Chapter 9
VICTOR
“Good evening, brother.”
Spencer Penmayne opens his front door and immediately greets me before I get the chance to even open my mouth. He’s clearly been expecting me and wants to catch me by surprise.
Well, he’s certainly done that.
My brother is always on time. He always wants to get the first word in. And that is as true this evening as it ever was.
Everything is a competition between us Penmayne brothers.
“Hello, professor.”
My brother rolls his eyes at his title being spewed out of my mouth. I would never normally address him in such a way unless I was aiming to provoke.
“Don’t call me that,” he snarls at me.
“I know, I know,” I laugh. “I’m just teasing.”
“You want dinner or not, Victor? Because if you’re going to be a little bastard then I might as well force you back home.”
“Just let me in, Spencer. Stop leaving me stranded out here in the darkness and be a good host.”
All our interactions are tinged with a friendly, brotherly combativeness. It’s the fuel to our fire.
My brother steps aside, allowing me to stride inside his home. His blue eyes follow mine as I do so. His short black hair is slicked back. We rather look alike. Spencer is very reserved, but he also has a passionate side that can reveal itself in literature and the arts. He’s incredibly intelligent, as he would be as a professor and as a Penmayne, but he also has a fierce possessiveness that can border on foolishness as shown by his pursuit of Olivia Weldon – his girlfriend. He’s a man of many contradictions, just like any human. And that’s why I love him.
His place is on one of the nicest streets in Crystal River – all very leafy and refined. He’s a stone’s throw away from the main university building of the town - the place where he works as an English Literature professor. He’s one of the few Penmayne brothers who actually lives in our hometown. He’s only come back recently after stints teaching and studying in Boston and Europe. He’s a widely traveled man, but now he wants the quiet life of small town America.
I can’t help but notice Spencer is wearing a very nice dark brown suit. Tailored. Classy. I wouldn’t expect less from a fancy man like him. His shoes are fresh from Oxford. His square jawline is finely shaved. He is a man who takes pride in his sophisticated appearance. He’s very much the cliché English Lit professor.
But as for me - I’ve come in jeans and a leather jacket. Not exactly as upper class as my distinguished brother, but a hell of a lot more Hollywood. Especially when my shirt is a rare one from a designer’s collection worth about the same amount as his swanky suit.
“Hello, Victor. So good to see you. Thank you for coming.”
That’s a female voice...
Standing at the doorway to the dining room is the aforementioned Olivia Weldon – Spencer’s former student and now lover. Spencer swears he first saw her in a dream before he met her, and only then bumped into her in real life at Crystal River University. He swears it was all some twist of fate that they would meet. I do think, however, it was more a fact that my overly-educated brother simply got the hots for his pretty younger student.
Olivia has coffee-brown eyes, shoulder-length tawny brown hair, and bushy eyebrows. She’s obviously got a quick intelligence hidden behind those shy eyes. I can see why Spencer grew enraptured by her. There’s a quiet charisma to her that’s hard to nail down precisely. She’s very well-read, independent, introverted, and apparently very athletic. She loves the gym and running. I’ve gotten to know her ever since she started dating my brother.
I smile instantly when she speaks. It’s good to see her. She’s kept my nerdy brother honest and down-to-earth.
“Hello, Olivia. I must say, you’re looking radiant this fine evening. I love your dress.”
The girl blushes. She’s wearing a dark blue silk dress that cascades into a flowing skirt. She’s made herself nice for this little dinner.
“Thank you,” she says.
“Alright, Victor,” my brother says, patting me on the shoulder. “Stop that.”
“Stop what, brother?”
“Stop that with her. No need for that Hollywood charm, alright?”
“You’re just jealous of my abilities to lure and woo the fairer sex,” I retort.
My brother laughs. “Never. I’m just hungry, and I can’t deal with your bullshit. And I certainly don’t need you to lure and woo my girlfriend. You came over for dinner, so let’s eat.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more,” I say. “I am starving for something homemade and not from one of Mother’s live-in chefs at the mansion.”
The couple lead me to a prepared table. I messaged Spencer a few days ago informing him I’ll be passing through Crystal River on my way to Europe. He invited me for dinner.
I never refuse a good dinner. I never refuse a chance to talk with one of my brothers.
We sit down to eat. Spencer and Olivia have made steak. The finest cuts, naturally. It’s delicious, as I would expect.
“How’s your career going, Victor?” Olivia asks me as we dine. “I saw your latest movie on Tuesday. I loved it.”
“Thank you,” I say across the table. “My career is going well, and it’s also going shit.”
Spencer’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean by that?” he asks. “Shit?”
“Well, I’m getting the roles I want,” I say. “But I also wasn’t nominated for the best actor award this year, which has royally fucked me in the ass.”
“You really want it, don’t you?” my brother asks.
“Why do you think you didn’t get it?” Olivia questions.
I shrug. “I saw a news piece about how I’m a bachelor and reckless and a playboy. Apparently, they’re the things stopping me from ever getting near the nomination process.”
“But you are a bachelor and reckless and a playboy,” Spencer says.
“Yes, I am, but I should also be able to win that award,” I retort. “I can act well enough. Why does my private life have to influence that?”
“In the real world,” Spencer explains with that condescending professorial style of his, “reputation matters as much as talent.”
“I know that, Spencer. But it is unfair.”
My brother shrugs. “That’s life.”
“What can be done to get that award?” Olivia asks me, breaking through the brotherly tension expertly. “What can you do about it, Victor?”
“Think logically,” Spencer adds.
I groan.
“You were always the smart one,” I say to my brother. “You tell me.”
“I think you know what you have to do, Victor.”
“I just need to change my reputation, don’t I? The judges are all so elitist and snobby.”
“So then you might need to change their perception of you,” Spencer says. “What’s the best way of doing that?”
“A girlfriend,” I answer, sighing. “That’s it. I gotta become respectable. I gotta shed that playboy image.”
Spencer nods.
“Mother can always set you up with someone,” he says. “She’s had her eye on it for a while. I’m sure she’d be over the moon if you asked her for help in this endeavor.”
I shake my head.
“No. I insist it’s a no.”
“Well, it’s either Mother or you miraculously find someone, or you never get that award.”
I go quiet. Despite his pomposity, I know my brother is right.
It’s what I have to do...
I stare at my empty plate for a moment.
“I was rejected the other day,” I softly mutter uncharacteristically.
Spencer nearly falls out of his chair in shock.
“Wait... rejected? You?”
“Who was it?” Olivia asks, very curious.
“A barista, of all people,” I answer.
“Here in Crystal River?” Spencer asks.
“Yep. At The Oak coffee shop. Have you heard of it?”
“Who was it?” Olivia asks, clearly knowing exactly where.
“Her name was Josie Gunn.”
Olivia smiles to herself perceptively.
“Ah. She knows Ava.”
Ava. One of our other brother’s girlfriends. Damon and Ava have a long history together. Her father owed him money, but now Ava and Damon are in love. It’s... complicated, to say the least.
“Ava knows her?” I ask.
“Yes, she does,” Olivia says. “They went to high school together. They were sort of friends when they were there. Ava was telling me about Josie.”
“No girl rejects me,” I mutter.
“Well, Josie did,” Olivia fires back quickly. “And, I got to say, I like her. And I’m beginning to like her even more now that I know she rejected you.”
My brother turns to me.
“She sounds like she could be the answer to your problems, Victor.”
“What the hell do you mean?” I ask.
I pull out my phone and call someone I have never called before.
Ava Matson.
Damon’s girlfriend. The girl who went to high school with the barista who shamelessly rejected me.
She answers quick.
“Victor? What’s wrong?”
Truth is, I’ve never called her before. She obviously thinks it is an emergency. Whoops.
Damon and Ava have a crazy bond that is sure to never break. They’re both very fiery souls, and they burn especially brightly together.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I reply.
“Then what’s up? You nearly gave me a heart attack there for a moment.”
“I’ve just been to dinner with Olivia and Spencer, and your name with someone else came up,” I say. “Do you know a barista named Josie Gunn?”
There’s a long pause as my brother’s girlfriend processes that question. She’s probably wondering why the fuck I’m asking her about some random girl she went to high school with.
“I do,” Ava says quietly. “But I haven’t really spoken to her in years. Not much since high school. She works at The Oak now, in town.”
“What’s she like?” I ask.
Another long pause.
“She had a close boyfriend. I think they got married.”
Oh?
“Married? Are they still together?”
“No, definitely not,” Ava replies. “I know that for sure.”
Something in my chest unexpectedly stirs.
“Is she a good person, Ava?” I ask.
“She’s nice. She’s been through a lot. Why are you asking, Victor?”
I smile to myself.
“No reason.”
“What are you doing? Why does it involve her?”
Ava’s tone is instantly suspicious.
“Nothing,” I reply.
Another long pause.
“Don’t do anything reckless, Victor. Please. Not with Josie. Not with what she’s gone through.”
“Me?” I ask with a laugh. “Reckless? Absolutely not, Ava. That’s not like me at all.”