Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

Now he let all his wariness show, and his shoulders grew stiff. “We don’t need new ideas, Ms. Bishop.”

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt you to look at them, would it? We’ve been working on a portfolio—” she put it on his desk and slid it toward him “—if you’d be willing to—”

“Does Jamie know you’re here?”

“He…” Good Lord, this man really was intimidating. She felt as if she’d been called to the dean’s office. “No. He has no idea.”

“That makes sense, because Jamie quit last Friday.”

“What?” she gasped. He quit? She scrambled back through her thoughts, trying to remember exactly what he’d said. He hadn’t meant to quit, had he? “How can he quit? He’s an owner.”

“He’s still an owner, but he’s no longer working here.”

“But…” Oh, poor Jamie. Something awful must have happened. “But you can’t let him do that. He loves this place so much. If you’ll just look at what he’s done…” She moved a shaky hand toward the portfolio.

“Ms. Bishop, I appreciate your concern. But it’s really none of your business.”

He was right, damn him. And now Olivia felt like the younger sibling called to task by this man. He looked simultaneously disappointed and unmoved. She squirmed, but she didn’t concede. Whatever had happened, Jamie must be heartbroken. She wished they hadn’t ended it so badly and she could call and find out how he was.

Olivia looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. “I’m sure you think it’s none of my business, but I’ve been working with Jamie for weeks on this. I admit that in the beginning I may not have taken him seriously, but he’s passionate about this place. And thoughtful. He has what it takes to turn the front room into a true gathering place. A destination.”

“It’s already a gathering place,” Eric snapped. He shoved the portfolio back at her. “And I’m sorry to ruin your admirable portrait of Jamie, but he’s not as adorable as you think he is.”

Adorable? A flush climbed up her neck at the implication of his words. “I didn’t say he was adorable. He really stepped up to the plate, and if you’d bother looking over his work, I promise you’ll be impressed. Whatever mistakes he’s made in the past—”

“In the past? Is that how he sold it to you? In the past?”

Aware of all of her own mistakes she’d stumbled over in the past few years, Olivia glared. “We all make mistakes. That doesn’t mean we’re not still valuable.”

His gaze rose to the ceiling as if he were praying for patience. “Look, I don’t know what your investment is here, but your argument is moot. Jamie didn’t get what he wanted, so he left.”

“Because you wouldn’t give him a chance?” she challenged.

“A chance?” His mouth curved into a bitter smile. “You’re saying I didn’t give him a chance?”

“Um…” Olivia found herself squeezing her fingers tighter and tighter together. “I’m sure you—”

“This isn’t a matter of a few late arrivals or entering credit card totals incorrectly. This isn’t about me being an asshole who holds every order error against him.”

“Maybe…”

She cringed when Eric set his hands on his desk and leaned closer. “Do you know what his last little innocent mistake was, Ms. Bishop?”

She shook her head as the tips of her fingers went numb.

“Two months ago, he tanked a business deal I’d been working on for months. I have plans for this place, too, you know. And my plans included a new distribution deal that Jamie destroyed by sleeping with the daughter of the distributor.”

Olivia’s heart stopped. It just stopped. And for a long moment, she was stuck there in complete silence while those awful words sunk into her skin.

“He made the mistake of throwing everything away f

or a chance at meaningless sex. Do you want to know what he’s done since then?”

“No,” she croaked, but he was already speaking.

“Just last week, that woman came in and they argued. And by argued, I mean I had to haul her off of him, in my goddamn bar. Oh, and on Friday, he got into a fist-fight over a woman. A different woman.”

Oh, Jesus. Olivia bit the inside of her lip until that pain overtook her horror.