Maggie stepped back and wiped her forehead on the back of her wrist. Florence hadn’t been kidding when she’d talked about hard work—the carpet installation and floor varnishing and painting was all done, but there was construction dust everywhere, bits of carpet fiber floating in the air, and the furniture was slightly off center here and there. Florence had brought in a housecleaning company to help get things started while she interviewed more applicants, and they’d all put in a long day.
The first four rooms were done to perfection when Florence called for a break. Maggie headed downstairs, planning to grab something off the dollar menu at a nearby fast-food restaurant, but saw a pretty redhead coming in the front door, her arms full of sacks.
“Lunch,” she called out.
Andrew grabbed a few of the bags out of her arms and set them on a table they were using as a counter in the lobby. “I’m sorry the dining room isn’t ready yet, everyone,” he called out. “Give us another few days.”
Maggie edged toward the door, feeling a little out of place in the middle of these strangers who all knew each other, but the redhead took a step and intercepted her. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Tabs, and I brought a ton of food. Come join us.”
“Hi. I’m Maggie.” She glanced around. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Tabs laughed. “Of course it is. You work here, right? And you’re starving?”
“Yes.”
“Well, those are both very good reasons.” She started pulling sandwiches out of bags. “We have roast beef, chicken, cheeseburger, tuna melt . . .”
“Wow. Um, I’ll take a roast beef,” Maggie said, and Tabs handed it over.
“Oh, and there are fries over here.”
Armed with sandwich, fries, napkins, and a drink, Maggie sat on the bottom step of the staircase and looked around at the people who had come trickling in to eat. She had started putting names to people throughout the day and figured out what some of their roles were. Andrew was the owner and the boss, of course. Marissa was the interior decorator, and Maggie was pretty sure she and Andrew were dating. Griffin was the architect, Florence was the manager, and Rob . . . She ducked her head and tried not to grin as she saw him walking toward her, his hands full of food as well.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“It’s a free staircase.” She scooted over to make room for him.
“How’s your first day going?” He set his can of Sprite down by his feet and unwrapped his chicken sandwich.
“Great, but tiring. It’ll be nice to get the rooms all put together. Half of them look fantastic, and the others . . . well, they’re a total mess. But we’ll get it.”
“Can’t wait to see them.”
“So . . . what have you been up to today?” She hadn’t seen him since she’d arrived that morning, and she was surprised to realize that she’d missed him. How could she miss someone she barely knew? It didn’t seem at all logical, but it was what it was, and she couldn’t deny it.
“Working on the handicapped access rooms. We’ve got the floor joists laid, and I imagine we’ll be ready for the hardwood flooring by tomorrow.”
“Sounds great.” She wasn’t actually sure what floor joists were, but they sounded impressive and construction-like. “Who’s the redhead over there? Tabs or something?”
Rob nodded. “Tabs Morrow. She’s Marissa’s assistant. She and Marissa are just about done with their part of the project, but they’re sticking around to help with this and that. Like getting lunch.” He lifted his sandwich as though presenting evidence.
“Decorators are running errands? That doesn’t seem like the best use of their skills.”
“They’re doing it because of their emotional investments to the cause.” To her confused look, he continued, “Andrew and Marissa are practically engaged, and Tabs and Griffin started dating a couple weeks ago.”
“Oh. That makes sense.” Maggie had guessed right on one couple, and she’d just met Tabs, so she didn’t feel too far behind in not figuring out that relationship yet. Now as she watched them, sitting side-by-side on the floor and rubbing elbows as they ate, it was totally obvious. “Who are the others?”
“The blond guy there is Will, Griffin’s assistant. Danny and Mack are two of my guys—over there by the front door.”
“Which one’s Mack and which one’s Danny?”
“Mack’s the shorter one.”
“Uh, they’re sitting down. How am I supposed to tell?”
Rob laughed. “Sorry. How about, Mack’s in the red shirt and Danny’s in the green one.”
“Better.” Maggie took another bite, then swallowed. “Florence wants me to meet a couple of people she interviewed this morning. She says I have a say in who gets hired, since I’m the head of housekeeping.”
“Oh?” Rob sipped his drink, watching her. “You look a little unsure about that.”
“I’ve never been the head of anything. I’m not sure how to do this whole manager thing.”
“You’ll figure it out. Florence wouldn’t have given you the job if she didn’t think you deserved it.”
“It’s the figuring-out part that has me worried. I just hope I don’t mess up too badly while I’m getting my feet under me.”
“I’ll tell you something my father told me when I first started my construction company. He told me to think about how I wished my bosses had treated me when I was first starting out, and then to become that kind of boss myself.”
“Huh.” Maggie thought about that. “I’ve definitely had my fair share of both good and bad managers, and I know which kind I’d rather be like.”
“You’ve got this. I don’t doubt it.” He looked down at her food. “When you’re done, I’d like to introduce you to Griffin. He and I just went into business together.”
“I sort of met him this morning when I came in.”
“Yeah, but I want you to actually meet him.”
Maggie wasn’t sure why it was important to him, but she supposed she could go along with it. “Your business partner, huh? Sounds very official.”
“Yeah. It caught me a little off guard, but we’ve already got a great offer for some business in Vegas. We’ll be talking it over more tonight.”
“Vegas. What is it about Vegas that automatically sounds cool and exciting?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out, I think.”
The front door opened, and a tall, thin man with graying hair and glasses stepped inside. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was interrupting lunch.”
“No worries. In fact, we have a ton—come eat with us.” Andrew walked over to the man and shook his hand. “I’m not sure everyone’s had a chance to meet you. Folks, this is Matt Kingston, the genealogist who’s been helping me piece together my family history as we’ve renovated the hotel.”
Matt looked around at the group and smiled. “Hi. I really don’t mean to interrupt.”
“That’s just crazy talk.” Tabs held out a sack. “Tuna melt, fries, and a Coke.”
“Thanks, Tabs.” Matt took the sack and sat down on the floor next to Mack and Danny. “I love picnics.”
Andrew laughed. “We’ll have the dining room ready to go in a couple of days, won’t we, Rob?”
Rob swallowed his bite and nodded. “The varnish is dry, and tomorrow, we’ll be ready to move in the furniture.”
“The tables and chairs Marissa found are beautiful,” Andrew added. “And a lot more comfortable than sitting out here on the floor.”
“So, what brings you by, Matt?” Griffin asked.
“I wish it was about you, Griffin, but nothing yet,” Matt replied. “I actually found a few more interesting things in the original Brody ledgers, and I thought we could scan those entries and put them in the glass cases in the parlor with the other artifacts.”
“Why does Griffin need a genealogist?” Maggie whispered to Rob.
“Matt’s helping him find his parents. He was left at a police station as a baby.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” She paused. “But isn’t genealogy for dead people?”
“Mostly, but Matt has resources to look for people who are still alive, too.”
Maggie’s thoughts immediately flew to her parents. They’d given up custody of her and turned her over to Zoe’s parents to raise. That had been a step up . . . but not a huge one, as Zoe’s parents were hardly ever home and the girls basically raised themselves, for better or worse. Maggie had decided to forget all about her own parents and pretend like they didn’t exist, but that was a whole lot easier said than done, and she’d made that decision when she was sixteen in the middle of the hardest trial of her life. Now . . . things were different. If she had the chance to talk to her parents, would she take it?
She honestly had no idea. She’d put that idea away and think about it later.
She turned her attention back to her fries and to the conversation Matt and Andrew were having. She didn’t feel bad about listening in—they were talking loudly and seemed to be including everyone in the room.
Matt was telling Andrew about a series of notations he’d found sprinkled here and there in the ledgers. “Adam Brody was very concise in his notes, so I didn’t find a lot of details, but he did track his money meticulously. Here and there, when he’d hire a new waitress, he’d write down a sum he gave her as a clothing allowance, which he would then deduct from her wages a little at a time over several months. Sometimes he’d only withhold a few pennies here and there. I believe he was trying to give these girls a leg-up in life as well as a job.”
Maggie looked down at the clothes she was wearing. She’d had enough T-shirts in her suitcase, but she’d needed some new jeans, and those were possible because of Andrew Brody. “It must run in the family,” she muttered.
“Hmm? What does?” Rob asked.
“Just being generous,” Maggie replied. Rob already knew a little more than she wanted him to—she didn’t need to go into every thought that crossed her mind.
“So, when are you meeting with the new applicants?”
“What? Oh. Um, tomorrow morning.” Rob’s sudden change of subject had caught her off guard. Her brain had gone in a million different directions since they’d talked about that.
“Do you want to do lunch tomorrow? I’d ask you out for tonight, but I’m meeting up with Griffin.”
She turned, her attention now fully on him. “Let’s see. Lunch the day we met, lunch the day after we met, lunch today … you’re a very lunch-oriented person, aren’t you?”
He grinned. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like lunch?”
“I do. In fact, it’s one of my three favorite meals. But what if a day comes when I can’t eat with you? Will you be so in the habit that you can’t eat without me, and you’ll starve to death? Then I’d have that on my conscience forever.”
“You didn’t have lunch with me yesterday, remember? You were out shopping. And I survived . . . well, I sort of survived. I missed you.”
Her heart gave an extra thump. He’d just said what she’d been thinking earlier, but coming from him, it didn’t sound crazy or too soon to be feeling that way. It felt right, natural. And it was very hard to reply to something that carried so much weight with it.
“You see? It’s starting already—you’re developing lunchtime dependence on me.”
“I’m still not sure why that’s a bad thing.”
She looked into his eyes, drawn there like a magnet, and swallowed. “I’m not so sure either.”
“Then lunch tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“Great. And now I need to go finish some floor joists.” He gathered up his trash, wadded it up into a ball, and walked off, leaving Maggie to wonder why her toes suddenly felt numb.
Tabs plopped down in the spot Rob had just left. “He’s a great guy,” she said, tipping her head Rob’s direction. “I’ve known him for a while, and he’s one of those people you can trust with anything.”
“You’ve known him for a while?”
“Yeah. He and his crew have done some of the projects I’ve worked on. I have to tell you, I’ve never even heard him tell an off-color joke—that’s how awesome he is. You’re in good hands with him.”
Maggie turned and looked at Tabs. “We’re not really anything. Well, we’re something, but I don’t know what. But it’s not serious.”
Tabs nudged her with an elbow like they were lifelong friends. Maggie wasn’t sure what to make of that instant familiarity, but she had the sense that it was impossible to be miffed with Tabs. “You’re definitely something, and as long as you are, just know—you’re in good hands.”
“How do you know we’re something? And how do I know we’re something? What if we’re just . . . nothing?”
Tabs laughed. “The chemistry zapping back and forth over here could have lit this staircase on fire.”
“But we were just talking. We weren’t even flirting. Well, not really. Maybe there was a little flirting.”
“You don’t have to be flirting for there to be chemistry. Sometimes you can even be fighting and have amazing chemistry.” Tabs nodded over to where Griffin was chatting with Matt. “He and I couldn’t say two civil words to each other a month ago.”
“Really? Why not?”
Tabs sighed. “A long, long story about pride and miscommunication. Trust me, opening up and allowing yourself to be vulnerable is much less painful than keeping everything bottled up. But enough about me—I just wanted to say hi again and meddle in your love life. I’ll leave you alone now.”
She stood up and walked away, her words ringing in Maggie’s ears. Being vulnerable was less painful than holding everything inside . . . She’d said she was talking about herself, but it sure felt like every bit of it was meant for Maggie.
***
Jimmy arrived an hour later and walked around the hotel property, inspecting the concrete curbs. He had a look of concentration on his face, and Rob wasn’t sure what he was thinking until he checked out the last flower bed and turned to Rob with a smile. “Good job!”
“Thank you,” Rob replied. “They’re still drying, so we can’t touch them, but I think this is all going to look really nice when it’s done.”
“I want to make Mr. Andrew proud.” Jimmy rocked back on his heels. “I have a job, but lots of other people like me don’t have jobs. I want him to be glad he hired me.”
“I’m sure he’s already proud, and I think this project will make him even more proud.” Rob glanced around, but didn’t see Jimmy’s mom anywhere. “How did you get here today?”
Jimmy grinned. “I rode the bus. All by myself.”
“You did?”
“Yes. My mom showed me how. I get on the bus by my house and then I ride it for fifteen minutes, and then I walk one block to get here.”
“Wow. That’s awesome, Jimmy.” Rob smiled at the look on Jimmy’s face. This young man was making significant strides toward becoming more independent, and Rob could tell that it meant a lot. “Let me know if you need any more concrete, okay?”
“Okay, Mr. Rob! I will!”
Rob checked in to make sure that Mack would be finished with the floor in the second downstairs bedroom soon, then headed home to shower and change so he could go meet up with Griffin.
It felt good to get the sawdust out of his hair—he’d spent two hours at least at the circular saw that afternoon, and his eardrums felt it. He stood in the hot spray of water and let it massage his scalp before reaching for the shampoo. Fifteen minutes later, dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt and feeling worlds better, he climbed in his car and drove over to Griffin’s apartment.
His friend answered the door with a grin on his face. “Come in. Tabs offered to cook us dinner tonight, and I decided I couldn’t turn her down. Hope that’s all right.”
“Fine by me.”
“You can’t call what I did cooking,” Tabs said, coming out of the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hand. “It’s very complicated. I stopped by the store, bought a meal from the deli, and put it in the oven.”
“That’s a lot closer to cooking than I would have gotten at my house,” Rob replied. He took a seat at the table, where a nice-looking green salad was already waiting.
“And just so you know, I’m just here for dinner—I’m not going to eavesdrop or meddle in any of your business planning. I’m not going to be that kind of girlfriend.”
Rob grinned. “You’re not going to meddle? Since when?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to have opinions. That’s an entirely different thing, and a lot more accurate to who I actually am.”
“True, true.”
Tabs set a tray of enchiladas on the table, and they dished up their plates and began to eat.
“So, no news yet about the search for your parents,” Rob said. He knew the answer—he’d been right there when Matt had told Griffin that he didn’t have anything to report—but he wanted to check out Griffin’s feelings about it. It hadn’t been easy for Griffin to open up this investigation.
“Yeah. That’s okay, though—he told me it would take a while and that it was a long shot anyway. I’m not in a rush. I mean, I’m kind of eager to get it over with, but not a rush. If that makes sense.”
Rob nodded. “It does. If he does find them, do you know yet if you want to contact them?”
Griffin chewed and swallowed his next bite before answering. “A lot of it’s going to depend on where they are, if they’re doing healthy things with their lives, stuff like that. I’m really not going to know until he finds them. Every day, I go back and forth in my head with what I want. Never felt so wishy-washy in my life.”
“It’s not an easy choice. I think you’re doing a brave thing, trying to find them.”
“That’s what I keep telling him, but he’s not so sure,” Tabs said.
“There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and I think I’m dipping my toe in stupidity,” Griffin explained. “I’ve got a great career, a fantastic girlfriend, money in the bank—my life is awesome. Why can’t I just be happy with that?”
Rob didn’t know how to answer that. He’d never experienced the loss of a family the way Griffin had.
Thankfully, Griffin kept talking, and wasn’t really looking for a reply. “I’ve just got this question mark right in the middle of my chest that I can ignore most of the time, but I can’t all the time. This might help resolve that for me.”
“And it’s not going to change who you are, no matter what you find out,” Tabs reminded him. “You made Griffin Baker. No one can take that away from you.”
Griffin reached over and squeezed her hand.
“So, now that I see that you two are still madly in love with each other, that takes care of my second question of the night,” Rob said.
“Sorry. Well, not sorry.” Griffin chuckled. “What’s your third question?”
“Tell me more about this opportunity in Vegas.”
Over the rest of the meal, Griffin filled Rob in on everything he’d found out. The more he talked, the more it sounded like this client was the real deal—not that Rob had really doubted, but every additional bit of information was helpful. This would be such a huge undertaking that he didn’t want to get into it without all the confidence he could gather.
“The biggest thing we need to consider is this,” Griffin said, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward. “This project is going to take at least two years. We’d have to move to Vegas.”
Rob didn’t have any immediate objections to that. He didn’t have a lot tying him down to Topeka. Sure, he had family in Kansas, but they were spread all over and he didn’t see them all the time as it was, and visits wouldn’t be hard. But then he glanced over at Tabs and saw that she was studying the table. Oh. This wasn’t a big thing for Rob to consider—it was a big thing for Griffin.
“Would we take our guys with us, or hire new in Vegas?” Rob asked. He’d change the subject for just now—Griffin and Tabs would have to work the other issue out on their own.
“We’d take our main guys, and hire the rest. At least, those are my thoughts. What are yours?”
Rob nodded. “I’d definitely take Mack and Danny. And you’ll want Will. Bringing in any more than that from out of town might drive the costs up too high.”
“That would be something to research—how many skilled workers are available in Vegas at any given time, and what construction will be going on in town,” Tabs said. “You might need to bring some people in if there are too many jobs for the available number of people.”
“Good point,” Rob told her. “I have a buddy in construction down there. I’ll call him and see what he can tell me.”
“We might even want to subcontract with him for some of this work,” Griffin suggested. “If he’s got guys and they’re local, we should talk it over.”
Tabs finished up her meal, then gave Griffin a kiss on the cheek and told him she’d see him the next day. She was quiet as she left, which was surprising for the redheaded spitfire.
“So, what’s going on there?” Rob asked once he was sure Tabs was gone. “Are you going to ask her to go with you? I mean, as your significant other and not just as the interior decorator on the project?”
Griffin leaned back and exhaled. “You’re full of tough questions tonight, you know that?”
“Just keeping you on your toes.”
“Well, here’s the thing.” Griffin pointed toward the front door. “That’s the woman I’m going to marry. I have no doubt of it. But asking her to move to Vegas . . . we’ve only been a couple for a short time, and our history getting to this point was pretty rocky. I had it in my head that we’d take things a little slower and get some of the bumps smoothed out before we took it to the next level.”
Rob shook his head. “Listen—take it from me, the guy who recently had a relationship end because he wasn’t being clear about his feelings. You know you love her, and you know you want to be with her. She’s part of this company—she and Marissa are the designers we want on this project. What sense does it make to move to Vegas, leave her here, and only fly her in when you want wallpaper or carpet? Take her with you, man. And talk to her about it soon so she knows where she stands with you. Don’t keep her guessing. Don’t sit there talking about your future plans without saying how you’d like her to be a part of them.”
Griffin nodded, raking his hand through his hair. “You’re right. I’m being a dork—I can’t make any plans about my future without consulting her because she is my future. I just didn’t want to scare her away after how long it took us to get together.”
“That’s exactly why you need to move a little faster. You’ve wasted how much time apart? How much more time do you want to spend apart?”
Griffin stared at Rob like that thought had never crossed his mind. Then he threw his napkin to the side and stood up. “Excuse me. I think I need to go catch up to her. Is that all right?”
Rob laughed. “It’s more than all right. I’ll lock up after myself.”
Griffin was already on the move. “Thanks,” he called out over his shoulder. “We’ll talk more later.”
Rob shook his head as he pushed back from the table. Tabs didn’t deserve to be left in the dark—if Griffin wanted to marry her, she should know it, if she didn’t already. And if there was a possibility that she’d be moving to Vegas, she’d want to know that as soon as possible too. Of course, nothing was set in stone yet. They’d been given an offer and some specs, and that was it. But this kind of change was major, and they couldn’t leave it to chance or to the last minute.
He gathered up the dishes and decided he could do something nice by starting the dishwasher. He wiped down the table, then left, pulling the door snug like he’d promised. He just hoped Griffin had been able to catch up with Tabs before she got too far. She needed to know how he felt—the sooner the better.
As he drove home, Maggie flickered through his mind. He’d definitely miss her when he went to Vegas—there wouldn’t be anyone else like her in the whole state of Nevada.