“I knew you’d come straight here.” August handed me a drink. “I saw your limo pull up.”
“Hey, man, how’s marriage been treating you? Where’s our wife?” I teased. “That joke never gets old, ya know.”
“My wife is out shopping with Mia for the baby party.” August waved for me to follow him. “So, tell me what’s going on that you needed to see me, because you rarely need to see me.”
“I’ve taken on the renovations of the malls that the Hawthorne Corporation purchased.” I paused for effect. “I took it on because I wanted to try solar power.”
“And now?” August sat on the couch by the fireplace.
“And now I’m excited with all kinds of renovations. I never would have thought I’d care.” I leaned on the mantel. “I think I can make these malls modern and exciting.”
“I think you can too.” August sipped his drink. “I’ve always known you could do something like this. It was you that didn’t believe in yourself.”
“What, no sarcastic comments? No jabs at my hair or clothes?” I stared at him. “Come on, I know there’s an ‘it’s about time’ in there somewhere.”
“Ash, I’m serious. You’ve always had what it takes.” August stared back at me without blinking.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I nodded, “I appreciate it.”
“Of course, if you cut that hair and put on grown-up clothes you might be even better.” August downed his drink and walked to the kitchen. “And, well, it’s about time.”
“Real funny. You made me believe you.” I followed him to the kitchen. “I’m gonna do this and these malls are gonna thrive.”
“Relax, I’m messing with you. Show me the plans. I’m fired up to see what you’ve come up with.” August cleared the island for the plans.
We spent the next hour going over different aspects of the designs. August was stronger than me in certain areas and I was happy to have his input. The elevator dinged. When the doors opened, in walked his wife, Imogen, and my older brother’s wife, Mia. I decided to mess with August a little.
“Hey, nice to see my wife. I’ve missed you.” I scooped her up in a hug.
“Asher, you had your chance when you were supposed to marry me, but you blew it.” Imogen laughed when I let her go.
“Go easy on him, babe. He doesn’t know I’m the better twin.” August hugged Imogen.
“Mia, help me out here, they’re picking on me,” I begged Mia. “I’m the youngest son. I’m basically the baby.”
“Oh geez, you’re pulling that again. I’m literally five minutes older than you and Murphy is the baby,” August laughed. “Come on, let’s finish the plans before you start whining about something else.”
My cell chimed a message from my date for the night. I shot back a text that I’d pick her up in thirty minutes, which meant I needed to grab a quick shower and head out right away.
“I’ll leave the plans with you and pick them up before I leave in the morning. My date just messaged me.” I punched my code into the elevator. “And I don’t whine.”
I had an enjoyable dinner and drinks after, but I knew she expected more fun from me than I was giving her. I was usually the life of the party, but I wasn’t feeling it tonight. When she saw me check my watch for the fifth time, she suggested we call it a night. I felt bad. She’s a nice girl, and we’ve had a lot of fun in the past. I dropped her off and went back to my own penthouse. As I laid in bed, I found myself looking forward to getting back to the mall renovation.
I’m gonna make these malls where everyone wants to be.
Chapter 7
Paige
The morning sky was gloomier than I thought it would be, but not seeing the outside for over twenty-four hours had me disoriented. I ran through the parking lot, doing my best not to slip on the ice building along the edges. My car was in the back under a big tree that had kept it cool during the warm days and made me feel protected when I slept at night. I checked the time on my watch as I reached for the door handle of my car.
Oh, no! It’s frozen shut.
I hit the button on the remote to pop the trunk. Nothing happened and, of course, I then hit it repeatedly. With one glance at the trunk I could see it was frozen shut too. My fingers felt numb from being exposed to the cold. My gloves were two of the things that had to have fallen out of my purse in the workshop. I fumbled with my keys, unlocked it manually, and forced the trunk open. I grabbed the bag I kept my essentials in, slammed the trunk closed, and ran back toward the mall for the warmth it promised to give.
“Morning, Paige. Be careful running on that ice,” the daytime parking lot security guard, Zack, called out from his car. “You want a ride to the entrance?”
“Thanks, Zack.” I jumped in the front seat. “I can’t believe how cold it is.”