The Allure of Dean Harper

  Josephine was busy talking about her job, but I knew Lily wasn’t listening. She stared down at her fingers, twisting them up in her napkin. I knew she’d said something to Casey in the bathroom, I just didn’t know what.

  She glanced up and saw me watching her. I narrowed my eyes and she mirrored my expression. It was a silent duel with no witnesses and no judges, but I’d be damned if I let her win.

  “All right, here are those drinks,” the waiter announced, leaning over Lily to place her drink to the side of her plate. He followed the pattern around the table, handing me my old fashioned, and then faltering when he got to the extra rickshaw. Lily met my eyes and quirked a brow. I leaned back in my chair and took a deep swallow of my old fashioned. It was perfect, familiar, and most importantly, what I’d ordered.

  Lily flashed the waiter a kind smile. “You can set it in the middle. I’m sure someone will drink it.”

  I’d only been around Lily three times, but I could already pinpoint what it was about her that irked me: she was opinionated and too stubborn for her own good.

  “Y’know, I think your drink choice says a lot about you,” Lily said from the opposite side of the table. Casey slipped her phone into her purse and glanced up, clearly aware that there was about to be a scene. I knew better than Lily. We wouldn’t get along, we wouldn’t be friends. The best thing to do at a dinner like this would be to ignore each other, but Lily kept pushing my buttons.

  “How so?” Casey asked when I didn’t take the bait.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Perhaps Dean’s a little old fashioned himself? Set in the old way of doing things?”

  “I disagree. I’d say I’m quick to make changes when things…or people…just aren’t working out. The other night, for example.”

  She leaned forward over the table. “How much money did my section bring in, Dean? Two? Three times the amount each bar usually cashes out?”

  I’d checked the numbers the morning after I’d fired her; Zoe hadn’t exaggerated. Lily’s section had brought in four times the amount the other bars had and I had no doubt she could have cashed out with even more had I not fired her in the middle of her shift.

  “Tell me, Lily. How many restaurants have you opened?” I asked with a sharp tone.

  Her eyes shifted down to the white tablecloth and then back up to me—a simple tell that her confidence wasn’t impenetrable.

  “That’s—”

  “How many bars? Lounges?” I narrowed my eyes. “Have you ever managed more than a handful of stoned high schoolers at a Dairy Queen?”

  Her cheeks flamed red beneath her tan and my conscience warned me to back down. Most of the time Lily acted as if she could spar with the best of them, but I knew her armor had weak points. She was a disobedient puppy, all bark and no bite.

  I took a deep breath. “The point is, until you’ve attempted to run a restaurant in New York City, you won’t fully understand all the reasons why I had to let you go.”

  Her eyes seared a line of fire across the table and I watched her chest rise and fall in quick successions. I’d pushed too far.

  “Suddenly I’ve lost my appetite.” She scraped her chair back from the table and stood. Her napkin fell to the ground as she pulled her purse from the back of the chair and crossed it over her body.

  “Actually, I think I’ll come with you,” Casey said, rising from her seat beside me.

  What the fuck is going on?

  “Uh, I…” Josephine stood and froze, unsure if she should leave with her friend or stick by Julian.

  Lily didn’t bother waiting to find out. She turned and spun toward the front of the restaurant with Josephine and Casey on her heels. I felt like a royal ass watching them leave.

  Lily brought out my worst qualities. I couldn’t remember ever having driven someone to leave a dinner, but she was gone and I was left at the table with that damn rickshaw staring back at me. Condensation gathered on the side of the glass, taunting me until I picked it up and downed it in one long sip.

  Damn.

  It was good. Better than my old fashioned.

  “That was a disaster,” Julian said quietly, rubbing his fingers across his chin.

  I shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  He grunted. “You weren’t sitting in my seat. Watching you and Lily fight like that isn’t fun. I’ve never seen you like that.”

  I flinched. “Are you kidding me? Don’t put this shit on me.”

  He shook his head and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. I reached for Casey’s unfinished rickshaw, downing it too. I had three empty glasses in front of me, but I still wasn’t calm. Julian and I sat in silence for a few minutes, and when I finally spoke up, I steered the conversation into more neutral territory.

  “We need to have our first meeting for the new restaurant soon. Y’know, start going over expectations and timelines.” A few weeks back, Julian had agreed to be a major investor in my next restaurant. I’d presented him with the numbers from my past projects and walked him through the basic steps of opening up a new restaurant. It’d only taken a few minutes to convince him to buy in.

  He frowned. “You’re putting me in a tough position here, man. Look, I’m not in the restaurant industry. Opening up a new restaurant with you was supposed to be a fun side project. I wanted to work with you as a friend but I’m already catching shit from Jo about this Lily situation. It’s just not worth it to me if it’s going to cause problems between Jo and Lily.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked, gripping the edge of the table.

  He’d walk away and pull his funding because Lily and I didn’t get along? That’d delay the project. I was already putting up 50% of the capital. I’d have to scramble to find more investors if Julian walked.

  Before I could plead my case, our waiter stepped up to the table and started clearing away the empty glasses. “Could I get you gentlemen anything else?”

  “Just the check,” I replied, already reaching for my wallet in my back pocket.

  His smile fell. “Uh, actually sir, your guest, the blonde woman? She covered the check on her way out.”

  I frowned. “Excuse me?”

  He swallowed and nodded. “She, er, she actually told me to tell you that it was paid with her severance.” He whispered the last word as if it was offensive. “I wasn’t going to mention it, but…”

  I held up my hand to silence him. The night needed to end. I stood and pushed back from the table, thankful that I’d valeted my car around the corner. I wanted to get behind the wheel and press my foot down on the gas until I could feel control fill my veins once again.

  “Julian, you can do whatever you want. I’d love to have you on board for this project, but I’m not going to beg. The numbers are there. You’ll make back everything you invest by the end of the year. After that? The sky’s the limit.”

  He stood and shrugged on his leather jacket. “Yeah well, you’d make my decision a lot easier if you could just get along with Lily.”

  I thought back to the way she’d looked at me earlier. Full lips tugged into a frown. Wide, bright eyes narrowed into slits. A rosy tinge marring her tan cheeks.

  “It’ll never happen.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dean

  I was on hour ten of a fifteen-hour workday when Zoe waltzed into the manager’s office at Provisions.

  “Of course, please, let yourself in and start disrupting me. I was hoping to stretch this into an all-nighter.”

  My words dripped with sarcasm, but they didn’t deter Zoe. She plopped down on the leather seat opposite mine and kicked her feet up onto the desk. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She leaned forward and grabbed the heavy metal paperweight she always liked to toy with. “I just like to watch how the master works.”

  The air conditioning kicked on and half a dozen papers flew off my desk. I didn’t even blink. “Pick those up, put the paperweight back, and get your feet off my desk. They smell.”
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  She grunted as she bent down to retrieve the spreadsheets I’d just reviewed. “I think that stench is actually your attitude. It’s been rotten ever since you got back from Nebraska.”

  “Iowa,” I corrected, licking my finger and flipping through the resumes in front of me.

  She frowned. “There’s a difference? I thought it was all just corn fields.”

  I smirked. “Good point.”

  “Y’know Provisions has done really well for its first month. Better than you projected.”

  She was right. The restaurant was killing it. The money we’d invested in advertising was really paying off. “How’s it going out front? Staff responding well to the management and everything?” I asked.

  She grunted. “Oh, sure. It’s great except for the fact that I just had to tend bar for the last six hours. I’ll take ‘Jobs I’m Overqualified For’ for 500, Alex.”

  I laughed. “I appreciate you helping out, but you’ll be happy to know that I just hired two new bartenders this afternoon. I’ll need you to get Brian to go over the basics with them before they’re put on the floor tomorrow.”

  She sighed with relief and sunk farther into her chair. Her hair seemed even shorter than usual, framing the feminine features she tried so hard to hide.

  “Y’know, I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did the other night.”

  My eyebrows rose with curiosity. “With Lily?”

  “Yes with Lily! She was gold, my friend. You should have talked to me before you had your little hissy fit.”

  I shook my head. “Not you too, Zoe. I’m seriously sick of being scolded.”

  She laughed. “Then maybe stop acting like a child.”

  We sat in silence for a moment. I was too annoyed to speak, and she was trying to fight the smirk spreading across her lips.

  “You find her attractive don’t you?”

  I sighed, deeply and heavily.

  “C’mon, admit it,” she prodded.

  “I actually haven’t thought about it.”

  “Uh huh,” she nodded, calling my bluff. “Close your eyes.”

  “Zoe, get out of my office. I have work to do.”

  She stood and leaned over the table. “Humor me.”

  I shook my head. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  Her thin lips curled into a smirk, but she held her ground. I knew from experience that Zoe wasn’t going to leave. She’d once made me stand outside of a restaurant for thirty minutes because she’d thought she’d seen Lady Gaga walk in. Spoiler: it wasn’t her.

  I huffed out a breath and closed my eyes, fully expecting her to laugh. Instead, her voice filled my office, reminding me of the one person I’d tried all day to forget about.

  “Picture Lily standing at your office door. She’s patiently waiting for you to finish up your paperwork so the two of you can head out to dinner. She dressed up for you, wearing something dark, and short, and tempting. Her hair is down and wild. Blonde in a shade that can’t be bought in a bottle. Her brown eyes find you behind your desk and she smirks, knowing you’ve been waiting all day to see her. You drag your eyes down her body—”

  “Zoe,” I interrupted, keeping my eyes closed. “Do you think she could be holding food? I’m really hungry and in my fantasy, I’d really love a bacon cheeseburger.”

  She groaned and I opened my eyes to see her heading toward the door of my office with crossed arms. “No really, Zoe. Keep going, but now can you describe the burger?” She flipped me the bird and rounded the corner out of my office. “What kind of cheese does it have ’cause I really hate American!”

  I laughed as she slammed my office door shut, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. Of course I knew Lily was gorgeous. I had every contour of her heart-shaped face memorized. Contained within it were the most kissable set of lips I’d ever seen and bright eyes that saw right through my bullshit. I replayed the scene Zoe had created for me. Lily standing in my office door in a little black dress was a fantasy too sweet to comprehend.

  If only she and I could shut up for ten minutes, the sex would be the best of our lives. Angry. Hard. Fast. Not love. Not even close.

  War.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dean

  I glanced up from the resume in my hand to take in the nervous candidate sitting across from me. He’d been in my office for five minutes and already my patience was wearing thin.

  “Where did you attend culinary school?”

  “What school?” he asked, seemingly confused by the question.

  “Cul-in-aaarrry school,” I repeated, stressing the phonetics of a word I shouldn’t have been explaining.

  “Ah, yes. Well no, I didn’t go.”

  “Have you worked in any upscale restaurant before?” I asked.

  He shook his head, just as confused as before. I sighed and tossed his resume onto my desk. It topped the list of under-qualified applicants for the day.

  “Perfect, you can see yourself out.”

  His lip quivered, but I couldn’t muster an ounce of sympathy. I was looking for a consultant for my next restaurant and I’d just spent the morning interviewing a slew of idiots.

  “Alright, bud, let’s go,” Zoe said, stepping into my office. She’d been hovering by the door for the last few interviews.

  “Is the interview over?” he asked, glancing back and forth between us. I couldn’t confidently say he even knew what planet he was on at that point.

  He stood and she directed him out of my office.

  By the time I finished shredding his resume, Zoe was back at my office door, hovering on the threshold until I invited her inside.

  “I cannot believe you let that guy through,” I said.

  She frowned. “To be honest, we’ve had so few people send in applications, I was just hoping that by some miracle, one of them would be qualified.”

  “That last guy is almost thirty and has never had a job.”

  She laughed. “Point taken.”

  I leaned back in my chair and dragged my hand through my hair. “I need a beer.”

  “I’d buy you one but I have a hot date later.”

  My brows rose.

  “You know, you could have one too if only you’d admit your attraction for a certain blonde.”

  “Zoe.”

  She laughed. “Oh my god, it’s just too easy with you. Why can’t you admit you find her attractive? I won’t tell anyone.”

  I stood and ushered her out of my office, ignoring her protests. I locked myself inside, but she was persistent.

  “You’re not fooling me,” she said.

  “Goodnight Zoe,” I shouted through the dark wood.

  Her laughter faded down the hallway, leaving me alone with the thoughts she’d just planted in my head. It’d been three days since Zoe had first brought Lily to my attention. Since then, I couldn’t stop thinking of her full lips wrapped around me. I couldn’t stop daydreaming about her. I wasn’t proud of it, believe me. Lily would have me boiled alive if she knew I was fantasizing about her.

  I reached for my phone on my desk, looking for a distraction, but there was nothing there waiting for me. I’d invited Julian to a sports bar near my house for dinner, but he’d yet to reply. I knew it was because he was walking a thin line. Lily hated me, therefore Josephine hated me, which put Julian between a rock and a hard place.

  I tossed my phone back onto my desk and clenched my teeth together. Every single problem in my life was being caused by one woman: Lily Black. She was forcing Julian into an ultimatum and I was on the losing end of the deal.

  I leaned back in my chair, interlocked my fingers behind my head, and caught sight of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” on my office shelf. The book highlighted troop movements and battlefield strategies, but more importantly, it stressed one simple idea: “Know thyself, know thy enemy.”

  I smirked.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Lily knew a hell of a lot about food and drinks. She’d impressed me at Gramercy Tavern, and she had
twice the education of most applicants sending in their resumes for the consulting position. On top of that, I needed to keep Julian as an investor for the project.

  I shredded the rest of the applications and pulled “The Art of War” off my shelf. It was settled. I was going to have to convince Lily to work for me. It was time to get to know the enemy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lily

  “No! NO! You do not get to live here!” I yelled, running after the cockroach attempting to take up residence in our apartment. I lunged to drop a cup over it, but it scurried under our shared dresser. “No! Get out of there!”

  There was an inch of blackness beneath the dresser and the floor and I would have rather cut my hand off than put it under there. He’d won the battle, but I’d win the war.

  “Yeah, and stay there!” I yelled, kicking the dresser with my foot. That’s good. Intimidate him.

  I turned back to the sink full of dishes I’d been cleaning before my little friend had interrupted me. Plates and cups were piled high thanks to the mess Josephine and I had created the night before. Julian had requested a home-cooked meal, but Josephine and I hadn’t been able to agree on what to make, so we’d each made our favorite dishes (chicken spaghetti for her, and homestyle mac ‘n’ cheese for me). We’d hovered over him as he ate, watching him carefully as he spooned the bites into his mouth.

  “Uh they're both good?” he said, shifting his gaze back and forth between us.

  I slammed my hand down on the counter like a disgruntled detective. “Don’t you lie to me, Lefray!”

  He laughed. “I swear, they’re both equally delicious.”

  I shook my head. “This isn’t over. I’m watching you.”

  Josephine leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I know you’ll tell me the real winner later.”

  “Oh my god.” I covered my eyes and backed away slowly. “You guys are like two slobbering wildebeests in heat.”