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“Oh, have you?” Damian said.
“Yes, have you?” Eli echoed.
“These sorts of things interest me,” I said.
“That’s great to hear.” Damian offered a strained smile, his eyes darting between me and Eli.
Eli wrapped an arm around me, pressing a small kiss to my cheek. “Let’s keep moving.”
“Sure. We can take a look at each floor. And we’ll definitely stop by the ballroom.” I started toward the elevators. “The electricity is on, so we can use the elevators.”
Axel and Trace meandered toward us. Trace’s easy grin was the counterbalance to Axel’s distant scowl. Like during the meeting yesterday, Axel was careful to not look my way. It grated on me more than I could express.
Our group headed for the elevators. Trace and I fell into an easy back-and-forth about the details of the building as we boarded the big elevator—the previous tenants, when it was constructed, the original building price when my father bought it in the eighties. That sparked a lengthy comparison of prices in Manhattan, then vs. now, a conversation I was grateful to engage in as the elevator crept toward the top floor. Anything to distract me from the tension simmering beneath the surface here. Axel remained stony and silent while Eli hovered mere inches from me, taking any chance he could to touch the small of my back or lean in closer.
We checked out the offices on the second floor first, then did a quick walk-through of each floor thereafter. For some bizarre reason, the entire fifth floor was decorated in gaudy gold and mauve tones, complete with clay busts littering the area, like a former emperor of Ancient Rome had somehow time traveled to utilize—and then vacate—the floor. Trace and Damian did most of the talking. Axel stayed in the far reaches of whatever room we visited while Eli watched Axel like a hawk.
“No helipad?” Axel finally asked as he peered out a door that led to a rooftop patio.
“Not equipped at the moment,” I said. “But a conversion might be possible. I’m not clear on the dimensions and structure of the roof spaces. But we can find out.”
“Is it really appropriate for charity cases to have access to helicopters?” Eli asked, loud enough for Axel to hear.
Axel’s blue gaze whipped over to Eli. “Did anybody ask you for your opinion?”
“The board sure will,” Eli shot back.
Damian executed a one-eighty to join Axel on the other side of the room. Smoke practically curled from Axel’s ears, but Damian leaned in to whisper something to him. Trace sent a forced grin toward Eli.
“We travel primarily by helicopter around the city,” Trace explained, though he didn’t need to.
“Oh. How many helicopters do you have?” Eli asked, not missing a beat.
“Two at the moment.”
“That’s great. Keep up the hard work, boys, and you might get lucky enough to have a fleet someday.” Eli’s smile flickered across his face, the falsest semblance of good-naturedness I’d seen from him yet. “But all kids start with toy trains, right?”
I gritted my teeth. Shooting Eli a stern look. He completely ignored me.
“On to the ballroom,” I suggested, clapping my hands. “Gentlemen, please follow me.” I led our rapidly disintegrating group back to the elevators.Let this end well. Please let this end well.The words were on repeat in my head like a mantra. If nothing else, I did not want to see this afternoon end in curse words or deeper animosity. This wasn’t the time or place to address the past—but it certainly wasn’t the time or place to make the future worse.
Everyone coalesced at the elevator doors again and we boarded silently, the tension so thick it choked as we went up to the top floor.
This was the most awkward and uncomfortable property showing of my life.
“So,” I said breezily, holding up a hand to showcase the beautiful if slightly neglected pillars that lined the hallway. “Here’s the best part about this place. Not every building in the neighborhood has a ballroom, that’s for sure.”
“This could hold some serious functions,” Trace mused, shoving his hands into his pockets as we entered the main ballroom. The ceiling vaulted away from us, shimmering gold and textured. The wood floor was scuffed, but not irreparable. It was a dusty gem. One that made even my jaw drop. Seeing this building up close and personal had just reawakened my own ideas for a space like this. I’d even convert one of the floors into an Eli-proof residence that no bribing guards or copying keys could allow him to enter.
“There is no fifteenth floor,” I said once silence had settled again. “This floor takes up the space of two levels due to the vaulted ceiling.”
“Are you sure it’s not three?” Trace asked with a laugh, his head tipped back to admire the ceiling.
“She said two,” Eli snipped.
Trace looked back at Eli but kept his mouth shut.
“He’s fine,” I said quietly to Eli, my smile straining at my cheeks. This was a balancing act I never wanted to replicate, acting like my marriage to Eli wasn’t doomed, while confronting the only man I’d ever loved and his two amazing brothers.
