Page 7 of The Perfect Deal
“What’s the difference?” Joshua asked, clearly dumbfounded by their discussion. I had played Monopoly with the two of them only once before, but I did remember there being a heated debate about the rules.
“We play by the rules that come in the box,” Landon explained, “whereas the Briars have some strange mystical rules they’ve made up over the years that Poppy seems to think is the ‘right’ way to play.”
“Hey, I said we’d follow your rules,” Poppy said, glaring at Landon. He grinned at her.
“Basically, Poppy is used to being able to put houses and hotels on properties before she owns the entire collection,” I explained. “And they put a buttload of money in the kitty to begin with.”
“The kitty?” Joshua arched an eyebrow.
“The center of the board. The cash you get when you land on the Free Parking square,” I told him.
He nodded, and for a moment I wondered if he’d ever even played Monopoly before in his life. “All right then.” He clapped his hands together. “Let’s just play, and I’ll figure it out as we go.”
“Sounds good,” Poppy agreed.
Then, at the same time, Joshua and I said, “I’ll be the dog.”
We both stared at one another and smiled.
“You can be the dog,” he told me.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll be the iron.” I waved him off.
Landon was setting up the board and lifted his head to look at me oddly. “You’ve never said someone else can be the dog ever in your entire life, Liberty.”
Swallowing hard, I shrugged. “Guess I’m growing up.” I got up abruptly. “Anyone want a beer?”
Everyone did, so I rushed off to the kitchen to get them, thinking I needed to be careful or else I was going to let my brother in on a secret he didn’t want to know about.
When I returned with our drinks, it was my turn to roll to see who got to go first. I rolled double sixes, and everyone cheered. I tried not to look at Joshua as I took the iron and began my move around the board, but it was hard.
This was fun. This was family. The four of us, together, playing games, laughing, and having a good time. I never wanted the night to end.
5
JOSHUA
Monday morning, I still had a smile on my face when I walked into the sports complex. We’d stayed up way too late playing Monopoly the other night after the barbecue, but it was worth it to be groggy and have to sleep in the next morning because I got to spend so much time with Liberty. I was glad that Landon had insisted we not follow Poppy’s rules because it kept the game going longer. Ultimately, Poppy had been the winner and she did a victory dance while she declared she could win no matter whose rules she played by.
A chuckle rumbled in my throat as I walked into my office at the back of the complex. I set my briefcase down and dropped my gym bag on the floor. I was the owner and CEO of the company, but I was still very hands-on. I loved to come in and work with the kids, as well as to check on my staff and see how things were going. I trusted the people that worked for me, for the most part, but that didn’t mean that I shouldn’t bring myself to work every day and continue to invest in my company.
Sitting down at my desk, I opened my laptop and looked at my schedule, going over everything I had to do in my head. I saw a few emails I needed to answer before I went out to check on what was going on in the different areas of the complex. I’d heard the squeak of rubber on the basketball court as I walked in and knew there was already a game going on there. I’d love to join in if I had a few moments before I went to teach my soccer clinic. That would take up most of my morning, and then I’d switch over to swimming. For the most part, my summers were full of working with kids who didn’t usually get to come in during the school year, though some of them hit the pool for an hour or two before school. Those were the truly dedicated ones who were training to be Olympic athletes one day.
A knock on my open door pulled my eyes away from my computer screen. I caught my breath as it registered who it was that needed my attention and fought against showing my true feelings.
“Hey there, Josh,” Karrie said as she walked through the door. She was wearing a skirt and blouse, along with some heels that would probably sink right into the turf if she were on a football field. No matter how many times I reminded her that we dressed casually here, she insisted on wearing something more appropriate for her last job in corporate sales. She’d been here a little over a year, but I’d gotten a pretty good impression of exactly who she was right off the bat, what she could do, and I wasn’t wrong. My father had insisted I give her a management position, thanks to him being friends with her father, so that was how she was functioning now—sort of.
“Hi, Karrie,” I said, not bothering to remind her that I preferred to be called Joshua by pretty much every human on the planet. “How are you this morning?”
She sank into a chair across from me, pressing a loose strand of bright red hair behind her ear. The rest of her hair was pulled up into a very professional bun with only that one piece that had come loose giving her problems. “Well, we’ve got an issue. I’m afraid it’s terrible news, and nothing can be done to fix it.”
My eyes widened as my mind went through all of the scenarios of what could possibly have happened. “Is everyone okay?” I imagined the basketball net crashing down on a child’s head or an accidental drowning. My lifeguards were good, but accidents happened.
“Everyone is fine,” she said. “It’s Bill.” She stopped talking and slowly shook her head.
Rapidly, my mind went over all of the employees who worked at the complex, and I came up short. I couldn’t think of a single Bill. Then, I went through the students. Nope, no one came to mind. “Who?”
“Bill. The photographer,” she said, looking at me like I should be ashamed of myself for not knowing who she was talking about.