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Liam gritted his teeth. Dealing with McCullough was shaping up to be a pain on a good day. And this day was definitely veering toward lousy. “Jesus, McCullough, keep it down. You want to drive away every customer out there? They can already hear us yelling.”
McCullough’s face managed to turn a deeper shade of red. Was it possible to have a stroke just from being pissed off? “I don’t fucking care—” he began.
Liam grabbed a burger patty from the parchment sheet sitting next to the stove and tossed it onto the flat top for a minute or so, then he grabbed a spatula from the implements and flipped it. “Give me a bun.”
McCullough stared at him, open-mouthed. Then he handed him a bun.
Liam flipped the burger into the bun, added the toppings and put it on a plate. “Done.” He turned back toward the dining room, moving fast in case McCullough threw something.
The waitress was standing outside. She looked as shocked as McCullough had. Liam shoved the plate into her hands. “Here. Go.”
She nodded, turning back toward her station.
Liam stepped back behind the bar, taking a quick survey of the room. A few customers were staring his way—they’d probably heard at least some of McCullough’s explosion. But most of the people seemed to be absorbed by the Colorado Rockies game on the big screen TV. Crisis averted. Calm prevailed.
At least this time.
He poured a beer for a customer at the end of the bar, who took a cautious glance toward the kitchen. “Everything okay back there?”
“Sure. Just part of working in the hospitality industry.” Liam gave him a clenched-jaw grin. “Care to see a menu?”
The man shook his head quickly. “Beer is fine.”
A half hour later, Liam heard the kitchen door swing open. He didn’t bother to look up, occupying himself with the margarita he was mixing.
“You,” Tim Stanton growled. “Into the office. Now.”
Well, great. Liam had been banking on Stanton’s being smart enough to realize that his new cook was a disaster. But banking on Stanton’s intelligence was never a good idea. He handed the margarita to the customer with a practiced smile and headed off after his boss.
At least Stanton didn’t look as pissed as McCullough had. “That was quite a stunt you pulled,” he snapped as Liam walked into his minuscule office space. “McCullough’s still steamed about it. I had to talk him into sticking around for the rest of his shift.”
Liam shrugged. Obviously, there was no point in arguing about McCullough. Stanton should figure out the mistake he’d made in hiring him soon enough. Theoretically.
Stanton narrowed his eyes. “What do you know about Peaches leaving?”
Liam shrugged again. “She left to work at the Salty Goat. That’s about all I know.” Or anyway, it was all he was going to admit to knowing. He hadn’t exactly gotten Peaches the job, but he’d definitely helped.
“Your sister works there, right?”
“She makes cheese there part-time.”
“Did she offer Peaches the job?”
“No, sir.” On that point he could be truthful since Bec had known nothing about his plans.
“Did you have anything to do with it?”
Liam paused. He had no idea how much Stanton already knew. “I took her to lunch, and the cook walked out while we were there. The owner offered her the job.” With any luck Stanton hadn’t heard about their impromptu triage in the kitchen at the Salty Goat.
Stanton’s eyes were still narrowed. “Peaches leaving is one prime fuckup. Lucky I found McCullough to fill in, because I’ve got no time to waste on this place what with getting Antero Steaks up and running. If I find out you had anything to do with Peaches leaving, you’re out. And I’ll make damn sure nobody else hires you in this town.”
Liam was fairly certain nobody else in this town would listen to Stanton, who was a well-known asshole. And in reality, it didn’t matter whether anyone listened to him or not—Liam was already headed for Park City. But if Black Mountain Tavern ever got back to operating the way it was supposed to, like a smooth-running craft beer establishment, it was a potential customer for Antero Brewing. He didn’t want to mess up that deal if he could avoid it. “Peaches took the job at the Salty Goat because it paid better and because it gave her a chance to bake. It had nothing to do with me.”
