Chapter 21
Thursday evening, Xavier tried not to laugh at his anxious dinner date.
“Relax, Justine. I heard everything you said in your apartment. I understand the players and the game. I’ll be respectful and courteous.
I’ll also refrain from burping or slapping your mom on the butt for cooking such a fantastic dinner. ”
“Xavier,” she snapped as they got out of her car.
He followed her up the long walkway to the front door of a stately home with a manicured lawn that screamed “big money” without being overblown.
They’d parked in the driveway behind a Mercedes and an Audi.
Justine’s Camry seemed a little scared behind the shiny behemoths.
If he hadn’t before sensed the odd disconnect between daughter and family, he sensed it presently.
A small part of him was glad to have worn a nice pair of trousers with a button down shirt, although he wore sliders, not Paul Whatevers on his feet.
She knocked, and while they waited, he murmured, “I’m kidding. Don’t worry. I’ll be the perfect boyfriend. Trust me.” He kissed her cheek just as the front door opened.
A tall woman in a flowy, knee-length dress and heels stared at them with a growing smile. “Justine, Xavier, I’m so glad you could make it.”
Justine didn’t look much like her mother, though something in the shape of the older woman’s mouth seemed similar. Soft jazz came from the house in addition to the low hum of people inside. A party he looked forward to attending, more than curious to meet Justine’s family.
“Hi, Mom. So yeah, this is Xavier. Xavier, my mom, Jeanine.”
Jeanine held out her hand, and he gave her a gentle shake, not sure if he was expected to kiss the back of her hand or not. She held her hand as if she expected more.
After a moment, she withdrew and moved aside. “Please, come in. Everyone’s here.”
“We’re early,” Justine said, and to Xavier, she sounded slightly annoyed.
“You’re five minutes early. Which is late in this house, young lady.”
Justine rolled her eyes.
Xavier chuckled. “Sounds like my mom.”
“Oh?” Jeanine took him by the arm and walked him in, leaving Justine behind. Then she introduced him around.
Justine and her sisters looked alike, the older two more physically similar to each other.
Angela, the oldest, appeared dressed to impress, all lean lines and sharp eyes.
Mallory, the middle daughter, gave a shy smile.
He could see the softness, that eager need to please Justine had previously mentioned, in her greeting.
“So nice to meet you, Xavier.” Mallory smiled at Justine. “It’ll be so much fun to have you with Justine at the wedding.”
“I can’t wait.”
She beamed.
Angela gave him a subtle onceover but was pleasant all the same.
Then he got to meet the head of the family. As Jeanine led him toward her husband, he could feel the dynamic shift. The man could totally command a room. He had a powerful presence, one used to being acknowledged.
Jeanine put her hand on her husband’s arm, and he leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. A sweet yet perfunctory gesture. “Honey, this is Xavier, Justine’s new boyfriend. Xavier, meet my husband, Lyle.”
“A pleasure to meet you, sir.” Xavier held out his hand and met Lyle’s gaze, conscious Justine might as well have been his mini-me. They had the same features, the same smile, yet where Justine projected warmth, her father did not.
Lyle gave a charming smile, at odds with the calculation in his eyes, and shook Xavier’s hand. “A pleasure, Xavier. Please, call me Lyle.”
“Sure thing.” Xavier waited for Lyle to release him before pulling away.
A classic power move on the man’s part, but Xavier had no intention of making problems by trying to challenge Lyle’s authority and finally dropped his hand by his side.
“Thank you so much for the dinner invitation. I’ve looked forward to meeting all of you. ”
Lyle nodded to the liquor bar. “Would you like something to drink?”
“A beer, if you’ve got one.”
“I’ll get it,” Jeanine said. “Justine, come help me.”
“Okay, Mom.”
So much for not abandoning him to the wolves. Yet Justine offered an apologetic glance as she followed her mother into the other room.
Xavier took a subtle look around him, noting the grandeur of the home.
Everything looked polished, from the formal dining area to the luxurious living room full of high-end, light-colored leather furniture and hand-carved wooden tables.
The area looked professionally decorated—that or Jeanine had a flare for design.
He didn’t note one speck of dust anywhere, and the sophisticated artwork around the house gave the space a museum-like quality.
It didn’t help that the living area, where one would expect to kick back and relax, had been filled with neutral and light colors.
He swore not to sit down on the pale couch for fear of leaving a smudge of dirt behind.
Not a place where he’d ever feel comfortable enough to relax. And definitely not a place for kids or pets, not that he’d noticed either around the house.
Still, he couldn’t deny the place was a masterpiece of style.
“You have a gorgeous home,” he said to Lyle when he noticed the man watching him.
Lyle smirked. “We only have nice things now because all our kids are grown and gone.”
Xavier had to laugh. “That’s what my mom says about her place.”
“Does she live in Seattle?”
“Yeah. She’s in Queen Anne, in the same house my sister and I grew up in.”
“I loved our old home in Fremont, but we needed the space. We bought this house oh, about fifteen or sixteen years ago. It was a huge step-up for us.”
“How big is this place?”
“A little over four thousand square feet. It’s actually too big for Jeanine and me, but we like it. It’s not far from work, and we finally have it just the way we want it. My wife recently remodeled the front room.” Lyle took Xavier on a tour around the house.
When they returned to the living area, he saw Justine waiting for him with a beer.
She looked relieved when she spotted him. “There you are.”
“Thanks.” He took it from her and casually slung an arm around her shoulders. “Your dad was showing me the house. It’s amazing.”
“Told you.”
“Almost as nice as your current digs,” he teased.
Her dad watched them and sipped at a new Scotch his wife handed him. “You’ve been to Justine’s temporary apartment?”
“I have. I live right below her. I was surprised to hear Rosie was going to be gone for so long.”
“That’s Jeanine’s sister for you. Rosie’s still wild and unpredictable,” Lyle said with a fondness Xavier wouldn’t have expected.
Lyle seemed very cut and dried, yet he had a sense of humor Xavier often heard mirrored in his daughter.
Sly and smart, Justine’s father had thoroughly entertained Xavier on the simple house tour.
“I miss Aunt Rosie.” Justine frowned. “I haven’t heard from her since she left. I think she’s ducking my texts.”
Xavier chuckled. “I doubt that. She’s probably so busy juggling admirers she hasn’t had time to talk.”
“You’re probably right.”
Jeanine interrupted. “Dinner, everyone. Please join us in the dining room.”
Xavier found the table covered. Dishes and plates of food had been placed neatly on a table runner the length of the table. Each place setting had been set with a pretty set of matching plates and cups.
“Bone china from Tiffany & Co.,” Jeanine said with a smile. “Only the best for company.”
“No kidding. You never set this out when I come alone,” Justine said.
Mallory snickered while Angela and Lyle smirked and whispered something to each other that made them laugh.
Xavier’s mom would love this set up, like something out of a home magazine.
The mahogany wood table and chairs leant to a more formal feel, as did the chandelier sparkling overhead and candelabras on the table. All the platters and bowls matched the place settings fitted out with differently sized silverware.
He hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself by using a dessert fork with his salad.
Justine nudged him under the table, and he glanced up to see Angela staring at him. “I’m sorry, I missed that.”
Across the table from him, Angela took the platter of meat from her father, speared a few pieces of filet, and passed it on. “I said I’m sorry my husband isn’t here to meet you. He wanted to come but something came up at work.”
“Scott’s a hard worker. A good man.” Lyle nodded from the head of the table.
Next to him, his wife sighed. “We don’t want our son-in-law to be a carbon copy of you, do we? Working too much. Not when we’re due for a few grandbabies.”
Angela smiled. “We’re working on that, Mom.”
“Oh good.” Jeanine turned to Mallory. “And once you and Ted tie the knot, I’m hoping for a few from you too. Then we just have our lost little duckling left.” Jeanine winked at Justine.
“Ugh,” Justine said under her breath before putting on a big smile. “For once, I’m following Dad’s path. I’m focused on work, not babies.”
Xavier felt it prudent not to comment on procreating and put some veggies on his plate. The casserole dish smelled divine, and he noted a cauliflower medley covered in a light sauce that made him salivate. Perhaps an extra helping of that…
“Tell us about work, Justine,” Lyle said with a smile, but his words came out like a directive. “Did you get that raise you expected?”
Xavier could feel her tension, though Justine didn’t show it.
After a pause, she said, “I did not.”
Her dad frowned, and he looked just like Justine when she was irked about something. “Why not?”
“I’ll tell you why not. Because my boss is a jerk.” She recounted her conversation with Frank the Ass in detail, and Xavier felt for her.
“That’s not fair,” Jeanine said.
“I’ll tell you what you should have said.” Angela launched into a verbal diatribe against Frank and his weak character.
Mallory offered sympathy and a few minor pieces of advice, like talking to HR or a peer about her issues. A less direct approach than Angela’s.