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“Mrs. Fairleigh’s been calling all week saying there’s a leak above her balcony.”
“That leak has been fixed.”
“Apparently not, since she claims it’s still dripping.”
“You’re the one who’s made it clear that you want to limit your participation in the business to manual labor. You’ve had ample opportunities to do otherwise, yet you insist on throwing up drywall and promoting charity balls.” Cory flipped a pen through his fingers, evidence he was still rattled from Vicky’s visit. Score one for the interior designer, since it usually took extreme provocation to throw him off his game. “You know this can’t last forever, this save-the-earth thing you have going. Dad wants to move. Once they do, they’ll be out of the business. It’ll be you and me.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Dillon asked, unable to keep the testiness out of his voice. He knew all of this. He’d known it yesterday on his long bike ride, and he’d known it last night when he’d had the most amazing sex of his life with Alexa. That should’ve never happened, but damn if he could bring himself to regret it.
“Being here’s not all there is to it. I need you to be a full partner with me, Dill.”
It had been a long time since Cory had sounded so…well, sincere. No smirk. No glare. For once, he seemed genuine.
“I know,” Dillon said quietly. “You can count on me.”
Their eyes locked for a moment before Cory nodded. “You’ve been adamant about wanting to handle the bulk of the renos on the buildings, since your name’s on the properties. So if things aren’t up to snuff, isn’t it your job to fix them?”
And just like that, they were back into their roles. Cory as the big businessman, Dillon as the day laborer and secret do-gooder, whom Cory turned to when he needed his spreadsheets to balance correctly.
“There’s also Ms. Conroy’s unit. She had a sink issue yesterday that needed to be fixed, and considering it was her first day in the new apartment, she was understandably unhappy. There are also problems with the drywall in the bathroom, along with some missing grout in the shower stall.”
“I would suggest yet again that you don your Superman cape and get over there and fix it, but that would just be redundant, now wouldn’t it?” Cory waved a hand at the scrolling numbers on his sleek, ginormous flat-screen monitor. “Now if you don’t mind, I have—”
“How much are you charging her?” Dillon interrupted.
“Lex?”
“Ms. Conroy,” Dillon said, surprised by how vehemently he didn’t like his brother referring to her with such familiarity. Especially when that familiarity came with a leering lip curl that didn’t seem kosher for a man threatening to evict her. “How much rent are you charging?”
Cory swiveled to his keyboard and tapped a few buttons. “Nine-fifty.”
Dillon clenched his jaw. “Are you frigging serious? For a studio?” Narrowly he resisted adding the rest on the tip of his tongue: And you wonder why she’s behind on the rent for her store?
“It’s a competitive rate. Next year when we’ve finished rehabbing the rest of the units and completed remodeling our other buildings, Alexa will realize she’s gotten a deal. Haven is a town poised for huge population growth fueled by Synder Corp.’s expansion. It’s only a matter of time.”
Dillon fought not to roll his eyes. “You sound like you’re running for Common Council.”
“Yeah, well, you sound as if you want to flip out a grass mat and start chanting.” Cory tapped more keys. “The rate’s even been locked in for her protection against inflation. What may seem high now will end up being low as the local economy improves.”
“Mighty big of you.”
Briskly, Cory brushed lint off the arm of his jacket. The master of the universe didn’t like being questioned. “You think I’m a hard-ass?”
“Rhetorical much?”
“I didn’t even have to rent to her, Dill. Most other people wouldn’t have, since she’s a known credit risk with her business. Divine Flowers is her store,” he added when Dillon didn’t reply. “The previous owner, Rosalind Keller, was constant
ly behind on her rent too, but I realize that’s not Alexa’s doing. Apparently Lex has been trying to dig her way out since Rosalind’s death. I’m sympathetic to her plight, but sympathy can only go so far.”
Again with the Lex stuff. “So you’ve met her in person then.”
“She’s been here to plead her case more than once. I invited her to dinner some time ago.” The last bit was said distractedly, as if Cory wasn’t fully aware of what he was saying.
Dillon tightened his fingers into a fist. “How’d that work out for you?”
“She turned me down.” A brief smile crossed Cory’s normally unsmiling mouth. “Quite unapologetically. I think she believed I was behaving unprofessionally.”
Way to go, Lex.
