re going to leave. And that thought is your fault. ”
“Staying here might not be an option. ” She lifted her shoulders negligently. “Either way, the restaurant needs to stay open. To take advantage of the popularity right now and
continue to grow into the future, it needs to maintain a daily reputation. Poor service or shutting it down for a period of time will only destroy any future earnings for it. ”
“I have a feeling we both know Natches doesn’t give a damn about this restaurant,” Alex said. “I’m wondering why you do. ”
“Income. ”
“Bullshit. ” His tone was sharp. “Don’t lie to me, Janey. I don’t like it. ”
She wanted to know how he knew she was lying, but she refused to ask. She was almost afraid to know.
“I always loved the restaurant,” she finally said, hating to admit to anyone that anything was important to her. “Every time I came here I could see how to make it work. I knew what it needed. ” She stared at the computer screen. “And it ate inside me because it was nothing but a means to an end for Dayle. I hated him for that alone. ”
The restaurant became a symbol to Janey, and she knew it. Something that could endure with the proper care and staff. Something she could build her life around.
“Does Natches know how you feel?”
She turned and looked at him curiously. “Why do you care? Why are you suddenly so damned concerned about my relationship with my brother?”
“Because he’s going to end up hitting me out of frustration,” he growled. “He can’t figure shit out with you, so it makes him even more pissed that I’m sleeping with you, because he thinks he’s losing the sister he never had a chance to know, before he has a chance to get to know her. It’s a male thing. ”
She stared back at him suspiciously. “A male thing?”
He rubbed at his jaw. “I would really hate to have to fight Natches, Janey. But you’re his baby sister.
The baby sister he was never able to be a brother to. He doesn’t know things that brothers think they should know. Now he’s getting even more pissed that I’m sleeping with you, because he thinks I’m coming between the two of you. ”
“And this is a male thing?”
“It’s a male thing. ” He nodded. “We’re not just possessive over our lovers or wives, but we have this thing about our baby sisters, too. It’s our job to make sure they don’t get hurt. Physically or emotionally. ”
“And you’re aware that’s totally asinine, correct?”
He grinned. “Oh yeah, we know that with our heads. But our hearts are another matter. That’s where it’s our baby sister’s responsibility to figure out the problem and fix it. ”
Janey bit her lip. Hard. It was that or tell him exactly how ridiculous the whole baby sister/older brother thing sounded.
“So, I’m supposed to what?” she finally asked. “Ask him nicely to let me hire another manager? Beg him, maybe?”
“Or sit down and tell him that restaurant means more to you than some fly-by-night hole-in-the-wall you can walk away from. Because we both know you won’t walk away from it short of death. Be honest about that much, Janey. ”
“I would walk away from it before I’d see you or my brother hurt because someone wants to hurt me,”
she stated, staring around the office, thinking about the dining rooms outside. “It’s not worth that. ”
