Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2) (24 page)

              “There ain’t room for arguin’, Mia. This is happening whether you like it or not.” He came into the room and before I knew what the hell was happening, he grabbed my phone from the nightstand, threw it to the floor, and stomped on it. “Oh damn,” he said with a fake shocked sound. “I accidently broke your phone. I’m so sorry. I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow mornin’.” He picked up the busted phone and strode out of the bedroom.

              “Well,” I said, looking at Toni. “He don’t let you dwell on things and mull around decisions, does he?”

              Toni laughed. “No he doesn’t. He’s a take action kind of guy. But he’s right. The sooner you lose your phone number, the better. We’ll get you a new phone and new number tomorrow, then Grant won’t be able to call you anymore.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Jake

“Jake, you need to jump on this now. There’s a chance it might fall through, there are still a couple people in the family who are debatin’ on what they want to do, but I’d like to talk to them about your plans for the place. They are very sentimental people. It might help them to let it go.”

              “If they want to keep the place in the family …” I started, but Monique stopped me. We stood in the middle of the same restaurant we visited weeks ago, once alone, once with Cade, and then once with Toni and Julius. Monique thought the more people she could get on her side, the faster I’d relent. So far they were all adamant this place was perfect for me. I had to agree. The space was perfect, and the kitchen had every appliance and machine any chef could want. It was the kind of place I always imagined.

              “No one in this family has ever run a business, let alone a restaurant. They have no idea what they’re doin’. As soon as they realize, they’re gonna let this place go. You wanna be the person who comes up in their conversations when they talk about who’s gonna keep the restaurant alive, like their uncle woulda wanted.”

              She led me through the restaurant once again. This was the fourth time she brought me to look at this building, and every time we walked through, I loved it just a little more. I started imagining how I’d arrange the tables and bar area. I had a whole plan for the place drawn out in my mind.

              “Fine,” I relented. “What do you want me to do?”

              “Just write out what your plans are for the space. Do you intend on usin’ some or most of the furniture? What kind of restaurant are you intendin’ to turn it into? Just tell me what you see when you think about this buildin’. If I’m right, they’ll love it and decide to sell directly to you instead of goin’ through a bidding process.”

              “And I’m sure you’re gonna make the bidding process sound like hell on earth.”

              Monique smiled sheepishly. That woman had a way of getting people to do what she wanted. She never undercut them or ripped them off, but for people she cared for, she’d do everything she could to get the best deal on the right property while still taking care of the sellers. “For your information, the bidding process is a nightmare for everyone involved. It can get nasty and totally out of control. It ain’t worth it, if you can find the right buyer for the right seller. In this case, I think we have both.”

              “Fine, I’ll write somethin’ up tonight and email it to you.”

              Squealing loudly, she jumped into my arms and kissed me. Her smile was huge on her pretty face. She was truly a gorgeous woman. “I’m so excited. I promise, this is gonna be great. And you aren’t gonna regret this. You deserve to take this leap.”

              Suddenly my heart jumped into my throat as realization hit. In a matter of months, this could be my restaurant. I could have exactly what I’d always wanted. The business I’d convinced myself would never happen. Then I started to imagine Mia being here with me. Could I actually have it all? The job, the life, and the girl?

***

Walking into Mia’s school, I thought about the last time I was there. Things had changed a lot in the short amount of time since. Being around Mia, spending time with her was like going home.

              I walked into the gym to find Gage talking to a group of students. They all had their back to me and were completely engrossed in what Gage was saying.

              “Mr. Hanson,” Gage called. “Come meet these guys. They’re on the football team. They heard I work at your gym and wanted to ask some questions about building muscle and strength training for football season.”

              “Hey guys,” I said, walking over to the group of exceptionally large high school boys. They all looked huge in their bulky letterman jackets. “What’s up? Y’all seniors?”

              “Yeah,” one boy said. “We’ll be the starting seniors next season. We’re wantin’ to bulk up a bit for next season. Got any advice?”

              Gage and I went on to create body building workouts the boys could follow. We then invited them to come to the gym and give it a try. If they liked it, they could join.

              By the time the boys left, one of Mia’s teaching aides came into the gym with some students.

              “Hey Mr. Smith. Where’s the rest of the crew?” Gage asked.

              “On their way. Miss Slone was dealin’ with a situation. They’ll be on their way in a minute.”

              Mia wasn’t there yet, but Gage got started without her. “As yinz can see, we have some company today. Mr. Hanson has come back to play with us. Who’s ready for some kick ball?”

              All of the kids jumped up and down and cheered. They all rushed out of the bleachers toward the gym floor and lined up. All of them except for little Molly. Molly came and stood by me. She looked up, her moon pie eyes huge in her too-thick glasses. She was an adorable little girl.

              “I no wanna play,” she whispered. “Can I stand with you?” she asked with a huge, crooked-tooth smile.

              Kneeling down in front of her so I could look into her eyes, I smiled. “Will you play with me if I play? I don’t know if I can do this by myself.”

              A huge smile played across her face. “Okay ‘ake, I play too.”

              I ran around with the kids for the next half hour, not noticing when Mia entered the gym. She stood on the side and just watched as the kids did their best to kick the ball and run the bases.

              When the bell rang, signaling the end of their day, the kids got bundled up in their winter clothes and Gage lead a parade of students down the hall toward their busses. To some, the procession probably seemed like pandemonium with students everywhere, but it was organized chaos. It was bedlam, but it worked and everyone got to their busses safe and sound.

              Mia walked up to me and smiled. “What’re you doin’ here?” she asked. Her smile could light up the darkest night.

              Smiling down at her, I said, “I promised Molly I’d come back and play. Also, I wanted to ask if you’ll have dinner with me.”

              “I’d love to.” Her smile widened and her eyes sparkled with happiness. “Just let me go get my things. I’ll be right back.”

              Nodding, I watched her walk out the door. After about five minutes, I got bored. I decided to go find her. I made my way through the maze of halls to where I knew her room to be.

              The conversation I heard made me stop in my tracks when I reached her classroom door. I stood frozen, listening to Mia and her friend speak. I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were near.

              “I can’t believe that man is real,” her friend Jen said. “Men like that are usually fake as hell.”

              “Jake ain’t fake, Jen. That’s just how he is. He’s a great guy.”

              I felt bad eavesdropping, after all, it’s not cool listening to people talk about you. But no matter how much I knew I needed to move, I couldn’t, especially when I heard what they said next.

              “Well, are you two together yet?”

              “Sort of, I guess,” Mia said. “We’re gettin’ to know each other again. We’ve spent a lot of time together lately.” She let out a long audible sigh.

              “What?” Jen pushed. “You like him, don’t you?”

              “I’m in love with him,” she whispered. “I know it’s too soon and I know he’s probably not ready to hear me say it, but I do. I love him. I think I always have.”

              My heart slammed in my chest hearing her confession. God, part of me wanted nothing more than to hear her say she loved me. But another part, the logical part wanted to take things slowly. I didn’t want her to love me, I wasn’t ready, at least not yet. What the hell was I going to do?

              She was right about one thing, I definitely wasn’t ready to hear those words.

              I didn’t stick around to hear any more. Rushing out of the building, I hopped into my Jeep and peeled out of the parking lot. I needed to get away. And later, when she called and texted numerous times, I didn’t answer.

             
I’m a fuckin’ coward.

***

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of activity, between the gym and the restaurant. Things progressed much faster than I imagined. Most of the key family members were interested in selling, especially once they saw my plans for the building.

              It seemed what I wanted to do was right in line with their uncle’s renovation and redecorating plans. He had just upgraded the entire kitchen and had started in the main room when he passed away, and my plans were similar to his, right down to the menus. I wanted a more eclectic menu, serving home-cooking favorites instead of focusing on one type of food, which was similar to what their uncle had planned.

              There was still one family member, a great nephew, who was holding out, but Monique believed he would relent soon. Since the rest of the family was on board with selling, he had little room to negotiate. With no experience and no money, none of his family was willing to sign the building over to him.

              The gym was also a bustle with activity. As we progressed into December, we were heavy in the planning phases for training Julius’ entire pit crew. We had to redesign and remodel the entire private gym area to accommodate his team. Since it was a joint undertaking, Julius insisted on helping financially with the renovation. He said it was to improve his team, but I had a feeling it was his and Toni’s way of helping Cade and me since we now had a loan out for the restaurant.

              It seemed we would do much of the training at the gym until the weather broke, then Cade would start to train them at the track at Fuller Enterprises where they could practice on a live car. Cade’s ideas were brilliant and would hopefully plunge our gym into the spotlight with other teams in the area.

              With all of the activity at the gym, we hired another manager to help Faith. After talking to Uncle Bobby, I found out Emma’s husband, Derek, had recently lost his job, so Cade and I decided to bring him on at the gym.

              Focusing on the gym allowed me to keep my distance from Mia. I didn’t know how to handle what I heard, but I knew I definitely wasn’t ready to deal with it. So I did what I knew best, I hid in my work.

              Mia texted a few times over the past two weeks, but I either ignored it or answered with one word answers. I was a coward and I knew it, so instead of dealing with my shit, I buried myself in everything else. Training new people at the gym, meeting various family members who were in control of the restaurant, making business plans and helping with the gym renovation all occupied every moment of my spare time and let me avoid Mia.

              The only time I saw her was when she was at the gym. We talked in passing, promised to make plans, but it never happened.

              I hadn’t told her about the restaurant. I wasn’t sure what held me back from sharing with her, but for some reason I kept the prospect of owning my own restaurant from her. Did it make it too real? Was it the fear of the unknown? She was just as much an unknown as the restaurant. Even though she did everything she could to keep her ex away, he still was around. Did I fear the possibility that she’d return to him?  

              “Jake, I need to talk to you and Cade. Where are y’all?” Monique said the moment I answered my ringing phone. She sounded flustered.

              “We’re at the gym in the back area where the pit crews are gonna be. What’s up?”

              “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

              I hesitated. Something must’ve happened with the restaurant, she wasn’t usually this abrupt. My heart sank a little. Maybe the nephew who had been holding out finally came up with a plan on his own to keep the place. I knew the whole thing was kind of a pipedream, but with all the planning and the visits, I was finally excited about potentially having my own restaurant. I’d even gone as far as to talk to my mother about the possibility. I never wanted to get her hopes up if something was never going to happen.

              “We’ll be here,” I said hesitantly.

              She hung up without another word, telling me just how rushed she was. Monique was always on the run, like the ‘Energizer Bunny’, she constantly moved and never seemed to stop. Even speaking a mile a minute. If you zoned out while talking to her, you could miss an entire part of a conversation. It was tiring just watching and listening to her sometimes. But the way she acted was odd, even for her.

              I walked into the almost completely finished training room where Cade had a couple of the new trainers moving equipment around. Every spare moment anyone had was spent in this room getting it ready to go. The moment the holidays were over, training would begin for the pit crew, and the new trainers would be set free with their clients.

              I had hoped to begin working in the restaurant, but that might not happen now.