Page 14 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
“I know you had a cleaning lady,” Madison said, no heat in her voice. “Kyle, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t see you cleaning anything.”
Which was another reason the current arrangement was driving him nuts.He was sharing a bathroom with two other guys!To his mind, the woman who cleaned Nanine’s house couldn’t clean often enough given the number of people now living there. “I could if I had to, but when I can pay someone else to do it—someone who probably wants the job—then that’s my go-to. How would you feel if we found a bigger place?”
The sparkle in her eyes went out. Just. Like. That. He wanted to curse.
“I would say you and Brooke and Dean should talk. Maybe Sawyer too—although I don’t have a good sense about how flush he is. Thea will be moving in with Jean Luc formally when they get married. I, however, do not have the funds to buy an apartment in Paris with you guys—”
“What if the new place was simply an extension of The Paris Roommates Group?” His heart paused a beat.
“You’re leaving out the part where I would be living in a place that I wouldn’t be contributing to.” Her mouth was tight now. “I pay my way. Always.”
“Why are you okay with accepting room and board here and not at a bigger place with the same people?” he pressed.
She ticked off the reasons on her fingers. “Because I’m just not! But that shouldn’t stop any of you from moving to bigger digs if you want.”
His heart was pounding again. He wasn’t going to leave without her. She was part of them. Maybe the most important part.
“Although I’m not sure whether Brooke will leave Nanine,” she continued. “Brooke’s always spent a ton of time in Paris, and she can afford a place of her own. But she’s always stayed with Nanine when she’s here. And with Nanine’s health, she’ll want to be on-site to mother hen her.”
He’d wondered about that too, and the talk of Nanine’s health refocused him. “Which Nanine hates, but you’re right. Brooke might not want to move. But what if I mentioned that I was thinking about expanding the restaurant to the upper floors?”
She grabbed his hand and tried to smack herself with it. “Why don’t you hit me upside the head and get it over with? Are you kidding? We’re trying to reopen Nanine’s at the end of November,and you want to start an expansion project?”
He took her hands, which earned him a stern look. “Hear me out. I’ve done my research on Nanine’s seating over the last ten years. She’s nearly always full. Anecdotally, they turn away anywhere from five to ten additional parties each night during tourist season—which is nonstop mostly now. We could increase profits—”
“But it’s upstairs, Kyle.” She glanced over her shoulder at the hallway. “Treacherous stairs, I might add. If we have a waiter going up and a guest coming down, we’d have a logjam.”
“A dumbwaiter would solve that.”
Her look could have frozen water.
“Other restaurants in Paris have this problem, and they work it out successfully.”
She pulled out of his grip and put one hand to her mouth, clearly thinking. “This is about more than profit, isn’t it?”
Her gaze pinned him to his seat. She knew him too well. “I tried to tell Nanine she could enclose these two floors and make two apartments and sell them, but she wasn’t comfortable with the idea. You know she’s going to want to see the books at some point.”
“Which will lead to her feeling bad about all the money being invested in the restaurant.” She let out a snarl. “She knows The Paris Roommates Group is a serious investor. But dammit, you’re right. She’ll want to contribute more, especially since she feels guilty for being scammed. An expanded Nanine’s would bring in more profit.”
“We also can’t all continue living here,” he reasoned, “and I thought the place would feel less empty if both the Boys’ and Girls’ Floors were suddenly dedicated to the restaurant. Madison, she’s never expanded because she and Bernard didn’t have that kind of money after he bought the entire building. I asked. After he passed, it wasn’t possible for her to secure the loan.”
That had her biting her lip. “That changes things. If she’s thought about expanding but couldn’t before, then we should consider it.” She flung herself back on the couch. “Great! Now I’m imagining pissed-off lunch customers who love the food but complain about the renovation noise. Rightfully so.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “But with this renovation, we wouldn’t have to serve lunch anymore. Nanine’s could become a dinner-only establishment. I’ve run the numbers.”
She blinked a few times, resembling a pissed-off owl. “But why would we do that? Nanine’s has always served lunch and dinner.”
“Maybe because I don’t want you working like a dog all day like that. Maybe I don’t want you to have a heart attack like Nanine at fifty-nine because you’ve worked anywhere from ten in the morning to midnight five or six days a week. That’s—”
“Kyle, I know how many hours that is.” She gently patted him on the cheek before dropping her hand quickly. “You’re sweet to be concerned. But that’s the restaurant business.”
He couldn’t suppress his growl. “Dammit, I’m in the restaurant business. But I also believe a Michelin-starred restaurant can command higher prices and only serve a dinner menu.”
“Kyle, even the three-star gold standards like Le Bernardin and Arpège serve lunch.” She made a move to pat his cheek again, but he took her wrist.
“And maybe I want to hang out with one of my favorite roommates more than a couple of hours a week.” Something dangerous and hot was filling his belly. “I’m sure the others agree. Because the restaurant isn’t even open yet and you’re always working. Have you ever thought of that?”
She carefully extracted her wrist and tucked her hand tightly against her side. “I love to work, and the kind of excellence we’re shooting for involves long hours.”
