2. Connections

Doug

Jordan the bartender looks flustered when he sees me. The man choked twice and I can't help but wonder why is he nervous around me.

Could he be the one?

The man has always been diligent. He arrives on time, works hard, and never calls in sick. More so, Billy had put the guy in more schedule saying that he needs the money. Hmm... maybe I should worry about him.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Nothing much, I just want to check your schedule for last week. Billy had given it to me, but I just want to make sure it's correct. You have a twelve-hour shift for four days, and on top of that, you worked every day last week. I just want to make sure that we don't work you to the ground." I ask, while casually grabbing bottled water from the fridge. The young man looked at me and bit his lip.

He appears to be worried as if I was asking something that may render him guilty. My mind once again thought can he be the one?

"Um...did someone complain? Did I take their shift? I told Billy that I didn't want to take anyone off their schedule. I just need some additional income." His face turns pale and my mind races thinking that I need to be careful with him. I really don't want to spook him. All I need is his confession, then everything will be dealt with accordingly.

"No...it's nothing like that. And Billy had told me about your situation." Billy did talk to me before getting me to approve the weekly schedule for the bar. He said that Jordan is the sole earner of his family household where he has his mother and little sister to take care of on top of paying rent, utilities, and putting food on their table.

"Again, I just want to make sure that you're not overworked." I smile looking at him. The guy is tall and pretty lean for a guy his size. He looked feminine with his splash of makeup. I never limit my employees in expressing themselves. This is a bar and we welcome various patrons. I have seen him work behind the bar, and the customers like him. Jordan always looks welcoming, he's good at taking orders and making drinks.

"I'm not. I'm good. And it's just until the end of this month. I need to make additional money for my sister's ballet shoes, she's going to perform soon. Then there's money for her costume. I...it's just that she really loves ballet. And after all that happened, I just want to give her this."

Jordan watches me with vulnerability in his eyes. Maybe he's the kind of guy that has a softer nature, and so I nodded feeling the uneasiness just because I have questioned his motives in asking for more shifts. I instantly felt like an ass because of it.

"Okay, never mind my questions then. Just let Billy know if you need anything. You're doing a great job Jordan."

"T-thank you." He smiles shyly at me and it kind of hit me out of nowhere. I have always thought of myself as a straight guy. I have my share of women, lots of them. I never once looked at another man and saw the beauty in him. But when I look at Jordan, he just makes me think twice.

Why did I even look at him that way?

I cleared my throat before continuing. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, I'm going to leave you to your dinner. I'll be at my office." The man nodded and looked at his half-eaten sandwich and his pink container before I decided to leave him. Then, as I told him earlier, I go straight to my office.

Minutes later, my phone buzzes with a call from my sister, I sigh before closing my office door and answering her call. "Hi, Ames,"

"Doug, hey...so is this a bad time?"

"What did he do now?" I rest back in my chair, feeling the burden already. I know that is the same line she always says before she asks for a favor or whines about her deadbeat boyfriend who doesn't want anything to do with their child. It won't be long now. In three...two...

"Um...it's about Kirk,"

Ugh, even his name makes me want to punch his face. The man doesn't know how good my sister is in defending him. I would have hurt him by now if it wasn't for Amelia wanting her baby daddy to be alive and unharmed.

"What is going on with him now?"

"Well, uh...he needs a better job. You know he has a kid,"

"Yeah, your kid, who I'm supporting. Not that I mind at all." I cut in with a sigh hoping that my sister is not madly in love with the guy.

His existence alone is annoying me, then he makes it worse by latching on to her. She moved into his place the second she realized that she was pregnant with his child. It was a struggle for my family to let her move out and move into his shabby apartment. It doesn't take long for Mom to make Amelia move her and her boyfriend into a better apartment on a nicer side of the city. Mom felt Amelia needed to be close to her family, just in case she needed us for emergencies.

At times like this, I'm glad that Mom insisted that she take the apartment and move there.

"Ames, I got him a job. He's a bartender who I overpaid for not coming into work on time, and some he didn't even show up." I speak with an evident irritation in my tone.

"I know...he's trying, Doug. Things haven't exactly been easy for him. With the baby and the new apartment..."

"Stop blaming the baby. It's his responsibility. Your family is ready to take over his job and take him out of the picture. It's just you that kept on convincing yourself that he's more than the bastard that he really is." I sigh when I hear Amelia start to cry from the other line.

"Look, sis, I love you. I just need you to think things through. Don't let him do this to you, you're so much better than this." I try to soothe her when she starts crying harder and I groan, resting back in my chair while looking at our family picture. Mom, Dad, Amelia, and Me. Things were so much easier when she was a bratty teenager.

Half an hour later, after more crying I transferred the money into her account knowing that it'll be gone in a couple of weeks. At least I know she'll call me whenever she needs money cause honestly, there's nothing I won't do for my sister.

It's almost twelve when the VP of Flaming Skull calls me for a meeting. Having to own a bar, I know that I need to maintain a good relationship with the local biker gang. Aside from making sure that the bar will have security, they also provide top-shelf liquor at the best price.

There are regulations implemented by the authorities on stocking liquor, and years ago I learned to be smart about doing it. Making a profit is always good, but being safe is everything. Though I know that Dad is secretly involved with a more dangerous organization than the bikers gang. He never explicitly tells me about it and I never ask. It's all on a need-to-know basis, and with the kind of money lining our family pocket, I know he will tell me if he thinks I need to know.

Until then, I have my little playground full of biker friends to keep myself busy with. "Sure thing, Tank, do you want me to visit the club or do you want to take a breather here? I'm at my office. We can open that Macallan from the last shipment. It's been a while."

"How about you bring that Macallan to ours, we have another shipment for you to consider."

It is dangerous to take in another shipment, just after a couple of weeks. But I will do it if it means moving the goods for Flaming Skull. I just need a place to hide them before I can safely put them in my bar. This is also why I've been thinking of opening another bar, maybe a smaller one but more high-end.

To distribute illegal liquor to other bar owners is a big risk. It will surely be faster, but the danger is also greater. And being safe is better than being lucrative. I always play the long game and I have never had any problems with waiting.

After telling Tank that I'll be at their club in half an hour, I go back out to the bar and sigh when I see Kirk finally arriving hours late for his shift. Amelia probably tells him to go and miraculously there he is, talking to Jordan. The feminine guy appears tired though he keeps his smile and is back to working on a drink for the burly man before him.

Another day passes and I am still not getting closer to finding the person who's been stealing behind the bar.