Chapter 12 Drew
DREW
“Ithought this was supposed to be simple,” I grumbled to myself as I smacked buttons on my laptop. “Hey, Shel?”
Instead of yelling back at me from her desk my trusty assistant Shelby peeked her head in my office. “Yes?”
“This videoconference stuff isn’t working.”
It went unsaid that I couldn’t figure out what the hell I was doing, so I didn’t know if it was a me thing or a tech thing.
Who was I kidding? It was definitely a me thing, and both Shelby and I knew it.
“Of course, let me take care of that for you,” she said as she walked in. “What platform are you using?”
“Uh, on my laptop?”
She hid a smile but not well. Shelby had been a lifesaver since the first moment I took a risk and hired her.
She’d stopped working when she had her twin daughters but once they went to school she’d felt adrift.
Even though she only had retail experience I’d gotten a good vibe from her at the interview and hired her on the spot.
The surprise bonus turned out to be that she was a huge tech nerd, just like her programmer husband, so she could assist me when I needed help.
“Let’s take a peek,” she said as she swung my laptop to face her and tapping away at the keys with a speed and certainty I could never match.
“Ok, there you go.” Shelby scooted the laptop back to me. “All set, all you have to do is hit the blue button that says ‘connect’ when you’re ready.” She paused. “Do you want me to give you a quick lesson on how to get in, for next time?”
“No,” I shook my head, well aware that it would go in one ear and out the other, the way tech babble always did for me. “But thank you.”
She pursed her lips like she was trying to hold back from saying something else. “Okay, no problem! You know I’m here if you need me.”
“I do, and I truly appreciate it. Thank you for everything you do.”
She saluted me. “Happy to!”
Once she shut the door I crossed my fingers and hit the blue button, half expecting it to not work since I seemed to be cursed when it came to technology. Shockingly, the little ‘connect’ bubbles filled the screen, and then my father and both of my brothers’ faces popped up.
“Hey, there’s Mr. Technophobe himself,” Logan laughed. “Glad you finally made it considering you set this call up.”
“I was in a meeting that ran over,” I lied. “Anyway, this won’t take too long but I did want to make sure to fill you in about a new development in my life. Since you’ll be hearing about it soon.”
Harrison’s expression went tight. “Oh fuck,” he sighed. “That sounds ominous.”
“Is whatever you’re dealing with business or personal?” my dad asked.
“Both, in a way. Let me just dive in instead of playing twenty questions. I had a situation with that celebrity social media couple that has booked the resort for their wedding.”
“They backed out?” Harrison asked.
“Almost, but I saved it.” I paused to try to come up with a way to summarize the insanity. “There was a… misunderstanding when the groom found out that the bride and I used to date.”
“You dated her? Recently?” Harrison asked.
“No, it was years ago,” Drew clarified.
“Why would the guy get upset about a few dates that happened years ago?” Logan asked.
“Well…” Drew admitted, “it was more than just a few dates. We were together for months.”
A trio of baffled faces stared back at him from the screen.
“…Months?” my dad repeated. “You dated someone for months, and this is the first we’re hearing about it?”
“Kristen and I were still in the early stages when Mom started showing symptoms,” Drew explained. “It seemed too new for me to bring it up to you all when we were dealing with that, and then…”
They all knew what happened then. Mom saw a series of doctors until finally, she was diagnosed with cancer. After that, her condition went downhill fast.
“Kristen tried to be there for me, but she was pretty young at the time—just twenty-one—and she had some baggage of her own, since she lost her parents when she was a kid. She didn’t really know how to be the support that I needed, and it wasn’t long before things started falling apart.”
They all went quiet.
“Hey, I’m sorry that we weren’t there for you,” Logan said. “I had no idea you were going through a breakup on top of everything else.”
“I think we all missed it,” Harrison agreed. “We should have been paying more attention.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine. You all had enough to be worrying about—you didn’t have to worry about me, too.”
“It’s not fine,” my dad insisted. “Family is supposed to be there for each other, and we weren’t there for you. You shouldn’t have had to deal with something like that on your own.”
The comment wasn’t meant to get me riled up but I couldn’t ignore the obvious parallel.
“Sorry, Dad, but you haven’t exactly been a good role model about sharing what you’re going through so all of us can be there for you. Don’t forget, you kept your cancer scare from us until after it was over.”
He frowned as he considered it.
“And that’s what proved to me that things had to change. I saw how upset you all were to have been left in the dark. But there’s something good that came from that mess and it’s what we’re doing right now.” He gestured to the screen. “We’re connecting. Right?”
“True,” I nodded. “Anyway, that’s just the background to what happened the other day.
Kristen got upset about something that happened while they were choosing a florist and I stepped aside to comfort her.
I’d accidentally left my mic on, and the producer overheard me talking to Kristen about when we used to date.
He brought it up in front of Carter, and Carter flipped out.
Apparently, Kristen had told him that she’d dated a guy named Drew, but Carter hadn’t known that guy was me.
When he found out, he became convinced that we’d hidden it from him because we were screwing around behind his back. I thought he was going to punch me.”
“Oh shit,” Logan chuckled. “This is getting good.”
I pushed on. “The cameras were all capturing every second of it, so I panicked and … well, I said that I wasn’t interested in anything with Kristen because I’m engaged to the wedding planner. Emilia.”
There was a brief pause then three of them howled in unison.
“That is …” Logan shook his head in disbelief. “Man, you’re a mess.”
“It’s fine,” I shot back. “We just have to keep up the act through the end of the shoot.”
“And what does she think about it?” Harrison asked.
“She agrees that it’s in both of our best interest to go along with the plan,” I answered. No need to get into the negotiations I’d had to make to talk her into it.
“Complications like this one are making me glad that I’m retiring. Reality TV? Social media? No thank you,” my dad said. “Candace and I were just talking about how my retirement is—”
“Candace who?” I interrupted.
He looked startled by the question. “Oh, she’s a friend.”
“And she has opinions about your retirement?” Harrison asked, not hiding the accusatory tone. “Why is that?”
Now my dad was visibly flustered. “Because at my age it’s what people talk about.
Why does it matter? This call wasn’t supposed to be about me.
We’ve discussed my retirement so let’s table any more conversation about it.
I’m retiring. Full stop. Does anyone else have a grievance to air, or scheme to reveal?
” He paused and stared at the screen. “No? Okay, excellent. I’m signing off, I have a golf game. Take care, guys. Love you.”
He disconnected before we could respond, leaving the three of us dumbfounded.
“Something’s up,” Harrison said. “Why did he end the call so quickly? And who the hell is this Candace?”
“Agreed,” Logan said. “I don’t like the way he’s acting.
I think Candace might be influencing him.
Maybe she’s a grifter trying to get him to be her sugar daddy?
Getting him to retire would mean that he’d spend less time with the people he knows and trusts and more time around her—under her influence.
That’s classic grifter shit. And is that why he got the new haircut? ”
“How old do we think she is?” I asked.
“I don’t know but I’m going to find out,” Harrison muttered. “There are too many unanswered questions about him leaving. I don’t like any of this.”
We stewed quietly. I noticed none of us were in a hurry to hang up, which was a nice change of pace.
“I guess I’m adding a plus one to your gender reveal invitation,” Harrison said with a smirk.
“What? No, that’s not necessary,” I insisted.
“Sorry, but you have to bring your newly minted fiancée along,” Harrison said. “It’s perfect for your scenario because Gwen’s got a huge social media following and she’s going to post about the reveal. A couple of photos with the two of you in the background will really sell your relationship.”
I considered it. Taking Emilia to meet my family? Not my first choice for how to spend an afternoon but Harrison had a point. It would look weird if she wasn’t there.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’ll ask her.”