"I don't doubt that."
She glanced up. "Looks like that lead to trouble."
"Probably. I'm not good at keeping my opinion to myself, though."
She paused. Warm water rose up her forearms. Instinct told her to ignore the comment. She'd done a good job of staying out of trouble since coming to Hey Joe. It'd been a while since anyone besides Johnny had looked at her that way, though. With some hesitation, she asked, "What's your opinion?"
He squinted at her. "You move around this bar like you've been doing it for years. But something doesn't quite click. I'm wondering how you got here."
"That's easy," she said. "On two legs."
"Then what keeps you here?"
They stared at each other. He didn't look as though he expected an answer, and that was good. She wasn't going to give him one-it was none of his business.
"You think you have me figured out in ten minutes?" Lola asked.
"That's ten minutes longer than it takes me for most people." Beau kept his eyes on her face. "And that has my attention."
"Is it hard to get your attention?"
"It's harder to keep it," he said, without even a threat in his voice that he might take his attention away. Even though neither of them moved, it was as if they were getting closer and closer. "But you, Lola, you're-"
"We're low on change," Johnny said, turning the corner from the back office. "Can you do a bank run Monday?"
Lola plunged her hands deeper into the hot water and fumbled for the sponge. "Sure," she said and wiped her brow with her forearm. "Yeah. I have to make the deposit anyway."
Johnny looked from Lola to Beau.
"This is Beau," she said. "Apparently my little show out front made him thirsty."
Johnny nodded once and shook Beau's hand. "Johnny. Welcome."
"This your bar?"
"Nah. I just manage it with Lola."
"She's modest," he said. "She didn't say she was a manager."
"Assistant manager to my boyfriend." She looked at Beau's empty glass. "Guess you needed that drink. Another?"
Beau reached inside his jacket and took out his wallet. "Looks like it'll be one of those nights. Let me guess … cash only?"
Lola nodded and refilled his drink.
He put some bills on the bar and gestured toward the men he'd arrived with. "For our first round. Everything they order goes on my tab."
Johnny blatantly stared at the cash-stuffed, dark leather wallet in Beau's hand.
"Do they work for you?" Lola asked.
"Not yet. But I want to show them a good time."
"So you brought them here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Hey Joe could definitely be a good time, but it was a lot of other things too, like rough around the edges.
"This is the type of place where they're comfortable," Beau said. "Which is what I'm after. A colleague suggested it, said it's been around a while."
"Only fifty-three years," Johnny said. "It's practically a landmark."
"Longer than I realized," Beau said. "What makes it a landmark?"
"It was the place to be in the sixties and seventies," Johnny said. "Live music drew everyone from bikers and hipsters to actors and movie producers."
"I guess that's why the Hendrix reference."
Johnny nodded. "The owner's dad saw him perform 'Hey Joe' here on the Strip late one night for a small crowd. Apparently it was so magical he named the bar after it. Man, I would've fucking loved to have seen that. Not that I was even born yet, but still."
Beau looked at the microphone on the empty stage. "What happened to the music?"
Johnny shrugged and leaned his hip against the counter. "The club went pay for play in the eighties when Mitch took over. Bands didn't like that, and we lost our cred. Fans followed the music elsewhere."
"How's business now?" Beau asked.
"It's all right. We get acts in here some weekends, but nothing to write home about."
Beau shrugged. "You never know. These days, it's all about the comeback."
"That would be great, but it's not pulling in half of what it used to," Johnny said, shaking his head. "Can't afford to keep the doors open."
Beau glanced up around the bar. "Well, considering its history, and if it's still got some name recognition, he should have no problem selling the place."
"That's the plan. Sell or shut it down."
"Johnny," Lola warned.
"Secret's practically out, babe." Johnny looked at Quartz and the other guys. "It's just those dummies down there who know nothing about anything."