AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Peppermint
Our doors are officially closed. If we can’t sell liquor, there’s no need in opening. Skylar filed the appeal, providing proof that all alleged violations were assessed and taken care of. Unfortunately, the appeal has been set for a hearing three months away. This guy obviously pulled some strings to get us shut down. Every violation on the list was bogus. And no inspection has been performed aside from when we opened. Any issues found then have been addressed.
We canceled the fight night and ladies’ night. Until we can open our doors again, there’s obviously no need in holding events.
“So, they just shut you guys down?” Ryder asks, shoving a spoonful of mac ‘n’ cheese into his mouth.
It’s his twenty-first birthday, and he came over for dinner before heading out with his friends. It’s amazing how fast he’s grown up. When Ryan died, he did everything he could to take care of me. He got a part-time job and pitched in on the bills. He also cooked a lot of the times I worked late. I’m so proud of him.
“Doesn’t make any sense to open.”
“That sucks. I wanted to come to your fight night. Had already gotten my friends hyped up about it.”
“We hope we’ll get the suspension lifted at the hearing. Until then, we’ll remain closed unless someone rents the place for a private party.”
“Why don’t you just do that?” he suggests.
“Have a party?”
“Sure. You can charge a cover, and that cover includes free drinks. That way you aren’t violating the suspension. People will pay to get in for a special event where they can get free drinks.”
“We’d lose revenue. We can’t afford to charge a flat fee for unlimited drinks.”
“I didn’t say unlimited. You can monitor that. Have like a gold, silver, and platinum pass. Base the amount of drinks on which one they purchase. Do wrist bands or something like that.”
“How did you get so damn smart, kid?” I ask, and he laughs.
“It sure as hell wasn’t from my parents,” he jokes, and I throw a dishtowel at him.
We finish up dinner, and I hug him goodbye — probably a touch too long, but it isn’t every day my son turns twenty-one, and I know what I did on my twenty-first birthday. Ryan and I got completely sloshed. We had a babysitter, and spent the whole night barhopping and doing shots. It was one of the few nights I can remember us being truly happy together. We forgot about the bills that had to be paid and the house that needed to be cleaned and acted like a couple teenagers out on the town. It made me feel like I had made the right decision choosing him over Owen.
I do a quick clean on the kitchen and grab my phone. If the Harlots go for Ryder’s suggestion, we need to get it set up.
“Hey, so Ryder gave me a great idea,” I say when Skylar answers.
I tell her what he suggested, throwing out some possible rates and numbers of drinks for the different passes.
“I freaking love it!” she shrieks. “I hate that fucking prick was able to shut us down. Pisses me off. We won’t be able to get that male revue in until sometime next year now.”
“He has some pull, that’s for sure. I bet getting us suspended is only the beginning.”
“And he locked Dash up too,” she comments. “Jake said that asshole pulled him over and claimed he had an outstanding warrant. Funny how he hasn’t been issued a court date. Chalked it up to a glitch in the system.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“It’s off the subject, on the subject.”
She laughs a little. “Peppermint, you can tell me anything. Doesn’t matter the subject.”
“I slept with Dash.”
“It’s about time you admitted it,” she says. “I suspected it but figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I thought it was going great. Then he up and ended things.”
“Dash is a really good guy. All the Bastards are. But they’re Bastards for a reason. Which means they typically have issues. I’m not privy to everything that happens in that clubhouse, but I’m pretty sure Dash’s dad fucked him up pretty badly.”
“He mentioned something about it, said everyone leaves, but he sort of shut down, and I didn’t want to push.”
“It doesn’t hurt to push. Sometimes that’s what it takes.”
