Page 13 of Crimson Love

I make my way to the formal dining room where I was summoned for a family meeting and stop dead. Blake, the host, stands behind a piece of antique furniture that looks like it belongs in a castle.

“Welcome back to The Greenhouse, Jett. I don’t see you in here very often.”

This meeting might have been arranged by my father’s assistant, but at least he had the decency to plan it over brunch—formal and stuffy but softened around the edges with the promise of food.

“What’s up?” I peer through the restaurant that looks more like an indoor arboretum. “Yeah, the café is more my speed. But I’m here to meet Patrick Madison.”

The kid’s eyes widen, and his face lights up. “You’re here to meet your dad. That’s great.”

My brows pinch, but I don’t answer. The jury is still out on if it’s great or not since I have no clue what this meeting is about.

“You’re looking great by the way.” He makes no move for a menu or to show me to a table. He looks me up and down and shakes his head. “The new kidney is doing its job. Before you know it, you’ll be joining hiking adventures. Maybe even skiing. I read that the full recovery for a kidney recipient is between three to six months, but your energy usually comes back between three to six weeks.”

“You, ah, really know a lot about kidney transplants.”

His smile stretches from ear to ear. “I looked it up when I heard about you. I’m a curious soul.”

Since this kid seems to know everything about me, there’s nothing left to say. “That’s great.”

“I can’t tell you how cool it is to have Ms. Madison’s family here. She keeps telling me to call her Harlow, but Grandma wouldn’t be happy, not to mention Mr. Donnelly is intimidating, though not as much as he was in the beginning.” Blake comes out from behind the tall podium and leans in as he lowers his voice. “Personally, I think it was all for show in the beginning. He’ll do anything for his employees. And he bends over backwards for Ms. Madison. Everyone loves working for him.”

Since I’m officially the biggest freeloader on the planet right now, that makes me feel a little bit better. “He’s a good guy.”

“Everyone knows not to bill you. You should really take advantage of The Greenhouse more. We’re the best in the region. Like a ten on a five-point scale,” he goes on. What he does not do is show me to my table. “Do you know who else doesn’t come to The Greenhouse? Lennon. And she gets an employee discount.”

“Ah, Lennon. I remember her.” I cringe thinking about how a woman half my size put me on my back. “It’s been months. I haven’t seen her since I first moved in.”

“That’s because she’s been avoiding you. She was horrified when she tackled you. She thought she was going to get fired since you’re Ms. Madison’s brother. But, like I said, Mr. Donnelly’s a good guy. The only time he’s fired anyone is when he caught them getting it on in the coat room.” He wiggles his brows. “If you know what I mean.”

I shift my weight and rest a forearm against the podium. “The manor is an interesting place.”

“It’s the best—other than that one time when a guest got shot. But he had it coming, so no one was really upset about it. I call it karma. My grandma calls it God’s consequences. Either way, no one died in the end.”

I glance at my watch and think about how Blake is going to make me late for the meeting with my father. But what’s Patrick going to do, disown me? “I read about the shooting. Crazy for a place like this.”

He waves me off. “You’re probably used to it since you saw action in the Army.”

“You’ve really done your homework.”

“Word gets around. Like I said, people have been talking,” he says nonchalantly like it’s no big deal. “And you live here now. Everyone is curious.”

“Living here is a temporary situation. If I decide to stay, I need to look for a place to rent.”

“Good luck. It’s slim pickings. Lennon lives in the basement of the library. I’m not sure how she does it. I went down there once on a third-grade field trip. It’s creepy as heck.”

“She lives in the basement of the library?”

“Yep,” he goes on as he eats into the meeting I have no desire to be at. “She’s almost at the end of her tryout period. That’s why she thought she was going to get fired for almost killing you.”

I stand up straight. “She didn’t almost kill me. I caught her in self-defense.”

“I can see that now. But she was still freaked. I don’t know her story, but she moved across the country to take this job. She really wants to make it work.”

“I had no idea her life was hanging in the balance after the incident. I’ll make sure and let her off of the hook the next time I see her.”

“You’re cool. But how could you not be since you’re Ms. Madison’s brother?”

“There you are.” Blake and I both turn to find Harlow standing at our sides. She looks nothing like me. From what I could tell from old pictures on the internet, she looks exactly like her late mother. Her long, blond hair is tied high on her head, and she’s wearing an outfit that looks like she’s either going straight to bed or to lounge in front of crap TV all day. Definitely not like she’s standing in the middle of a five-star restaurant. “I was about to come and look for you. I was worried you were going to back out.”