Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
SIMON
W orking at my own office on Monday, I sat through back-to-back meetings, spending the day being brought up to speed on other clients and projects. Benny had been filling in for me on the days I hadn’t been here, and with him at the helm, implementing the processes he and I had formulated for this time, everything seemed to be running smoothly.
Between one meeting and the next, he and I were discussing a new campaign idea for one of our big clients when my phone beeped with an incoming email. I glanced at the screen, my eyes narrowing when I saw the message was from my dad.
“George?” Benny guessed when he saw the look on my face. “What does he want?”
“I don’t know, but I suppose we’d better find out how my day is about to be ruined.” I picked up the device and unlocked the screen, quickly scanning the contents of his email before I tossed the phone back down on the table with a soft clatter. “It’s his version of an apology. The man will never change, I swear.”
Benny grimaced. “No, he probably won’t. What does he have to say for himself?”
My head shook as I summarized the message. “Basically that he might’ve gone too far?—”
“He thinks?” Benny pitched in and I laughed, but the sound was without humor.
“Yeah, he thinks,” I said dryly. “Apparently, he’ll keep his hands off for the rest of the probation period at Fit Gal and leave it up to me to bring them in as a client.”
“Do you really think he’s capable of doing that?” he asked.
I exhaled deeply through my nostrils. “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. I hope so, for what it’s worth.”
“Yeah, so do I.” Benny took a moment and then forced a smile. “Let’s just trust that he’s going to stick to his word. If I see anything that raises any alarm bells, I’ll let you know, but he’s been quiet around here while you’ve been gone.”
“Figures.” I dropped my gaze back to my notes. “Alright, I like your idea for the client. Run with it.”
“Awesome. We will. What’s next with Fit Gal? What does it mean that you and Abi won that commercial thing?”
“It means that we’ll be doing even more work away from our own offices this week,” I explained, my heart beating faster. “We leave for Florida on Friday. We have to present what we’ve got for the booth to Blake and Ashley by tomorrow and then build out the materials on Thursday. It’s a fast turnaround, so I doubt I’m going to be around very much this week. We’ll have to use Wednesday for anything you might need me for.”
“I’ve got things under control here.” He suddenly arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re presenting to Blake and Ashley tomorrow? Lay it on me, then. What have you got for the booth so far?”
I scoffed down laughter. “Nothing. Nada. A big fat zero. I’ll check with Abi about getting together later, but for now, we’ve got to concentrate on what’s going on here.”
Right on cue, the conference room door opened and the team we were meeting with next walked in. It went that way for the rest of the morning, but around noon, I made some time to fire off a quick text to Abi.
Me: Would you like to come over later to work on booth ideas? Presentation’s tomorrow.
Abigail Walker: Sure, I’ll be over around 6? I’ve got some ideas already.
Of course, she does. I smiled, chuckling under my breath as I quickly responded before I ran to my next meeting.
Me: Overachiever ;-) See you later!
With our plans made, I threw myself into my catch-up sessions, knowing it was unlikely I was going to be able to check in on any of these campaigns again this week. While I trusted Benny, Josh, and David wholeheartedly, it was still my name on the door of this firm. I liked to have my finger on the pulse, and ultimately, if we didn’t get the Fit Gal contract, I wanted to have a company to come back to—which meant keeping track of everything we had going on here.
It was a long, busy day, but it also flew by. Long before I was ready to leave the office, it was time to go and I packed up, knowing I would have to put in a few hours of work either tonight or in the morning. Since I had decided I was going to cook Abi dinner, I went to the grocery store on my way home, using the extra few minutes I’d left myself to grab the ingredients I needed for a recipe I’d had my assistant Google for me.
She’d emailed it over and I kept my eyes on my screen when I hit the store, making sure I got everything on the list. When I got home, I hung up my jacket, kicked off my shoes, and literally rolled up my sleeves.
Pumped about having her over, I got started cooking—which was about when things started going wrong.
It didn’t take long before my kitchen was a mess. Every pot and pan I owned was out, most of them dirty even though I hadn’t ended up using them, and for some reason, everything I tried cooking seemed to be burning.
The acrid scent of it and even the smoke didn’t hold me back, though. Neither did forgetting ingredients. Every time I came back to the list, I realized there was something I hadn’t added.
All the things went wrong, but I kept going.
I hadn’t fed her last time she’d come over, and to add insult to injury, she’d needed to distract me by ditching work to go play volleyball downstairs. Neither of those things would happen again. I would focus, and then I would either poison us or die trying to cook her something that made up for my screw-up with the pitch.
About halfway through the dinner prep, my doorbell rang and I cussed out loud, but turned around and strode out of the kitchen to let her in. Trying to look totally nonchalant, I ran a hand through my hair and grinned as I opened the door.
“Hey, something is literally on fire in your kitchen,” Abigail said immediately, not even looking at me as her eyes widened on a point over my shoulder. “Shit, Simon. I’m serious. There’s a fire!”
I whirled around and realized I’d never switched off the heat on my stove. Then I raced to the little red fire extinguisher attached to the wall in my kitchen. Pulling the tab, I lifted it out of its cradle and aimed at the small fire on the hob, drenching everything on it in the process—but at least the flames went out.
“Well, steak night is definitely off the table.” I chuckled, setting the extinguisher down and flashing her a sheepish smile. “I hope you weren’t too hungry.”
“We’ve never been the steak dinner kind of people anyway,” she said easily, looking me up and down and promptly kicking off her heels when she realized I was barefoot. “I’m not starving, so we’re all good.”
“Not really. I wanted to make sure you were well fed after I forgot to even offer the last time you came over.”
Abigail’s blue eyes twinkled with laughter. “You were just afraid I was going to give terrible ideas for the booth if I didn’t eat, right?”
“Yeah, well, hangry is a real thing and you happen to be inclined to it.”
She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. “I’m the one with the good ideas, remember? You can’t even cook a piece of meat without burning the house down.”
“Fair enough.” I couldn’t really argue that point right now. “Do you know what I can do, though? I can order pizza like a champ. You still like a Hawaiian?”
“For as long as pineapple truly does belong on a pizza, I will love a Hawaiian. Which means forever. I’ll love them forever.”
I chuckled. “Hawaiian it is, then, but thanks for the speech.”
“You’re welcome,” she said sweetly, finally putting her laptop bag and purse down on my kitchen island. “Have you got anything to drink?”
“Yes.” I felt better about my ability to pour drinks than cook food. “I’ve got everything to drink. What’s it going to be?”
“Everything?” She arched an eyebrow at me, but I saw the challenge spark to life in her eyes. “How about a Pappy Van Winkle, then? Double shot, please.”
“Bourbon?” I sighed and turned to lead her to the bar. “You could’ve made it more difficult than that.”
“I did. I didn’t ask for Bourbon. I asked for Pappy Van Winkle. Have you really got that?”
I grinned at her over my shoulder. “It’s my last one, but I’ll share it with you.”
Those blues bored into mine. Then she sighed and relented. “No, don’t. I’d rather just have a glass of white wine if you’ve got any.”
“Do I have any white wine? What do you take me for?”
She let out a soft giggle. “I know, right? What was I thinking, a single, young man keeping white wine in his special wine fridge is so normal.”
“It is for me.” I didn’t add that it was because of the amount of women I used to bring home, but I enjoyed a good glass of wine as much as anyone else on occasion too. After pouring us each a glass, I ordered our pizza and took a seat beside her at the bar. “So, while we’re waiting, you might as well tell me what’s new in the land of Walker. How are your parents? Liv? London?”
“They’re all doing good. Retirement is looking better and better on Dad, even if he can’t seem to stop coming by the office whenever anything exciting is happening.” She smiled. “How about your parents? How are they doing? You haven’t said much about them at all since we ran into each other. Aside from your dad tricking you.”
“Well, that’s because there’s nothing to say really. Things have been as cold as they have been ever since…” I shook my head, not wanting to go into all that again. “Suffice it to say that Dad changed then and he’s been the world’s biggest asshole since. He wasn’t great before that either, but after? He’s been fucking impossible. That’s why I don’t talk about him unless I have to. My mom’s okay, though.”
“I’m glad,” she said quietly. Sighing, she held my gaze. “Look, I’m not condoning what he did on Friday or anything else that he’s done, but the accident was such a shock and the aftermath was awful. I can see how that would break someone.”
I looked at her and bitterness rose up from deep within me. “Yeah, but what he doesn’t seem to understand is that we all lost Brooks that day, not just my dad. He conveniently keeps forgetting that Brooks had a mother and a brother too, not just a dad, and that none of us were ever prepared to live without him. Least of all me, his fucking twin who’d literally had him with me since the moment I came into being.”