Bad Guys Don't Win (Janet Maple Series Book 4) (2 page)

Philip chuckled. “Oh, he knew. At the
time, I had about the same reaction as you, but of course it was naïve of me to
think a man like my father wouldn’t know. He might’ve let me go off on my own,
but he kept his ear to the ground to make sure that I didn’t get taken to the
cleaners.”

“Didn’t it bother you?”

“It did at first, but it doesn’t
anymore. In fact, I’m thankful for it. Yes, some may say that my success comes
from me being my father’s son. And frankly, I’d be an idiot to deny that, but
it doesn’t diminish my own accomplishments in any way. Yes, I happened to be
lucky to have my father, but there are plenty of kids born into wealth who
never do anything with the opportunities they’re given.”

“So did you take your father’s loan?”

Philip nodded. “I did and I paid back
every penny of it, with interest. And if I ever need a loan again, I won’t have
any qualms about asking my dad for one, as long as I’m reasonably sure that I
can repay it.”

“Ah, that’s the key—reasonably sure,”
Mila pointed out.

“Your point being?”

“What if I’m not sure that I can pay you
back? What if something goes wrong?”

“Let me get this straight, you were sure
enough to ask a bank for a loan, but you’re not sure enough to ask me? Believe
me, I’ll be a lot more lenient than any bank.”

“I could default on a bank. I can’t
default on you.”

“You won’t. Or I wouldn’t be offering to
invest in you. Give me at least some credit as an investor. Don’t you think I
have some business instincts?”

“Yes, you do. And persuasion powers to
make a rock cave in.”

“What can I tell you? I was captain of a
debate team in high school and in college.”

“I see you haven’t lost your touch.”
Mila smiled. Maybe she was overcomplicating things. Would it be so wrong to
accept Philip’s offer? “Let me talk to Amy about it, okay?”

“Of course. I never meant for you to
make a decision without Amy’s consent.”

“Good. Now can we please enjoy our
dinner?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m
enjoying it immensely.”

“I bet you are. You just love getting
your way, no matter what.”

“Guilty as charged. Is that such a
horrible flaw?”

“It’s a terrible flaw,” she teased him.
“In fact, it’s making me question this whole relationship.”

“Is it? Is there anything I can do to
change your mind?” he asked suggestively, his eyes blazing with the heat she knew
only too well, as he pressed the palm of her hand to his lips.

Mila barely resisted a groan of
pleasure—even the touch of his lips against her palm was enough to send goose
bumps running down her back. “See now, you’re not being fair. You know I can’t
resist you when you act like that.”

“Like what?” he asked innocently, biting
her thumb gently.

She felt his leg brush against hers
beneath the table. “Like that,” she panted. “If you don’t stop, we’ll have to
get the rest of our dinner to go.”

“So my flaws are forgiven?”

“Yes,” she murmured, glad to see the
waiter approaching with their next course.

A picture of composure, Philip let go of
her hand and smiled at the waiter. “That looks wonderful. We really enjoyed our
first course and can’t wait to see what you have planned for us next.” He
winked at Mila and all she could do was drain her champagne glass to quell the
fire he’d ignited inside her. She couldn’t wait to get Philip to her place.
She’d get her payback once he saw her in the red silk lace ensemble she had
waiting for him in her bedroom. It was going to be a night he’d remember for a
while.

When Mila came in to work the next day,
she felt as though she were floating on air. Last night had turned out to be
very memorable indeed. After Philip had wowed her with the romantic dinner at
Per Se, his chauffer dropped them off at Mila’s apartment. Usually Mila stayed
at Philip’s luxurious townhouse in Tribeca. Last night she insisted that they
go to her place since she wasn’t letting the red silk bustier along with
matching lace panties, garter belt, and stockings she’d bought for the occasion
collect dust in her lingerie closet. She’d promised Philip the surprise she had
planned for him was worth forgoing the splendor of his digs and she had been
right. Philip’s eyes looked like they were going to jump out of their sockets
when he saw her all dressed up. He couldn’t wait to ‘unwrap his present,’ as
he’d put it, but instead she’d made him take it slow—it was her time to tease
him. They ended up making love until dawn and fell asleep exhausted, wrapped in
each other’s arms. She had no idea how Philip found the will or the stamina to
get up at seven a.m. for his business meeting—she was barely able to lift her
head off the pillow to mouth goodbye to him when he left. Sleeping in late was
definitely one of the major perks of owning a bar—the work was grueling, but it
suited Mila’s night owl personality perfectly. She’d slept like a baby until
noon and still had time to run errands before going to work at four—they’d be
opening their doors at five p.m.

Dreamily, Mila nodded at Amy who was
already behind the bar, stocking freshly washed glasses from the dishwasher.

“Looks like someone had a good time last
night,” Amy caught Mila off guard. “You look very limber and relaxed,” Amy
added with a grin. “I like your hair loose like that.”

Mila shook her head, quickly tucking her
mane into a ponytail. She got behind the bar next to Amy, put on her apron, and
busied herself with shelving martini glasses. They had a ton of things to do
before they opened their doors. “How was it last night? Busy?” she asked,
hoping to steer the conversation away from herself and Philip. She wasn’t a
prude, but when it came to Philip she liked to keep the details of their
private life private.

“It was fine. We made out just fine. You
aren’t that good of a bartender you know,” Amy teased her.

“Oh, really? Well then maybe I should
take off early tonight as well,” Mila shot back.

“Don’t push it. I just got a call from
Claire—she’s got an audition and she can’t make it in tonight.”

“Where’s she auditioning, a peep show? I
thought auditions were held during the day.”

“Apparently it’s an off, off, off
Broadway play.”

Mila rolled her eyes. “The girl’s barely
worked here a month and she’s been out more than she’s been in.”

“I guess she doesn’t mind missing out on
tips.”

“We’re running a bar here. How are we
supposed to service our patrons without reliable service?”

“Calm down, will ya? This is the service
industry—the majority of people who work here have other aspirations.”

“Like starring in an off, off, off
Broadway play. I get it.”

Amy shrugged. “Maybe if we could afford
to hire full-time staff and offer employee benefits, we could attract more
reliable and professional staff. You know, former off, off, off Broadway actors
who became full-time professional bartenders. We should talk with our banker
about the loan again.”

“We should.” Mila instantly felt uneasy,
the details of Philip’s offer to invest in their bar coming back into her mind.
Amy and Mila’s was doing great, but they could do so much more with an
injection of cash. The preliminary terms their bank had offered them were
steep, manageable, but steep. If Philip was offering to cut them a break, would
it be so wrong to accept his help?

“Uh-oh, I know that look. What’s on your
mind?”

“Nothing.” Mila sighed. She knew she had
to tell Amy about Philip’s offer. After all, Amy was the majority partner, and
it was her decision too. She was going to tell her, but first she needed to
decide what she was going to do if Amy was going to say yes. The possibility
made Mila so nervous that a stack of shot glasses she was in the process of
putting on the shelf nearly slipped out of her hands.

Amy burrowed into her with an X-ray
stare. “Out with it before you cost us a fortune in broken glassware.”

Mila leaned against the bar stand,
biting her lips. “I need to tell you something.”

“I already figured that. Wait a minute,
is everything all right with you and Philip? You looked so happy when you
walked in, so I thought you were just being your usual cryptic self, but if
anything is wrong, I’m gonna personally kick the bastard in the balls and make
him—”

“Everything is great,” Mila cut off
Amy’s tirade before it got any more graphic. “Better than I could’ve hoped for,
actually.”

“Wait a minute—” Amy’s eyes widened.
“Show me your left hand! “Did he—”

“Propose? No.” Mila produced both hands
for inspection. She’d be a liar if she didn’t admit she’d thought about the
possibility of Philip popping the question. Someday, once she was set on her
path and knew where she was going, she’d welcome it, but right now it would
only wreak havoc in her life.

“Sorry, I got overly excited there for a
moment. So everything is good between you love birds?”

“Philip wants to invest in our bar,”
Mila blurted out, unable to keep the suspense up any longer. It was better to
just get it out in the open.

Amy’s eyes lit up. “He does? That’s
great, Mila! Wasn’t he named one of the savviest investors of the year or
something like that?”

“He made
Forbes
’ top one hundred
most successful entrepreneurs of the year list.”

“Isn’t that amazing? It means our
business has real potential, or Philip wouldn’t be offering to invest in it.”

“Are you sure about that? What if he’s
just offering because—”

“Because what? Because he’s sleeping
with you?”

“You don’t have to put it so crudely,”
Mila countered.

“Pardon my manners,” Amy quipped. “I
didn’t realize my language would offend you.”

“Knock it off.” Mila sighed. She had no
idea why she got so touchy all of a sudden. She and Amy went way back to the
time when they waitressed at Hogs and Heifers, dancing in their bras on bar
stands. Mila was no sheltered flower, but Philip was changing that and it
scared her. “Yes, it worries me that he’s only willing to give us the money
because he’s sleeping with me,” she forced herself to say the words even though
they stung her tongue—what she had with Philip went beyond the bedroom, or at
least she hoped so. “And it scares me that it’s going to diminish everything we’ve
done—it will no longer be our bar—it’ll be his too. And no matter how hard we
work, people will always think we got our break because Philip Barrett invested
in us.”

“Since when do you worry about what
people think? From what I remember, this isn’t the first time you’re dating a
wealthy guy, but none of them have ever offered to invest in your business
before.”

“That’s because I didn’t have a
business.”

“Or maybe it’s because none of them
respected or valued you the way Philip does.”

“That too. I’m scared of losing what I
have with him, and I’m scared of losing what I’ve achieved here, with you. Amy
and Mila’s is our place—we built it from scratch. I’m scared of messing up,
again.”

Amy reached for Mila’s hand, squeezing
it in a comforting gesture. “You won’t mess up. I won’t let you. But I won’t
let you miss out on a great opportunity either. We’re going to meet with Philip
tomorrow and look at the terms that he’s offering. If his offer beats the
bank’s, we’re taking it. Plain and simple. I don’t like pulling rank, but I’m
the majority partner here and I have the votes,” Amy finished triumphantly.

“Philip also thought we should expand
into the vacant lot next to us. He knows the owner and could get us a break on
the rent.”

“That’s awesome! I thought about expanding,
but I didn’t think we could swing it with the bank’s rates. But if the numbers
work out, I’m all for it.”

Mila threw up her hands, knowing she was
outnumbered. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“Call him now. I don’t want him to
change his mind.”

“All right.” Mila was about to reach for
her cell phone when the front door opened and a tall girl with dark, long hair
walked inside. She was dressed in skinny jeans, leather jacket, and a tight
black top that prominently displayed her ample cleavage.

“Sorry, we aren’t open yet,” Amy said
apologetically.

“Damn, I forgot to lock the door.” Mila
shook her head. “We open at five,” she informed the girl who was still
lingering by the bar stand.

“Oh, excuse me, sorry to barge in on you
like this. I was just wondering if you might be hiring?” the girl asked.

Mila was about to say that they
weren’t—since technically they really weren’t, but Amy intercepted her, “As a
matter of fact, we are. Do you have any experience bar tending?”

“My last job was with Red Door, and
before that I waitressed at bars all over the city—it’s all in here. My
references are attached.” She put a copy of her résumé on the bar stand.
“Sorry, I should’ve brought more copies.”

“I see.” Mila shot Amy a look—Red Door
was a strip bar, a fact she happened to know because it was only a few blocks
away from their own bar and she passed it on her way to work every day.

“That’s quite an impressive list, Jess
Hall,” Amy observed, getting the girl’s name from the résumé. “I’m Amy and this
is Mila. We own Amy and Mila’s together.”

“So nice to meet you. And thank you.”

“So what made you leave Red Door?” Mila
asked.

Jess looked squarely at her when she
answered without a trace of embarrassment in her voice. “I’ll just say that the
management expected more from its bartenders than the standard duties.”

“Sleazy bastards,” Amy muttered. “When
can you start?” she added.

Jess’s face lit up. “When do you need me
to? The sooner the better.”

“How about tonight? One of our girls
couldn’t make it in, so we’re short staffed. We pay minimum wage and whatever
you make from the tips is yours.”

“Sounds good to me, as long as I don’t
have to do anything other than mixing and serving drinks.”

“That pretty much sums it up. Oh, we
might ask you to help out the busboys with the dishes if we’re short staffed,
but that’s the extent of it—there won’t be any funny business, if that’s what
you’re worried about. In fact, we have a strict policy about professional staff
and client interactions. A little bit of flirting is fine—we all know that’s
the way to get them to buy more drinks, but that’s where it ends. This is a
place of business. If you’re looking for a date, it’s gotta be elsewhere.” Amy
crossed her arms on her chest. “These are the rules. If they sound good to you,
you can start tonight.”

“That sounds perfect. You won’t have to
worry about me breaking any of your rules,” Jess assured them. “Where can I
leave my things?”

“Downstairs. I’ll show you the employee
changing room.” Amy headed towards the stairs in the back leading to the
basement.

A few minutes later, Amy was back behind
the bar. “Jess will be up here in a few minutes. She’s just freshening up.”

“Good.” Mila pursed her lips. “The
glasses are all stocked. We’re running short on vermouth and Southern Comfort,
so I’m going to go downstairs and place an order. We still got a few minutes
before opening time.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Amy nodded. Mila
was about to walk away when Amy stopped her. “Hey, aren’t you going to tell me
what you think about our new hire? That’s what I call perfect timing.”

“Does it really matter what I think? You
just went ahead and hired her without asking me.”

Amy seemed taken aback. “Sorry, I didn’t
mean it like that. I just thought if you had any objections, you’d speak up.
She seems like a hard worker. Don’t you think?”

“We hardly know anything about her,”
Mila shot back, “but what does it matter what I think when you’ve made it clear
that you’re the majority partner and you call all the shots.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, and you
know it. You’re taking the whole thing out of context.” Amy narrowed her eyes.
“Wait a minute, are you mad at me for wanting to hear Philip’s offer? Is that
what it is? If you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you. I don’t need any
favors from you or him.”

Mila sighed. The last thing they both
needed was to get into a stupid fight right before opening time. “I’m sorry.
I’m just being overly touchy. But don’t you think we should’ve at least checked
this girl’s references before hiring her? For crying out loud, you left her
alone downstairs and we don’t even know her.”

“What is she going to do? Walk away with
a case of Jameson? Our computer systems are password protected and all the
petty cash is locked in a safe. I just thought we could use an extra hand—if
she doesn’t work out, we’ll let her go. It’s that simple.”