“So, have you thought more about what I said last week?” I ask, not wanting to push the subject.
“I have,” he informs me, stuffing the papers into the nightstand before he turns out the light. “And if you want, we can talk about that in the morning. Right now, talking is thelastthing I want to do.”
“I like the way you think,” I say, draping one of my legs over his.
The only good thing about him having to divide his time between Phoenix and Virginia is that there’s always welcome home sex.
Chapter Twenty
Dom
“Dom,you know I understand what you’re going through right now, but it’s been over six months. Don’t you think it’s about time for you to decide whether you’re going to sell or not?” This has become a weekly ritual for Andrew and me. He calls every Thursday morning, right about the time I’m taking a cup of coffee and a bagel out to the back deck, and asks me if I’m ready to sell Pinnacle. Every week, I tell him that I’m not and that he’ll be the first to know if it comes to that.
Had it not been for Tony, I likely would have sold to Andrew months ago. There’s still a piece of me that wants to sever all ties to anything I might have done because of Brandon, but Tony is the one who pointed out that it’d be a poor business decision to give someone else the company I’ve worked hard to build. Not only that, but he’s recently started pressing me to give Jenni more responsibility for running the Phoenix location so I can look into opening more sites around the country.
“You’re right, Andrew,” I respond flatly. My tone of voice is the exact opposite of the smug grin on my face. “And you’ll be happy to know that I’ve made a decision.”
“It’s about fucking time,” Andrew grumbles.
“I’m not selling.” Silence fills the line for a long enough period that I look down to see if Andrew’s disconnected the call.
I pull the laptop over my legs, pulling up the spreadsheets Tony’s been helping me compile for the past month. And by ‘helping me’ I mean that he’s become obsessed with the idea of turning Pinnacle into something bigger than I ever dreamed it would be. The more he shares his ideas with me, the more I wish there was a way to get him to step away from the firefighting and be my partner in every way. The man is truly brilliant. But I won’t mention that to him because he’s living his dream and I understand what that means to him.
“Check your email,” I inform Andrew, hoping he’ll be as eager to jump on board with me as he is to buy-out the company I’ve built from the ground.
“Holy hell, Dom. This all looks promising, but why didn’t you tell me you were thinking about expanding?” Andrew seems a bit hurt that I haven’t shared this idea with him since he is the guru when it comes to whether or not a business has potential.
Tony’s found five similar companies to my own in different parts of the country. What sets them apart is each of these sites are falling apart without the right mix of talent to help them flourish. Now, it’s a matter of scouring through everything we can find on each company so we can create a shortlist and move in for the kill. It’s perfect, really, because it’s a venture that will bring Andrew and me back together as well as eventually turn into something that Tony and I can share to whatever level he’s comfortable.
“I haven’t said anything because your brother-in-law is the brains behind this concept. He’s been beating me down nightly until I saw through the shit in my own head to see how great it could be.”
Tony appears on the deck wearing his uniform pants and a tight white t-shirt. He leans over, kissing me quickly before heading out the door. “Love you, baby. I’m on for twenty-four today. If you’re bored later, come on down for a while.”
Now that Tony’s out to the guys at work, it seems like I spend almost as much time there as I do at the house. We were both nervous the night one of his buddies caught us making out in the alley behind the station, but he took it in stride. I figured that’d be the end of it, but as it turns out, bored firefighters gossip more than old women and our secret was out to everyone by the end of the week. Sure, there are a couple of guys who practically run to the other side of the building when I walk in because they don’t want to catch a nasty case of the gay, but I think that’s to be expected.
“Okay. Love you, too,” I say, holding my hand to his cheek, forgetting that I’m still on the phone. “Be careful out there. I’ll call you if I’m heading over.”
Andrew clears his throat, reminding me that he’s listening to every word. “Damn, you have it bad, huh?” He laughs.
“Yeah, but you already knew that.” I lean over the edge of the deck railing, waving to Tony as he pulls onto the street.
Over the past few months, I’ve found a whole new respect for anyone who willingly falls in love with emergency personnel. Every day, I make a point of watching him pull away as I try to bury the fear that he might not come home. I’ve even considered finding a meaningless job in town, just to keep me from having so much time to think about whatmighthappen to him.
“…Dom, are you even listening to me?” Andrew asks impatiently.
“Sorry, Tony was heading out the door for a twenty-four hour shift. I hate it when he pulls those.” Before settling back in for what will hopefully be a productive call with Andrew, I refill my coffee. “What were you saying?”
“I said that I think the upstate location would make sense for the next expansion if you’re serious about this.” I pull up the information we’ve found about the team-building resort in upstate New York. At first sight, it was near the bottom of my list because it’s too close to home. Add to the fact that it’d be close to the family I have distanced myself from for more than a decade, they aren’t in the dire straits that some of the other companies are. I’m not sure there’s a good enough incentive to get the current owners to sell.
“Are you sure?” I ask, needing Andrew to impart his wisdom because if he can sell me on the idea, I know he’ll find a way to sell them. “I was thinking Colorado would be the logical expansion.”
“Two problems with that,” Andrew responds quickly. “One: it’s keeping the business in the western half of the country. You need to expand this direction and then consider filling in between here and Phoenix.”
I sit up straighter, starting to see what he’s saying. “Second, Geneva is a more central location. You could easily do one-night groups from Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and the list goes on from there. Besides, if we’re going to do this, I think it needs to be where we can be a bit more hands-on until it’s turned around.”
My stomach churns at that thought. It’d be a hell of a lot closer than if I was still in Phoenix, but now that Tony and I have gotten into a routine around here, I can’t imagine being away from him. Yes, somewhere along the way I transformed from a man who’d sworn off needing someone special in my life to a sap who can’t hates spending even a single night away from one another for any reason other than Tony’s job. In reality, I’ve turned into a masculine housewife.
“Okay, but do you think there’s enough to get them to sell?” Knowing how resistant I’ve been, even knowing Andrew well enough to know that he’d never bastardize what I’ve worked so hard for, I can’t see someone else giving up control easily.
