“I’d burn those jeans if I were you,” wasTaylor’s only comment as they went into the house.
In the bathroom, Will examined himself inthe long mirror over the sink counter. His torso and the back ofhis thighs were mottled with bruises and contusions. His hands werescraped, his left knee swelling.
He turned the shower on full blast, crankedup the heat to just short of scalding, and stepped under thestinging spray. After a few minutes, and a lot of soap and water,he was both cleaner and calmer.
True, things were not going strictlyaccording to plan. Maybe they needed to adjust their plans. Ormaybe it was their expectations they needed to adjust? It was atough time to start a business, naturally there would bechallenges, a few setbacks. Regardless of what Taylor thought, ordidn’t think, they did have the experience and the qualificationsto make a success of this business. They just needed to give ittime.
Will turned off the water, toweled down, andshaved. He dressed in a pair of soft jeans and an even softer grayT-shirt that read: To err is human, to forgive divine. Neitherof which is Marine Corps policy.
He found Taylor in the kitchen, drinkingcoffee and reading American COP. He must have used the guestbathroom because he had showered too, and had changed into fadedjeans and an olive T-shirt that made his eyes look greener thanever. He needed a haircut and a shave, but he was still the bestlooking guy Will knew. Even if Will did want to strangle himsometimes.
The smell of coffee and toast warmed thekitchen. The washer was rumbling peaceably in the laundry room.Riley lay on the rug in front of the stove. He thumped his tail inwelcome. Taylor glanced up, offered a crooked smile, tossed themagazine aside. “Coffee?”
Something eased inside Will. He’d beenmentally arguing with Taylor all the time he’d been in the shower,but the residue of frustration and irritation drained away. Theywere home. They were whole. They were together. That had to countfor a lot.
Will shook his head to the coffee. He wasstill wired from ten days worth of endless cups of lousy coffee. Hewas looking forward to eventually sleeping.
He sat down at the table across from Taylor.Taylor gazed back at him steadily.
“I was thinking. Since the job is a bust,maybe I’ll drive up north and see Grant while he’s home on leave.”Will’s kid brother had dropped out of college to join the marines.Grant was currently home in Oregon on a ten-day leave. Will hadwanted to make the trek north, but the protection detail had comeup. Now Will’s dance card was suddenly empty, so why not takeadvantage?
Taylor nodded.
Will took a deep breath, expelled it, andsaid, “If you want to talk to Richard, go ahead. It’s up toyou.”
“I don’t want to.” Taylor soundedtired too, and more conciliatory. “I don’t think we have a lot ofchoice here, Will. We’ve sunk just about everything we have intothis venture. We can’t pull out without losing it all, but to makea success of it, we’d need to invest more. We need money. We needthe right equipment. We need an assistant. Hell, we need anoffice.”
“I don’t agree. We don’t need an office. Wedon’t need an assistant.”
“Will.” Taylor stopped. He ran bothhands through his damp hair, clearly trying to restrain himself,which put Will’s temper on edge again. “You’re the one whosaid it. If we want to attract the kind of clients we originallytalked about, high-end clients — if we want to run a globalsecurity consulting business — we’ve got to look the part.We’ve got to seem like we could handle that kind of job. Ananswering machine and a website aren’t going to cut it.”
Developing the kind of image Taylor wastalking about wasn’t going to be in their budget, with or without aloan from the folks. They’d need Richard’s help just to get outfrom under their credit cards. Will was willing to take that hit tohis ego because it was Taylor’s credit score at risk too.
When the hell had they turned into guys whoworried about their credit scores?
“Look. Here’s how I see it. We can make duewithout an office or support staff. At least for a while. Tillwe’re on our feet. But you’re the one who has to ask for the cash.You’re the one who thinks we’re not going to make it.”
Taylor opened his mouth to protest, but thatwas the truth and they both knew it.
“So it’s up to you,” Will concluded. “Youfigure out how much you can bear to be into Richard for, and I’llgo along with your decision.”
Taylor thought it over and then nodded.“Okay. Fair enough.”
Probably. Will absently rubbed his freshlyshaved jaw. “Your mom and Richard are in Bahrain now. Does thatmean you’re planning to fly out to talk to them?”
“Well, there’s this newfangled inventioncalled the telephone. I thought maybe I’d give that a tryfirst.”
Will smiled reluctantly. “If you think youcan make the case for that size loan long distance.”
“I think Richard will give us themoney.”
“Okay.” Was it that simple? Maybe it was.Lamprell seemed pretty generous with his family, and unlike hissiblings, Taylor had never asked his multimillionaire stepdaddy foranything. Maybe he’d racked up some credits for being the fiscallysound stepkid. Maybe no business plans or pie charts of theeconomic trends within the security industry would be needed.
The ancient washer jogged into its spincycle filling the silence between them. Taylor said slowly, “Thatdoesn’t mean I have to go to Oregon with you. If you want to headhome on your own, that’s okay. I’ve got plenty to keep me busyhere.”
It was tempting. God, it was tempting. Witheverything going on between them — the unexpected tensions oflearning to live together at the same time they were trying to getthis business off the ground, the blow up after Taylor haddiscovered that RSO Stone would
