“It came about after a particularly long brainstorming session one night involving many beers.”
Matías’s gaze drops to the gleaming laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of me. It just arrived this morning, and the box and all the other paraphernalia with it are strewn in an untidy heap beside it. “New toy?”
“I made the mistake of asking Beck if I could borrow his laptop for an hour or two one evening.” Mrs. Flores’s cat knocked mine off a table a few months back and I’d been saving up to get another ever since. “Normally when a guy seems a bit shocked at the prospect of handing over his devices, it’s because he’s worried about being busted with porn or something, but I think for Beck it was just that he forgets that not everyone owns the latest toys. Anyway, within an hour a delivery guy turns up with this shiny tech. The guy offered to set it up for me, but I figured that if I didn’t do it myself, I’d never know how to fix anything when it goes wrong.”
Matías nods. “What’s your purpose with it? Business or pleasure?”
“The first option.”
“Yeah?” He sits up. “What are you working on?”
“My résumé,” I answer. “If I’m staying, I’m going to need a job. The trick is making a half a dozen different waitressing jobs sound like it’s prepared me for great things. Slinging coffee or beer won’t go down well with the fam so it’s time to use the degree.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Sure.” I scan my thumbprint and pass the computer. “Any and all constructive feedback gratefully accepted.”
He’s quiet for several minutes, reading what I’ve written so far. Which deep down inside I can admit is probably a whole lot of nonsense. But you have to start somewhere. At least if I do get any interviews, I can turn up in a fancy suit and look the part.
“You have a way with words.”
I laugh. “Potential employers might not care much about my degree in English Lit. But at least it gifted me the ability to spin beautiful sentences about my lack of useful qualifications.”
“Let me show you something.” His fingers tap oh so quietly against the keys. He hands the laptop back over to me with a site for a local microbrewery on screen.
“Is this the business you guys were talking about the other day?” I ask. “The beer we sampled?”
“That’s right. Tell me what you think.”
Taking my time, I scroll through the information. “It looks good, but the content is a little clunky.”
“Agreed. Rewrite it for me. Give me something better.”
I just look at him.
And the man is serious. Very much so. “The Crooked Company is growing and some of these businesses need a little mentoring. Fact is, I can’t keep handling everything on my own and Beck is busy doing his own thing. These are exactly the kinds of jobs I should be handing over to someone else. Someone qualified. So give it a go.”
“All right,” I say, and get to work rereading the content before beginning. If nothing else, it’ll be good practice. Maybe I’ll even get a job. Worst case scenario is I’ll ask Matías for five bucks for my work and put in a new entry on my résumé as professional internet consultant. Or whatever fancy title I can invent.
An hour or so later, I’ve got a solid first draft for the content for the microbrewery, and Beck and Henry stroll in all smiles. Thing is, they’re not wearing the clothes they left in. Both of them are now in sports type T-shirts, shorts, and weird looking sneakers. Not that any of this actually matters. Because my gaze fixes on Beck, all of the happy hormones are released, and oh boy…the high from simply seeing him again is breathtaking. My whole body wakes up, my defenses crumble, and my plans (if I had any) disappear.
Also, there’s a nasty scratch on his cheek.
“Detour to do some climbing, huh?” asks Matías. “Where’d you go?”
“Boulder Canyon.” Henry collapses into the chair next to him. “Can I’ve a beer?”
“No. But I can. Anybody else want anything?” Beck grabs a beer for himself and a bottle of juice for his brother out of the fridge. After passing Henry his drink, he joins me on the couch. “Hello, dearest. How was your day?”
“Did you get hurt because you were hanging off a mountain with little to no safety equipment?” I ask.
He reflects upon the question for a moment. “No, it was more like a really big rock.”
“It was lit,” says Henry.
“And we were both extremely careful the whole time,” adds Beck.
“Glad you enjoyed yourselves.” The whole idea still kind of freaks me out, but oh well. “Have you talked to Ethan?”
Beck takes a swig of beer, nodding. “Yeah. Sorry about that. Had him in my ear all the way back home. Eventually managed to talk him around.”
“Good.”
“How was he when he stopped by earlier?” asks Beck.
“It was fine.” I shoot Matías a look in case he’s of a mind to contradict me. “He’s just worried, you know.”
Having already finished the bottle of juice, Henry slams it on the coffee table. “As if he cares. Ethan is a fucking—”
“Dude.” Beck scowls. “Language. We talked about this.”
Henry gestures toward me with a hand. “C’mon, she used to work in a bar. It’s not like she hasn’t heard it all before. Right, Alice? You don’t care, do you?”
I say nothing. This is between them.
Beck just stares at him, his gaze flat and unhappy.
“You know, you used to be okay.” Henry gets to his feet, heading for the office. His temporary bedroom. “But you’re turning into an even bigger hard-ass than Dad was.”
The door is slammed and Henry is gone. What is it about Elliot males feeling the need to abuse doors today?
Matías raises a brow. “I’m getting the feeling you’re no longer one of the cool kids.”
“I can live with that,” say Beck, voice dour. “He was perfectly happy for a couple of hours. Even talked to me a bit about school and stuff. Now we’re back to this.”
“Does he like his school?” I ask.
“Seems to. As much as anyone that age does. But mostly he just wants to get back to his friends.”
“Having a routine after all of this upset and change won’t hurt him either,” says Matías. “Anyway, congratulate Alice. She just got hired by The Crooked Company. She is now in charge of assisting with website content and I’m thinking I could train her up to do more. Like take over some of the initial basic research and assessment, maybe even handle some of the interviews.”
I cock my head. “Are you offering me a job?”
“Please don’t say no.” Matías puts his palms together like he’s praying. “The thought of having to find someone has been doing my head in. I’ll even come up with a cool title for you. It’ll be great. Of course, you’ll also be monetarily recompensed at a suitable rate for your time and expertise. What do you say, Alice?”
“If you want her going out doing interviews, she’ll need a company car,” says Beck.