by Leslie North
William Wells was a long-time client and a building investor. He was also an old friend of Duncan’s, and until he’d recently remarried, he’d always been a great client. Easy going, he had a strangely robust laugh for such a tiny man. The Maxfield family had attended all three of his weddings. Twice widowed, he now had a new bride who was barely the legal age to drink.
And Wells was retirement age. If anything was proof that money goes a long way, this was it.
After the marriage, Wells threw himself into a new project. He was demolishing a block and rebuilding. The job was huge for Duncan Enterprises and all three brothers were throwing themselves into the project. Gabe was still handling the sales of properties surrounding the doomed buildings, Nathan was designing the new center, and Stephen was in charge of building it.
It was also the first time all three brothers had worked on the same project together, and it was making all three of them tense.
“It doesn’t make any sense. We’re still in the early stages. Why would he be shopping around for other companies?” Nathan muttered.
“Does that mean that you don’t have the drawings?” Stephen growled. “Is it really so hard to draw a few lines?”
“This is huge for me, Stephen. I didn’t spend all that time in school so I could sit in an office all day designing cookie cutter buildings that lack visual appeal. This is important to me. If I pull off the design I have in my head, I’ll be one step closer to making a name for myself in the world of architecture and design that only coincidentally happens to be Maxfield. You have to buy me some more time. I promise that I’m close.” Nathan swung his head around to Gabe. “You’re still in negotiations with some of the building owners. Slow it down. Wells can’t sign another contract until those deals go through. He has to hold the deeds.”
“Nathan, we don’t need anything with bells and whistles,” Gabe warned. “Wells is not a bells-and-whistles kind of man.”
“I have to try,” Nathan insisted. He looked pleadingly at his older brothers. When they were kids, Stephen and Gabe had always taken care of him, and when Stephen split, the three brothers had drifted apart. For the past year, they’d been rebuilding that bond but there were some ups and downs.
“Fine,” Gabe muttered. “One of the owners is holding out for more money anyway. You have two weeks to come up with the design. And for the love of God, give me my storage space back. You can work from home if it makes you feel better.”
Nathan perked up. Cutting out the commute time between the apartment and office would enable him to focus much better. The two weeks’ timetable would be a limiting factor, but he’d have enough of the drawings ready to show Wells so they could move forward with the project.
“I can work with that,” he told them. He rolled up his papers and nudged the stool under the desk with his foot. “I’m going to go ahead and do that right now. I’ll have Alicia forward all my calls to my cellphone.”
Turning, he walked straight into Stephen, who held up a hand. “Whoa there, runt. You can slow down and take a breather.”
“Drop the nickname,” Nathan said with a scowl. Although he topped six feet tall, he was still much shorter than Stephen and Gabe, and they never ceased to remind him of that. “And you specifically came here to tell me to hurry.”
Stephen reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Yeah, we’re also a little worried about you. Since this project started, you aren’t getting out much. I honestly think Angie scared you into going to the baby shower to get you out of your head. You’re normally such an outdoorsy kind of guy. Why don’t you take a walk, maybe clear your head a little before you get back to work again. You look pale, and you’ve got dark circles under your eyes, which makes you look like you’ve been in prison for a life-stretch.”
“I do not. And I’m fine. I’ll have plenty of time to take a walk once I finish the preliminary drawings. Is there anything else you wanted to nag me about before I go?”
“No, but I do have a favor to ask. Do you think you can drive Angie to work next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? I’ll be finishing things up at Maxfield Construction to turn over to management before Angie’s estimated delivery date, and I want to make sure she has transportation to work. Gabe can drive her home, but he has several early morning walk-throughs that he has to do next week.”
Nathan turned and regarded his older brother closely. “You’re turning things over to management? Are you actually taking paternity leave from Maxfield Construction?”
Stephen nodded. “For a couple of months. I may have to make a few trips down and make a lot of phone calls, but I want to be here while Angie adjusts. She’s also going to be splitting her time, and it’ll work out easier if we both do it.”
Despite Stephen’s casual attitude, Nathan could detect the underlying meaning in his words, and he could understand it. Stephen didn’t want to be like Duncan. He wanted to be able to focus on both work and building his family.
It was admirable, and Nathan believed that between Angie and Stephen, they could make it work. “I’d be happy to help.”
“Great. My advice to you is to stick to the speed limit, let her choose the music, and don’t say anything to her. She’s not allowed caffeine, and that can make the mornings more than a little difficult.”
Nathan mentally filed it all away. “Right. Okay, thanks. Call me if you need me.”
“Wait, Nathan?” Gabe interrupted. “Before you go home, can you run by Dad’s and pick up some papers? I’m supposed to pick them up tonight, but Daisy really wanted to have dinner out tonight. I made reservations at that sushi place right by your apartment, so we can swing by and pick them up afterwards.”
Narrowing his eyes, Nathan frowned. “You two aren’t going to start using me as your errand boy because you’re both married and I’m not, are you?”
“Of course not,” they both said simultaneously.
“Why don’t I believe that?” Nathan grumbled. “I’ll do it this once, but if you want those designs in the next two weeks, I need to focus.”
“Understood,” Stephen nodded his head.
“Won’t do anything else to distract you,” Gabe chimed in.
With a sigh, Nathan slipped the strap of his bag over his head and left the storage room. He had a feeling he was going to have to find another place to isolate himself and keep his brothers at bay until the project was finished. Otherwise, he was convinced his deadline would be in jeopardy.
Half an hour later, he pulled up to his old childhood home. As with every other time he came back, memories floated to the surface. Duncan may have been around for Stephen and Gabe’s early childhood, but his presence was pretty well non-existent by the time that Nathan came along. While his brothers were around to keep an eye on him, they were much older and had their own friends to entertain them. Whereas, Nathan was shy and considered too intense by his peers, preferring to be alone or socialize with adults. Desperate for his father’s attention, he often went to extreme measures to get it.
Stephen was the independent one. Gabe rebelled. And Nathan began to attempt to win his father’s approval through dangerous risks. He was always the first one to try something new. When he was eight, he’d climbed up to the roof of the house, got out right onto the roof, and jumped into the swimming pool three stories below. In hindsight, it wasn’t the most brilliant plan, and it was somewhat of a surprise that he hadn’t been seriously hurt.
Duncan had been angry, but even while he was yelling; Nathan could see the admiration in his father’s eyes. And so, the youngest Maxfield son started finding more and more daring things to do to see that look again for a few precious seconds.
He’d eventually become an adrenaline junkie. Rock climbing, skydiving, and cliff jumping were among his favorite activities for the rush that those types of pursuits gave him. It cleared his head and allowed him to escape his everyday life, even only for a little while.
But for the next two weeks, there would be no time for any of that. Natha
n opened his car door and grabbed his keys. The goal was to get in and out without having a lengthy conversation with his father.
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be in the cards for him. Duncan opened the door as soon as Nathan walked up the steps. “Gabe told me that you were coming,” Duncan said gruffly.
“Great. So you have the papers ready?”
“They’re somewhere in the office,” his father said cagily. “Come on. I’ll help you find them.”
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Nathan followed his father to the back office. Although Duncan had turned the reins over to Angie, he still held the majority of company shares, and he sometimes liked to use that to circumvent his retirement and pry into Angie and his sons’ work.
“I heard Wells is shopping around,” Duncan said as he opened the door.
“That’s the rumor,” Nathan mumbled. The office was a total mess. There were papers strewn about everywhere. His father was normally so organized, almost to a fault. “What the hell happened here?”
Duncan shrugged. “Just going through everything. Gabe’s papers are in here somewhere. Are you seeing anyone?”
“What?” Nathan frowned at his father’s abrupt change of subject.
“Are you dating anyone? I was thinking of having a family get-together this summer, and I need to know if you’re bringing a date.”
His father acted like it was no big deal, but Nathan knew there was something Duncan wanted from him. He knew the old man too well to miss the telltale signs. “You want me to bring a date to a family get-together?”
“Why not? The more the merrier. I only had corporate functions here when you boys were growing up. I think it’s time this place saw a little family entertainment.”
“Okay,” Nathan said slowly. “Well, when you have the date finalized, I’ll let you know if I’m going to bring anyone.”
Duncan didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, but he didn’t press for any further details. In silence, Nathan shuffled through the papers until he found the documents that he was looking for. “Got them.” He shoved them in his bag, and then glanced at his father curiously. “Wells is one of your friends. Do you have any idea why he might be looking for another company?”
“It’s probably nothing,” Duncan said dismissively. “He’s probably trying to light a fire under Angie and you boys to get the best deal he can. He’s not the first client to do that, and he won’t be the last.”
Nathan ran a hand through his shaggy sandy-colored hair and shrugged. “I hope you’re right. I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next two weeks to meet his deadline.”
“Nathan.” Something in his father’s voice made him stop and turn around to stare at Duncan. “You were the one I always worried about the most. Between your college antics and your partying, I thought you would never grow up.”
“Dad, if you’re concerned that I’m going to blow this project off, you’re wrong.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Duncan leaned against his cane and studied Nathan. “Ever since Gabe and Daisy’s wedding, you’ve done a complete one-eighty. You don’t go out anymore. You don’t do any of that crazy jumping out of planes stuff that you used to enjoy so much.”
Nathan waited for his father to keep going, but he’d stopped. “Okay. What’s your point?”
“You’re over-compensating,” Duncan said softly. “I don’t know if it’s because you’re looking for your brothers’ approval or if the wedding hit you harder than you thought it would, but I’m concerned.”
“I’m happy for Gabe and Daisy,” Nathan said honestly. “And I haven’t given a damn about what any of you guys thought about me for a long time. I didn’t even want to come back, but now that I’m here, I’m going to do my best work. Wells’ project is an opportunity for me to make a name for myself. There’s nothing wrong with me being focused on that.”
“Don’t let it consume you. Don’t turn out like me.”
Nathan snorted. “Of all your sons, I’m the least like you. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
His father didn’t say anything more as Nathan left, and Nathan quickly dismissed his father’s fears. There was no way that he would ever end up like Duncan.
3
After two days of mainlining coffee, Nathan felt like he was hitting a brick wall. For some reason, he couldn’t get the drawings quite right. He needed some sort of inspiration and decided to drive past the site to look at the area once again.
The current space held six businesses that bordered miles of undeveloped property. The land had been in the Wells name for generations, but up to now, William Wells had only focused on the more developed property that he owned in San Francisco and Sacramento. The small strip of restaurants and boutiques hadn’t been properly renovated since the 1920s. It still had a beautiful cobblestone street running in front of the stores and the original old-style brick structure with prominent columns built to withstand earthquakes has held up to the test of time and countless earthquakes that regularly rock the Bay Area. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the buildings, and Nathan hated the thought of tearing them all down.
“Nathan?”
Startled out of his musings, Nathan turned to see Carolina Valdez walking towards him. She wore a pair of black pants and the brightest pink blouse he’d ever seen. Her blonde hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of her neck, and she walked across the uneven path in a pair of pink high-heels. She exuded confidence.
Once again, Nathan was struck by her beauty. It was hard to believe that she had three kids. “Carolina,” he said as he smiled warmly. “What are you doing here?”
She stopped in front of him, and Nathan wondered if he should shake her hand or give her a hug. Luckily, she offered neither but turned and pointed to the last building in the strip. “I run Maria’s Restaurant right there. What are you doing here?”
Nathan felt like someone had slapped him in the face. Surely, Angie knew that her sister’s restaurant was part of the Wells property? “I’m taking a walk around,” he said lamely.
Carolina smiled. “You don’t have to lie. I know that Mr. Wells is tearing the strip down and rebuilding, and I know that Duncan Enterprises is handling the project.”
“I can’t believe that Angie would agree to this.”
“It’s unfortunate, but we only rent the space, so we don’t have much say in the matter. Thankfully, Mr. Wells gave us plenty of notice that he wants to redevelop the surrounding properties and he agreed to let us rent month-to-month until everything is settled. With Angie handling everything, we know what’s been going on and our expected timeline, so we could plan accordingly. With anyone else, we would have run the risk of showing up to the restaurant one day and finding out that we were closed for demolition. That would suck.”
Nathan shook his head. “You’re really positive about all of this.”
“I’m too busy to get bogged down in the details of everything. We still have some great customers, and I would hate to lose them. But I do need to find a new location for the restaurant. I was actually on my way to get some coffee. Do you want to join me?” She started inching her way down the street.
“You work in a restaurant and you go out to get coffee?” he said with a laugh as he fell in step next to her.
“I need a couple of shots of espresso,” she answered, chuckling as well. “Although if you’re asking, we do have great coffee!”
“I can imagine that you need the extra caffeine. Three kids and a restaurant? How do you do it?”
“Having a big family helps,” Carolina admitted. “And my last ex-husband is actually pretty great about taking the kids. I try to work as many morning shifts as possible while Julio and Tamara are in school. Carlita usually stays with my mom or one of my brothers. Sometimes I let the kids come here for a couple of hours. The customers love them,” Carolina said with an expression of pride.
The coffee shop was actually a bookstore with a small cafe inside. It w
as filled with mostly older and retired people, but there were a few young, career-minded people on their computers or meeting with colleagues or friends. Carolina and Nathan stood in the short line, but when they got up to order, the cashier already had Carolina’s coffee ready.
“I come here every day,” she admitted as she paid. Nathan ordered a regular black coffee and joined her at one of the small wooden tables.
“This place is unique.” Nathan noted the modern hardwood floors and the exposed wooden beams in the ceiling.
“Mr. Wells never put much money into the buildings. When things broke, repairs were made, but he hasn’t renovated much of anything. The long-term renters do the best they can with what they have, but I think that’s what gives us that quaint feel. This place has a lot of character. People love to come here for the atmosphere. I don’t usually have time to be sentimental, but I am going to be really sad to see it go,” Carolina admitted.
He sipped his hot coffee and studied her face. As she looked around, he could tell that her thoughts were wandering. He had a sudden urge to have those beautiful dark eyes focused only on him. “Any prospects?”
“Hmm?” she asked as she turned her gaze back on him. “Oh for the restaurant? None that compare to the rent here. As long as our profits stay the same, we can afford a little more, but my mother is in charge of the restaurant. She doesn’t want to spend any more money. She’s confident that we can rent at another great location for the same money.” Carolina wrinkled her nose. “She doesn’t know all that much about real estate.”
Nathan chuckled. “If you’ve been settled here for a long time, I can understand that.”
“I don’t want to rent again,” Carolina admitted. “I want to buy property for some security, but I’ll never get Mom to go for that. So you’re an architect? An environmentally conscious architect?”
“That’s one way to put it,” he said with a laugh. “I’m a green architect. I come up with designs that are more energy efficient and waste less.”