Vale laughed. “What are you planning? To put a gun to his head?”
Humphrey chuckled. “You think I’ll have to force him? No Vay, we’ll be on the same side in this and Stone won’t even realize what a favor he’s doing me.”
~31~
New York~ 1 Week Later...
“What’s wrong, Tesano? Never been to a library before?”
“I have. My surprise is that you have.”
Rena Abreu laughed. “I didn’t know you could tell jokes!”
Aaron rolled his eyes away from the pint-sized woman who was quickly becoming a treasured friend. Didn’t that just take the cake? He mused. In his experience, a woman could be many things, friend wasn’t among them.
“What are we doing here?” he asked Rena.
“My friend works here.”
“Friend, huh? And a friend who knows libraries. Everyday a new surprise.” The observation got him a punch to the arm. “What’s your friend working here got to do with why we’re here?” he asked.
“You want to look at maps. My friend works in a place with hundreds of maps. Simple.” Rena moved on toward the public library’s main entrance.
Aaron followed. “Why can’t we just grab a map from the newsstand or transit?”
“These are free,” Rena didn’t slow her pace.
“They’re free at the transit authority, aren’t they?”
“You get what you pay for, Tesano. These are bought and paid for with our taxes and the quality is superb.”
“Rena...you continue to surprise me. You actually pay taxes?”
Rena merely leveled a look at Aaron and then turned and continued her journey into the library.
Aaron wasn’t sure what he expected to get out of the jaunt. He’d been curious about where the greatest numbers of their employees lived. That had led to a discussion with Rena about the location of transit stops in correlation. While an exclusive busline might not be feasible, perhaps a new Tesano factory or other facility could be the way to go.
In addition to knowing more about the challenges their employees faced getting to work, Aaron was concerned about the challenges their employees faced at home. A plan was taking shape in a hidden corner of his mind-one to ease the financial challenges affecting the greatest number of their employees.
Regardless, the research today would give him something important to focus on until he and his brothers met with their father next week. Liam was on business out of town when they had returned from Chicago.
In a move to thwart Emilio’s efforts, Stone and Pitch had combined forces to stock the loading docks with guards of their own choosing. They also added staff to begin an intensive inventory. Though an official inventory policy had yet to be approved by Liam, Stone reasoned that his efforts would show his dedication for getting experience on how the task was done. The point? To make it difficult for Emilio to operate business as usual.
Aaron wasn’t sure which surprised him most. That Humphrey hadn’t seemed on edge about any of it or that Aaron had expected him to be.
He pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Rena’s small fist nudge his arm again.
“There she is,” Rena said before rushing on ahead.
Aaron didn’t register that his brain was emptying of all thoughts, except one. The girl hurrying toward Rena. He watched the two friends embrace, unable to keep his eyes off the girl who was still a stranger to him.
The women launched a rapid flood of pleasantries, but Aaron hardly processed them. He couldn’t have imagined a more unique friend for the likes of Rena Abreu if he’d tried. The young woman embracing Rena was slender and leggy, almost willowy but a tad too curvy for the label. Her skin was a rich, creamy shade, a perfect contrast to Rena’s nut brown complexion. Aaron believed her hair to be the most extraordinary feature. A thick, voluminous mass of golden blonde cascaded past her shoulders and bounced when she barely moved her head. It took him quite some time to look away from it. When he did, he discovered the outstanding mane came second to her eyes.
Rena must have said something about him, for the girl looked his way. Her gaze was expressive, perfectly spaced spheres of such a pale blue they were nearly silver.
Aaron managed a faint nod and foolishly believed he’d felt his heart stop when she returned the gesture. Rena was escorting her over.
“G, this is Aaron Tesano. Aaron, my very good friend Giselle Weeks.”
“Tesano.”
Aaron winced. “You know the name,” playful regret hugged his words.
Laughter cradled Giselle’s next statement. “I know your brother Gabriel.”
Aaron couldn’t miss the color singeing her cheeks when she said Gabe’s name. Silently, he noted the kid’s supernatural luck with the opposite sex.
“Your brother Humphrey visits the library a lot too,” she was saying.
Aaron nodded, suddenly Humphrey’s increased library outings made sense. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.
“Nice meeting you too.”
“Well I don’t know about the two of you, but this place is too damn loud to be a library,” Rena scoffed, looking around her palatial surroundings with evident distaste.
“This is the lobby, Rena,” Giselle explained. “Come, I’ve got the maps for Mr. Tesano waiting in a quiet space.”
“Please call me Aaron.”
