Page 14 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
You didn't live near New York City without having some sort of backup plan for when shit goes down, and I was as prepared as I needed to be. I returned the smile-slash-grimace, making sure to show lots of teeth like a crazy woman, and made a mental note of where my cell phone was. Would I have enough time to grab it and call 911 before these ladies tore me to shreds? Would the local bystanders help a stranger in danger? If these were my last moments, why oh why, didn't I kiss Jax yesterday when I had the chance?
All these questions ran through my brain in the span of a nanosecond, sped along by the three shots of espresso that had been in my coffee cup.
The friendly one stuck out her hand first and calmed my nerves, even if what she was saying was crazy.
"Hi, I'm Esa. You don't know me, but I've heard about you. Mind if we sit?"
"Well--"
Before I could find an excuse for a hasty departure, all four girls found a way to wedge into my table space, blocking my exit. There were only two other chairs and yet all four somehow sat down in unison like they'd practiced that maneuver. I straightened up in my seat, realizing I had a full-scale situation on my hands.
"Ladies. It's lovely to meet you all, but I'm late--" I went to grab my bag off the floor, but the tall one put her hand on my arm, not aggressively, but enough to make me halt my movement.
Glasses Girl cleared her throat. "I think you'd better stay and listen to us for just a moment. It's come to our attention that you've had some business dealings with a good friend of ours and it would behoove you to cease and desist before we have to take further action."
My eyes narrowed and I fought the urge to gag. It was like I was back in one of my father's boardrooms, listening to some lawyer drone on and on in this legal language that nobody understood. I knew just enough to know I'd been threatened. Politely. But threatened nonetheless.
"I think what Brainiac over here is trying to say is that you've been messing with Jax and we don't like that. As civilized ladies, how about we talk this thing out and come to some sort of resolution? Oh, I'm Bailey, by the way." The beautiful woman gestured to Glasses Girl. "That's Hessa. And you met Esa already, so that leaves Brinley, the tall one to your right."
I leaned onto the table, intrigued by their tactics. These women seemed a little crazy, and I liked it. Besides, they knew Jax. Maybe they'd tell me some things I wanted to know. "I'm Sage. Lovely to meet you all. How do you know Jax?"
The friendly one, Esa, jumped in to explain. "My fiancé, Ivan, is Jax' lifeguard supervisor. Hessa is dating Kai, Jax' best friend, also a lifeguard. Brinley is dating Dean, another one of the lifeguards. And Bailey is just here for the drama." They all chuckled and Bailey shrugged, not bothering to the deny it. I wasn't sure I followed all of that, but it sure seemed they knew Jax.
"Well, I did go out on a couple dates with Jax." Bailey put her hand on mine. "But don't worry, that was a long time ago and it never went anywhere."
I sat back, my muddled mind only grabbing onto that last line. "Oh, I'm not involved with Jax. Not like that. I'm just here to buy his property and build a new restaurant."
"Mmmhmm...your pink cheeks say differently." Bailey winked at me.
"Wait a minute. You're gonna tear down The Shack?" Hessa directed her question at me. Her disbelief didn't bode well for my project.
I nodded and rushed to explain. "Yeah, I'm looking to build a new five star restaurant here in HB and that spot is a prime location. The building is tiny, but the actual lot size is perfect for a restaurant and parking lot. Plus you've got the ocean view in front and the harbor view in the back."
"But that building is Jax' whole life," Brinley said quietly, her voice super sweet for a girl with that much muscle.
"Yeah..." My excited smile dropped. Exactly my dilemma. "He told me about it yesterday. I had no idea that it meant so much to him and his family." I looked around the table and all four heads nodded at me. The guilt weighing on my heart increased with each nod.
I bit my lip and accessed the situation. My nose wasn't tingling which led me to believe that this was a good situation, no matter how crazy these ladies were. And when in doubt, I always trusted my gut. Or should I say, my nose.
"Can I tell you ladies something?" I asked, voice just above a whisper.
All four leaned in, creating a huddle around the tiny table.
Here goes nothing. "I have to buy that property and make it into a successful restaurant. Or I lose my father's company." Esa gasped and the girls looked at each other in dismay. "So either way, someone's losing their father's business. And as nice as Jax seems, I'm just not willing to lose this thing."
Bailey's face scrunched up. "What's your last name?"
"Vanderman"
Bailey's eyes grew large. "As in, Vanderman Realty? One of the biggest commercial real estate companies in the U.S.?"
"Yep, that would be the one. Now you see why I don't want to lose this." I wasn't being altogether honest with that statement. I didn't really care about the business. He could leave it to someone else. But the trust fund? That, I wanted. But really, I just met these girls. I wasn't going to go into all the details just yet. You didn't lay all your cards on the table in the first round.
"Damnation, this really is a conundrum." Hessa looked worried. "My boyfriend, Kai, goes way back with Jax. They're both hyper focused on family and tradition. I just can't fathom Jax giving up the place. Not even for your ultimatum."
Esa was shaking her head, like she was lost in thought. "There's gotta be a way around this. Some middle ground that will make you both happy." She broke out into a smile and smacked the table, startling us all. "I know! Let's go for a run tomorrow on the beach and brainstorm. We do our best thinking out there, I promise."
The girls all murmured their agreement, like that would solve everything. She had a point though. I did like to be outside in the fresh air when I did my deep thinking. Maybe these girls weren't so crazy.
"So. What do you say, Sage Vanderman? Wanna join the Beach Squad for a run tomorrow afternoon and figure this thing out?" Esa asked, an eagerness to her face that was oddly endearing.
I stood up, almost dislodging Brinley from her precarious perch on the chair next to me. "Yeah, I'm in. I may regret this later, but my nose is saying go for it."
All four of them looked at me like I was crazy, which was really a ‘pot calling the kettle black’ type of situation. Whatever. Maybe they could help me get my trust fund and keep from booting out Jax and making him hate me forever.
It's always the crazy ones you gotta watch out for. They came up with some really weird ass ideas that sometimes panned out. I should know. I was one of them.
