Page 281 of As The Shifter World Turns

We were skeptical it would work and that we would have to knock on the door and kind of peer pressure him into coming up, making this twice as difficult. But Brax was all in, going so far as to double check if he should bring anything. Either he knew we were up to something or it was going to be easy to get information out of him.

Only time would tell.

Most everyone was already on the roof when we got up there. Someone had music playing, things were set out for when the food got here, and there were three coolers full of beer.

“That’s a lot of alcohol,” I teased as I set the chips down.

“I wasn’t sure what people would like so I bought some of everything.” Ivor held up his soda. “And some drinks for those still feeding their little ones and not wanting to pump and dump.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but had a feeling I didn’t want to either and just gave a nod of agreement.

Daire had already hit up the coolers and handed me a beer. “Let’s find a seat.”

The chairs were all set in a circle with a fire pit in the middle. The nights weren’t particularly cool yet, but the bugs were starting to come out and fire pits had a way of keeping them out of our hair. And besides, it looked pretty.

“When’s the meeting starting?” Brax grumbled, leaning back in his seat. “I got places to be.”

“Oh, another job interview?” Archer asked, an innocent look on his face. “On a Friday night? That must be some amazing job.” Brax squirmed and a spot of pink appeared on each cheek. “What we’re going to discuss is pretty dry business-related ideas. Probably very different from your line of work.”

He gave Brax an opening to say what his job was, but the guy didn’t spill.

“It’s fine,” Micah said, sitting across from him. “You don’t have to stick around for the meeting.”

Micah and Archer were much better at this than I was. Their comments had Brax sitting up straight and saying he was interested in reality shows. “Might even get into the business myself one day.” He continued by telling us how much he’d learned since visiting the motel and watching the filming.

I’ll bet you have you sneaky so and so.

We chatted about the weather and bugs and nothing of significance as we waited for the sandwiches to arrive. Brax kept checking the time and Micah offered him a beer and another. And another.Unlike Daire who could down far more alcohol than that before becoming tipsy, Brax was slurring his words and was not impressed at having to wait for food.

“I remember sitting on this roof with my dads when I was younger,” Daire mused. “They were having a tough time because they were being sued and I was trying to tell funny stories and make them laugh.”

“Meh,” Brax said into his drink. “They and you had all this.” He waved his hand around indicating the manor. “And a beach house and an estate at the lake.”

“It wasn’t handed to them,” Daire harrumphed. “They worked for it.”

Brax downed another beer until the delivery person messaged.

Daire went with Micah to grab the food.

“Must be nice.” Brax watched them leave.

“What’s that?” Neil asked as he eyed the drink in Brax’s hand.

I understood why Neil hadn’t wanted the guy to be drunk and spill the deets of his little scheme. When confronted with what he’d admitted—if he said anything—he could claim it was the drink talking.

“Having people do things for you.”

“Perhaps it’s time you found a mate,” Neil said. He and Martin had had tough times but were finally working things out.

“What I need is new freaking parents.” Brax reached for another beer but Neil put a hand out to stop him. Brax ignored him and got another one anyway.

He was quickly moving into getting drunk as a skunk. I hated the guy but I didn’t want him passed out or dead. If he kept going at this rate, we were going to have to shut him off and that might lead to a shouting match.

Daire squeezed my shoulder. I hadn’t even heard him come back. “Dinner’s here.”

The subs were delicious and with us all sitting around the fire eating, we decided to start the meeting early. There was no way Brax was gonna make it all night the way he was going.

“Grabbing a beer. Anyone want?” Brax said after Daire asked if everyone was ready to discuss the new ideas.

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