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Who does this guy think he is?
“How long will this construction be going on for?” I ask, hoping he says they’re almost done. From where I’m standing, it’s hard to tell how much progress they’ve made inside.
“Probably at least a couple more weeks, if not more,” he says with an exasperated sigh. He doesn’t seem to care about the problem he’s causing me at all. “So I would suggest moving your fragile glasses away from the wall until we’re done.”
I’m taken aback. Why is this guy being such a dick? “I’m sorry… but you don’t see the problem here?”
He crosses his arms over his chest, and his T-shirt tightly hugs his bulging biceps. “I can’t exactly stop the construction. I need to finish my bar. So I guess you’ll need to move your things until we’re done.”
My blood is boiling. He doesn’t seem to care about anyone but himself. “Are you being serious right now?”
He scoffs. “Yeah, I am. Are you suggesting I stop construction? Because if that’s the case, I’ll never be able to open my business.”
“Well, maybe that would be a good thing,” I say to this selfish prick.
“Wow,” he says, seemingly surprised by what I said. “You know the world doesn’t revolve around you, right?”
I gasp, and my hand flies to my throat. I can’t believe he just said that to me! “Are you kidding right now? I could say the same thing to you!”
He laughs, and I have the urge to slap his smug, sexy face.
Damn him for being so hot!
He pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. “Twenty-five?” he asks as he looks through the billfold.
I nod but don’t say anything. He holds out a couple of bills toward me, and I take the twenty and the five from his hand. “Thanks,” I mutter.
“No problem,” he says, his voice sticky sweet. “It was nice meeting you, Heather.”
“It’s Heidi,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Sorry,” he replies, opening the door to go back in. “Heidi.” He gives a little nod as he heads back inside, leaving me out here all alone.
“Unbelievable,” I say to myself before turning on my heel and walking back to my store.
What an ass! I can’t believe he was so aloof to my situation and how his construction is affecting my shop. I can’t believe that’s the guy I have to share a wall with for the foreseeable future.
I have a bad feeling about this.
2
Jacob
Opening my bar is turning out to be more work than I originally thought it would be. So far, everything has been a headache, from getting all the permits, to hiring a reliable construction crew, to starting the hiring process for all my employees. I can’t wait for everything to be done.
And then, in the middle of the contractor telling me that they found mold behind the bar underneath some of the floorboards, my new neighbor stops by to complain about the construction. Thinking back on it now, I probably came across as a complete dickhead. I was overwhelmed at the time, and sometimes I struggle to handle my frustrations well. Her complaining about a glass breaking and having to move some of her stuff was just the icing on the cake for me. She has no idea the amount of roadblocks I’ve had to deal with since I signed the lease paperwork.
But I was a dick, and she didn’t deserve it. I’ll have to apologize to Heidi whenever I see her again.
And I hope to see her again soon. Damn, she’s beautiful. Blond hair, blue eyes, and although she wasn’t happy with me, I couldn’t avoid being attracted to her.
I kick my shoes off, then crash on the couch. I’m exhausted. I turn on the TV and search for something to watch. My phone dings with a text notification, so I take it out of my pocket to read what it says.
Markus: Just checking to see if you’re coming to our holiday party on Saturday. Let me know!
Damn. I almost forgot. Markus invited me to this shindig about a month ago. We’ve known each other since high school, and we reconnected a couple of years ago when he came into the bar I was––and still am, for the time being––bartending at. He and his wife, Amber, run the one and only music store in town, Conners Music. Her parents owned and operated the store for years until they retired, and now Markus and Amber run it together.
After I shared my dream of wanting to open my own bar someday, Markus encouraged me to do so. When the restaurant a couple of doors down from his music store closed, Markus let me know right away, and I contacted the building owner about leasing the space. It’s the perfect spot for what I envision my bar to be, including enough space to add a small stage big enough for bands to perform on the weekends.
