Page 56 of Spar
Chris remained standing. It was his turn to get the first round, and he had a feeling he was going to need something strong. “You mean, since you and Elle are attached at the hip,” he said flatly.
Ryan just grinned happily, the blow not even fazing him. The motherfucker was that happy.
Chris shook his head and stalked up to the bar. “Two shots of Southern Comfort and two Bud Lights.”
Charlie appeared by his side while he waited for the drinks. “We thought we might find you here.”
Chris looked over to the table to see Travis sitting with Ryan.
“You here for the pity party, too?” he mumbled and caught the bartender’s eye. “Two more of each.”
“Nah, tracked you down to tell you the good news.”
Chris shrugged off his pissy mood long enough to see his brother’s excitement. It was contagious — the big, goofy grin on Charlie’s face.
“What good news?”
“I did it. I bought the apartment building. Still some details and a lot of paperwork to iron out, but I did it!” Charlie rambled on excitedly. “Good work on the place, by the way. Your updates really sealed the deal for me.”
Chris stared in shock. “You got Matt to agree to sell the apartment building to you? When did you do all this?”
“Yep. Spent most the day there. The old man tried to play hardball, but I used my master negotiating skills.”
“You mean you offered him more money than he could turn down?”
Charlie smiled even bigger and grabbed a beer as the bartender set them down on the bar.
“Was he sober?”
Charlie shrugged. “As sober as he ever is.”
“How are you going to manage that place and keep up with your real estate business?”
“I’m surprised at you. I figured you knew my plan even before I had it worked out.”
Chris held the beer up to his mouth and waited for Charlie to continue.
Charlie turned and leaned back against the bar. He motioned with his beer at Travis. “Travis needs a job, and we both know he’s not destined for construction.”
Chris couldn’t argue with that.
“Does Travis know the plan?”
Charlie kept right on grinning. “His exact words were,‘Not even if it were the only job in the state of Missouri.’He can’t lay around on your couch forever being a whiny shit head. He’s had a rough couple of years, and now it’s time to pull his shit together.”
Chris tipped the shot back in his mouth and felt the whiskey warm a path from his throat to his stomach. “Hopefully, that’s not the same pep-talk you gave him.”
Charlie picked up his shot and offered cheers to the air. “Nah, I just dangled an apartment in front of him like a carrot. He gobbled it up.” He swallowed the shot and grimaced as he pulled the glass away from his lips.
“An apartment. What the fuck?” Just when Chris thought things were under control, Charlie was always swooping in and mixing it all up. It was infuriating and exhausting.
“Why do you insist on drinking this swill.” Charlie shuddered as he sat the glass down on the bar. “You didn’t really want him crashing at your place forever, did you?”
“You talk like it’s some big imposition. Someone needs to watch out for him. I can’t do that if he’s holed up in an apartment across town.”
“Maybe it’s not an imposition for you, but think of him. No thirty-three-year-old man wants to be shacking up with his little brother.”
“I don’t know.”
