Chapter Sixteen
Brad
The second Brad collected his phone, he groaned at the five missed calls reinforcing his concerns about Lionel.
He hadn’t been joking when he said he was going to cut all ties with Pennington, heck no.
The man had hurt his mate, and that had resulted in turning Brad’s rushing and forgetfulness into a pile of rejection his mate wore like a lead overcoat.
Brad wasn’t going to stand for that. He was a man of action, it was how he achieved so much. So he made a list of priorities as he dialed Dad.
“This is unexpected. Is there a problem?” Dad answered in the way of a greeting.
“Sorry for the early call, but I needed to pass something by you.”
“That sounds ominous.”
Brad heard his mom’s voice in the background asking what was up.
“Shush, woman, and give Brad a chance to speak. Go on, what happened?”
Brad gave Dad the very short version of last night's events, keeping Lionel’s upset to himself. “So, Pennington, because Lionel mated to me, has cut him out of the pride. I got the feeling this could affect Lionel’s business.”
“Why, that jumped-up little prick thinking my son’s not good enough for their pride!”
“Dad… Dad, I don’t think I factored in there more than I have a penis rather than lady bits.” Brad couldn’t help but chuckle at Dad continuing to rant over him.
“That insufferable ass, rejecting a man like Lionel, who must be amazing because he’s mated to my son…”
Brad decided it was best to let Dad get it all out when Mom started chirping in too.
He went upstairs, putting the call on speaker while he packed some of his clothes.
Brad loved his home, he did. Except that wasn’t where Lionel was, so he was happy to take some things to Lionel’s, demonstrating this was what he wanted.
He half-listened as the rant reached a new level of pissed off.
He loved Dad, and Lionel, he hoped, wouldn’t get overwhelmed with just how welcoming his parents were going to be when they met him after this.
Down the stairs, he left his bag by the door for later as he’d be running short of time with the need to shower and change for their date.
He would not be late. Lionel had so much going on inside his head, and what Brad got was all about the expectations of others.
No one had ever put Lionel first in his entire life.
As an alpha, there were expectations from Mom, from the pride.
No one had bothered to take the time to nurture him.
Brad’s dad had expectations of him. Despite that, Brad had known he was loved. Known he could rely on his family for support. Known with complete certainty, they would never reject or ridicule him.
None of that was his mate's experience. Roles became defined for Lionel by assholes and a self-centered mother who didn’t seem to understand emotions were not weakness but strength, regardless of whether they came from an alpha, beta, or omega.
Defined roles were for fools. Brad being an omega didn’t make him weak. It was just what he was; it didn’t define him.
He considered interrupting Dad, then changed his mind, when in all likelihood he wouldn’t hear Brad right then, with how he was into his speech about teaching Pennington a valuable lesson.
So, flicking up the phone screen, he opened the internet to search for a restaurant to book.
Lionel said he wasn’t picky about food. Brad liked Thai food, and he had a favorite place he went to when he was in the mood to treat himself.
He thought it was kismet when they had a free table at Bonzi for seven in the conservatory part that overlooked the flower garden, which had a romantic water feature that Brad loved to listen to.
With that thought roaming through his mind, he came out of the screen after seeing the confirmation email ping and looked for florists that deliver in the neighborhood.
A wide grin spread over his face at the first display that popped up.
It was a flower arrangement that wasn’t traditional.
Hell no. This was a sweet bouquet, and it tickled Brad, so he clicked into the link and ordered the biggest one they had with thoughts of sharing some of the Swiss chocolates, off Lionel .
It isn’t all about sex, remember.
I know, he agreed quickly. But you have to understand the mating pull is there and is dominant.
I want to do fun stuff with my mate too.
This will be fun and sexy. Or so Brad thought, second-guessing himself, before he hit purchase after putting in the address for Lionel and his card details. I’ve booked a table for dinner first.
You don’t need to get antsy with me.
I’m not. Was he?
He shook off the thought when his animal snorted, heading out the front door, happy to have ticked off some of his list. In the truck, he placed his phone in the holder he’d bought and connected it to Bluetooth, seeing that Dad was showing no signs of slowing down.
He was about a mile from Morty’s café when Dad finally asked questions Brad could answer. “How many jobs do we have connected to Pennington right now? And is he using any of the subcontractors we use?”
“We have two of his projects, the first connected to the new shopping mall he’s building.
The building construction is with Heinz and his crew.
They don’t have the tradespeople to do the outfitting of the stores, which is what we bid for.
The other is a house he bought for a song and wants us to rip apart and renovate for him and his wife. ”
“The contracts, what are the clauses in there for breaking them?”
Brad’s chuckle was evil. “Pennington was more worried about getting stuck with having to fork out sums of money to us if something should become delayed with Heinz, resulting in us having to shuffle business around and hit him with penalty fees. He removed the clause locking us in.”
“Stupid asshole,” Dad said with way too much glee.
Brad heard the sound of a zinging slap and figured Mom and given Dad a slap to the arm, as she was prone to do when she thought he wasn’t being nice, when Dad grunted. “He is.”
Brad quickly continued, seeing his parents were going to squabble. “As for the house, that has a penalty clause, and it’s steep.” As far as Brad could remember without looking at the paperwork.
“We’re more than able to take the financial hit,” Mom shouted in the background. “That man is going to learn that respect costs nothing… or in his case, a lot.”
“I know you’ve a lot on your plate, so are you happy for your mom and I to draft up the emails to send to Pennington to advise we are no longer doing business with him?”
“Dad, you just wanna stick it to him,” Brad snorted, struggling to hold back his laughter. “And yeah, go ahead, the sooner we distance ourselves from the asshole the better.”
“Language, Bradley,” Mom called, then burst out laughing.
Brad rolled his eyes, slowing down when he saw a parking spot close enough to the café not to have to worry about carrying his tools too far. “Sorry, Mom,” he replied anyway. “Dad just copy me into the email so I can show Lionel later.”
“Will do. I’ll also reach out to other builders and let them know what kind of man Pennington is.
You know, just to be fair and give them a heads up.
My friends don’t enjoy working with assholes, either.
” There was a put-upon sigh in the background as Dad continued, “And when are we going to meet our new son?”
Brad was glad he’d pulled in because his vision blurred at the total support Dad offered Lionel without meeting him.
“Not sure, shall we say Saturday afternoon? We could have a barbecue on that new grill you bought last week.” To Brad’s mind that would be a bit more relaxed than a formal sit-down meal. Just to start with.
“Perfect, I’ll stock up on meat.”
Brad groaned, knowing exactly what Dad meant by that.
“Don’t go wild, okay.” The call ended a few seconds later, Dad clearly in a rush to send the emails and speak with his friends.
Dad knew all of the building trade in the area and had worked with nearly all the established firms. Pennington was going to be in for a rough time, Brad was sure of it. It was no less than he deserved.
Out of the truck, with his thoughts on the next item on his list, he was just in time to catch Hector leaving.
“Hi Hector, do you have a minute?” Brad wanted Lionel to understand he was ecstatic to be mated to him, and that involved speaking with Lionel’s best friend.
Brad wanted to prove to his mate that he never had to feel lonely ever again.
It was not acceptable. And as much as Brad could shuffle work around, he felt that wasn’t the only answer, showing Lionel how proud he was, which meant more.
“I can spare a couple of minutes. Is this to do with the building works? I heard there was an issue yesterday.” Hector shifted the laptop bag he held, so it was more like a tray, while bringing the pastry box in the other hand to balance on it.
“No, we fixed the issue yesterday. I can only apologize for that. Morty, was he okay last night?”
Hector nodded, grinning. “More than when I…” He blushed and coughed. “Why yes… So what can I do for you?”
Where to start? “Lionel and I are mates—”
“Oh, my goodness, how amazing! He’s such a wonderful, kind-hearted lion. Funny and witty, you are both so lucky to have found each other, and through a Bucket List Buddies eve…” Hector frowned, stopping mid-word.
Brad's eyes narrowed as he registered what Hector had said. He hadn’t mentioned they’d met at the Bucket List Buddies event…
Morty. “Did Morty send me to Lionel’s with the éclairs…
was he matchmaking?” Brad mustn’t have been as discreet as he thought when he was pumping him for information about Lionel.
“What?” Hector wore a complex look. “No, I was meaning his suggestion I got Lionel tickets to the ghost hunting when Morty knew you were going.”
Now Brad was confused. “He did? Why would he do that? It’s not like he knew Lionel and I were mates?”
Large shoulders shrugged, and Hector’s suit jacket stretched at the seams. He looked uncomfortable, staring intently at the pastry box. “Morty didn’t, he just wants everyone to be as happy as he is.”
Brad got that. “Well, whatever he did, it worked. Lionel is my mate, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Hector looked up, a frown tugging at his brow. “If you knew you were mates, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I hadn’t told my parents, and I wasn’t sure Lionel would be happy for his mom to hear about his mating second hand.”
Hector made a scoffing noise. “That woman wouldn’t care if Lionel suddenly started shitting gold nuggets, she's so wrapped up in herself.” It was as if Hector realized too late what he’d let slip and his blush was back. “Please don’t say I said that to Lionel. He’s…”
“Sensitive. I know and he deserves better.” As Brad spoke, another thought occurred to him about how to make Lionel feel special.
“Do you know all of Lionel’s friends?” At Hector’s nod, Brad warmed to his idea of a party.
“And what do you think about me organizing a surprise mating celebration for him—us this Saturday?” Was it too soon to arrange it for this weekend at his parents’ home, which was big enough to host fifty or so people in the garden?
They had the outside heaters for when it got chilly.
Brad knew his parents would be up for it, though he’d have to call to check before issuing invites.
“I believe that would be a lovely idea. And yes, I know most of his friends, and those I don’t, Ian would most definitely know. Three days, do you think that’s long enough to organize this?”
Hector didn’t sound convinced, but Brad had every faith in Mom and Dad. Also, Morty might help and do some of the baking?
“Let me call my parents.” Brad already had his phone out. Two minutes later, he had two excited parents and a plan. “Looks like it’s a go.” Brad tucked away his phone and grinned at Hector, who returned it. “So, can you ring around today and ask them to keep quiet about it?”
“You bet. I’ll ring Ian from the office as soon as I get there.”
Brad whistled as he walked through the entrance to the café moments later, in search of an interfering meerkat.
He was in the kitchen, elbow-deep in flour. “Morty, thank you for playing matchmaker.”
Morty blew at his bangs, shifting the hair, only for it to flop back in his eyes as he grinned cheekily. “My pleasure.” His head tilted. “Did it work?”
“He’s my mate,” Brad exclaimed and did a bum wiggle when flour plumed in the air at Morty’s excited hand waving.
“Woo-hoo,” he squealed and boogied to Brad with the most uncoordinated moves Brad had ever witnessed.
Toby appeared in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes, glancing between them, his hair a little all over the place. “What am I missing?"