“Business?” Jake said skeptically. “Didn’t look like you were conducting business just now.”
“I have to agree,” Ian chimed in. “You two looked pretty friendly to me.”
“Look, she’s here with me because we made a deal. She’s my date for the week and in exchange, I get her beer formulas.”
Connor had informed his brothers last week that Maggie was the brains behind the Taylor James beers, so they knew how important those beer formulas were.
Jake pondered Connor’s words for a moment. “Sounds like a pretty lopsided deal. What’s she getting out of it?”
“The pleasure of my company.”
Ian snorted. “Right. What’s she really getting?”
“She needs to borrow some cash,” Connor admitted.
“You’re giving her money.” Jake’s eyes narrowed in on him. “So basically, you’re paying her to spend time with you. Do you know how sleazy that sounds?”
Connor rolled his eyes. “You’re such a jerk. She needs the money for Angus.”
“What?” Ian’s eyes widened. “Why? Is he sick?”
“He’s got something wrong with his heart.”
“Damn it.” Jake leaned his hip against the long conference table. “I hate to hear that.”
Connor nodded. “Yeah, me, too. There’s some new experimental drug that’s perfect for him, but it’s incredibly expensive and the insurance won’t cover it.”
“Then we should just give him the money,” Ian said.
“Maggie’s too proud to take the money without giving something in return. So she’s giving up her recipes.”
Jake was reluctantly impressed. “I guess that sounds reasonable.”
“It is. So back off, because I’ve got this covered.”
“Now you’re scaring me again.”
Connor ignored that. “And next time you see Maggie, be nice. Pretend Mom’s watching.”
“Aw, hell,” Jake muttered.
“Yeah, and no more Vulcan death stare,” Ian added, scowling at Jake. “You were even scaring me with that look.”
Connor turned to leave. “I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got to go find Maggie.”
“Hey, wait,” Jake said before Connor could get away. “Are you really sure she needs the money? I heard she was rolling in dough from her rich ex-husband.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“I don’t know,” he said, frowning as he tried to think about it. “One of her friends, I guess.”
“What friends?” Ian scoffed. “I heard from Sarah Myers that all of Maggie’s friends had turned on her.”
“That’s her own fault,” Jake grumbled.