5
P aetyn leaned against the wall as he watched Nik survey the building. It was a nice-sized space and would have plenty of room for the purpose it was supposed to serve. Natural light streamed in from the large windows at the front, making the space bright. There was a large room to the right and a bathroom and emergency door at the back.
They'd been headed to Paradise 826 . Nik wanted to change his menu a bit, and once he'd decided on a few new dishes, he'd ask Paetyn to show his chefs how to prepare them. They stopped to look at the building on the way.
"If this isn't enough room, the space next door was just vacated and is a few square feet larger. We haven't put it up for rent yet, but it is also available," Richard, the broker showing the property, stated.
That piqued Paetyn's interest. When they pulled up, he hadn't been paying much attention to the building, so he wasn't aware that two separate areas were within the same building. However, he shouldn't have been surprised; buildings in that particular area of the city were that way for building owners to maximize rental potential.
"Can we see it?" Paetyn questioned.
Richard nodded, leading them out of the current space and to a door on the right. He unlocked it, turned on the light, and stepped aside to allow them in.
Paetyn looked around, and it was slightly bigger than its neighbor, but not enough for it to matter much. It was inverted from the space on the left. It still housed a large room to the side, with the bathroom and emergency exit at the back—the natural light streaming through the windows.
Approaching the room, Paetyn opened the door to see exactly how big it was and if he could envision how it should be set up.
"What do you think?" Richard inquired. "Would you be interested in renting it?"
"I was hoping you'd be willing to sell it,"Nik responded.
"Our company just acquired the building six months ago. I'm not sure my boss is willing to sell it."
"I'll purchase it for what you paid, plus twenty-five percent,"Nik offered.
Paetyn could tell that the offer caught Richard off guard, but he knew this building was the perfect location. Alijah's gallery was just three blocks away, so when the three women worked in their respective buildings, they'd be close, and the area was safe.
Paetyn pulled out his phone and brought up the scout website to see how much the property had been requisitioned for. He typed in the address, and when it came up, he lifted a brow. They bought the building for next to nothing from the bank that foreclosed on it due to the previous owner's inability to make the payments.
"I'd have to ask my boss,"Richard responded.
"When you speak to them, tell them we'll pay double what you spent on it."Paetyn threw out, knowing that the building was worth more than even that. "You can call Nik when you have an answer."
"Of course,"Richard said, shaking both hands. "I'll be in touch."
The three men exited the building, andNik and Paetyn went to Nik's car.
"When they accept the offer, let me know. I'll wire half of it into your payout account," Paetyn informed his friend.
Paetyn was sure they all had several accounts. However, he and Nik had an account dedicated just to their payouts from the percentages they owned in Cruz and Kieran's companies.
"I take it you want to set up a tattoo studio for Erin,"Nik said as he made a left.
"Yes. Cruz and I discussed it when she told us she was moving to town. I'm sure she'd try to use the second bedroom as a studio, as Chayse did, but Chayse was taking pictures of people she knew. Having strangers traipse in and out isn't safe."
"I agree with you. Even though people she knows or thinks she knows could be just as dangerous as people shedoesn't."
Paetyn knew that Nik was referring to Micah. If given the chance, he knew his friend wouldn't hesitate to put his hands on him again, and Paetyn couldn't blame him. Sometimes crazy people needed multiple ass-whoopings before they learned their lesson, and after being told everything that happened, Paetyn was sure Micah was. Any person that would lie to their parents and introduce their ex to them as their current girlfriend and manipulate them to get them there with veiled health concerns was a sure-fire sign that they weren't all there.
When they pulled up in front of Paradise 826, they entered through the back door into the kitchen, where Nik's chefs were already waiting. Since the menu wasn't extensive, coupled with the capacity of the lounge, Paetyn had helped him hire four chefs in different positions.
Once greetings went around, Nik pulled up the two main dishes and one dessert he wanted to add to the menu. The dessert would be a specialty item, along with one of the main dishes, for a while. He hadn't told Paetyn what they were when he'd asked him to show his chefs how to cook it.
"You can cook these, right?"Nik questioned, and Paetyn cut green eyes at him, causing Nik to laugh. "I'm just fucking with you, Mr. Culinary Genius."
Paetyn rolled his eyes. Leave it to Nik to quote articles when he wanted to bother Paetyn. Instead of responding, he went to the sink and washed his hands. This would take a few hours. More if the chefs were unable to get it the first time.
As Paetyn went through showing the chefs how to make the main dishes, he constantly had to keep Nik from trying to eat whatever he could as it was being prepared. However, he noticed that Nik was paying close attention. Paetyn knew that he might also be teaching Nik to make it at a later date.
The dessert was the last thing they worked on, and everything went well until they were taken out of the oven. All of them except for Paetyn's fell. They tried it again, and only two of the chef's desserts fell this time.
This time, Paetyn watched them prepare it one at a time to see what they were doing wrong. They were making individual servings of the dessert, so with prep and cook time, it only took eighteen minutes to make.
As Paetyn watched them, it turned out that they were whisking it too hard instead of fluffing it. This time, when they came out, they were perfect.
While the chefs and Nik enjoyed the food, Paetyn put the recipes with the tweaks he'd made into the tablet they used in case they forgot how to make something. The one Nik had chosen was good, but Paetyn knew that the small changes he'd made to it made it better. So, he wanted to ensure they had it.
When they finished eating, the chefs thanked Paetyn for coming out, to which he told them it was no problem before he and Nik left. When Nik called him, he'd been at Aficionado , so they headed back there.
Once they pulled into his restaurant's parking lot, the men said their goodbyes, and Paetyn decided to head to one of his favorite little shops. He had something he needed to pick up.
C ruz hung up the phone and leaned back in his seat. As good as the business opportunity was, it gave him a headache. He knew it would be challenging when he decided to go into security and try to break the mold with a security system thatcouldn'tbe rivaled. However, when he came across potential clients like the one he'd just gotten off the phone, it always made him regret it for a millisecond.
Clients often wanted Cruz to install the devices personally or oversee them as the technician did. Cruz didn't have time for that. He installed the ones he wanted to and the ones he needed to himself. Outside of those, Cruz allowed his technicians to do their jobs.
He didn't have one technician whose training reports and videos he didn't look over himself before certifying and hiring them, and his scouts made sure to set up at the technical colleges in the state and surrounding states every career fair they had.
While this new client was the owner of a casino that was opening in several months and wanted an entire setup of his security system, Cruz didn't plan on doing it himself. He would make an appearance or two because with larger clients, sometimes just seeing his face tended to appease them. He would assign several of his lead technicians to do the installation.
Cruz was tired of the day and ready for it to be over. He knew that was mainly due in part to the fact that tomorrow, they'd be making their attraction known to Erin if she hadn't figured it out for some reason. Typically, they made this clear to the woman they were pursuing together, but Cruz wasn't sure his patience would allow him to talk to her about it when he wanted to act on it.
They'd chosen Wednesday to tell her because Cruz typically worked a short day in the middle of the week. He spent that entire time in the technology lab, hands-on with software development and engineering. To him, there was no point in having two degrees if he wouldn't use them both.
Cruz picked up his phone and went to his contacts. He scrolled to Erin's name, well, Ma?y since that was what he had her saved as. His finger hovered over her name momentarily before exiting his contacts and locking his phone back. He decided to wait until after he'd left work to check in and see how she was settling in. It'd only been three days since they'd moved her things in, and they both decided to give her time to enjoy her new place by herself for a little bit.
Looking at the time, Cruz found that it was a quarter past four. He didn't have any more meetings and could answer whatever emails he received the rest of the day from his phone or laptop. So, he decided to leave early.
Cruz shut everything down, grabbed his phone, and left his office. He placed his thumb on the reader and locked his office door. He threw his hand up in a wave to his assistant and went to the elevator.
Once on the first floor, Cruz nodded at the two security guards sitting at the desk. They were the only ones who could be seen, but at any given time, there were six security guards on the first floor and two on all the others. He kept more in the tech development lab because you could never be too careful in his line of work.
Even his control room required two people to access it, and the only two people who could were himself and Paetyn. So, if Cruz wanted to check it or run diagnostics, he had to confirm Paetyn was available and their body temperatures were normal. Too high or too low, and the readers wouldn't register.
Cruz slid into his car and texted Paetyn, asking him if he wanted takeout before pulling out of the parking lot. He received a message as he was driving and pressed the button on his steering wheel to have it read to him.
Cruz called in an order for Italian food, knowing it would be ready when he arrived. It was one of his favorite places to get Italian food when he didn't feel like making it himself or asking Paetyn to make it.
Fifty minutes after placing the order, Cruz pulled into the driveway, parking in his spot in the garage. He put his finger on the reader and entered, placing the food on the island in the middle of the kitchen.
Cruz went yelling up the stairs. "Paet!"With that, he turned and headed back towards the kitchen.
A couple of minutes later, Cruz was already making his plate when Paetyn walked into the kitchen.
"You could have sent a text or called me. You didn't have to yell."
Cruz snorted. "You sound like an old man scolding a child. Besides, it's just us in the house. So, I'm not disturbing anyone else."
Cruz listened to Paetyn hum in agreement before grabbing a plate himself."We should add security consoles in the rooms to act as intercoms."
"You want to use consoles worth thousands of dollars for simple intercoms?"Cruz questioned, grabbing a fork and going around to sit on one of the stools. It wasn't that they couldn't. As it stands now, several of his security models used two-way microphones. "We could just have regular ones installed if you want them, and this isn't a whim because I was yelling."
Paetyn finished making his plate, came around, and sat beside him. "We could, but we both know you won't let anyone else wire something into the house."
Cruz shrugged because Paetyn was right. He'd naturally installed and set up the security system in their house the same way he did in all of their businesses, Nik's and Kieran's included. So, if Paetyn brought it up again, without Cruz yelling in the house, he'd look into it.
"I'm going to text Erin tonight and ask her if we can stop by tomorrow,"Paetyn said after swallowing some pasta.
Cruz nodded. If she was free, they would go over to her apartment. It was better if they were on her turf when they told her. She'd feel more comfortable there, and she could put them out if she didn't want to hear what they had to say or if they overstepped. He had the distinct feeling that Erin would try to put them in their place regardless of where they were.
He glanced at his watch and found it was a little after five. Cruz knew tomorrow afternoon wouldn't come around soon enough.
“S o, tell me. How was Nik's birthday celebration?"Erin asked as she tucked her leg under her on the sofa.
Chayse smirked at her. "We enjoyed it. It sort of felt like my birthday as well."
Erin laughed. "I'm sure you did."She took a drink from her wine glass. "How's living with Nik?"
"Is it weird that it doesn't feel much different?"Chayse questioned."At some point in our relationship, I was either at his place for days at a time, orthere may have been a day between, and then he was at my place for days at a time. I don't have that day in between, and I couldn't be happier. Granted, it's been barely a week. So, who knows."Chayse finished with a shrug and a smirk.
Erin shook her head at her friend. She didn't see Chayse or Nik getting tired of living with one another. They were sickeningly cute and head over heels for each other. Erin was sure they belonged in some cheesy romance movie, but it was fun to watch her friend be happy—both of her friends, really.
The two fell into silence as Erin refocused her attention on the television. They were watching some game show. It was the first time Erin had ever seen it, but she had a feeling that if it somehow made it past the first, it wouldn't have too many seasons.
"Hey, End,"Chayse called after a while, gaining her attention. Erin playfully rolled her eyes at her. "Thank you."
Erin furrowed her eyebrows. "For what?"
"You know."
"If I did, I wouldn't be asking, though I'm sure there are several things you should thank me for," she joked with a smile.
Chayse sat her glass on the coffee table, turning her body towards her. "For being patient with me all those years ago. For showing me how a relationship was supposed to be. I don't think I'd have what I have now with Nik if youhadn't, and even though I almost screwed up our friendship, I never thanked youfor healing me."
Erin felt her stomach tighten, and she brought her wine glass to her lips. She needed a minute to collect her thoughts, to let what Chayse said sink in because they seldom did this. They didn't talk about their past together without some playful undertone, and for a while, they hadn't spoken about it at all. It had been what Erin needed to get over her, and Chayse understood that.
Honestly, at this point in their lives, it didn't matter because Erin had gotten over those feelings years ago. She loved Chayse, and she had a special place in Erin's heart. But she wasn't in love with her anymore, and because of that, she didn't think either of them would need to bring up their past. She hadn't expected Chayse to thank her because Erin hadn't looked at it like a job or a chore.
Erin smiled softly at her. "I can't take all the credit. You've dated people after me, before Nik."
"Not like this. Nothing after you or before him was like this,"Chayse propped her elbow up on the back of the couch, resting her cheek on her fist. "So, thank you."
Erin took another drink from her glass, changing the subject because she didn't need gratitude for what they once shared. "Have you talked to Alijah?"
Chayse was quiet for a minute. "No, I haven't. I want her to enjoy her time with Kieran. Besides, their two weeks are up soon, and they'll be back Friday morning."
"I thought their honeymoon was three weeks."
"It is.They'rereturning, but I don't think they're returning to work. It works out, though, since Nik insists we have a "we live together now"housewarming."
"I like his style,"Erin responded with a laugh. Over the past couple of years, she'd noticed that they had similar personality traits, and that was definitely something she would do. “You know what? I think I need to have my own little housewarming in a few weeks," Erin tacked on with a smirk.
Her phone vibrated on the table, and she picked it up and looked at it. Seeing that it was a text message from Paetyn.
Paetyn: Hey, I hope you had a good day and you're settling in well. Are you free tomorrow at around one?
Erin: It was pretty uneventful. I'm sure yours was more exciting. I should be free. What's up?
Erin returned her phone to the table, returning her attention to Chayse. "My bad, that was Paetyn."
Chayse smirked at her. "Oh, was it now?"Erin lifted an eyebrow at her. "Speaking of Paetyn and pulling in Cruz, what's going on there?" Chayse inquired.
"What about them?"
"Seriously?"Chayse asked. "I'm talking about you flirting with them at Nik's birthday dinner, and yes. I know your usual aura says flirting, but I know you, and this was…something else. Not to mention the pool incident when we were at their house, the fact that Paetyn did not have to run his hands down your arms like that when he was helping you at the gun range, and I'm pretty sure I heard Cruz say he'd be your daddy when we played the men in basketball. And then there was Thanksgiving."
Erin stared at Chayse because sometimes, her friend was far too observant. Yes, Erin had noticed all those things, and she'd ignored them because she figured they were just being flirts like Nik had been before he started dating Chayse. She ignored them because what would any of them gain from the two of them flirting with her except for someone being the odd person out. Erin knew it would be her. Because while she didn't back down from too many things, coming between friends was one of them.
She'dbeen very content with brushing those actions off. That is, until Alijah's wedding. Cruz made it very hard for her to try to brush that aside. Then, all the little things that happened when they were helping her move. Even though she did not want to speak up first, his not bringing it up didn't bother her. But she still could not forget it and decided to say something in the long run.
Before she could respond to Chayse, her phone vibrated against the table again.
Paetyn: Are you okay with Cruz and I stopping by?
Erin: Sure. That's fine. I'll see you both tomorrow.
When Erin returned her attention to Chayse, she found the other woman smirking at her. But she didn't say anything. She picked up her wine glass and tipped it in Erin's direction before focusing on the television.
Paetyn: See you tomorrow, Angel.
Erin looked at the message for a few seconds longer before putting her phone back down. She didn't mind them coming over tomorrow. She considered them both friends at this point, so their wanting to visit wasn't all that odd. However, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about why.