Page 126 of Wrapped in Perfection

Nora is on the phone when I come in. "We can't keep doing this." She twists the old-fashioned cord around her finger. "My brother—" She nods her head and sighs. "I'm working tonight." There's a long pause. "You know I do."

I clear my throat, feeling like an eavesdropper.

Nora turns, flustered. "Oh, sorry, Anna." She holds up her finger. "I need to go. Anna is here."

Is she talking to Boris?

Her face flushes, and she turns and murmurs, "I have to go." She hangs up, takes a deep breath, and turns with a smile. "Anna, how are you?"

"I'm doing well. I love the authenticity of this place."

Her smile widens. "I'd like to keep it but not be lost in the past, if that makes sense?"

"Sure."

"Why don't we—" She glances toward the door, and her face falls.

I turn. Viktor and Peter are standing at the entrance.

"Sorry. Dmitri has me on bodyguard lockdown right now," I joke.

"It's okay. I understand." She points to a booth. "Do you want to sit? Can I get you a drink or food?"

"I'm good." I slide into the booth and take my laptop out then glance around. Part of the restaurant has clear plastic sealing it off, and everything behind it is black. "Did you have a fire?"

Her eyes glisten. She twists a lock of her curly, red hair around her finger. "There was an issue..."

My stomach flutters.This is what Dmitri was talking about."I see. Well, why don't you tell me what you're trying to do?"

"I want to redesign everything. Bring it up to date. I inherited this pub from my grandmother. She passed a year ago, and I was her favorite, so..." Sadness fills her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thanks. Anyway, I need to update the entire place. The fire is shortening my timeline. I hoped to wait another year, but I don't want to keep staring at that mess." She points to the burned area. "I don't want to lose the old-school Irish feel, but I'd also like to bring it into the current year. We're a neighborhood pub. Generations of families have supported this place, and my grandmother inherited it from her mother. I don't want to dishonor the memory or what they built, or make it so different the people who love this bar still don't feel at home here."

"I understand. Maybe a facelift with some new edge to it?" I suggest.

Her eyes light up. "Yes."

I rise and walk around the restaurant. I stop in front of the burned area. "What was this?"

"The game room. Dartboards and pool tables, mostly."

"I'm assuming you want it to continue to be one?"

"Yes. The patrons are dying without it."

"I bet." I step closer to the plastic. "It's a large area."

"I have the dimensions of the entire floor plan. My brother and Boris measured it out for me before the fire occurred."

"I have some ideas. They were floating in my head before we met, and I put a few things together. Can I show you to get an idea if you like anything?"

Her face brightens. "Yes. Please."

I know Maksim and Dmitri have told me never to give ideas before getting the job, but I don't think Nora is out to screw me over. They've been right about the other men I've signed contracts with, but I'm going to go with my gut on Nora.

We spend an hour looking over design ideas I put together and discussing how we would work together and my involvement with her contractors.

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