Page 18 of Secret Billionaire

She put her hand on his back, peering over his shoulder. “Strange. And all those canned goods. Think I could serve them at the bar?”

“Ha! This is an old building. Think about the prohibition days. Smuggling, rum runners, they’d need a place to stash their booze.”

“It could even have been a supply storage area. Depression-era hoarding,” she said.

“Could be. I think we should use this statue in the bar somewhere. It’s cool, looks vintage,” Jesse said. “You’re artistic. You could paint it to match the rest of your wild color scheme.”

“That’s a great idea. I just don’t see having the time to take that on with everything else. I’ll call Amy, an artist friend of mine, and see if she’ll paint it for me.” She frowned, “If it’s an antique I wouldn’t want to ruin it though.”

“I don’t think it’s worth much, looks like an ordinary old clay figurine of some Mayan God. Next problem, how to lift the damn thing out of here. I’m going to have to round up another guy to help me. It must weigh over a hundred pounds.”

“This is so exciting…and mysterious. Makes me want to go on a fact-finding mission about the history of this place. Too bad I don’t have the time.”

“That could be a future project, maybe in five years or so,” he said, chuckling.

Faye reached in and ran her hands over the decorative statue. A sudden chill ran down her spine and she shivered.

“You cold? Here, take my jacket. I’ve worked up a sweat, I don’t need it anymore.”

He held it for her while she slipped her arms into the sleeves. She leaned her head back looking over her shoulder at him, “Thank you.”

“Anytime. By the way, thanks for the coffee.”

“I’ve got cinnamon rolls inside.”

“Sold!” He jumped back out of the hole and gave her a hand up. Grabbing their coffees, he beat her inside to the pastries.

He was already sitting at the bar ready to take his first bite by the time she sat down. “Hungry?” she asked.

“Always. I’ve got to keep up my strength.”

“For sure, because as you know, I’ve got a mile-long honey-do list for you. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to snag you.”

His gorgeous caramel eyes crinkled as he bit into the pastry. “Maybe you should wait until the works done before you get all excited.”

“I still can’t believe you found the time to work me in. Every other place was booked up for the next year. I promise to promote you like crazy after you’re done here.”

He choked on his roll and grabbed the coffee to wash it down. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Good thing you came along to rescue me then isn’t it?”

“Don’t be modest! You’re the one who rescued me! I’m just glad to be able to help you out as well as benefit myself. Winning!” He put his hands behind his head, triceps flexed and defined, and looked at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she interrupted him, “I am so curious about that statue! Who do you think put it there?”

“I have no clue.”

“It brings out my inner detective.”

“Well Nancy Drew, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. I’ll see if I can round up someone to help me get it out of there sometime today.”

“Do you have someone that can help?” she asked.

He glanced down as if considering her question then said, “I’m sure I can round someone up.”

“That’s good then. My bro…friend Griffin might be able to help but he’s not much into manual labor. He’d rather get his workouts in the gym or by playing hard.”

“No offense, but he did look a little highfalutin. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. What’s on your docket this morning?” he asked.

“If you don’t need my help right now, I thought I’d go into town and buy some paint for the back wall that got defaced.”

Standing he said, “I won’t be needing you this morning…not for labor anyway.”

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