Manfax (Winter Brothers #2) - Jacob Chance Page 0,1
You practically live here.”
“I know, but I promised Danika I’d go to the White Mountains with her and Violet next week. And I figured now is as good a time as any to start finding a better balance in my life between work and play.”
“Good for you, and it’s about damn time. I’m here if you need me to step up at all.”
I smile. “I may take you up on that. At the least, you might have to answer all the calls I’ll be making to be sure everything’s running smoothly when I’m away.”
“Are you kidding me? You’ve got this business functioning like a well oiled machine. And I only see it growing in the years to come.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Lisa nods. “I am. We offer a service no one else does. See you tomorrow, boss.” She waves as she leaves.
Leaning back in my executive style leather chair, I fold my hands over my stomach. Looking around my large office, pride washes over me. Manfax was started on a whim. At the time, I hated my job. Grossly overworked and underpaid, I could barely sustain my Dunks coffee habit in addition to keeping a roof over my head. A few of my friends were ending bad relationships then, and I remember thinking it’s too bad there’s no service where you can check out a man’s past dating history before you become emotionally attached to them.
When you purchase a used car, you can run a report to make sure you’re not getting fed a bunch of lies or buying a lemon.
Why couldn’t you do that for men too?
I soon became obsessed with the thought of owning my own business. Add helping other single women find their happy ever after and I was convinced there was a need for my help.
At first, I worked out of my apartment and had a private investigator friend who cut me a break on his hourly rate. But between a little bit of advertising and word-of-mouth referrals, it took off quickly.
And now, I rent office space in a prime location in Brookline. I employ two full-time private investigators, in addition to Lisa, my right hand girl.
Not too shabby for a poor girl from Lowell.
“What kind of clothes should we bring with us?” Violet asks Danika.
“I’d bring a mix of stuff. You can hike if you want to. There’s land all around the cabin to explore.”
“Hike?” I turn my lip up. “How many times have you known me to hike?”
Danika giggles. “Never.”
“Exactly. Sweating looks horrible on me. What happened to working on our tans?” When she mentioned a few days at the cabin, I had an image of lying around, basking in the fresh mountain air and sunshine.
“There’s an inground pool, so you’re welcome to use that too,” Danika reassures.
I close my eyes and sigh. “It sounds heavenly. No neighbors, hot guys, and a pool.”
“Hot guys?” Violet questions, and my eyes snap open.
“Yeah, remember, Rex said he’d introduce us to his brothers.” I look to Dani. “Unless that’s not happening?”
“As far as I know it is. Rex mentioned they always head up there for the Fourth of July, so I’d imagine this year will be no different.”
“How are things with you and sexy Rexy anyway?” I inquire.
She beams. “Great. I can’t even believe how happy I am.”
I rub her arm. “I’m so glad things are going well for you guys. You deserve it.” Danika went through a divorce a few years back and hadn’t dated at all until she met Rex a little over three months ago. It’s wonderful to see her looking so radiant and hearing how content she is. He seems like a great guy for her. I can’t wait to observe them together some more when we go away.
“Violet, how’s your work going?” I ask. She doesn’t like to talk about herself a lot. We have to prod her to get her to share.
“Eh, it’s okay. I’m up for a promotion soon.”
“That’s awesome,” Danika replies
“We’ll see if I get it. The competition is stiff.”
I tap my head. “If they’re smart, they’ll give you the job. And if they don’t, fuck ’em.”
“If I don’t get it, I’ll deal until something better comes along. I like my job now, but I’m ready for more responsibility. And the raise would be nice, for sure.”
It’s times like these when I’m reminded how amazing it is to be working for myself. It was scary at first, making the leap without knowing if Manfax would pay off or not. Luckily