Reservations

When Arik again turned silent, Thane said, “I wholeheartedly agree with everything you’ve said.”

“We can do a trial here in Coronado. If this works without blowing up in our faces, I might even want to talk about expanding. I have forty properties across the globe, and all have adult’s only sections.”

“I honestly believe this’ll work,” Tristan added his encouragement.

“It’s been a while or, more accurately, not ever,” Arik amended his sentence rather cheekily, “since I’ve done business for the sole purpose of giving back. My husband was in a bad situation…” Arik paused.

Thane hid a smile as he counted either the third or fourth reference to Kellus since he’d gotten there. Arik held up to his reputation as dick-whipped to the extreme, and he didn’t even seem to care, proud, in fact, of his deep infatuation with Kellus. Thane was determined to never let that happen to himself.

“I like the idea of working with someone of your integrity, Thane. I like to have a purpose accompanied by a clear vision,” Arik continued.

Thane appreciated that compliment and nodded. “Thank you.” Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he added, “So, you’re all in?”

“Yes, with some very defined protocols, and an out-clause if things go south, but yes, Wilder’s in,” Tristan said.

“We need to work out the details; let legal make themselves crazy preparing for every conceivable outcome. It’ll be difficult to keep so many rooms open, but we can work that out. I don’t know Julian, but you and Tristan have vouched for him. I’m willing to bring the guy into the Layne family fold and get him some management training and experience. We’ll know quickly if he can cut it or not. Have him contact me in the next day or so,” Arik offered.

Thane nodded, knowing Julian wanted to work, provide for himself, and needed a change of scenery. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Hey, ask Julian to tell you both about the three-way he had with us.”

Arik and Thane swung their heads toward the monitor in unison, staring at Dylan who had turned five shades of red before he reached over and pushed at a laughing Tristan’s shoulder.

“I’ll never live that down,” Dylan said and tossed a disgusted hand in the air as he rose from his seat and started to leave the room. That had Tristan laughing even harder as he stumbled over the chairs in his fit of humor, going after Dylan.

“Babe, don’t be mad. I was teasing.”

A door slammed outside the monitor’s view. Tristan came back to the screen, his face large in the camera. “Really. Ask him about it. It might cheer him up. Ciao.” The screen went dark.

“Okay, well, there you go.” Arik pushed back from his chair and grabbed his notepad and iPad before picking up the remote and pointing it at the monitor. “When you find out about that three-way, I want the details.” Arik came around the side of the table and grabbed another cookie. “Why don’t you take me downstairs and buy me dinner? I have the evening free. If you’re game, we can start with dinner, then come back up and go over the finer details. I have a lease space opening up out back that might work well.”

“Perfect.” Thane followed Arik until they were trotting down steps toward the first floor. “This was much easier than I thought.”

“Says the man who hasn’t met my legal department,” Arik quipped.

Chapter 2

February 2017

Past exhausted, Levi Silva willed the hands on the old clock above the condiments bar to magically race forward and put an end to his nightmarish shift. The constant chiming of the bells attached to the front door of Lieu de Café had finally stopped. A steady stream of demanding costumers had bombarded him over the last four hours.

Levi had no doubt he had a permanent frown etched on his tired face, and the headache he’d been fighting all evening spiked another notch. His short-lived relief at the quiet faded as he took in the state of the work station and dining area.

“What a mess,” he groaned. Disgusting. He grabbed the spray bottle of cleaning solution and a clean hand towel before heading for the six small tables in the seating area. He hadn’t had a moment free to clean all evening and the place showed it.

A few months ago, the owner had cut the staff to a bare minimum to save the struggling business. That left Levi on his own to handle all the customers, cleaning, and performing the closing responsibilities. Besides the staff cuts, the owner had also lowered his pay. Despite all that and an increase in the number of customers, nothing seemed to have changed for the business’s bottom line. When several members of the owner’s family stopped by on a regular basis to sneak money from the till—twenty dollars here, a hundred dollars there—it was no wonder the little coffee shop couldn’t pay for itself. The place never stood a chance.