“If possible. We’ll take the upstairs if that’s not doable. I know you have employees who probably rely on the tips.”
While the color of her hair and eyes might have surprised me, one thing I’ve always noticed about Mia is her height. Being six four, I usually have to crane my neck lower to meet other people’s eyes, but not Mia. I can’t say exactly how tall she is, but if I had to guess, I’d say five eight-ish. The bonus for me is that she never shies away from heels. Right now, she’s only a couple inches shorter than me.
She huffs a laugh. “Considering the tips you all leave on a regular basis are enough to give everyone a good nightly bonus, I don’t imagine my people would be hurting with the full team here.”
“Don’t you and Jensen usually wait on us?”
“Well, yeah, Jensen insists she only takes tips from the girls and Beck, so anything else she gives to me. As the owner, I don’t take the tips, I split them with everyone on shift that night. Anytime you guys walk in the door, morale goes up.” Mia steps around me, sending her hair behind her shoulder. “Come on, we can talk more in my office.”
“Alright.”
She doesn’t spare me a glance the whole way back through the kitchen or through the double doors as we take stairs up and down a hall to her office. I can tell from the confidence in her walk that she knows I’m following.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something feels different. Her hair falls over her shoulders, when, now that I think about it, she’s usually wearing it up in a ponytail. Maybe that’s why I never fully noticed the color, but it feels more than that.
Jensen’s always said Mia’s a great person to work with and for, but once she sits in the chair behind her desk, she looks every bit the woman in charge.
“Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking…given that you mentioned money’s not an issue, we’ll close the restaurant for the party after our lunch rush. I’ve factored in the hourly rate for all staff needed, then the average sales we have on a Thursday night, and add in our catering fee to start.” Mia jots down something on a sticky note, then looks at me. “Want me to say the number or will seeing it in writing make it less painful?”
I chuckle. “Neither. I told you, whatever the cost is fine. I want my sister to have the night she deserves.”
A small smile tugs at the corners of Mia’s mouth. “You really love your sister, huh?” Before I can respond in agreement, she looks back down at the sticky note. “I’m sure you’re about to say ‘of course, I love my sister’ but I wrote a pretty nasty number,and you don’t even want to look… That’s next-level sibling love in my opinion.”
“I said money isn’t an issue, Mia. Doesn’t mean I’m careless with it or don’t want to be involved.”
She chuckles as she reaches for a notebook and flips it to a blank page. “Oh, I assumed as much with the way you talked in your emails. Come on, let’s get the list out and we can go point by point.”
“My list or your list?”
Mia gives me a blank stare. “Adam, I could tell from your emails you’re type A as hell. I clocked you as Mister Serious About Things the moment you walked into my bar months ago.”
There’s this warmth taking over my chest. I didn’t realize she’d been watching me. I thought her only interest was in Beck, so I never even thought of attempting something with her—I am now, though.
“The moment I walked in, huh? I captured your attention that quickly?”
Mia doesn’t blush, doesn’t roll her eyes, or tell me that’s not what she meant. She simply gestures up and down at me. “Uh, yeah, have you looked in a mirror, or are you too tall to see in them?”
“I’m too tall, can you tell me how I look?” I quip back, and that earns me a laugh I want to hear again.
I know Beck’s only had eyes for Jensen since he met her, but for some reason I think of all the times Mia flirted with him, and it kind of makes me want to punch him.
What made her flirt with him and not me?
Shuffling in my seat, I switch gears back to the party. “First off, there’s nothing wrong with lists. I can tell by the five notebooks on this desk that you like them, too.”
Mia snorts a laugh as she holds her hands up. “Never said I didn’t like them. Was only stating the obvious. So, are we goingto talk about the things you want done for the party, or are you going to keep defending your love of lists?”
“I don’t know. Are you going to switch sides and argue with reasons why lists are ineffective?”
Mia doesn’t skip a beat. “Oh, one hundred percent. Be prepared, I was head of the debate team in high school.”
Well, well, so was I.
I lean back with a smile. “Well, in that case. For my opening argument, here is why lists are important…”
Mia’s full laugh has me trailing off. Shit, I like that sound.
“Oh, come on, I thought we were debating? You know, I gotta ask, were you the head of debate who liked to be captain or president?”
