AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One more,” I demanded, and this time Lilly didn’t protest, pouring me another shot, still not holding onto her tongue.
“Whatever you need, you won’t find it at the bottom of that glass. You’ve tried seven times already.” She’d been with us for a long time now. We knew she was trustworthy, and the familiarity gave her the nerve to try and stretch her boundaries at each given turn. Or maybe that was because Matt had fucked her a couple of times and she thought she was entitled.
“Bartender psychology, Lilly? Really?”
“Whatever works.” She replied, her hand sliding up my arm and across my shoulders as she came to stand behind the chair, her palms squeezing my tense shoulders.
“Do you have a five-foot-four brunette named Jamie Harden that holds the universe in her eyes when she looks at my brother lying around here somewhere?” Alison asked, strutting into my brother’s office, alone thank fuck. Lilly’s hands froze, her advances being stopped by the fiery little lady who had been born without boundaries. “No? Then I don’t think you have anything that will work, Lilly.”
I shot her a warning glare, being met with the same one directed at me.
“You can go,” Alison said, waiting for Lilly to leave and shut the door behind her, leaning onto the edge of the desk before speaking again, her arms crossed in front of her chest and a scowl settled on her face. “What are you doing?”
“Getting drunk. I thought you’d be smarter. You could have inferred that.”
“Don’t be an ass to me, Liam. I see right through you. You'll be trying to piss me off so I can leave you to wallow in your damn misery alone so that I don’t spoon-feed you the truth that you don’t want to swallow. You’re out of luck. I know you too well to let your sharp tongue affect me.”
I wave her off, pouring another glass, which Alison snatched from the table between us, tipping the entire contents down her throat.
“Ugh, disgusting.” She grunted after swallowing, her face contorted from the taste.
“Then don’t drink it. That was for me, anyway.” I snatched the glass back from her hand, refilling it.
“I’ll drink every one you pour until you stop being a jerk and talk to me.”
Alison started for the glass again, but I swept it off the table, downing the whole drink and slamming the glass back onto the table, leaving my hand wrapped around it for safekeeping.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Alison.” I wanted her to drop it. I could feel all the anger crawling up my throat again. All I came here for was to drown it in booze, and Alison was getting in the way.
“Like hell, there isn’t. Jamie told me everything. I know what’s been going on.”
“You don’t know a thing.” I pushed back again.
“I know Jamie’s obsessed with you. Can’t you see that?”
“Nope. She seemed pretty ecstatic to have Matt’s tongue shoved down her throat!” Those sour words had every muscle in my body tense up again, balled masses of unreleased fury craving a target to destroy.
“Don’t be a dick! You know that’s not true.”
“I don’t care, Alison.” I shot her a glare, my voice dropping an octave, but she still wasn’t backing down. My baby sister wasn’t done handing my ass to me, and no amount of warning tactics would make her back off.
“Then why did you fire Jack?” She asked, her eyes never leaving mine, daring me to lie to her.
“Who the fuck is Jack?” I asked nonchalantly, pouring another shot and drinking it straight after.
“You know well enough who Jack is. He was one of your best bartenders and you still fired him. Why was that, I wonder?”
“He had his fucking hands on something that didn’t belong to him,” I growled, the glass in my hand shattering into a million pieces as I slammed it onto the table.
“What the hell, Liam? Are you trying to hurt yourself?” Alison yelled, springing from her seat, shaking my hands clean from all the glass.
“I’m okay,” I grunted, pulling my hands away.
“She’s struck a chord in there, too. I know it. Why don’t you let yourself have this?”
“Alison, I don’t want to talk about it.” I exhaled deeply with my eyes shut, my thumb and index pressing down on them, trying to shake those thoughts off and push Jamie to the back of my mind, as far from the surface as possible.
“If you’re wondering if they left together, the answer is no. She went home. Alone.” I sat back, leaning against the chair, trying to seem unfazed. “I saw her poking her finger into his chest before she left. She’s been hurting over you and your push and pull. I didn’t know it was you at first, but it all makes sense now. The hot and cold she spoke about. You deserve to be happy, too, Liam.”
