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I blinked at him. “Did we pass?”

He gave a patronizing chuckle, which I did not care for. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him, pulling out my intimidating stance for good measure. Despite the fact I had several inches on the squirrelly dude, it didn’t seem to phase him. “You’ll see everything in the report. Have a good evening.”

With a haughty glance around the still mostly empty space, he huffed then headed for the front door. I scoured the open double doors that led to the lobby and main entry until Gio poked his head in and gave me a thumbs-up.

I sighed my relief as I went back behind the bar to relieve Ben.

I hoped nothing would come of Mr. Atherby’s visit, but I wasn’t holding my breath. And who was the anonymous caller that’d tipped them off? There was nothing untoward going on here, of course, but who would—

Shit. That asshole, Jason, was pissed when I’d kicked him out of Mix It Up in October, and it almost seemed as though he’d nearly forgotten about everything until Tris and I had run into him a week ago. He’d threatened me back in October and then again last week—and I felt in my gut that he was just the type of guy to pull shit like this. His clothing and comportment screamed wealth, but would he go so far as to pay off a health inspector?

Was this his revenge?

My phone vibrated, and I hoped it was Tristan confirming our plans for tomorrow. I was actually taking a day off, and we were going to head out to Mount Rainier for a quick day hike. With a deliberate breath to try to push my worries about the inspection aside, I pulled my phone out, feeling like a fucking teenager given how eager I was, but a different text was waiting for me.

Carl.

Fuck. When it rained, it poured.

Internally cringing, I tapped open his message. Could you come help me move my new bedroom set into my girlfriend’s place? This girl’s a keeper—I can feel it.

I rolled my eyes hard as I rerouted into the back. This was going to be a phone conversation, I just knew it. In three, two, one . . .

My phone rang on cue, and I cringed when I answered it. “Hi, Carl. I just read your text. I already told you I wasn’t going to help you anymore. You’re a grown adult with your own money. Hire some movers.”

“Come on, Henry. You weren’t really serious. You wouldn’t abandon one of your oldest friends, would you?”

The nerve of that man trying to pile on the guilt. And the not-even-thinly-disguised attempt at manipulation! It made me sick to my stomach. I wasn’t going to help him because he shamed me into it—in fact, unlike every other time before last December, I wasn’t going to help him at all. I’d finally figured out how to stand up for myself, but he wasn’t taking the hint.

“No, Carl,” I started, steeling myself for his reaction. “I told you months ago that I’m not going to help you with anything anymore, okay? Please stop calling.”

“But, Hen—”

“No.”

He scoffed, chuckling derisively. “Right, right. You have some new boy toy, don’t you? That’s what this is all about, I bet. Is that why you’re trying to be brave, Henry? For him?”

Where the fuck did that come from? I’d never known Carl to be homophobic, but given the beliefs of the college where we met, the entire religious system I knew we both grew up in, it shouldn’t have surprised me. And I didn’t hide my sexuality, so he had to know. That motherfucker . . . “Carl, I want you to hear me this time, once and for all. I. Will. Not. Help. You. Any. Longer. Lose my number.”

And then I hung up on one of my oldest friends.

Nope.

Acquaintance.

Friends didn’t treat friends that way.

After a few breaths to calm myself, I shoved open the swinging door and headed over to Ben, who was still behind the bar. I was proud of myself for standing up to Carl yet again, but the conversation had rattled me, and I needed to step away. So I gave Ben half of the truth, out of the earshot of the customers. “Hey, man, I need to destress after that inspection. I’m gonna head out if you have this handled.”

He waved me off while pouring a beer from the draft for a customer sitting further down the bar. “I’ve got this, boss.”

He passed off the glass then came over to me before I’d stepped through the door to the back and lowered his voice so only I could hear.

“Everything go okay? What did he say?” His voice dropped further, and he leaned in to speak directly into my ear. “Is he shutting us down?”

I shook my head vehemently, though I couldn’t tell him with one-hundred-percent certainty the inspector wasn’t going to singlehandedly destroy my business. “Nah, I’m sure we’re fine. He’s sending me his report in a couple of days, so we’ll know for sure then.”

He frowned. “That’s weird, huh? Did he say why he was here? Was it a random inspection? We just had one like two months ago.”