Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
JAMIE
I’m back in the snug, nursing a pint and staring at my laptop screen. It’s just me and Bruce in here, and he’s sprawled out on his dog bed, snoring gently, twitching his paws as though dreaming about chasing rabbits. Rain patters against the window.
Painkillers downed, I’ve logged in to Highland Legacy , Sass is here too, and it’s time for a bit of escapism. Although... I’m less interested in escaping the ache in my thigh and more interested in escaping the chaos running riot in my head. There’s the obvious regret over being such an arse towards Maisie. Seriously, what is wrong with me? But there’s also the memory of us crashing into each other and her landing right on top of me. I can still feel the heat of her body against mine, the softness of her slim curves. It’s been ages since I’ve been that close to a woman, and it’s stirred up feelings I’d almost forgotten about—and which I’m not entirely sure what to do with. I can’t quite decide whether I want to push them away or... well, dwell on them obsessively.
I take a swig of my beer and focus back on the chat with SassyLassie. She asked if the girl I made a tit of myself in front of was pretty, and I typed “Aye” without even needing to think about it. Because Maisie is pretty. More than pretty, if I’m being honest.
God, why did I have to go and insult her hair? I really am an idiot.
Anyway , Sass has gone a wee bit quiet on me, so I decide to be just a little mischievous.
LochNLoad
Hello? Sass? You still there? Don’t tell me you’re jealous.
Okay, I’m clearly not trying too hard to escape the thoughts I’ve been having about Maisie. I did voluntarily raise the subject of my encounter with her, after all. And now I’m teasing Sass about being jealous.
SassyLassie
In your dreams. Although... actually, there’s something we need to talk about.
LochNLoad
Uh-oh. Sounds serious. Should I be worried?
SassyLassie
Er . . . well . . .
LochNLoad
Oh! I know what this is. You’re going to tell me your secret kink, right? Because I told you mine and I’ve been waiting for you to confess yours.
Fine, there’s no point trying to deny it: I’ve got sex on the brain today. And not even Highland Legacy —the one thing that usually works—seems capable of distracting me.
SassyLassie
No, it’s not that. It’s something else.
LochNLoad
Aw, c’mon! Why don’t you tell me your secret kink first, THEN you can tell me the other thing?
I don’t usually wind Sass up quite like this—I don’t want to be that guy who makes women regret gaming online. But she kicked off the whole secret kink chat—and she was literally just ticking the piss about the size of my dick—so I reckon fair’s fair.
SassyLassie
This is important, Lochie.
LochNLoad
And your secret kink isn’t?
I find myself wondering what SassyLassie looks like. It’s not the first time I’ve pondered this, of course, but now the curiosity is more intense. Seeing Maisie so close, with every little detail of her face laid bare, has sparked something in me, like a match striking against old tinder.
SassyLassie
Lochie!
LochNLoad
Okay, okay, but... c’mon, I told you my secret kink days ago. Now it’s your turn!
SassyLassie
. . .
LochNLoad
Go on, throw me a bone here! Just tell me something you find kinda hot. It’s only right!
SassyLassie
... I suppose that is fair. If I tell you, will you actually listen to what I need to say?
LochNLoad
I promise.
SassyLassie
All right, well, you know the Highland Legacy TV series? The one you refuse to watch even though you’re obsessed with the game? Season two, episode seven. That’s all I’m saying.
LochNLoad
God, that isn’t the one where Ronan Dunbar gets his willy out, is it? Everyone is always going on and on about that. It’s part of the reason I’ve never been interested in watching the show.
SassyLassie
Nope, that’s season three, episode four, thirty-two minutes in.
LochNLoad
Bloody hell, you know the timestamp?
SassyLassie
Clearly. But as for what happens in season two, episode seven... if you want to know, you’ll just have to watch it for yourself.
LochNLoad
Tease! But all right, I will accept that as an answer. Now spill—what was it you were going to tell me?
SassyLassie
Okay, but... shit, I don’t quite know how to say this. And it’s especially awkward after what we’ve just been talking about. Hmm... actually, maybe I should just tell you another time?
LochNLoad
Nope! You said we need to talk about something so let’s talk about it. Don’t go getting embarrassed. You and I can tell each other anything, can’t we?
SassyLassie
*Takes a deep breath* I’m honestly not sure how you’re going to react. It’s... kind of a big deal. But all right, here goes...
Just as I’m about to find out what Sass’s big revelation is, Lewis strolls into the snug, followed by Emily. The wife of my eldest brother, Ally, Emily is a petite brunette who’s currently five months pregnant with nephew number two. She helps Lewis with the running of the hotel.
“Er, guys, do you mind?” I joke, gesturing around the empty snug. “I’m trying to work here.”
Lewis and Emily exchange a look that screams, We are not amused .
“We need to talk,” Lewis says.
Bloody hell, what is it with people needing to talk to me today? Before SassyLassie can hit me with whatever life- changing bombshell she’s typing, I fire off brB then snap my laptop shut.
“I’m all ears.” I take a sip of my beer then gesture to the barstools opposite me. “Go on then, take a seat. What’s this about?”
Lewis eyes my pint glass. “You’re drinking on the job again? And this early?”
“I need to serve someone, don’t I? Else I’d go mad. And I had been thinking of pouring myself a whisky, but I reckoned I’d knock that back, so instead I’m slowly sipping a beer. This is me being responsible.”
Just as Lewis is about to unleash what I’m sure would be a spectacular bollocking, Bruce lets out a loud yawn and stretches. Distracted, Lewis glances down at the dog, who trots over to him with his tail wagging like a furry metronome.
Lewis just can’t help himself. He drops to one knee and fusses over his pet, and Bruce rolls onto his back, paws in the air, begging for a belly rub. Lewis happily obliges, of course. “Who’s a good boy?” His voice jumps an entire octave—proof his balls have temporarily vacated the premises. “You are! Yes, you are!”
Emily catches my eye and we share a smile. The way Lewis dotes on Iona is sickening. The way he dotes on Bruce? Barely any better.
When Lewis eventually straightens, the fire has gone out of his eyes—at least for now. “All right, where were we? Oh aye, we were about to sit down.” He eyes Emily’s bump. “Is the bar all right, or would you rather a table?”
“The bar is fine,” Emily insists. They settle onto the stools.
“All right, so . . . the snug,” Lewis says.
I lift my beer and take a slow sip, partly to see if I can get under Lewis’s skin again, but he doesn’t take the bait. “What about it?” I ask.
Lewis rubs the back of his neck. “Well...” With his other hand, he taps a finger on the bar. “Er...”
Emily steps in. “Lewis and I have been looking at the profitability of different aspects of the business. And there’s one part that isn’t doing as well as we’d like.”
I know the answer but I ask the question anyway: “And that is...?”
Emily presses her lips together, while Lewis shifts on his stool. The silence stretches just long enough to make its point.
“But everyone loves the snug!” I protest, even though the empty chairs and tables don’t exactly support my case. “You’re not thinking of closing it, are you?”
Lewis pulls a face, half apologetic, half awkward. “We’ve not made any final decisions yet, but having you run the place is a significant investment of time and money, and... we’re not sure it’s pulling in enough to justify the cost.”
Emily says, “We need to consider whether this space could better serve the guests—and maybe generate more income at the same time.” Her tone is gentle but practical.
“Of course, we won’t be getting rid of a bar entirely,” Lewis adds. “For events like wedding receptions, for instance, we’d absolutely still have you serving drinks, either here or maybe we could set up something in the function room instead. But I just don’t know that we can continue having the snug open on days likes today when it’s so very... quiet.”
Crap. I can’t deny it’s a cushy job. Lounging in an empty bar, messing about on a video game, and drinking beer—which, let’s face it, the hotel’s technically paying for—isn’t exactly strenuous, but...
“If you’re trying to guilt-trip me into feeling bad about being paid to drink beer, then... it’s kind of working. But hey, someone’s got to keep Bruce company, right?”
Lewis’s expression hardens. “This is a business, Jamie. And sure, it’s a family one, and I’m very happy for you to work here but... you’re twenty-five now. At some point you’re going to have to start pulling your weight a bit more. We can’t drag you through life indefinitely, doing all the hard work while you just sit here playing games.”
His words hit home hard, largely because they ring true. I hate that he has a point.
Before I can respond, Elspeth sticks her head into the snug, wiping her hands on a tea towel. “Oh, should I be at this meeting?”
“Er, no,” Lewis says. “Always nice to see you, Elspeth, but this meeting is about the snug. It doesn’t really impact your side of things.”
Elspeth has been the chef at the hotel’s wee restaurant since before I was born. She was my maw’s closest friend, and since I lost my parents when I was eighteen, she’s looked out for me and my siblings, in addition to always being there for her own two, Iona and Aidan.
Despite Lewis’s comment about the meeting not being for her, Elspeth steps into the snug properly to give Bruce a quick pat, earning herself a tail thump against the floorboards. “Well, don’t be too hard on the lad,” she says to Lewis and Emily. “Someone’s got to keep that stool warm, eh?” With a wink at me, she leaves just as quickly as she arrived.
I tap my finger against the rim of my pint glass and glance around the snug—the low wooden beams, the mismatched chairs, Bruce curled up on his dog bed like he owns the place. Quiet? Aye. But this is a special spot. It’s not just some old room in a hotel that can be changed to something else willy-nilly. It’s mine in a way I can’t quite explain, a place I’ve always felt at home. Growing up, Da and I used to watch rugby together here, for God’s sake. I had my first drink here. We can’t just close the snug and change it to something else. This is where I sit, and this stool isn’t giving up its favourite arse without one hell of a fight.
Okay, maybe I haven’t been pulling my weight—Lewis and Emily are right about that. And maybe, just maybe, I haven’t minded the lack of customers all that much. It does mean fewer interruptions from Highland Legacy , after all. But damn it, I can try harder, can’t I?
“What if I turn this place around?” I blurt out. “Make it busier? If we’re raking in more cash and it feels less”—I wave a hand at the empty chairs—“like a funeral parlour, would you consider keeping it open?”
Lewis arches a sceptical brow. Emily casts him a sidelong glance.
“Well...” she says slowly. “If you could make this place more profitable and... livelier, then yes, I suppose we’d reconsider. Right, Lewis?”
He nods. “But, Jamie, that’d involve you actually doing a bit of hard graft. You’re not going to change the snug’s fortunes by sitting on your arse playing games. Emily and I aren’t going to do the work for you, so if you’re serious about turning this place around, you’ll need to produce a plan showing us how you intend to do so, and you’ll need to prove to us you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. If, in a few days, nothing has changed and you’re still just pissing your life away in some virtual world, Emily and I will push ahead with our own plans.”
“Warning received loud and clear.” I lift my glass in a mock toast to them. “You know, I’ve been waiting for you two to give me a kick up the arse. It’s about time you got your act together.”
Lewis groans. “Aye, we’re the ones who needed to get our act together. Right.”
“I’ll be rooting for you, Jamie.” Emily’s lips twitch with the hint of a smile and she leans forward. “I’d love for you to prove us wrong and show us how amazing this place can be.”
“You can have the rest of the week to mull it over, but I want to hear at least one good idea from you by Monday.” Lewis stands, his chair scraping against the floorboards—loud enough to make Bruce lift his head briefly before settling back down again. “If not, it’s goodbye to the snug.”
“Challenge accepted.”
After they’re gone, I rake a hand through my hair and wonder just what I’ve got myself into. Then, remembering SassyLassie had something important to say, I flip my laptop open again. I’m still connected to the game—I set my laptop to not sleep when the lid is closed for just such occasions—and still in the chat with SassyLassie. My last message, brB , sits there unanswered. Looks like she’s been waiting for me to return before spilling the beans.
LochNLoad
Sorry about that! Just had an “interesting” meeting. Long story short, I’m going to have less time for gaming going forward—real life’s calling.
I need to step up at work, bring in more customers, maybe even poach some from the competition down the road.
Anyway, what was it you wanted to tell me?