Chapter 2: The most beautiful bartender

Lyrek-

“You’re good.” I chuckled, before sliding onto the bar stool next to me.

Before walking into this bar, I had no intention of flirting with a woman, but then I saw her. She had a beautiful smile, her complexion was slightly tanned and reminded me of warm honey. Her messy bun just made her look that much more attractive.

As she walked away, I couldn’t help but admire her slender figure with curves in all the right places. After the day I had, the last thing I wanted was to be hitting on a female that I knew wasn’t right for me. Then again, there was nothing wrong with flirting and looking.

When she returned to place my drink on the table, I decided to stay where I was at. Even though, originally, I had planned to hide in a back corner to drink away the stress of the day. I just flew in from California and the trip had been long and grueling.

First, they misplaced my luggage. Then, my grandfather gave me an ultimatum that I didn’t like. He had the audacity to tell me that if I didn’t get married before he died, I could kiss my inheritance goodbye.

It wasn’t that I needed the money, but I had planned to donate it to the hospital that I worked at, back in California. I took pride in my work and wanted to do more to help further researching cures for cancer.

The thing was, I didn’t want to get married just yet. Call me a fool or whatever, but I believed that marriage should be about love. My grandfather didn’t agree with me.

Maybe it was because he was dying, I don’t know. What I did know was that I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of holding my inheritance over my head and bending to his ways. Don’t get me wrong, I adored my grandfather.

He had been the one to raise me after my parents died in a car crash when I was fifteen. Now I am nearly thirty and my grandfather is telling me that he wants to die, knowing I won’t be alone after he is gone. In a way, I knew he was just trying to look out for me.

Watching Veronica as she worked, I noticed there was a sadness in her eyes, behind that beautiful smile of hers. I don’t know why, but thinking she was sad about something bothered me a great deal. Finishing my drink, I waved her over for a refill.

“Tell me, what is a girl like you, doing in a place like this?” I asked, hoping I could convince her to talk to me a little bit.

“Other than working? Waiting for handsome men to flirt with me. It makes my night.” She returned with a flirtatious smile.

Once again, I saw the sadness in her eyes, even though she did her best to mask it. I was a little stunned when she flirted right back, without missing a beat. It was difficult to tell if it was real or if she was putting on an act to be polite.

“Well then, I don’t know about the handsome part, but I could flirt with you all night if it made your night even a little bit better.” I didn’t know why I felt this need to flirt with her this much, but I must admit, I was enjoying it.

“I highly doubt you’re the kind of guy that doesn’t know how good looking he is.” She let out a laugh that made my heart skip a beat.

Everything about her was stunning. The most alluring thing about her, aside from her smile, had to be her eyes though. They were light blue but looked slightly grey. No doubt it was from the lighting in the bar.

Before I could stop myself, my eyes drifted to her left hand, which was ring free. Not wanting to be caught in the act, I forced my eyes back to her face. She didn’t seem to notice I had checked to see if she was married.

“I beg to differ. I am okay looking, not good.” Bringing my glass to my lips, I looked at her over the rim.

Her head turned to look at another customer that was calling her name. The silky appearance of her neck looked like it would be good to graze my lips over. I imagined she would also taste incredibly good.

She walked away to deal with the other customer, and I decided at that moment that it wasn’t a bad idea to flirt with her. She might not be the kind of girl I should marry, more than likely my grandfather would throw a fit about it. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy myself a bit.

It wasn’t like I would be in town much longer. Since I had no intention of giving in to my grandfather’s request, I planned to return home soon. Until then, I could find pleasure in the beautiful bartender.

I kept watching her as she worked, drawn to the way she interacted with the customers. She knew a lot of them by name and talked to them like they were friends. She would ask about their kids, their dogs, and even their husbands or wives.

I have been to many bars, but never have I met a bartender that can remember so many customers. She had a way with people that made it hard not to like her. Her smile was contagious as well.

On more than one occasion, I found myself smiling as she smiled at other people. That sadness I noticed never seemed to go away though. It only made me want to get to know her more.

“Can I help you with something?” A man moved to stand across from me, his eyes narrowed on me when I redirected my attention to him.

“I wouldn’t mind another refill.” I shrugged.

I wanted Veronica to return and help me, but she did look busy right now. Besides, I had no problem just watching her from a distance. Pushing my glass to the man, I noticed he wasn’t wearing the same uniform as the other bartenders.

Unlike the others, he wore a black button-up shirt, with his long sleeves rolled to his elbows and a dark blue tie around his collar. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he reached behind him and grabbed the bottle of scotch from the top shelf. Maybe he was the owner or a manager, it was hard to tell in places like this.

“I think after this, you should leave.” The man said, giving me a glare that said he was serious.

Keeping my cool, I looked him over to assess him. If I had to guess, he was maybe a few inches shorter than me and he looked exceptionally clean, femininely clean. I didn’t care what kind of sex others were attracted to, but I was getting the impression he wasn’t a straight shooter.

I don’t know what I did to piss him off, but he didn’t appear to be too fond of me. The glare he gave me was more than enough to clarify. It was also the way he stood defensively, like he was ready to move quickly if he had to.

“Mind if I ask what the issue is?” I kept my calm, waiting until he finished pouring my drink before sliding it back to me.

“You aren’t a familiar face, and I don’t like the way you are looking at one of my staff.” He admitted.

Turning my head, my eyes fell on Veronica for a moment. “I am not a creep if that is what you are hinting at. I just find that she has a beautiful smile. Is it wrong for me to look and find comfort in getting to know her?”

He narrowed his gaze on me once more, his arms crossing over his chest. “She has a lot going on right now and doesn’t need some guy coming in to break her heart. I think it is best for everyone that you just walk away.”

“Sorry man, I can’t do that.” I looked him dead in the eye and refused to budge an inch. “I have every intention of getting to know her. She intrigues me. You can throw me out, but I will make sure that I can come back. If I must, I will buy this bar, and then you won't be able to do a thing about it.”

I have never been one to throw my money around, but at the same time, I couldn’t let him challenge me the way he was. I didn’t plan to hurt her, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy her company while I was in town. She didn’t seem the type to let a guy get away with hurting her anyway.

I must have gotten to him with my statement because his eyes adverted to Veronica, and I could see the way his jaw clenched. If I had to take a guess, he was the bar owner, which meant he had something to lose if he stood in my way. Feeling bad about threatening him, I took a sip of my drink before speaking again.

“Look, I don’t believe in hurting women, nor do I have any intentions of doing so. I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I want to get to know Veronica. I want to find the reason behind the sadness in her eyes and witness her smile which is very pure and rare. You can stand in my way all you want, but I am not one to back down from a challenge.”

His expression changed while I spoke, now looking at me as if he were considering me. The way he scrutinized me didn’t sit well with me, but I respected that he was just trying to look after her. Which only made me that much more interested in her.

“If you so much as hurt her, there isn’t enough money in the world that will protect you from me.” He finally said after a while, before walking away.

Chugging down the rest of my scotch, I looked over at the beautiful bartender again. Her eyes met mine and she moved toward my end of the bar. That smile of hers was plastered on her face and it was like every time I saw her, she grew more stunning.

“Would you like another?” She asked when she reached me.

“As much as I enjoy sitting here and getting a chance to monopolize your time, I think I should head out. I look forward to seeing you again.” I gave her a smile as I stood up and dug into my pocket for my wallet.

Pulling out a hundred-dollar bill, I slid it across the table. She grabbed the money and went to the register before returning with her hand out. I looked from her to her hand and shook my head.

“You keep it.” I told her.

“This is too much. I can’t accept this.” Her humbleness was a breath of fresh air, but I refused to take the money.

“You have more than earned it. You can return the favor and buy me a drink sometime.” I offered.

Her smile grew as she pulled her hand back and stuffed the money into her pocket. “I will do that. Please be safe on your way home tonight.”

Needing to force myself to turn around, I gave her another smile before pulling myself away. She intrigued me far more than I anticipated. The effort that it took to walk away from her without turning around was difficult.

Once I left the bar, I took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air, and started down the sidewalk. I couldn’t stop my eyes from traveling to the window just in hopes of catching another view of her. I saw her standing behind the bar, smiling at another customer.

Oh yeah, I was smitten for sure. Sighing, I continued down the sidewalk and walked the short distance to the penthouse I was living in. I was quite sure that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to get her out of my thoughts until the next time I saw her.