Today did not go as planned. Although I ended up getting the information that I needed from the gas company, it didn’t come until I had let the men go for the day. Since they couldn’t finish their job, we’re now going to be behind on Monday and that really bothers me.
I know for a fact that I have to work twice, if not three times as hard as a female project manager as I would if I were a male one. That means that I can’t even have the 10% liencency of time that most male project managers get doesn’t exist for me. I have to get done on time or I’ll get reamed for it, regardless of how under budget or perfect the job is done. Which means that this weekend I will be spending the time redoing my timeline and making sure that we catch up on the lost work by the end of next week.
I don’t want to deal with that tonight though. I need to relax, let off some steam, and see what this new town of mine has to offer so I’m off to the bar tonight, The Watering Hole as they call it. Charming. Except Dean said charming means boring, there is no way this place can be boring.
I love being within walking distance of the bar, I don’t plan on drinking too much, but in the event that I do, I’m not far from home. After being in my work clothes all week, I needed to feel like a woman again tonight so I put on a pair of jeans that fit like a second skin and a black lace cami that showed off just the right amount of cleavage.
My hair was done in gentle curls, letting my red hair fall like a waterfall down my back. I haven’t worn makeup in a week, so I treated myself to a look that I think passes as natural if you’re a guy that has no idea what a woman with makeup really looks like.
Walking into the bar I’m am taken aback by how different it looks on the inside than what you would expect. There is a full bar with tables all around and a decent size dance floor that is packed with the Friday night crowd. There is also a second level of tables and from the looks of it a small sidebar up there. I can see why this place is so busy, lots of people in the 20 to mid 30 range for sure.
I take a seat at the end of the bar and take a few of the peanuts and crack away while I wait for one of the bartenders to make their way over. A cute gal with denim shorts and a plaid shirt tied at the breasts walks over and sets down a napkin.
“Hey baby girl, what can I get for you?”
“I’ll take just a beer for now.”
“Anything in particular?”
“Anything in a cold bottle.”
“Coming right up!” She pops off the cap and slides the beer down to me. I nod at her to say thank you. “Want anything to eat with that?”
She slides a Happy Hour menu in front of me and I glance down at it, “Anything you’d suggest?”
“I’m a huge fan of the pretzel board!”
“Sounds perfect. What was your name?”
“Lilly.”
“Thanks, Lilly, I’m Charlie, can you keep the tab open for now?”
“I can do that!” I slide her my credit card so she can open up a tab. She hands it back to me and I tuck it into my side pocket. I didn’t bring a purse so there was one less thing for me to have to worry about tonight. I turn around on the barstool and check out the people on the dance floor. I’m full into people-watching mode because I find this too intriguing.
“Here is your pretzel board, darling.” I turn back around to see the biggest pretzel in my life. It looks absolutely amazing and I can see why it is a favorite.
“Holy crap, forget about cutting me off from drinking, if I eat too much of this promise you’ll stop me before I get carb drunk.”
“I’ll do my best.” She looks over my shoulder and smiles, “Hey Ty!”
I turn my head to see that another person has come up to this end of the bar. He looks to be in his late 20s, maybe early 30s. He’s head-to-toe cowboy it looks like. Wearing denim with boots, a white t-shirt, and a well-worn hat. He’s got curly hair that pokes out of his hat and a scruffy beard going on.
“Hey Lilly, can I get a whiskey sour?”
“You here alone tonight?”
“Yeah, everybody else has plans.” Lilly pours him his drink and she looks at me while I’m watching her. “You want one too, Charlie?”
“You know what? Sure, why the hell not. Whiskey me up, extra sour.”
“Thatta girl!”
The guy looks over and gives me a little nod. “Hey, I’m Tyler.”
“Charlie.”
“Where you from, Charlie?”
“Would you believe me if I said here?”
He smirks, “Not one bit. I’ve lived in Valley View my entire life.”
“Technically for the next year I’m from here.”
He tips his glass in my direction, “Welcome to our slice of the country up north.”
“Thank you,” I return the gesture, tipping my glass towards him.
“How are you liking it so far?”
“Different than what I’m used to, but not bad. So you’re from around here huh?”
“Yep.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, what’s up?”
I lean in close like I have a serious secret to share with him, “Where the hell did all these people in this bar come from?”
Tyler laughs and turns in his barstool to face the dance floor like I am. “Let’s see, this is the only place for anybody from Valley View or Harlington to come for fun past 9 pm.”
“Harlington is that place like 20 minutes from here, right?”
“Yep, we’re kind of like twin towns. Lots of back and forth between the two towns. This is the bar to come to if you want to have fun though.”
“This place is packed though, where does everybody else come from?”
“This is the best thing to a country bar you’re going to get within 3 hours of here, lots of people travel in for the sole purpose of a real country night out. There is a newer place open in the side of town that is being developed, but it isn’t a REAL bar, they don’t even have a dance floor.”
I gasp, “Oh! The horror!”
Tyler laughs again, “And then the ones that really look out of place,” he points to the very back where I notice some of the faces of the temp guys on my construction crew. “All these guys are doing construction work outside of town. These assholes are the reason is takes me almost an hour to get to my parent’s ranch.”
“Assholes?”
“Yeah, fuckers are ripping up the highway for some bullshit project. It’s going to take at least ten months to finish and they’re right in front of my parent’s property. Cattle season is just around the corner and my dad’s already having to pay extra to get trucks to come to opposite way. Major cluster fuck.”
I down the rest of my drink and place it down on the bar. “A year.”
“What?”
“Not ten months,” I correct him, “the project is going to take a year.”
“How do you know that?”
I wave at Lilly as the universal sign to bring over my tab. I sign the credit card receipt and leave her a tip. I down the rest of my beer too and then stand up in front of Tyler. “It is going to take a year because I’m the asshole that made the plan up. Or wait, maybe I’m the fucker that’s running the whole project. Goodnight, Tyler. Nice to meet you.”
So much for a relaxing night out.
YOU ARE READING
Rebuilding Valley View (Valley View Book #4)
RomanceOne by one, Tyler saw all his brothers go from the bachelor life to family men. He loved his new sisters-in-law deeply and loved being Uncle Tyler, but there was no way he was planning on in settling down anytime soon. He was certainly the biggest f...
