Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Personally, I’ve never spoken with Mr. Garcia, and I have no idea who he is. Hell, we probably have multiple Mr. Garcias we do business with, considering Mexico is one of our most popular destinations.
Mason’s the one who handles the suppliers—the doctors, the clinics, the facilities we use in different countries, while Noah and I work on getting potential customers to see it’s really not that weird to get weight-loss advice from a Mexican nutritionist or have braces put on by a Mexican dentist.
I glance at Mason. He’s still on the phone, trying to find out if anyone he knows has any sway on the local judge.
“Tell him we’ll get back to him another day,” I say to Sally. “Mason’s busy.”
“But we told him—”
“Yes. I know. You’ve told me multiple times, Sally.” My patience is running thin. “But what he wants is not something we can do. Tell him to wait.”
“Can I at least speak to Mason?” Sally asks.
Jesus. Does she not believe me or something?
I’m still one of her bosses. Noah and I spend most days outside the office, meeting with clients, but that doesn’t mean we’re any less essential to the business compared to the others.
“No. I told you. Mason’s busy.” I hang up. I can’t stand more questions from her.
Mason puts a hand over the mic of his phone and asks, “Who was that?”
I let out a deep sigh. “Sally.”
“Oh.” Mason goes back to his phone call and continues pacing around Ava’s living room. He’s been restless since he got up and heard the news.
I don’t often see him lose his cool like this. I mean, yes, he’s a little hot-headed, and he has no problems starting a fist-fight (and winning it), but things don’t usually get under his skin.
In fact, everybody’s lost their collective cool today.
I mean, look at us, abandoning a multi-million-dollar business to work on a trivial case that involves less than $10,000.
Honestly, considering the number of lost work hours, it would be easier and cheaper to just pay off the asshole. That would be the smart thing to do.
But no, that’s not even an option any of us considers seriously. This is not just about the money but about some guy trying to take advantage of Ava’s kindness and patience.
I certainly don’t want to give that guy a single cent, much less $10,000.
I don’t actually know how much he’s suing for, by the way, because I haven’t seen the document myself.
Like I said, it’s not really about the dollar amount. At this point, we can afford anything we want.
But we’re not paying that guy anything. Fuck that.
I take a seat on the couch beside Liam, who’s typing furiously on his laptop. I peek at his monitor, but I don’t understand anything he’s writing.
It’s all weird, stiff, legal language. So different from the kind of stuff that Noah and I used to write, like ad copy or some promotional content to put up on our business website.
I used to hate that stuff because I don’t have the patience to comb through a bunch of text on the screen to spot typos and shit. Luckily, we’ve hired a bunch of copywriters who are better wordsmiths than we are to deal with that.
I look around the living room at my brothers.
Wait a minute . . .
I’ve been so busy I haven’t even realized both Noah and Ollie are gone.
Mason’s still on the phone. Catching his gaze, I mouth, “Noah and Ollie?”
He just shrugs.
“Liam, do you know where Noah and Ollie are?”
Liam gives me a dirty look as he turns his attention away from his laptop. I don’t even know where he got that laptop from. Does he always have it with him? Was it just left in Mason’s car after the long drive into town?
I have questions, but they’re not important and Liam already doesn’t look happy about having to answer my one original question.
“They said they were going to pick up Ava from the school. Didn’t you hear?”
I shake my head.
“Yeah. Pay more attention next time.” Liam sounds more grumpy than he usually does. I wonder if that’s a bad sign for the lawsuit, but asking him is probably not a good idea right now.
Both Mason and Liam are so busy, but there’s nothing I can do here. I’m just a nuisance. That’s probably why Noah and Ollie left. In a lawsuit situation, two sales guys and a physician can’t really help much.
Staying here in this house is making me feel useless. I should get out of here.
Ava
“Hey,” says a familiar voice as I walk out of the school building.
I jump from the shock, and then I hear a laughter that’s just as abhorrently familiar.
Joseph.
“It’s just me, baby,” he says, standing on the landing of the wide, concrete staircase as a handful of students amble past him down the steps.