Page 77 of Stolen Kiss

“Oh shit. What does Remi want now?” Jason asked.

“Not Remi. Edward Hall,” Stan said.

All of them including Stan looked to the ceiling.

They all dropped down from the table, one by one. Archer folded his arms across his chest, Luke shoved his hands in his pocket. Daisy reached for her phone and Erica took a long sip of her coffee. Jason flipped his menu folder shut. The slap echoed across the kitchen.

“What about Edward Hall?” Archer asked.

“The rooms are not up to spec.”

“Which inspection failed?” Jason asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“All of them,” Stan answered and took a full step back.

“What?” Archer asked.

“Name the top three,” Luke said.

“Health & Safety quoted emergency access, the electrics and accessible access.”

“Fuck,” Luke said.

“When are they coming back?”

“They said the new year, but I explained we need to have a pass for Christmas Eve, so they’ve agreed to come back on 20thDecember.”

“How much?” Daisy asked, stuffing a third cookie in her mouth while Stan another full step back. He was almost the door he came through.

“Half a million,” he said and looked to the door and then to the cookies. Jason thought he was going to make a grab for them and run out of the building.

Archer, Erica, Jason, Luke and Daisy were silent staring at Stan.

“When were they last inspected?” Erica asked.

Good question, Jason thought. All he could think about was none of them had that kind of money, even if they pooled their money and sold everything they owned. Then he briefly thought about the Turner ring he had in his sock drawer. That was easily a million. Would Mrs Diamond have that kind of cash, he wondered.

“The paperwork they came with said nine years. They inspect every two years so I’m assuming your aunt told them not to bother seven years ago because she had no intention of keeping the business open. There are quite a few laws that have changed in that time and where this building only barely passed on the last inspection, it doesn’t have a hope right now.”

Jason bent down, one hand flat on the counter top and the other was rooting around underneath. He stopped moving and brought a bottle of rum up and twisted off the cork. He then opened the lid of his coffee mug and tipped a double shot in. “I’ll take that coffee now,” Stan said, eyeing the bottle of dark rum.

“I’ll pay,” Erica said.

“What?” Archer said.

“I’ll pay. Make me a partner in the business and I can deposit a loan into the business. Then you’ll have the money you need to get this building up to scratch.”

She was all business about her proposal. Daisy perked up, going back to her phone.

“You can’t do that, it’s too much,” Jason said.

“I’m family now, right?” she asked and Archer smiled, moving to her side to kiss her temple.

“You are, honey,” Archer said.

“So let me do this. It’s your business so you can bring whoever you want in to improve it. Your aunt doesn’t have a say. We have it all done professionally like I’m investing in a start-up.”

“It could work,” Luke said.

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