17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Aaron
I don’t miss the way Jacob tenses beside me, under Garrett’s unscrupulous gaze. I thought I would’ve at least had a day or so before I had to deal with him.
“Aaron,” he says, getting up from his seat on the couch. He heads towards us, his gaze trained directly on my date.
I step in front of Jacob without a second thought, noting the way Chris is watching us both.
I don’t miss how his gaze falls to Jacob, either.
“Do you need help with that?” Garrett asks smoothly as he steps aside, looking at Jacob.
“No, I’m good, thanks,” Jacob says, taking a step forward, heading for the table at the center of the gazebo to set down his tray. I hold Garrett’s gaze.
“So that’s the boyfriend, huh?” he asks, licking his lips. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone, Aaron.”
I growl at him as I clutch my board of cheese. “And you didn’t tell me you got fucking married again, so I guess that makes us even.”
I shove past him, pushing my scowl away, and set my tray on the left.
Aunt Shannon takes a seat next to her husband and Garrett trails behind me, his footsteps echoing in the space.
I slide my hand around Jacob’s waist and pull him down onto the couch with me.
He falls right into my lap, and I make no move to hide the way I wrap my arms around him as Garrett sits next to George.
But he makes no move to touch him or hold him.
Instead, he grabs his drink, sits back and glares at me for a moment before my dad steals everyone’s attention.
Jacob doesn’t move as my father speaks, talking about how he is so thankful we’re all able to be here and a bunch of other bullshit.
But all I can focus on is the man in my lap who has gone frozen.
I shift my stance, letting him get comfortable as I lean up and whisper in his ear, “Relax, baby. I got you.”
That seems to help a fraction as Jacob settles into me, but I can still sense his tension.
“I will make my decision by Friday. No sooner than, no later than,” my dad says.
“Rest assured, this is not a competition.” He looks at me.
“This is not a job you simply do.” His words are serious.
I note Garrett’s harsh gaze, Chris’s tense shoulders.
“This position is a commitment. A marriage.” He looks at George, then at Chris.
Then at the man in my lap. “I have asked each one of you here for a reason. Because you embody one of the three principles of Evermore.” He glances at Chris, pursing his lips. “Innovation.”
Chris stiffens as he grasps his drink, meeting my father‘s gaze. Then he turns his attention to Garrett. “Creativity,” he says with a smirk. Garett smiles smugly. George looks at him with a smile of warmth he doesn’t deserve. Then my father glares at me. “And ambition.”
Something in the way he says the word is like it’s equally balanced pride and arrogance.
“But Evermore is more than just one thing. Just as you all are more than one thing. Which is why this week, instead of going over sales and profits and projectability, I’m assigning you each one day to show me why I should invest Evermore ’s future with you.”
What? What the hell is he talking about?
My father points his gaze at Garrett. “This isn’t a chance to show me how much money you can spend,” he says pointedly, then looks at Chris. “Nor is it something you can half-ass your way out of.” Chris lets out a heavy sigh. My father looks at me, then to Jacob in my lap, twisting his lips.
“Your day should include a breakfast or lunch, dinner and an activity. I would prefer the meals be planned and prepared, not catered, so I will be taking that into consideration.”
Garrett curses as Chris groans and I tense beneath Jacob.
“You mean you want us to… like… cook shit?” Chris asks, dumbfounded.
My father chuckles. “Yes, Christopher. I want you to show me how hospitable you can be as a host. Catering is allowed, but I may deduct points for that.”
“For fuck’s sakes.” Garrett shakes his head.
“You will be given a budget of five thousand dollars for your event, and I expect receipts to be submitted. If I find you have cheated and spent your own money for this event—” He looks at all of us intently. “It is immediate grounds for rejection.”
He’s insane. My father has clearly lost his damn mind. There’s no other explanation.
“How the hell are we supposed to plan an event and feed twelve people twice, plus schedule an activity on five grand?” Garrett bites.
My dad smiles smugly. “I don’t know, Garrett. That’s for you to figure out.”
I catch the smile on Robert’s face and Uncle Travis’s. They knew about this.
They are in on it. Together.
What the fuck?
My dad glances at Jacob and then at George. “Your partners can help you, of course. Those of you with a partner.”
Chris scoffs. “That’s an unfair advantage, don’t you think?”
My father shakes his head. “No, I don’t think it is. It’s only unfair, Chris, if you do not think you can do the job yourself. In which case, you are more than welcome to quit right now and take yourself out of the running.”
Chris seethes and shakes his head.
But he doesn’t say no. Instead, he looks at me and then Jacob.
“That’s what I thought,” my father says.
“I have already chosen your days. Chris, your event will be Tuesday.”
“That’s two days!” Chris yells. My father doesn’t blink. “That’s barely any time at all to plan!”
“It’s more than enough time. Garrett, your event will be Wednesday.”
“Unfair, he has more time to plan than I do.” Chris crosses his arms.
“Aaron, your event will be Thursday. I will deliberate and announce my choice Saturday.”
“Un-fucking believable,” I mutter.
My dad heads for the house. “Your funds have been allocated and should be in your bedroom. If you plan on booking any outside venues, you must make sure everyone is accounted for, yourself. And remember, use your money wisely.”
And with that he leaves us all sitting on the couch, gobsmacked.
Dinner is tense as fuck with all the emotion in the air, and despite my dad cooking something, no one seems to be very hungry, given the present circumstances. The stress can be felt in the air like a living entity.
I take a seat next to Jacob, under the gazebo.
Chris and his family are on the other side of the deck while Mom and Dad opted to eat inside, and I don’t know where the hell Garrett and George went. Nor do I care. The further away that asshole is the better.
“So…” I say. “Any ideas for this event thing my dad is insisting we do?”
Jacob shrugs. “We need a theme.”
“A theme?” I raise an eyebrow.
Jacob nods. “Yeah, you know, something we can plan the food and activities around.”
I chew my burger in contemplation. “Okay, so like… a beach party or something?”
Jacob glares at me. “Are you serious right now?”
“What? We’re at the beach, my dad wants a party—”
Jacob puts his burger down. “Aaron, seriously. Think about this. This party has to be entertaining. It has to be something those other guys won’t do. It has to be epic.”
“Gee, thanks for the reminder,” I drawl.
“How about a movie night?” I ask. “I could whip out the projector.”
Jacob twists his lips. “Okay. I don’t hate the idea of a movie night, but what movie?”
A grin splits my face. “Only the best summer movie in existence,” I say.
He blinks, seemingly clueless.
“Dun dun…” I lower my voice. “Dun dun…”
He looks at me as if I’ve grown two heads as I hum one of the most notable themes in history.
“Jaws,” I say, deadpan.
“What the hell are you talking about, Jaws?”
I blink in disbelief. “What do you mean what am I talking about? Jaws! Like the most famous shark movie ever made!”
Jacob blinks again. “Ummm… do you mean Deep Blue Sea?”
It’s my turn to blink at him in disbelief. “Deep Blue Sea?”
“Yeah, you know, with Samuel L. Jackson…” he says.
I take a bite of my burger.“You wouldn’t even have Deep Blue Sea if we didn’t have Jaws first. Nothing beats the original.”
Jacob smirks at me. “Okay, how about a double feature? We can show one in the afternoon for lunch and one for dinner.”
I nod. “Okay, but Jaws is the headliner.”
Jacob laughs. “Okay, whatever you say.”
I eat the rest of my burger feeling a little better.
“So… we have the projector, and we’ve got the streaming services, so no cost there,” I say. “What about food?”
Jacob finishes his burger and takes a swig of his bottled water.
“Breakfast should be easy. We can keep it simple and just do a breakfast bar. Eggs, bacon, bagels—”
“French toast with blueberries and strawberry topping,” I say, licking my lips. Jacob laughs.
“Very specific, but okay.”
“Red sauce, you know, for like shark blood.”
He shakes his head. “You’re insane.”
I smile as I reach for my water. “That wasn’t a no.”
Jacob smiles, and it’s genuine. I don’t think twice about reaching out and pushing some hair out of his face. “You have a great smile,” I say without thinking. He looks up at me, those blue eyes full of something I can’t quite place.
“Thanks.”
I lower my hand as I pick up our plates. Jacob gets up with me.
“I think it could be fun,” he says. “French toast, I mean.”
He grabs our waters as I head towards the house to dispose of our dishes. I pass my mother, sitting in her chair out on the deck, my dad nowhere in sight.
“Where’s dad?” I ask.
“He and Rob went down to the marina.”
Figures. Only my father would give us an impossible situation and then abandon ship. How the hell is he supposed to spend time with us and make a decision if he isn’t even here? This is ridiculous.
“What are you reading?” Jacob asks, and I realize my mother’s got a book in her lap.
“Shannon lent it to me,” she says. “She says it’s good, though I’m not sure I like it yet.”
Jacob smiles softly. “It’s cute. But I liked the second book, Hook, Line, and Sinker, better.” He shrugs.
She smiles back at him with appreciation. “Thanks. I’ll check it out when I finish this one.”