Henry’s eyes light up. “Absolutely. You help me out with wedding bullshit, I’ll help you out by investing.”
Just what I wanted to hear. And besides, I need to find a reason not to like Kiki. Maybe if I spend more time with her I’ll see how perfect she is for Henry, and I’ll be able to stop with this little fantasy obsession I have about her. “Perfect, then I’m your man,” I hear myself say before I’ve fully thought it through.
Henry’s eyes light up. “Really? I love this.” He shakes my hand.
I shrug. “Why not, I’ve got a little time on my hands.” The brewery is top priority, so what’s a few hours here and there so I can get this Kiki out of my mind and possibly garner points with Henry to put The Bearded Goat into the ‘exclusive’ category.
Henry pats me on the back. “I really appreciate it.” He nods toward the girls. “That Lola is pretty, huh?”
I take a swig of my beer. “Sure.” I couldn’t even tell you Lola’s eye color. But I can tell you how Kiki’s are the color of caramel with golden flecks around the iris. Ridiculous, I know.
The girls stop dancing and rejoin us. Henry kisses Kiki on the cheek. It’s a little odd to me that they aren’t a touchy-feely kind of couple. My mind suddenly transports to the other day when my lips were on hers. I set my beer down. “I’ll be back.” I have to get away from her for a minute.
I head off in search of the restroom, so I can clear my head.
Before I can even make it to the back of the place, there’s a tap on my shoulder. I spin around and am met by those hypnotizing eyes of Kiki’s.
Does she even know how pretty her eyes are?
“Henry just told me you’ll be helping me pick out flowers. I just wanted to let you know that I don’t need your help.”
I cross my arms. “That so?”
“Yes.” She nods. “Furthermore, I don’t think you and I should be hanging around one another.”
“I disagree.” How else am I supposed to woo Henry?
“What?” Her cute little button nose turns up in disgust. “I don’t need you.”
I step closer, so a man can get by us in the narrow hallway. Kiki’s back presses against the wall and her eyes challenge mine. “I think you’ll need me.” I don’t mean to sound so sexual, but my god, she’s making this so hard. I mean, difficult.
“You’re a flower guru, huh?”
I laugh. “Flower whisperer. Come on. Let me help you.”
She purses her lips together. Those same lips I kissed and can’t stop thinking about. “Ok, fine. But don’t think I’m going to get whatever kind of flowers you pick.”
I wink. “We’ll see.” And I hope she does. I need to get past these feelings of wanting her.
On Monday, I head over to Bearded Goat Brewery, to finally have a face to face with Urban to discuss the possibility of Henry’s firm.
Urban looks up from the papers on his desk when I enter his office. “Time to talk, big brother,” I say with a grin.
“Ellis, so good to see you, man.” He stands and pulls me in for a hug. “I might shed a tear,” he jokes.
“Careful, might lose that badass reputation you have,” I tease him.
“I’m secure in my manhood,” he says, releasing me and resuming his seat.
I’ll admit, I’ve missed my brother.
Normally, I wait until he comes to Atlanta, because I don’t come home hardly ever. Not because I dislike it here in Florida, it’s actually a great place, but I just don’t like dealing with him.
It’s one thing to run into family, and then it’s a completely other thing to keep running into my father.
I swear the man is unavoidable, and I still can’t comprehend how Urban is able to stay here and continue to work for him. I guess I'll never understand it.
Urban’s hazel eyes study me as I take a seat in the leather club chair positioned in front of his desk. “Being home is weird, huh?” he asks.
“Just a little.” I force a smile.
“Don’t worry. He’s not here.”
“Ah, ok.” My body relaxes as I thank my lucky stars the asshole isn’t around.
“He doesn’t come in much anymore.”
I pick up a small silver frame from the cluster on his desk and stare at Urban’s wiener. Dog, that is. “He just likes the title still,” I surmise.
Urban laughs a bit. “Yeah, I guess.” He leans back in his chair and frowns. “It’s not good, El.”
“What isn’t?”
“The business. The brewery. It’s going under.”
I return the frame with his dog to its place, hoping I misunderstood. “How can that be? Things were going so well.”
Urban rakes a hand through his hair, his frown now a permanent feature on his face. He’s older than me by a few years, and he’s a fucking wiz at business. I don’t see how this could be happening with him running the operation. Unless…
“Is it because of him?”
“Yeah.” He worries the corner of his lip and then continues, “He’s developed a bit of a gambling addiction.”
“Of course, he has,” I mutter.
Urban stares at my throat, not meeting my eyes. “I’ve been having to bail him out with a lot of the profits.”
I stand and cross to the window, looking at the rows of cars in the employee lot. Lots of people depend on a paycheck from this business. “Dammit, Urban. What about the IRS?”
“We’re fine there, promise. He took it out as a loan from the company.”
“Let me guess, he’s gonna default on the loan?” I shake my head. “How long have we got until we’re completely fucked?”
Urban scrubs a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “We’ll be completely out of business within the year.”
“No fucking way.” I had no idea it was this bad. Guilt slams into me like a concrete wall. I should have been here.
“I’m sorry. It all happened rather suddenly.” He pushes back his chair and stands. “The market is oversaturated, Ellis.” Urban walks around his desk, leaning back against it, slipping his hands into the pockets of his khakis. He doesn’t say anything, just stares at me for a moment. “I don’t know if anything will help at this point. It would be like throwing a water bottle at a blazing fire.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Giving up is not an option. “Remember Henry Faniki?” I ask.
He smiles for the first time since he started telling me about the business. “Yeah, how is he? I haven’t seen him in ages. Isn’t he in real estate?”
“Investment firm. He’s doing great. I ran into him here at the pub.” I tell him about our conversation and my plan to get the brewery on his firm’s radar with a push from Henry. “He’s getting married and he asked me to be his best man. So, I said yes.”
“Really?” Urban stares at me for a moment. “Wasn’t he always going from girl to girl?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “Sort of like you.”
“Can’t help it if I haven’t met the one,” he says with a wink. “When's the big day?”