“Sure thing, boss.”
I worked on making a to-do list for store number two. I searched in my archives for the master to-do list from when we opened the first one. Opening it, I scrolled all the way down, then broke out in a cold sweat.
“Holy shit, I’d forgotten how much work opening a store is,” I murmured. We could cross off a few things, since we already had payment and stocking systems in place, but that still left us with a truckload of tasks.
“Tess, we have assistants now, remember? We don’t have to do everything by ourselves. Plus, we can hire more. We have money.”
Yeah, but I had a control problem, so that was going to be a challenge. I was much better now than a few years ago when I micromanaged absolutely everything, but delegating still wasn’t my thing. I had this bad habit of double-checking everyone’s work, which took longer than if I just did it myself.
The two of us set up a timeline. Between ordering furniture, and the factory producing all the extra merchandise we needed, we couldn’t open any earlier than December.
At lunchtime, Skye and I headed to lower Manhattan, to Cole and Hunter’s office.
Since we were running late, we asked them to order for us so we wouldn’t wait a million years for the food to be delivered. Sometimes, lunchtime deliveries at some of these restaurants could be super slow.
When we approached the meeting room, I smiled at the sounds of their voices. Ryker and Hunter were bickering. Cole said something in a voice too low for me to hear, but my money was on him putting more gasoline on the already heated discussion. When both Hunter and Ryker exploded, I laughed to myself. I knew my siblings well. Which was why I was fairly sure I knew exactly how today would go.
“Hello, hello,” I greeted, entering the office.
Ryker, Cole, and Hunter were sitting next to each other. Looking at them, you wouldn’t say they were related, except for their height and well-built physiques. Where Ryker’s hair was dark-blond, Cole’s was jet-black, and he had more angular cheekbones.
Hunter smiled, pointing at the chairs in front of them. His wife was sitting on the other side. I was happy that Josie was also here.
There were two plates with burritos for me and Skye. I ate mine the second I sat down. I hadn’t been in the mood for ice cream, which was weird for me.
“Someone skipped breakfast,” Josie said disapprovingly.
Of course she was immediately on my case. I had no choice, because a certain seductive someone kept me up until late, and I’d been in too much of a hurry to eat.
I confirmed with a nod, then wolfed down another burrito.
“You look like you want to tell us something, Tess,” Cole said.
I glanced at him, startled. Holy shit. Cole was usually the last one to catch on about anything.
Cole laughed. “Shit, that was a shot in the dark, but you really have something on your mind, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. A shot in the dark, huh? That was akin to confessing that he’d been actively trying to shift the focus from him onto me.
“Hmm, you know, I actually do, but I’m going to keep you all a bit in the dark. It’s just more fun,” I declared.
Ryker glanced at Skye. “You know something about this, don’t you?”
Skye bit her lip. “No. I don’t think so.”
He cocked a brow. “How can you not think so?”
She winced, turning to me. “Help.”
“Don’t gang up on her!” I exclaimed.
“Someone’s got to give in,” Hunter said.
“There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Cole winked. “That’s not how this works, Tess.”
And didn’t I know it?