Chapter 5
5
LEO
“ Y ou got my request for the contract?” I ask.
“Everything is in there.”
The room is musty, but it always seems to be. My lawyer is great, but I feel like every single time I come here I end up leaving with itchy eyes. I lean back in the wooden chair, listening to it creek under my weight. I’m not a heavy guy, but I’m absolutely not made for these monstrosities.
“She’s just doing personal assistant work for you, correct?” he asks, looking at me over his oval glasses.
“Yeah, just assistant work.”
“You may have some more paperwork to file down the road, but this should be good for now. The contract and some employment forms.”
“Perfect.”
He claps his hands together in front of him, a questioning look on his face. “Mr. Warner, you’ve been up to a lot lately.”
Here we go.
“Gotta live that life, you know?”
“Yes, you have to live your life, but I’m not going to get any calls asking for me to defend you because of some nonsense, correct?”
I roll my eyes. “Eduardo, you’re good. I’m a good boy, I promise. Never misbehaved in my life.”
He snorts.
“How are your parents?” he asks after a moment, grabbing his cup of cold coffee and taking a sip. He winces, but instead of getting up and leaving me here unsupervised for even a second, he simply takes another sip, his eyes locked on mine.
“They’re fine as always. Mom is trying real hard to get my dad to buy a farm over there.”
Eduardo’s eyebrow raises. “And have you, I don’t know, encouraged this lately?”
My eyes narrow, my arms crossing over my chest.
“I may have sent her some money for her birthday.”
“How much, Leo?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because your father is ripping his hair out. We’ve been friends for decades. I’ve never seen the man so stressed.”
“I gave her enough.”
“Enough for a cow,” he deadpans.
“Yes, enough for a cow. What else would I have bought for her?”
“Earrings?”
I scoff. “Mom has never been an earring person. You should know that, Mr. I’ve-known-them-for-decades.”
Just as he’s opening his mouth to tell me off, there’s a knock on the door, and I turn to find Briar and another woman standing behind it.
Briar, pretty as always, wears a deep blue suit that seems to hug every single curve she has, paired with a pair of white sneakers, of all things. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that woman in a pair of heels.
Her friend hangs a little behind her, but her confidence fills the room. While Briar has quiet confidence that sneaks up on you and freezes you in your spot, I can tell just from the way she walks in that her friend isn’t someone to be fucked with.
Her deep eyes meet mine, immediately narrowing. Something about her is familiar, but I can’t place it. Her dark umber skin seems to sparkle under the terrible, flickering overhead light as she tosses her braids over her shoulder.
“Thank you for meeting us, Ms. Martin,” Eduardo says, getting out of his chair to extend his hand.
“Anything for Ms. Crosby,” Izara says with a smile before her eyes flicker back to mine, shooting me a glare.
I’m not sure what I did, but I’m sure I deserve it.
“You guys ready to go over the contract?” Eduardo asks, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he sits, attempting to pull himself back to his desk about three times before getting back up, adjusting his chair, and trying again.
“Yeah, Ms. Crosby has places to be,” Izara says, sitting at the end of the desk with Briar. Her eyes are on me, her eyes steely. I draw back, wondering what changed in the last few days to make her look like she wants to stab me.
“Here’s the contract we made up,” Eduardo tells them, handing over the manilla folder.
Without a word, Izara opens it, flipping through pages with her perfectly polished nails, her eyes flickering to mine every couple of seconds as if she’s waiting for me to get up and run.
“What’s this about living arrangements?” Izara asks, her eyebrow raised at the same time as Briar flinches a little.
“Leo and I discussed me possibly living there for a little while. Not all the time. I still have my place. I just think it may be safer sometimes.”
Izara’s face stays impassive, her lips pursing as her shoulders square. “Interesting,” she says under her breath .
Twenty minutes later, after all questions were answered, we’re almost done.
“And pay?” Izara asks, looking at me directly.
“Five thousand dollars a week,” I tell her carefully, biting my bottom lip. This is what I’ve been nervous for.
“Excuse me?” Briar asks, her jaw hanging.
“I want to pay you five thousand dollars a week. You’re going to be doing a lot of work.”
She won’t be, but I know what she’s thought of me over the years. I want to help her.
Briar shakes her head, her blonde hair falling out of the delicate messy bun she definitely spent twenty minutes perfecting in the mirror this morning. “That’s way too much, Leo.”
Izara looks at her like she’s crazy for even thinking about turning that down.
“Briar,” she hisses under her breath. “Do you know how much that man makes? Take the money and run.”
Throwing her hands up, Briar opens her mouth to say something before shutting it, her eyes searing holes into the document in front of her. “Leo, that's way too much.”
I shake my head. “No it’s not. And it’s what you’re getting.”
Brown eyes meet mine, her left eyelid twitching just slightly as she fights the urge to look away. The classic Crosby stare. Although intimidating when Owen does it, Briar reminds me of a puppy.
But she’s getting that money whether she likes it or not. Not that I’d force it on her, but all of my employees are paid well. She’s not a special case.
“Briar, you’re going to be doing a lot for me. Training camp is starting in a week, and I’m hardly going to be home. I’m going to be asking you to take care of my place, run some errands, clean, and make dinner so when I come home super late at night, my entire body feeling like it was run over by a truck, I don’t have to cook something. I want to pay you well, okay?”
She slowly blinks as she bites her cheek. A beat passes before she lets out a sigh of resignation, her eyes closing.
“Give me the pen.”