Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

Jamie wasn’t smiling now.

She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she closed and locked the door. Was he tempted? Did he want her again? He couldn’t possibly need this as much as she did, but he wanted her, at least. She could see that.

But as changed as Olivia felt, she hadn’t turned into an entirely new person. She couldn’t have sex in her office. She just couldn’t. Anyway, they were here for her part of the obligation, not his. Jamie could get sex anywhere he wanted. What he needed from her was advice.

She put her computer on the floor to leave room on her desk, then gestured toward the cleared area. “Show me what you have.”

For a moment, he seemed startled.

“Your plans,” she clarified.

“Oh, right. The plans. Sorry, my mind was somewhere else.”

She tried hard not to be thrilled at that. He was a man. Of course he thought about sex a lot. Probably the same amount he’d thought about it before he’d met her.

Jamie ran a hand through his hair and started to sit down, before rising again to reach for the door. “Do you mind if I close this? I still feel…”

“Sure. That’s fine.”

Once the door was safely closed, he sat down and began pulling papers from his bag. Lots of papers. Some legal-size sheets, some scraps that looked suspiciously like Donovan Brothers Brewery napkins. She didn’t realize how nervous he was until he fumbled half the stack and it spread out over the floor. “Sorry. It’s just…” He picked up the last of his stray notes and set them down, pressing them flat. “I’ve never shown these to anyone.”

Olivia flashed briefly on her worries about her flat chest, then had to go perfectly still to stifle her inappropriate laughter. Once it had passed, she nodded. “I know how personal it can be. People think of businesses as dry, money-making institutions. But they can mean just as much as any other form of expression.”

“Yeah. I guess.” He kept his hands flat.

She tilted her head toward the papers, and he finally relented. “Okay. Let me just say this up front. I don’t want to create a whole new place. I want to work with what we’ve already built. It’s intimate. I speak to every person who comes through the door. I don’t want to build an addition that’ll hold fifty more tables. In fact, if we can sell it to my family as a concept that’ll fit with what we already have, I think that would go over better.”

“Okay.”

“So…”

“Jamie.” She touched his hand. “You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“I know.” He nodded one time, just a dip of his head, and then he slid the stack of papers forward.

“First, just tell me what you’re thinking.”

His hands looked lost now without something to hold on to. “I’m thinking…” After a pause, he cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m thinking every brewpub I go to has a certain kind of menu. Fries and sandwiches. Heavy dishes that feature sauces made with ale. Ice cream made with stout.”

Olivia barely managed not to grimace.

“The menus are massive. Even if I wanted to do that, we don’t have the kitchen space for it.”

“Okay.”

“So I was thinking…pizza. But not delivery kind of pizza. Artisan pizza, like Italian pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, homemade sauce. And instead of making food with beer, we could offer a pairing suggestion for each choice. Something spicy would go great with a pilsner. Something with lots of meat would pair with the porter. Feta cheese is great with India Pale Ale.”

He stopped talking suddenly, as if he’d caught himself going too far. But Olivia didn’t know how to fill the silence. She was shocked and couldn’t think what to say.

“But that’s just one idea,” he said on a rush.

“No, I… Wow.”

His eyes fell. He stared at his open hands.

“I think it’s an amazing idea. Honestly. It’s unique but approachable and comfortable. I think your current customers will love it, and it’ll bring in new people looking for a place to have a me

al with their beer.”