I was a ball of nerves as I sat and waited for Walt to come out and get me. Brody had already placed his hands on my knee a couple of times to get it to stop bouncing. I didn’t do well with other people making decisions in my life. I understood why my father put the restrictions on it, but it didn’t mean I liked it.

I stood when I saw Walt step out into the lobby for me. Brody stood a moment after I did, but he stayed back when I took a step forward. “Good morning, Walt.”

“Good morning, Maggie.” His appearance was a stark contrast to Brody’s, and I didn’t realize just how rough Brody looked until they were standing together.

Walt was a man more like my dad with the pressed and polished look and all about business. The creases in his suit were perfect, and his shirt was crisp. His blond hair was cut and styled as if he had just stepped out of the barber, as well as the fresh shaven look on his face. I couldn’t remember a time I ever saw stubble on him.

Brody’s hair was combed, but long enough to touch his collar if he had been wearing a shirt with one. I knew he wasn’t dirty because I saw the aftermath of his shower the night before, but there was nothing clean about his face. He didn’t have time to shave that morning, and the look in his eyes said he was up to mischief, not business.

They looked each other over, and neither seemed impressed. I wondered if it was a bad idea to have them meet. I thought it would be best if Walt met the man who was helping me so he would know it was legit, but seeing them together caused my stomach to drop.

I took a deep breath to calm my stomach and made introductions. “Walt, please meet my contractor, Brody. Brody, please meet my attorney, Walt.”

Brody stuck his hand out first. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

To those who didn’t know Walt, they probably didn’t notice anything, but I did. There was a slight tilt to his head when he accepted the handshake from Brody. He was surprised Brody had manners. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr.—” He looked from me to Brody. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I caught your last name.”

“Michaels.” Brody finished the handshake and took a step back. “Brody Michaels, but you can call me Brody.”

“Okay. Please, call me Walt. Sir is my father.” He smiled a genuine smile, and I hoped that meant he was happy to meet Brody. It was short-lived hope. “Do you mind if I steal her for a few minutes? It won’t take us long.”

“Not at all. Take your time.” Brody smiled and nodded his head to both of us before taking his seat again.

I followed Walt but turned to look at Brody before walking into Walt’s office. He winked at me and picked up a magazine. I took one more deep breath before entering the room.

“I’m sorry to spring him on you like this, but he gave me a ride here. I thought it was better to have him come up anyway in case you had any questions for him.”

Walt smiled as he motioned for me to take a seat and walked around his desk. “Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about construction. I wouldn’t know if his answers would be factual or not.” He took out the same folder he always took out when I was there. “What do you know about Brody Michaels?”

“I know he’s a hard worker, and he does the job right the first time. I know he stands up for people if he sees anyone who needs help.” I rubbed my palms on my jeans. “Listen, he doesn’t usually look that messed up. I didn’t give him time to shave this morning when I asked him for a ride. Normally, he’s much more put together than that.”

“I’ll admit he concerned me when I realized he’s the man you’re asking the extra money for to do the work. I don’t want him to take your money and run away with it.”

“I don’t think he’ll do that, but I understand your concern. I’d just like to get the job done while I have the help.”

He nodded. “You said that when you asked for the money. Have you thought of hiring an actual contractor?”

“I told you before they are too expensive.”

“You have the money.”

“No, what I have is a vagina.”

He dropped his pen and sat back in his chair. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“All of the other local contractors wanted to charge three times what I’m paying him on top of materials. They couldn’t give me an estimate in writing for how long it was going to take. They thought they could buffalo me and rip me off, but I don’t need them. Yes, it was taking a lot longer than I wanted it to, but even you said the shower and restroom areas were taking entirely too long when I actually had contractors. It wasn’t until you got involved that the job actually got finished.”

He closed his eyes and nodded his head. “I remember that.”

“I didn’t want to need to hire an attorney to get on them for every job.” I shrugged. “Since they did the electrical and plumbing throughout when they did the showers and restrooms, I decided I would do the cosmetics myself. Brody is just so much faster and better than I am. Did I mention faster?”

He laughed and pulled out the pictures he printed for the file that I had emailed to him. “I have to say it looks really good. I am impressed with the work you two have done in such a short amount of time.”

“You are? Thank you.”

“Okay, Maggie. I’ll allow the extra expenses, but there will be restrictions. I’ll give you an amount upfront, and if you need more, you have to bring receipts and more photos of the finished jobs to get more money.”

I smiled and clapped. “Thank you so much.”

“There’s more.”

I put my hands on my lap. “Okay.”

“I’m going to look into this Brody Michaels’ character, and if I so much as catch the tiniest whiff that he’s playing you, I will pull the funding. Is there anything you’d like to say before I dig?”

“I don’t care if you want to look, but don’t dig so many holes that he falls in. He’s been nothing but kind to me. I tried to give him money for the work he’s done already, and he turned around and put it back into the gym when he found out I ran out of money. You’re not going to find anything.”

“I hope for your sake, Maggie, that you’re right. I don’t want to find anything, but you are my client. I’m looking out for your best interest, and if Brody Michaels isn’t it, I will find out.”

* * *

By the time we made it back to Bev’s for breakfast, the morning rush was over. It was the lull between breakfast and lunch that allowed her the time to complete paperwork and submit orders. The rest of the staff took over the front. Brody wanted to take a few minutes to shave before he came over for breakfast. I took the time to slip into Bev’s office. I needed to talk to her.

I knocked on her doorway. “Got a minute?”

She looked up with her glasses falling off her nose and smiled. She took them off and set them to the side. “For you? Always. What’s up?” She stood and came over to me. “Oh, the bank meeting was today. How did it go?”

“It went well, I think.”

“You think?” She crossed her arms and leaned against her desk. “What happened?”

“I get a larger deposit every month until the renovations are finished, and if I run out of that money, I can take receipts and photos for proof of work done to get more money deposited.”

“That’s amazing! I knew your hard work would pay off.” Her celebration was cut off when she realized I wasn’t celebrating. “Okay, what’s the catch?”

“There really isn’t one except for the fact Walt is going to check Brody out.”

“Oh, I see. You’re afraid of what he’s going to find.”

“No, I’m afraid of what Brody is going to do if he thinks I’m the one who asked for this background check.” I dropped my head back and closed my eyes. “We both know there’s something Brody is running from. I don’t want to know what that is.”

“I don’t believe for a moment that you don’t want to know what it is. Have you asked him?”

I lifted my head and nodded. “He will never talk about his past.”

“Have you told him about yours?”

“Kind of. I told him a little about Dad last night, but he wasn’t interested.”

“Oh?” She walked around the desk and sat back down. “Did he say he wasn’t?”

“No, but I don’t know how to explain it. He just walked away.”

“I’m not sure what you told him, but maybe he didn’t know what to say?”

“I didn’t say much.” I shrugged and sat down in the chair across from her desk. “I just said Dad was a controlling asshole.”

“Maggie.”

“What? You know it’s true.”

She sighed. She couldn’t deny it, but she refused to agree with it. I wished she’d agree with me just once. “You just blurted out that you think your father was a controlling asshole and expected him to spill his guts?”

“No, I didn’t say that. I told him how Dad set up the chance encounters I had with Greg. I told him my engagement was more of a business arrangement than anything else.” I sighed, closed my eyes, and shook my head. “He asked why the gym was so important to me, and I opened up more to him than anyone else in a long time. Then he just walked away.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“Work our asses off until Walt stops the money or until Brody leaves.” I played with the hem of my shirt.

“You don’t want him to leave, do you?”

“He’s been a great help to me with the gym.” I looked at her. “Why would I want to lose someone like him?”

She nodded and put her glasses back on. “Okay, I have work to do, and you won’t want to leave him out there alone too long. I’m not only talking about Mona. You never know who might sit next to him.”

“I pity anyone who tries. He isn’t letting anyone in.”

She took her glasses off again and looked at me. “Is there something else going on?”

“Nope.” I sighed as I walked out. Nothing at all.