“Dude, that’s a lot of bank for a case we basically worked on for a week. What are we going to do with it?”
“You can do whatever you want with your part, but with mine, I’m taking a lot of time off this summer. So, I’ll use it to hire a new person and cover their payroll for a while.”
He knocked on the table, his knuckles crushing into the wood. “Why?”
“I need to spend time with Izzy and the boys. I promised Izzy we’d do things this summer before time got away from us. You should think about doing the same.”
He sat down across from me and folded his hands together. “Angel and I have been talking about it too.”
I wasn’t surprised. All we did was work. Izzy, at least, had slightly different hours at Inked, which gave us some leeway. But with Thomas and Angel both working at ALFA, they didn’t have that luxury.
“Let’s throw the whole thing in the company kitty and hire some new people so we can enjoy our families a little more.”
I rubbed my chin and suddenly felt a headache coming on. “Who are we going to leave in charge when we’re not here?”
“Bear or Morgan. They know the business best.”
“Bear?” I almost choked. He was the most senior, but the man fucked around so much, I wondered if he’d take the job seriously enough.
“What’s going to work better? Morgan telling Bear what to do, or Bear telling Morgan what to do?” Thomas quirked an eyebrow.
“Frisco, it is,” I said and started to laugh.
“It’s a shame Flash isn’t going to be around. I would’ve had him handle shit in our absence.”
“Yeah,” I said and found I actually missed the little pissant.
He’d only been gone a few days, and his absence had already been felt. Skyping him and email conversations weren’t the same as seeing his face around the office and having someone to argue with. But I understood why he was home and supported him one hundred percent.
“Frisco will be a great middleman.”
I nodded my agreement. “When do you want to tell them?”
“Not until we have to. I don’t want to listen to Bear’s mouth for the next two months.”
“Good idea.”
“And if the Feds come back?”
“Fuck them. I’m done doing their dirty work.”
“I’m with ya, buddy.”
As long as we were both on board with turning down any further assignments the government had to offer, I was down for whatever cases came rolling in between now and summer. I’d cut my hours and do exactly as I’d promised Izzy. I’d spend more time with the people I loved most.
Izzy
Kat was earlyand was waiting outside Inked when I arrived. She had an oversized Betsey Johnson purse slung over her shoulder and was texting on her phone as she paced in front of the doorway, wearing a pair of ripped denim capris, wedge heels, and a classic eighties rocker tank top.
“Good morning,” I said as I walked toward the door, fumbling with my keys to find the right one to unlock the shop. I was still dragging ass, even after ingesting two cups of Mrs. Caldo’s Cuban coffee.
She turned to me, jamming her phone in her pocket. “Morning, Izzy.”
“Are you ready for today?”
“I’ve been training for this my entire life.”
I giggled softly as I unlocked the front door. “The guys are excited for you to join us, but not more than I am. It’s nice that we’ll have another girl in the shop because it’s been hell on me being the only chick.”
