Chapter Six
“That is messed up.”
“Tell me about it,” I angrily finish the beer and slam the bottle on the bar. “Give me another,” I say to Craig. He nods and reaches into the fridge behind the counter. He grabs one for himself too, pops them both open and leans his elbows on the bar, eyeing me. It’s not too busy, considering it’s just before the midday rush.
“I thought he promised you.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “So did I.”
“What’s his endgame?” Craig straightens and drinks some beer. He’s the boss, so it doesn’t matter that he’s drinking on shift.
I shrug, but I can guess. Acer periodically talked about me and Elle and our relationship. I’d always told him not to bother bringing it up. Elle was long gone from my life. He’s trying to force something from beyond the grave, and it seriously pisses me off. What right does he have to meddle in my life? For the first time in a long time, I don’t particularly like Acer George.
“So, what’s she look like now?” Craig raises a brow. “Still hot?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl at him. It’s only because I’m pissed at her, nothing more. Craig eyes me knowingly, though. I’d always been a possessive bastard, especially where Elle was concerned. “Probably a hundred times better than when we were kids,” I tell him.
He whistles and raises his eyes when a group of people enter. Luckily, it isn’t the guys from work. They are going to want to know what happened. As are my family. How in the hell am I going to explain that I’m at her mercy? I have the very distinct and miserable realisation she is going to walk away and allow my life to fall apart. Again.
Craig goes to serve the newcomers. He is one of my best friends and took over this place from his uncle. It had been a tired and dated pub that barely turned a profit for years, but he made the place into a thriving, hip bar and restaurant for the younger crowd in town and it was a hotspot for tourists.
I genuinely don’t know what Acer was thinking. I know one thing for sure, I shouldn’t have let that shit get to me and run out of the meeting. It made me look weak and hotheaded. I may be angry, but I’m definitely not weak and usually I can contain it if something gets to me.
Elle George always had a way of stirring up my emotions. I behaved like a little bitch while Elle asked sensible questions, trying to come up with ideas and figure out how to fix things. All I’d done was yell and storm out. And I am going to have to face her again if we have any hope of sorting this out. I swipe a hand down my face.
Well, congratulations Acer, you got what you wanted. I have a feeling it is not going to end well.
After I leave the bar, I go home and change out of the damn suit. My skin feels itchy wearing it, even though it’s an expensive suit. There are voicemails from my parents, Denny, and Jared. All wanting to know how it went. I don’t really want to face anyone, but hiding is pointless.
I call my older brother .
“Hey, Mr CEO!” he greets me. “We gonna celebrate tonight? I get off work about seven.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I sit down at the end of my bed, my closet is still open after I got dressed and I happen to glance up to the top shelf where there are a few boxes of old shit I toss out of sight. Including her books. That just makes me angry again. I explain what happened at the meeting.
“How can we fight it?”
I smile, loving how he includes himself in that statement. Jared works in construction, so there is no way he can help legally, but he has a good mind. He’s smart beyond belief and I’ve always thought he could have done more with his life, but he enjoys his work.
Being outdoors is in all of our blood, but he loves to work with his hands, building things. He could have been an architect, but he never wanted to go down that road. His construction business has built half the new buildings around Mystic. He’s very well thought of.
“Not sure. Larry thinks the only way around this is a lengthy legal battle that I can’t afford. If Elle wants to take that route, I’m sure she has enough cash to do it. She turned down her inheritance cos she doesn’t need the money ,” I sniff, getting up to close the closet door. “She wants to give it to charity.”
“Bro, you can’t be pissed at her for that.”
“Yeah, her benevolence knows no bounds,” I point out sarcastically.
“Careful, your green is showing through. Stop and think about it logically. Don’t let your feelings for her get in the way.”
“I have no feelings for her,” I snap.
“Course you don’t. Listen, I’ve got something going on right now. I need to go. I’m sorry it turned out this way today, but we’ll figure it out. You should call her, speak to her outside of the legal setting. You might be able to figure something out.”
“Unlikely. ”
“You’ll never know until you try it. Besides, sometimes the softer touch works, especially with broads.”
“Don’t let Terri hear you talking like that. She’ll beat your ass.”
“That she will,” he laughs. “That she will. Now, pull your head out of your ass and just go talk to her. It’s been years since you guys were together. You were just kids. Strap on a pair, bro. You want to sort this out, make sure you get the business, then you gotta sweet talk her.”
I hate that he’s right. We say goodbye and I eventually work up the energy to get up. I have to go to the office and meet the guys to tell them what happened. That is a conversation I am not looking forward to.
George Fishing & Charters is not a large building, just the front reception, where Sarah sits and runs the administration side of things. There is a conference room and a couple of smaller offices at the back. One for me, which used to be Acer’s, and one for a break room.
I try to keep things organized. One of the first things I did when I started managing for Acer was bring the company into the twenty-first century and get everything computerized. Having all the accounts on bits of paper in filing cabinets was asking for trouble. Plus, I want to be as paperless as possible, to help with the environment.
After leaving the truck in the parking lot, I walk down to the dock. Both of our fishing boats are moored. The charter boat is out on the water with a group of people who’d hired it for the whole day. Sarah is long gone, but the office door is unlocked, letting me know the guys are inside.
Four of them have worked alongside me for a good five or six years. One of them has been here almost as long as Acer. He is a cantankerous old fart, but his knowledge and expertise are invaluable. I’d hate to ever lose him .
I hear the sound of my brother’s hyena laugh as I come through the door. At least he isn’t complaining. Although that could bode well for him losing interest in borrowing the Mustang.
That is wishful thinking.
I enter the conference room where they’re all sitting eating lunch. Dale and Devlin, twins a couple of years younger than me, are playing rock, paper, scissors over God knows what. Charlie is over by the coffee machine getting himself a drink. Denny is with Anthony, showing him something on his phone, probably a stupid Tik Tok video. The kid is obsessed. I am still yet to figure out why, seems like a bunch of idiots filming themselves being idiots to me.
Charlie spots me first and dips his chin, then holds up a mug, but I decline. He heads over to the table and takes the seat at the head.
“How’d it go?” Dev notices me, a big grin on his face. “We calling you boss for real?” he laughs as Anthony starts making crowd cheering sounds, his hands cupped around his mouth.
Dale looks up from his dinner, although he doesn’t stop shoveling it into his mouth. They’re identical twins, but they couldn’t be any different. Both built like line backers with arms as thick as tree trunks. Dale is quiet, keeps to himself, and is far more introspective than anyone else I know. Dev is loud, boisterous, and thinks he’s funny. They’re both really hard workers, though. I’m lucky to have all the guys who work here. My fifth guy, Rex, is out skippering the Charter.
“This guy did an amazing job today,” Anthony nudges Denny. “You gonna offer him a job?”
“Don’t get carried away,” my brother scowls. “I’m burning these clothes when I get home,” he looks over at me. “Worth it though,” he rubs his hands together. Denny is blonde haired and blue-eyed, like our mom and Lewis, our second oldest brother. The rest of us are dark like dad.
Clearly, Denny thinks he’s funny. Although right now, I’m not sure I have the energy to try to talk him out of borrowing the car .
“Why’d you look pissed?” Charlie asks, getting to the heart of the matter. “Don’t tell me. He fucked you over.”
I pull out a chair and sit down, eyeing Charlie. Despite how long he’s worked here, there was no love lost between him and Acer. They argued like cat and dog and rarely had a good word to say about each other. Neither one of them would walk away from an argument.
When Charlie heard Acer was gone, he’d grunted and walked away without saying anything else. Whether he wants us to know it or not, it was clear to me he was upset.
“Not completely,” I say. All eyes turn to me. “He has left the business to me, but not just me.”
“I don’t get it, one of us?”
Charlie gives Dev a look like he’s an idiot. He does it often. No matter how much Dev cajoles Charlie, he refuses to engage. “So, what did the old fuck do?”
“He’s given me a fifty percent share. The rest has gone to his daughter.”
“Oh, things just got interesting,” Denny smirks, leaning back and crossing his legs so his ankle rests on his knee. He puts both hands behind his head and stares at me. “What did Elle have to say about that?”
I explain what happened again. It doesn’t get any easier. In fact, it winds me up even more. Charlie just shakes his head, finishes his coffee, and gets up. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
We all watch him leave.
“Is he always so personable?” Denny asks.
“He just doesn’t give a shit,” Anthony points out. “I’m sure he’s sitting on millions in that shed he calls a home. He just likes working on the water.”
“What are you gonna do, boss?” Dale asks.
“I’m gonna have to try to figure things out with Elle,” I say, feeling the back of my neck getting hot. Anthony knows all too well about my relationship with Elle. He is one of my other closest friends. He’d known Elle in school, too. My eyes catch with his and I see it written all over his face. He’s uncomfortable for me. Dale and Dev never went to our school and have no idea why this is a big deal.
“I spoke to Lewis before,” Denny speaks up. “He said he saw her in town with Dawn Greenwood. Said they looked all friendly and having a good time.”
I frown. Dawn Greenwood was Elle’s best friend in school. I still regularly see her. Her husband, Tom sometimes hangs out with us. I know for a fact she hasn’t spoken to Elle in years. Seems she is more forgiving than I’ll ever be.
I want to be irritated that she can be having fun when I’m worried sick, but I suddenly feel tired, plus I need to get into a different mindset. If I’m going to meet with Elle and have even a semblance of a productive conversation with her, I’ve got to be receptive and calm. I don’t have Elle’s number, but if Dawn has seen her, I’m sure she has.
I overheard Elle telling Larry she was hoping to leave for New York tomorrow, just before I hurried to the bathroom, so if I want to get things sorted, I need to do it today.
We discuss the implications for the business if we don’t come to some agreement with Elle and the guys all leave far less buoyant than they had been when I got here. Denny doesn’t rub salt in the wound by discussing borrowing the car. He does offer to tell mom and dad which I jump on. That isn’t a conversation I want to have, not with what I’ve got to do now.
Locking the front door after they all leave, I head to my office and sit at the desk, the chair creaking beneath my weight. It’s as old as I am. I’d spent a lot of our budget on computers and any repairs and upgrades the boats and equipment needed. Finding Dawn’s number in my contacts, I call, leaning back and putting my feet up on the desk. She answers after only one ring.
“Well, can’t say I wasn’t expecting this,” she says. “How did it go? ”
“You haven’t spoken to her?”
“Not since yesterday. I was expecting a call after the meeting, but nothing yet.”
“Heard you were getting cozy.”
“Ben, I don’t hold grudges, you know that. Elle had a lot on her plate before she left. I’m not holding anything against her. I’m proud of her. She left here shooting for that dream, and she got it. And I can say I know her when she is like JK Rowling,” she giggles, but then sighs. “Life is too short, Ben. Maybe you should cut her some slack. Besides, it’s been over a decade. If you’re still pissed off, then I’d be worried about what that means.”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. I don’t need to go down that road. “Do you have her number?”
Dawn is silent for a moment. “Yeah, but I’m not sure I want to give it to you without asking her first.”
“Come on, Dawn, it’s me,” I say in exasperation.
“Hmmm.”
“Is that it? Hmmm. How about you give her my number then or ask permission? Either way, I need to speak to her today."
"Is that so?" I hear the grin in her voice. “Well, okay then. I’ll call you right back.” She hangs up.
I can do without anyone thinking this is going to be more than what it is.
We have business to talk about, nothing more.