An Unknown Place (11 page)

I heard a throat clear, but didn’t move. I knew it was probably Anna or Terry but I couldn’t get myself to move. Mac pulled away from me but left one of her hands on the back of my neck. How ridiculous of me to think so much of her having a hand on me, but I couldn’t imagine the road she’d traveled to get where she was. Well, I could imagine it, but it was horrible. It was a road I would not allow her to be on or near ever again.

“Looks like you kids are having fun,” Anna said, Terry standing, with a grin on his face, behind her.

“Let’s eat. That way ya’ll can get going. I’m sure you have important...things to do.” Terry was not a subtle guy.

“Mac is actually a manager at the brewery we just made a deal with.”

Mac launched into what she’d been doing up until recently as we ate. The bars she had worked at. She explained that she was in a great position because of me.

“Kellan actually fell right off his barstool when he met me.” Mac smiled. I laughed.

“It’s true. I did, she completely knocked me out.”

Mac laughed full out and was shaking. Anna and Terry were clueless but I was happy to have this inside joke with her. This was our story: Mac and I’s to tell, and ours alone.

“He was drugged. Who did that? I never did get that story,” Mac asked, clearing all humor from her face.

“I had actually brought someone with me to Vegas and I guess she was after something from me because she drugged me right before we got on the plane. The woman was completely nuts, just took me longer to realize it, I guess.”

Mac was frowning and Terry and Anna were looking at her. I had forgotten what an asshole I had been and how that must’ve sounded.

“Listen,” I started, looking only at Mac. “She didn’t mean anything. I am an asshole – was, I
was
an asshole. Jesus Christ. We knew where we stood when I took her to Vegas.” I stopped talking. There was no more room for words to come out with my foot stuffed in there, too.

I sounded like an ass, because I was one. I had never explained myself to anyone. Internally, I knew where I stood when it came to women. Until Mac blew into my life and changed everything I thought I wanted or needed.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Mac said.

But I knew from the look on her face that wasn’t at all true. And I didn’t feel any truth in her words. She wanted me to explain. And I would. Just not in front of Terry and Anna. 

“So Terry and I have decided to sell the place,” Anna spit out.

“What?” They couldn’t take my favorite place from me!

“We’re struggling trying to keep above board. So we’re closing shop. First of next month.” Terry looked sad.

“But you said you’d never get rid of this place,” Mac said, disbelieving.

“Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Right kid?” Terry reached over and squeezed Mac’s shoulder, and something passed between them. I could tell this was a conversation they’d had before, just pertaining to another subject.

“Right.”

“How would you and Anna like to come work for me?”

I couldn’t just let them close down and never see them again. Turns out I was a bit of a softy these days. I blamed old age. But I think part of it had to do with Mac. I also wanted to wipe that worried look off her face, off all their faces.

Jake and I had been looking for a new bartender and someone to help out with the brewing. Jake and I had been talking about expanding into having bar food and then eventually a full menu if that went well. Terry could do the brewing and then move into the kitchen when the time came. Anna could bartend until the manager position came up again, which would be soon if the manager didn’t stop showing up late.

“I don’t think we’d fit into a place as nice as yours,” Terry said and looked to Anna for guidance.

They were a team and I appreciated the fact that he was looking to her to steer this particular conversation.

“I have the perfect spot for both of you. If you’re interested call me.” I handed over a card out of my wallet.

Mac’s smile split her face, and there were tears shining in her eyes. She had never looked more beautiful.

Mac

After lunch with Terry and Anna, Kellan drove us to an upscale part of Baltimore. I had been waiting for him to explain who the woman he took to Vegas was, but he hadn’t. I had no right to ask what happened or his history. Did I? I was currently his plus one, right? Was that an appropriate description of where we stood? I didn’t know but I liked to think so. I wasn’t his girlfriend, but I definitely wasn’t a notch on his bedpost, either. I never used to worry about things like this.

Kellan pulled up to a building that had metal pieces adorning the outside as well as exposed brick. The lines were clean and the entire place reeked of hipster. But that is who most breweries catered to, especially I had found, in the big cities.

I looked up toward the top of the building and found a sign that said “Freemont’s” on it. I felt a swell of pride for Kellan. What it would be like to drive up to a building and see your name on it. It was a huge accomplishment.

I got out and stepped to the front, my hands on my hips.

“I gotta hand it to you, Kellan. This is amazing.” I could see through the large picture windows that everything inside was clean lines and dark woods. It was beautiful.

“Jake and I put a lot of work into this place.” Kellan pulled the front door open for me.

It was around 6 o’clock in the evening now. I was surprised at how heavy the after work crowd was. There were only three open seats at the long bar and one table near the front door. I was impressed.

Kellan put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me towards the back. I heard the bartender, a guy, probably in his early twenties, with thick black hair and large piercings, yell a hello to Kellan. The waiters and waitresses all said a greeting as well. Kellan said hello to each of them by name. I also hadn’t missed the longing looks coming from the waitresses. I couldn’t imagine working for Kellan and not being able to touch. Or maybe they had and that’s why they were looking at him like that.

I was not a jealous person. At least I hadn’t been a jealous person before Kellan. He turned me around to the room of patrons and workers, once we reached a side door.

“Everyone, this is Mac. She’s our rep from The Strip Brewery. Mac, this is everyone.”

Everyone waived or said a hello. There was a table of thirty somethings that looked like they had left the office and came straight to Freemont’s. One of them yelled at me.

“Hey Mac. If you want someone to show you around town, I’d be more than happy to.” He grinned lasciviously and I blushed to my toes.

“Tommy, no. She is also mine.”

Okay, I was his. That was a bit of an overstep. And I would’ve protested him claiming me like that, but I liked it too much.

“Alright, alright. When you’re done, can I have her?”

All the guys sitting at the table had busted up laughing. It was all joking and fun between Kellan and Tommy until that comment.

Kellan froze and I saw Tommy’s face pale at the look on Kellan’s. All Tommy’s friends stopped laughing. Kellan was giving Tommy the death stare. I knew Kellan had a past. I got that from the way he had talked about the woman he had taken to Vegas and now this comment was making me question whether or not our arrangement for more meant just sex. I didn’t want just sex, I could get that anywhere. I wanted a man that could give me a relationship and understanding.

“Apologize.” It wasn’t an incredibly loud command from Kellan, but it was clearly a command. Tommy must’ve known by the look on Kellan’s face that he had stepped on toes.

“I – I’m sorry, I meant nothing by it.”

I was used to drunks making inappropriate comments to me. I was pretty good at putting in a comment to shut them down, but from Kellan’s reaction I would’ve guessed he wasn’t used to it.

“No biggie,” I said, putting my hand on Kellan’s chest. “It’s fine Kellan.”

Kellan’s intense look changed when he looked at me, lust was all over him as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me fiercely. I was caught off guard but liked it. I liked having my world tilted a little. I also knew he was marking his territory. I may have built a wall around myself for the last few years, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know when a man was peeing on something.

I put my arms around his neck and slid my tongue into his mouth. I wanted as deep as I could get. I felt safe. The world dropped away when we were joined like this. There was no one else but him.

When I closed my eyes before, I had seen nothing but the face of the man that raped me. But when Kellan’s arms were around me, I knew it was him. He had helped morph my view in the short time I’d known him. He was the first man I’d told about what had happened, and he had reacted in the exact opposite of what I’d been expecting, which meant perfectly. Now I freely gave a piece of myself to him.

After hearing a few whoops from the bar, I pulled back. Kellan still hadn’t opened his eyes.

“Hey, you alright?” I asked.

I was afraid I had done something wrong. I hadn’t kissed anyone in years, maybe I was rusty.

“I think I’m dreaming.”

I pinched his arm. His eyes immediately popped open and the shocked look on his face was priceless.

“See? Not dreaming.” I smiled innocently and Kellan laughed.

He took my hand and pulled me through the side door next to the bar. We entered a room that smelled like raw hops and fermentation. If you’d never been in a brewing room, then you wouldn’t know the smell. It is uniquely its own and heavenly, at least to me. The brewery was much larger than it seemed from the front.

It held a copper four vessel brewhouse. Then I turned around and realized there was another one. The cost of the copper fermentation and brite Tanks was pretty high. When Lynn had opened The Strip, she had opted for stainless steel. It was amazing, don’t get me wrong, but there was something about the copper tanks that was just so Kellan.

“God Kellan, this is amazing.” I ran my hand along the tank closest to me. A head popped out from behind the tank making me jump back.

“Holy shit. You
are
real.”

Not what I was expecting. A cute little pixie of a woman came around the side of one of the tanks. She looked younger than me, but not by much. She was curvy, blonde, had brown eyes and a good foot of height on me. She also had full red lips that shined like she had just put lip gloss on them. I was immediately intimidated. She clucked her tongue as she looked me up and down, her gaze scrutinizing every inch.

“Enough Bren. This is Mackayla Montgomery. Mac, this is Brenna Stills, my assistant.”

I put my hand out. I was Kellan’s employee too, I needed to stay professional. Although the tongue war Kellan and I just had in front of the entire bar may not have been the most professional act. I hoped Brenna hadn’t slept with him. His shady past kept creeping into my head and I was powerless to stop the images and thoughts. I would have to talk to him about it.

Brenna finally put her hand in mine. I squeezed it tightly and shook. She broke into a smile.

“People call me Bren. Pleased to meet you.” She jumped and squealed, never releasing my hand, my arm an innocent bystander on Bren’s journey. “I thought Kellan was making you up. I can’t believe…”

“Enough Bren.”

Kellan and Bren were staring each other down.

“Fine Kellan.” She turned to me then said, “How would you like to have brunch with me tomorrow?” She smiled at Kellan.

Oh, she was good. I knew I could get whatever dirt I wanted on Kellan from her. Thing was though, I was more interested in getting it from Kellan.

“Sounds good.”

“I brought her in for a tour.” Kellan told her.

“Oh, she came to see the big tank thingies?”

I laughed. I could tell Bren was either new or wasn’t interested in the brewing side.

“There are eight copper tanks here, four fermentation tanks and four brite tanks. And if I’m not mistaken, the canning line is behind that wall there,” I said. Pointing to the wall behind the room we now stood in. I looked over to find Kellan plastered with pleasure and Bren in utter shock.

“I think I just fell in love with you a little,” Kellan said.

“Me too,” Bren said.

“I may have brushed up on what ya’ll had before I got here.” At that point, a burly, very fit, Chris Hemsworth-esque man stepped out from where Bren had just come. I put my hand out to him. “And you must be Logan.”

Kellan

This woman could take over the world. I was completely caught off guard by the thoroughness of her knowledge. I knew she was competent but I had no idea.

“Ms. Montgomery called me last week and we spoke about our processes, equipment, canning – you name it.” Logan said, with a glimmer in his eye.

I hoped that glimmer was out of respect for a sharp minded business woman, and not for attraction to Mac’s incredibly hot body. I would hate to have to kick his ass.

“That’s it. You’re going to be my new mentor,” Bren claimed. Jesus.
That
is just what I needed: my girlfriend and my assistant exchanging stories about me and my past. It was for me to tell, not Bren.

“Bren! You work with Logan. Now why don’t you two get to it?”

Bren blushed bright red, and Logan dropped his eyes. Damn it. I knew that kind of blush and avoidance all too well. They had hooked up. I didn’t know when, why or how serious, but they had.

“My office 8 a.m,” I said. Neither one of them looking at me. Bren finally brought her red face to mine.

“Sure Boss.”

“
Both
of you.” I looked at both of them pointedly, and Logan threw his rag onto the steps angrily.

We had a zero tolerance policy for in-house relationships. I overlooked it a lot with the bar crew because, to me, that wasn’t that big of deal. Unless it was brought to me as a problem, then I dealt with it. But two of the most important people in my company hooking up? That could definitely be a problem.

I pushed Mac towards the canning room. Leaving Bren and Logan to figure out their story, because, let’s be honest, that’s what they were going to be doing.

I shut the door to the canning room behind us and hit the wall. Luckily the wall was brick and it hurt me versus hurting the wall. If I had made a hole in the wall Jake would’ve been pissed.

“They had to step over that line. They just
had
to do it.”

“Logan and Bren? They’re together?”

“I don’t know. I know they hooked up, it was written all over both of them.”

“I couldn’t tell.”

“I know them very well. I also know the looks they were giving me, or not giving me, very well.”

“Oh.”

I wanted to get at the core of what was written on her face. But I was also afraid of what Mac would think of me if I told her about my past. I could tell she was waiting for me to elaborate on the woman that drugged me, but she wasn’t pushing. What had I done in a past life to deserve such a woman?

There was a small desk in the canning room where paperwork was perpetually spread out. There were two chairs and a small lamp there as well.

“You wanna sit down?”

Mac nodded at me. I pulled her chair out and she sat down, scooting the chair in herself. I propped myself in the chair opposite her. She looked nervous.

“I have a rather sordid past. It’s not pretty.” Mac nodded again. I wondered if her withholding her beautiful voice from me was purposeful. I had a feeling she was giving me the quiet that I needed to get it all out.

“I have fucked a lot of women. Many repeatedly, but always on my terms, always with the understanding that it was nothing serious. I never wanted anything serious.”

“How many are we talking here?”

“I don’t know if I could or shoule tell you.”

“Are we trying for more?”

“Yes.”

“Then you could and should tell me.”

Smart as a whip. I loved a woman that could use my words on me.

“Probably high up in the double digits.”

“Like sixty, seventy, ninety?”

“Why is it so important?”

“Are you clean? Do you know?”

Ah, she was worried I was a walking STD. That was fair considering the number of women I had been with. I was lucky I hadn’t gotten anything.

“I always used a condom, and I’ve been tested. They actually tested me while I was in the hospital in Vegas, my request. I was clean.”

“Were you expecting to get lucky?”

“I think I did.”

I was being honest. I had been lucky coming across Mac. Or her coming across me? And then my brain spiraled into Dirty Town with all the “coming across Mac” pictures that were firing across my brain. I hoped Mac didn’t want to wait too long to have sex, but I had to let her set the pace. She needed to be the one to decide. But I wasn’t picky, I’d take her across the desk if she let me.

“So we’re trying for more, but nothing serious?” She asked.

There was no emotion on her face, just tightness. That mask had made yet another appearance. I felt immediate anger flood my face. If that is what she was looking for I was going to be very pissed.