13 Interrupted Dinners

Billie Bob Jones

"Bobby! The man of the hour," JD cheered as I entered the bar just after the bridge. I smiled as I walked towards the booth where him, Rob, Willie, Ben and Cody sat. A space was left for me next to Rob who sat with Ben on his side, whilst opposite them sat JD, Willie and Cody.

"Why are you so late?" Willie chuckled as I took my seat.

"Tamara happened," I sighed. Rob had already ordered a beer for me which I was grateful for. After the long day I had I definitely needed some alcohol in my system.

Ben whistled whilst shaking his head, "that woman has had the hearts for you for a long time. Why don't you just give into her already?"

"She's the definition of perfection," Cody swooned almost forgetting he was in a very serious relationship.

My mouth felt dry as all the men looked at me with expectant eyes. To them they knew fully well Delilah and I were nothing to each other but good friends so I could not use her as an excuse this time.

"Tamara just isn't my type," I nonchalantly shrugged as I took another sip of my beer and scanned the bar.

The bar was owned by Donnie Dane, a good friend of Clyde's. I had known him for as long as I had known Clyde and he was a friendly man with a big heart. He had a beard, a bald head and a beer belly.

The bar was always dimly lit which added to the rustic atmosphere. The floors were dark and most of the bar was made out of a dark cherry wood. Booths spanned on one wall and separate tables on the other. The bar was further into the restaurant with bar stools. A stage to your right when you entered, with a pool table and darts towards the left corner.

It was the only bar in town and could get really busy on weekends; especially if there was a football match.

Today luckily it was much calmer with just a few people scattered about. Some came here just to have a fun lunch or dinner with friends before going home.

"No one is your type Bobby. You flirt with everyone but haven't had a single relationship since you've moved here," JD raised his eyebrow as he smiled, "None of the Bloom and Houston women are good enough for you."

"It's alright for Bobby to have a selective taste. Everyone has a preference some just take longer than others," Rob chirped in.

I gave him a thankful smile to which he returned. "Exactly what Rob said. Someone like Tamara would exhaust me. She's too caught up in her looks. She's not interested in me because of me, I just got a pretty face that she so happens to want."

"Every woman here wants your face Bobby," Ben laughed making me roll my eyes.

"You've been the talk of the town since you've stepped foot in it," JD laughed. I felt my face flush but looked away to hide it.

My eyes scanned the crowd of people in the room. "She's beautiful," I commented as I saw three woman sitting by a table close to the bar. Two of them were brunettes whilst one had strawberry blonde hair.

"Which one?" Willie asked.

"The one with strawberry blonde hair," I lied. She was cute do not get me wrong, she had a button nose, light hazel eyes and rosy cheeks as she animatedly chatted with her friends.

"So you like petite cute girls. Tamara's too much of a woman for you," Ben oohed making the men at the table laugh.

"You should go talk to her. Maybe she's the one to tame Billie Bob Jones. A man's man," JD grinned.

"Y'all ridiculous," I shook my head. By now the women at the table had noticed my subtle glances. All of them blushed as I winked making me smile.

"You just made their day. Scratch that, their year," Cody laughed.

"Go talk to her Bobby," Willie begged. All the men expect Rob looked at me expectantly. I guessed I had no choice.

"Watch how it's done boys," I said confidently as I stood up from the booth and walked towards the small group of women. Their eyes were already set on me and happy smiles on their faces.

Yet before I could reach their table my phone rang in pocket. I pulled it out and Benedito's name filled with screen. I sighed and gave the ladies an apologetic smile then quickly walked out the bar to answer the call.

"Hello," I answered as I stepped out the dim bar into the parking lot. The sun was still up and a cool breeze had blessed Bloom today.

"Hello Bobby, sorry for the unexpected call but I have to leave Texas again tomorrow therefore I'll miss our meeting. I was wondering if we could have it now if you are free I could come to you if it's fine," his voice did not give a hint of any emotion. He was completely professional.

I wanted to be bummed that I could not stay for dinner with the boys, but having an unwanted social interaction with a girl I did not find all that special sounded a lot worse than doing work right now.

"When do you think you'll be here?" I asked as I paced up and down.

"In fifteen minutes. I can meet you at your house," he answered. I heard the beeping of something in the background and what sounded like a car door opening.

"Perfect. I'll meet you there." We ended the call shortly after and I smiled.

Saved by the billionaire himself.

I quickly wiped away my smile when I entered the bar and faked stress. The men looked up to me with confused facial expressions.

"I have to go. Benedito called for an unexpected meeting and it's really important," I sighed and massaged my temples with the tips of my fingers.

"This Benedito won't let you have any fun. Once again he interrupting our dinner," JD frowned.

"I'm really sorry but you know how business is. How about this weekend we go out again?" I smiled hoping they agreed.

"Very well, go have fun with your billionaire," he sighed. I quickly said my goodbyes and hopped into my truck.

By the time I got to the house the same Rolls Royce Cullinan was parked in front of it.

How had he gotten here so fast?

After parking my truck in the garage I walked out to find Benedito waiting for me holding a few files. He was dressed casually in black sweatpants and a jersey with matching sneakers. His hair was down but for once he looked tired. Dark circles were under his eyes but he still made it looked fashionable.

He did not look stressed though but one could tell he must have had a hectic week. When he saw me approach he softly smiled, "Sorry I disturbed your dinner."

"It's perfectly fine," I shrugged as we climbed up the porch stairs. I unlocked the door and we entered the house. Delilah was out studying with friends in Houston so she would only be back tomorrow and Rob would probably only be back tonight.

It was the first time Benedito and I would fully be alone, which formed a small knot in my stomach. I quickly brushed it off though. It was just my mind being paranoid again.

"Do you want anything to drink?" I offered as we got seated by the dining table since I figured it would be the best place in the house.

"No, thank you," he said as he took a seat. I sat opposite him as he laid out the files. "I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the functionality of the ranch. I would obviously like to do a full renovation but I wanted to start at the most important things and wanted your advice on what you thought we should change first."

"Well to be honest the fence for me has always been a problem. I feel like with all the chaos of barn renovations it will probably go unattended because everyone will be focusing on the bigger target at hand. There's always cattle attempting to escape so if we could target that it would make work a lot easier."

"Do you often have break in's on the ranch?"

I scratched my chin as I thought, "not really. Of course there's a few bandits that try something but it is often dealt with. Also wild teenagers doing dumb things once in a while."

"Is there any surveillance in the situation something did happen?"

"We have a few cameras on the perimeter, by the office and the barns," I nodded.

He hummed and quickly wrote something down on his notepad, "Do you have any security?"

"I am the security," I grinned and chuckled at my own joke.

Benedito seemed to find that very funny by his blank face and wrote something else down. Tough crowd I guess. We continued going back and force; with him asking me questions and me answering them, for at least two hours.

My body by then was even more tired than before but I could not complain. Sitting in front of him in my quiet house was better than the noise of the bar.