AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There are no tables, no curtains, no bar, but there’s flooring.
Reassuring.
I wander around for a bit, aimlessly taking in what’s going on. I’m getting ready to leave when one of the builders holding a floor plan waves for my attention. I make my way through tools and various construction items toward him.
“Yes?”
“Are you Liv Warren?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
He visibly relaxes. “Great. Miss, we have a problem with the bar.”
No, you don’t. “What is it?”
He sets the floor plan out on a stack of wood that will eventually become the stairs and points to the area where it meets the edge of the bar. “Because of the poor construction in the upper level, we have to bring the stairs out by another two feet.” He runs his finger down the seating opposite the bar. “This will mean that you can’t have seats here and it’ll thin your walkway space from the seating area to the dance floor.”
I blink at the plans for a moment. “Give me a second.” I walk away from him and pull out my phone to dial the number for Aaron’s office.
“Hello. Aaron Stone’s office?”
“Hi, Dottie. This is Liv. Is Aaron around?”
“He’s just about to go to a meeting. Is it urgent?”
“It’s pretty important, yeah.”
“Just a sec.”
I hear a rustle as she moves the phone then a low rumble of voices. Seconds later, Aaron comes on the line.
“What can I do for you, Liv?”
I explain everything the builder just said to me, but he cuts me off halfway through.
“Shit. Okay, look. I can’t be late for this meeting. Just do what you think is best, even if it means overriding the plans, all right?”
“Uh”—shit—“sure.”
The line goes dead. I close my eyes and mutter a few choice words. I did not sign up for this.
“Okay,” I breathe, rejoining the builder and running my eyes over the plans. “Can you move the bar?”
“I guess… To here or here.”
“Then the dance floor would be here, correct?” I circle the area at the bottom of the stairs.
He nods. “Yes. Take away a foot of floor and the stairs would come out in the seating area in front of the bar, and then you could go either way.”
“And it wouldn’t impact the access to the storeroom, coatroom, or restrooms?”
“No, ma’am. If you put the bar along this wall, it’ll actually be easier access for staff.”
“Perfect. Put the bar here”—I point to along the wall—“the main seating area here”—I circle the area in front of it—“and the dance floor here. But make sure there’s a space to access the restrooms without having to go through the dance floor. And while we’re here, could you put a minibar in upstairs? I believe Mr. Stone wants it to be VIP and special occasion only, so they’ll want their drinks served separately.”
“We can fit a corner bar in here.” He taps the paper. “It’ll be big enough for one member of staff only.”
“That’s great. Can you start the new plan tomorrow?”
