Page 106 of Levi

“I got some good news on the ride back from the airport,” I announce.

“Do tell.”

“The leasing agent called. One of the warehouses we visited last week in Culver City has free space. It’s the one that has a glass door and a large glass paneled window that looks like it’s a garage––”

“Oh, the light gray building with the window decorated with funky wrought iron bars?” I nod. “That building is perfect!” she exclaims. “What a treat to have an office space in a safer neighborhood. I won’t have to look over my shoulder anymore when I leave the office.”

That’s one of the reasons I was so eager for us to get started with the search. Jules’s current office isn’t located in the most crime-infested neighborhood in Los Angeles, but lately it’s been going downhill. I know Jules has been taking defense classes for a year now and she carries a can of mace anytime she leaves the office at night. That said, it’s not enough to deter an asshole looking to do her harm.

“It’s a decent size space to store one hundred bikes plus the prototypes, with plenty of room to grow,” I add.

“This is so exciting!” she claps her hands together.

“It’s like killing two birds with one stone. You can have your workspace at the front, near the windows. It’s spacious enough to fit a small, growing team comfortably. You can move in the first of next month.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I gave my thirty-day notice at the current office, but I still have six weeks to go.”

“You’ll tell your landlord you’re leaving in two weeks,” I say. “I’ll cover next month. You don’t want to miss out on this kind of opportunity. Finding space in Culver City is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Not to mention, it’s going to be challenging if you’re in another neighborhood and I have to drive back and forth between the two locations. At least this way, you’re close by.”

“You’re my guardian angel, Levi Aldridge,” she smiles up at me.

I tap the tip of her nose. “Things are lining up in your favor, sweetness.”

“Finally,” she nods. “Speaking of things lining up for me, guess who paid me a visit today?”

“Hillary,” I say.

“How did you know?”

The glee of malice shining bright in her eyes was a dead giveaway.

“She leaves you God knows how many messages every day, looking for update,” I say. “I guess she got impatient.”

“She did. And she was pretty vocal about it.”

“Hillary loves to run her mouth,” I sneer.

“And she gave her mouth a good workout today.”

I give Jules a onceover. “Since I don’t see any scratch marks, I assume you were the one left standing.”

“Damn right.”

“She’s itching to know how you’ll come up with the money to buy her out?”

“Right again,” she smiles. “You’re good at this game.”

“Hillary Twatt is predictable,” I quip.

She nods. “I put her back in her place.”

“This, I have to hear.”

Jules shares the highlights of her meeting with her money hungry stepmother.