Page 18 of Mayhem
“Are you sure?”Paetyn asked.
“I am. Once I put away the clothes, I will probably crash. The rest of the decorations won’t take me too long.”
“Before we go, we need to load your fingerprint into the security system and set it up on your phone,”Cruz told her.
“How long is that going to take? Can we do it some other time?”Erin questioned.
“Just a few minutes, and no,”Cruz responded.
He would not leave without ensuring the entire security system was up; she could access it and was safe. He heard Erin sigh, and he smirked.
“Come on, Maly. It won’t take long, and we can get it out of the way,”Cruz told her.
She turned to look at him as she walked towards the door. “What does that mean?”
“It depends on how it’s said. In this case, it’s little one,”Cruz responded, approaching her.
“I’m not little.”
He stopped in front of her, looking down into those brown eyes. “If you say so,” he responded.
Erin pursed her lips as she glared at him, and Cruz was tempted to see what they tasted like. Instead, he waited for her. Waiting to see which one of them gave in first, and he knew it wouldn’t be him. Huffing, she turned on her heels and headed towards the living room. He followed her.
Cruz had already gone through the basics of setting her profile up. He had packed everything he needed to add her to the system and brought it inside while they were moving things in. He’d get everything else set up, and then they’d leave her to herself. Cruz knew that she was probably exhausted; moving could do that to anyone, and he wanted her to get as much rest as she could before they made their move.
5
Paetyn 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 toParadise 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."
