Chapter 3

3

CALEB

L auren stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. Not that it’s going to change anything. I knew what I wanted, and I wanted that coffee shop to be destroyed. He made Gabriella cry; it was only fitting that I’d make Jim cry too. Having that place shut down over his behavior brought more joy to me than any holiday ever could. If I believed in Christmas, I’d consider this an early present to myself. Besides, I’m doing the area a favor. The coffee is shit. Everyone is welcome.

“We got the coffee shop's loans pulled, but do you have a plan for the building?”

“No.” It hadn’t been hard to call in a few favors. In any case, the coffee shop wasn't performing well. I got the loans for it pulled along with buying the building so I could rip the lease from them too. You can do a lot when you throw money around and people owe you. I normally enjoy sitting on the favors others owe me, but this was worth cashing them in.

“You’re just going to let it sit there?” I could burn it to the ground. That actually might make me feel better.

“Does it matter?”

“You paid well over market. I didn’t even know you could buy something that quickly.” Why is she so worried about this? It’s not her money, and the last time I checked, I didn’t pay her to keep tabs on my finances.

“Are you telling me how to run my business?”

"No, of course not, sir,” Lauren rushes to say. “It’s just different from normal. I suppose I’m playing catch-up.”

“Go play it somewhere else.” She opens and closes her mouth before turning and leaving my office.

That may have been harsh, but she has been overstepping her bounds a lot lately. It’s best to quickly put people back where they belong. If they think they can get away with it once, they’ll try it again. I don’t allow such things in my life.

Why haven’t I gotten the finalized Kingston paperwork? I was sure he would have sent it by now. I double-check my email, but nothing. I want the work to start as soon as possible. It’s a done deal but I didn’t want to start construction and relocating tenants until I had the finalized paperwork.

I hate that Gabriella lives in a tiny, run-down studio. I am going to fix that. If I had it my way, she would be living with me, but that's not how the real world operates. You can't just order a woman to move in with you. No matter how much I want to do exactly that. This is especially true if you want them to like you.

That’s the thing, though. I don’t know how to get people to like me. Nor have I ever strived for such a thing. In fact, I’ve done the complete opposite. When I say people, I obviously mean Gabriella. I couldn't care less if any other human on this planet cared for me. But somehow her opinion of me means something. There’s no rational explanation for it. Believe me, I’ve tried to reason with myself, but I always end up at the same conclusion. I want her in my life. I need her in my life. And I’d do anything and everything in my power to make that happen.

I'm in way over my head when it comes to her. I thought I had more time to visit her and get her to notice me in the coffee shop. But Jim fucked that all up for me. I’m so glad I had already had the deal done to buy the building she was living in. The plan is to fix it up, then drop her rent. Easy enough. I could have more security too, knowing she was taken care of and staying put. Now maybe I can rest easier. That will have to suffice until I devise another plan.

My next concern is how I will be able to resume seeing her daily now that she has been fired. It hits me. Why haven’t I thought of that before?

"Lauren," I say after pressing the enter key. “Office.” A second later, Lauren is hurrying through my office door. "The coffee shop. I want to open it back up. I’m confident you can hire the old employees back. Reach out to Rebecca; I’m sure she can have a manager or someone hired to run the place.”

Rebecca handles staffing. When a position needs to be filled, Rebecca always has someone in mind for the job. She’s quick and efficient.

“You want to open a coffee shop?” Lauren asks. Are words not coming out of my mouth? What the hell is wrong with her?

“You wanted to know what I was going to do with the place. Now you know.” She gives a curt nod. I can sense her desire to say more, but she wisely chooses not to. “And the finalized Kingston contract. He hasn’t sent it over.”

“I’ll double-check where it is,” she says as my phone starts to go off. It is the sound I have programmed for Cole. I answer it immediately. Normally, he would send me a message, so something must have gone wrong. A weird burn fills my chest. I rub the spot.

“Is she okay?”

“At the moment, yeah, but what the hell is going on with the building?”

“What do you mean?”

“You bought it?”

“Yes, the sale has gone through. Just waiting on finalized paperwork”

“Well, everyone is being kicked out.”

“What?” I bark.

“According to some of the neighbors, the new owner has purchased the property and wants everyone out by the end of the day so they can begin construction.”

“I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” I stand up from my desk and grab my coat. Yes, there will be relocations due to the construction, but I have already arranged temporary housing.

“Everyone is packing up and leaving as we speak. Your girl hasn’t come out yet, but I’m guessing she will soon.” I’m not sure who fucked this up, but I’m going to find out soon enough. Once I do, they’ll be the ones to be vacating their job. But right now, I need to get to the building and make sure my girl is okay. That she doesn’t take off.

“I’m on my way. Don’t let her out of your sight.” I hang up before he can respond. I already know he wouldn't, but I have to be sure. I have a sense of what I think is panic. It’s not a feeling I’m used to.

“Sir.” Lauren jumps up from her chair when I exit my office. “Are you leaving?”

“I want you to pull up whatever paperwork we have on hand for the Kingston building. All of it. I need to read it back over. And get me the finalized copy. How many times do I have to ask?” Lauren falls into step beside me.

“Is something wrong?”

“For some reason, the tenants believe they are to vacate the premises immediately.”

“Won’t they need to be out for renovations?”

"I'm setting up the necessary arrangements for that." It can be done by floor and so on. I never once mentioned that I was kicking all of them out.

“Right, of course not.” There is a hitch to her voice that causes my hackles to rise. “Are you leaving?” I hit the button for the elevator. I don’t have time for this. Gabriella was fired, and now she's under the assumption that she’s been kicked out of her home. It’s in part my doing. I have to fix this. I wanted to make her life better, not worse.

“Yes, I have somewhere to be.”

"We have dinner reservations with the Greens." Fuck, I’d forgotten about that. How had I? I’ve been working on this deal for months.

“Cancel it."

“What? Securing a meeting with them has proven to be challenging. In fact, the only meeting they had available was for dinner.”

“Cancel it.” There is no amount of money, real estate, or any other asset that would keep me from straightening out this mess that I’ve somehow caused for Gabriella. The thought of her crying again for the second time today is enough to send me over the deep end.

“Sir—”

“See if they’ll move it.” I step onto the elevator. “Keep me updated,” I say as the doors close. Thankfully, the elevator doesn’t stop on a million floors and goes straight down to the parking garage.

I don’t have to plug in the address for Gabriella’s place. No, I've driven by it more times than I care to admit. The girl has a spell on me. She brings out a side of me that I didn’t know was there. I could fight it, but I already know it’s not a battle I’d win, and no one is stupid enough to go into a fight they think they’re going to lose.