Page 304 of The Maxwell Brothers
She even got the lease price down to where she wanted it. My woman was a spitfire.
“And thanks, Luke. That inspector was very helpful.”
He nodded. The guy he had look at the place gave Liz some leverage in the negotiation.
My brothers were both silent, which made me suspicious. My family didn’t know how to be silent. At all.
I stopped pressing weights, turning to look at Travis. He was still lifting. Luke stood in the same spot.
“What?” I asked.
Travis put the weight bar down, flashing me a shit-eating grin. “I don’t know about Luke, but I, for one, am wondering if you’re still our brother or a stunt double who looks like him.”
“Nah, it’s still him. He’s got too much insider info,” Luke added.
I groaned in response.
“When is she opening the shop?” Travis asked.
“A couple weeks, give or take,” I replied. It was the beginning of May now, and she wanted to open at the latest by the end of the month.
“I’m gonna be first in line for those donuts.”
“Finally we’re on the same page.” In more ways than one, it seemed. I couldn’t deny that I was happy Travis was moving forward with plans of some sort. I knew it was ridiculous to worry about him. He was a grown-ass man. But I couldn’t slip out of big brother mode easily. Or at all, it seemed.
I’d groomed that side of me for years, and it was here to stay.
And now I had one more person to add to my watchlist, the most important one—Liz.
Over the next week, I split my time between work and checking all of Liz’s permits and the contract. One permit in particular needed renewal.
“I can ask a lawyer to take care of all this stuff. You’ve got like a gazillion cases to take care of,” Liz said the morning my assistant informed me that Malcolm had requested a meeting. We were in my kitchen, eating breakfast at the counter.
I put an arm around her waist, bringing my mouth to her ear. “Babe, you’ve got the best lawyer in Chicago. If I were you, I wouldn’t let him go. Besides, he’s free.”
“And humble.” She laughed, shimmying her hips right against my crotch.
I groaned. “Always. I’ll pull all the strings to get the permit for you as soon as possible.”
She turned around, and I noticed she was biting her lower lip. “Declan, are you sure you want to handle all this?”
“Hell yes.”
“Thanks.”
“What are you going to do about the meeting with Malcolm?” she asked.
“I’ll get to the bottom of what the fuck he wants.”
“That’s my shark lawyer,” she replied with a grin. “I can’t believe Richard already found a replacement for me.”
She’d put in her two weeks’ notice at the catering company and the bar a couple days ago.
“That’s good. Means you’ve got some time to breathe.”
“Too much,” she said. “The new bartender is starting tonight. He’s got a trial shift today and tomorrow, so now I’m completely free.”
“What? Why didn’t you say so?”
