The Evolution of Fae and Gods (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 3)

That brought on a whole new set of business problems because the insurance company was not eager to pay the claim if they could blame the fire on someone else—such as the original electrician and contractor who wired the building.

I had updated Carrick about this last night as he ate dinner by himself at the large dining table because, frankly, since being rebuffed, I’m not all that keen to be in his presence. It hurts a little too much, so, for the last two evenings, I’d made a sandwich and ate it in my bedroom while watching TV. He’d offered to train, but I declined, citing a fake sore knee. I know it’s obvious I’m avoiding him, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I put myself out there, and it didn’t work. My bruised ego will heal soon enough, though my heart might take a bit longer, and then I’m ready to get back to business as usual.

Carrick agreed that as long as the insurance company had a slight chance of denying the claim due to it being someone else’s fault, they were not going to make a speedy payment. My heart dropped but laid low only briefly because Carrick stood from the dining table, leaving his meal half-eaten.

“Come with me,” he said in a clipped tone, and I followed him to his office.

I stood in the doorway as he unlocked one of his desk drawers and pulled out a checkbook. He bent over his desk, quickly signed every single check in it, and then tossed it to me. I opened the front flap to see “Byrne Enterprises” at the top of the first check.

“A bunch of blank checks?” I asked, needing a bit more clarification of what he wanted to be done.

“I’m going to have one of my general contractors, a guy by the name of Philip Hostein, get up with you tomorrow. He’ll start work on the rebuild. He’ll hire the subcontractors. You just need to pay his invoices as he sends them, and he’ll handle paying the people under him.”

“And that’s it?” I asked hesitantly. “You don’t need me to check bids or make sure you’re not price gouged?”

Carrick gave me a smile that sent a chill up my spine. “Phillip has been working for me for a long time. But he’s also a light daemon. He knows if he were ever to try to take advantage of me, I’d make him pay for it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’d kill him for double-crossing you?”

Carrick smirked. “No, but I’d sure make him wish I’d killed him.”

Before I could pry further or try to give myself a gut check as to whether Carrick was serious, he turned away and reached back into the unlocked drawer. Out came a large lockbox, and, after he put in a three-digit code, it opened.

He reached in, came out with a stack of credit cards, and flipped through them until he came upon the one he wanted.

A simple black card that he handed over his desk, forcing me to take several steps toward him to accept.

“That card has no limit, so use it on whatever else you need to get equipment, furnishings, stock, and decor.”

My jaw dropped open just a tad, but Carrick wasn’t paying any attention. He merely closed and locked his drawer, walked by me out of his office, and didn’t acknowledge my murmured, “Thank you.”

So on the heels of Carrick’s generosity, this morning dawned bright for me as I awoke to the knowledge that One Bean was on its way back. Carrick had warned me that even with a quick start on construction, it would still take a few months as some specialty item materials could take a while to get in.

Regardless, the morning got better when Philip Hostein called me at eight AM and wanted to know if I could meet him at the coffee shop just for introductions and discussion on how the rebuild should happen. Carrick had told him I was the main point of contact.

I was due to meet him in half an hour, but it was only about a twenty-minute walk, so I logged out of my computer. Picking up my empty coffee cup, I rinsed it in the sink and loaded it into the dishwasher. I don’t bother letting Zaid know I’m leaving because I told him during breakfast that I had a meeting at One Bean. He waved me off, not interested in such trivialities, but he made sure I knew he was still overseeing my well-being. “Maddox will accompany you.”

I didn’t bother arguing. Carrick had made it clear that either he or one of his brothers had to be at my side if I left the condo. Since Carrick has been missing all morning, I assumed Maddox would be my escort today anyway.