Something to Prove Read Online Free

picked up his glass, gulped the beer, and slammed the empty glass down on the bar.
     Turning the volume up on the TV, he grabbed a rag from the bar and pretended to wipe
     the surface.
    “Hey, Mitch,” a man called as he entered the bar.
    Elizabeth turned to look at him. He stood in a smudged T-shirt and ragged jeans. He
     had a red bandana wrapped around his head.
    “Hey, Rick.” Mitch dropped the rag on the bar and shot a quick look at her.
    Rick looked her up and down. “You lost?”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Can I buy you a drink then?”
    “No, thank you. I don’t drink while I’m working.”
    “Rick, this is the new boss, Elizabeth.”
    Rick laughed loudly and slipped onto a stool. Mitch had moved around to the other
     side of the bar and began pouring a beer. It was three in the afternoon. If these
     guys started drinking this early, how drunk would they be by nightfall?
    She knew Mitch had to go. He wasn’t on board with the changes she would need to make.
     Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to fire him just yet, but it was coming soon.
    The idea of returning to that office was something she couldn’t stomach. “I’m going
     out. I’ll probably be back later.”
    “We’ll be waiting.” Mitch tossed her a smile.
    She stormed out, trying not to let him get to her. She’d been in worse situations
     with pigheaded men. This one, however, wasn’t something she was used to. Keith tended
     to hire the best he could find. She always had some trusted people to rely on, even
     when she had to fire the ones who didn’t work out.
    If she got rid of Mitch, there was no one else. Her first order of business would
     be to find someone who could take over the daily operations of the bar. Back in her
     hotel room, she opened her computer and began placing ads. Mitch would be gone by
     the end of the week.

CHAPTER 2
    F our days later, she’d conducted eleven interviews and hired two new managers. They
     were set to start the following day. Between the two people she’d hired, Gary and
     Mike, she’d be spending only slightly more than Mitch was being paid. Now all she
     had to do was fire Mitch. It was probably the worst part of her job.
    She waited until closing, yet another endless night for her. When the last drunk left,
     she called him into the office. “We need to talk.”
    “About what?”
    “I’m letting you go.”
    “What?”
    “You’re fired. The books don’t add up, and while I believe you’ve been skimming, I
     have no proof. I’ll give you two weeks’ severance so you have time to find a new job.”
    He stood in the middle of the cramped office with his mouth hanging open. The creases
     on his face appeared to deepen. His eyes weren’t quite focused, and she wondered how
     much he’d drunk.
    “You can’t fire me.”
    “I can and I did.”
    He wasn’t the first person she’d had to fire, so this conversation was nothing new.
    “Keith hired me. I’ll call him and straighten this out.” He pulled a phone from his
     dirty jeans.
    She hadn’t counted on that. She stood and held up a hand. The last thing she needed
     was Keith getting involved. She wasn’t ready for him to know she was prying into his
     business. “First, he won’t answer his phone at this hour. Florida is an hour later
     than here, and he’s an early-to-bed kind of guy. Second, if you make that call in
     an attempt to go over my head, the severance is off the table. I will bring in a forensic
     accountant to find out exactly how much money you’ve stolen and I’ll prosecute to
     the fullest extent of the law.” She was totally talking out her ass, and she prayed
     he wouldn’t call her on it. Given that he didn’t seem too bright, it appeared her
     threat might work.
    “Three weeks’ pay.”
    Maybe he wasn’t as dumb or drunk as he looked; he wanted to negotiate. “Two and a
     half and you don’t try to collect unemployment.”
    “Fine. I’ll have a job by tomorrow. You have no idea what you’re