11. Indiana
ELEVEN
INDIANA
I walk out to find my friends gathered at the bar, looking down at some papers. Lowen looks up and winks, signaling that he hasn’t said anything about what he just witnessed.
“Hey, guys.”
Kit grins and gives me a nod. “What’s up, Indy? When did you get here?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. I walked. I needed the fresh air today.”
Kit’s grin turns sympathetic. “Did you sleep last night?”
“Not great.” I drag a hand through my hair. “I’ll live though. What’s going on?”
“Oakley dropped off the plans for the second floor. Want to see?”
“I do.” I crowd in and glance down at blueprints that look like lines and squares but nothing else to me.
“He wants to shift the staircase slightly.” Lowen points to the area on the paper. “He says he can do it without compromising the integrity of the structure, but he’ll curve a portion of it, which will give us a slightly wider walkway to the bedrooms.”
“That looks cool,” Jerryn says, leaning against Bane.
“I like it too,” Lowen says. “We’ll also be combining two rooms and, in one case, three rooms to make the suites. So we’ll go from ten bedrooms, a study, a weird nook, and a bathroom on this floor to six large bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. Every room gets a large window to let in light and a decent sized closet. We have to eat some of the existing hall space towards the back, so the shift in the staircase will offset that.”
“Are they equal size rooms?” Ridley asks.
“Not exactly, but it’s less than a fifty square foot difference. I figured it would be fair to let you choose the bedroom selection since it’s your house.”
“It’s our house.” Ridley smiles. “It’s exciting. I really like it.”
“It looks good,” Bane says. “When does it start?”
“Oakley says they can do the kitchen and start upstairs at the same time. Or if we want to add a little to the budget, they can add two extra crew members to get through the reno sooner.”
Ridley nods. “Money’s not a problem. I want it to be perfect and comfortable for everyone.”
“Are you sure?” Lowen asks. “Because it requires upkeep too, and of course, we’ll all contribute to repairs and such, but this is your nest egg.”
“Bane and Jerryn got me set up with some investments that will generate a lot of income for me, so I’m good.”
Lowen nods, glancing across the bar at Oakley directing some of his workers. The guy who was talking to Salem earlier is earnestly studying the column in the middle of the floor, and a prickle of annoyance raises the hair on the back of my neck. There’s something I don’t like about him, and I think it’s deeper than him hitting on Salem .
“Earth to Indy?”
Kit’s teasing draws my attention back to my friends. “Yeah?”
“You didn’t hear us talking to you?”
I shake my head. “No, sorry. I was watching the guys over there.”
“We were voting on approving the plans,” Lowen says. “Are you in?”
“Oh, yeah. They look really good.”
“Good. I’ll let Oakley know.”
Lowen saunters off just as Salem appears in the hallway. He’s all put together again, his lips shiny with gloss and cheeks a pretty pink. Damn, this man. I don’t think I could walk away yet if I tried. Actually, I have tried.
I was all set this morning to put my guard up and give him space, but the minute I saw that dude talking to him with that flirty fucking smile and predatory stance, my hackles went up, and all my brain said was “mine.” So much for chill.
Salem is addictive and I need another hit. I can convince him that we can ride this attraction wave a little longer until we’re both done with it.
“Hey,” he says softly. “Did Jack talk to you again?”
“About what?”
“Anything.”
“Uh, no. He hasn’t spoken to me.”
“Shocking, given how nice and approachable you were in the office.” He smiles, but the sarcastic bite in his tone makes my cock twitch.
Just a second later, Lowen calls my name, gesturing for me to come over.
“One sec,” I say to Salem.
“What’s up?” I ask, glaring at Jack, who quickly looks at the ceiling.
“It’s about this column,” Oakley explains. “This is the area we’re expanding for the outdoor seating.”
“Right.”
“So this is load bearing. We can keep it where it is, or we can remove it, but we’ll have to reinforce the structure with a beam. For one this size, it’ll run about eight grand.”
“I think we should do it,” Lowen says. “The column is an eyesore and will disrupt the flow. I just wanted a second opinion.”
“I agree with you. We want it to be inviting.”
Oakley writes something down on his clipboard. “Did you guys decide on the kitchen expansion?”
“For the house?” I ask.
“No, here. You were still on the fence about serving food.”
“Right. Give me until tomorrow?”
Oakley nods. “No rush. We’ve got a week or two before we need to start ordering materials if we’re gonna do it.”
“Perfect.”
“Excuse me.”
Me and Lowen both turn to look at Salem.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know I was heading out to go into the city.”
“For what?” Lowen asks.
“Restaurant supplies. I have several places I want to check out for their barware.”
Lowen’s face lights up. “Oh, a shopping field trip. Mind if I tag along?”
Salem’s brow furrows. “No, not at all, but it’s kind of grunt work, isn’t it?”
“Trust me, nothing I do is grunt work.” He hooks his arm through Salem’s. “Come along. ”
“Hey, Low,” Kit says. “Can you pick up some donuts from Gidget’s?”
“Excellent idea. We sure can.”
I watch Low and Salem walk outside, and when I turn around, Jack is watching too. I clear my throat to get his attention, and he startles, his cheeks turning red.
Do I have any right to cockblock Salem from any guy he wants? Nope. Does that mean I won’t? Also no.