CHAPTER 45 Everleigh Bradley
Think about Your Family
Movie day with the boys is a success, and it’s after I drop them off that I decide to drive to my parents’ place instead of back to my own. Before I take off, I text my sibling group chat.
Me: I’m in Chicago heading to Mom and Dad’s. Anybody need anything or have a message for me to deliver?
Ivy: Just left there. Sorry I missed you.
She’s the only one who responds. The four football players remain silent, not surprising since it’s a Sunday evening—game day. Archer doesn’t reply, either, even though it’s not game day—which is also not surprising.
Unless my parents are attending some event, they should be home. I haven’t seen my mother yet since I’ve been back in town, and I had this idea to talk to my dad one more time about everything that happened with Maverick and me to see if we can reach some sort of agreement.
On my way to my parents’ house, my phone rings, and I see it’s Jack Dalton’s assistant, Lily, calling me.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Ms. Bradley, hi. Is this a good time for a quick conversation with Mr. Dalton?” she asks.
“Sure,” I say. Is there ever a time to reject a call from Jack Dalton?
“Great, I’ll patch you through.”
The line cuts before I can even say thanks, and I hear Jack’s voice through the line a moment later. “Hello, Ms. Bradley.”
“Hi,” I say a little tentatively, and I’m met with a chuckle.
“I know this is out of the blue, but I had an idea, and it’s something I need your help with. Do you have time to swing by my office tomorrow?” he asks.
“I, uh…I actually moved back to Chicago, Mr. Dalton. I’m not in Vegas.”
“Oh,” he says, sounding a bit surprised. “Okay, well. Would you be willing to move back here?”
I can’t help a little laugh at that. “I guess it depends on your offer. As you may know, I’m currently out of a job.”
“I heard. Stuart also told me that you had planned to start your own brand consultation company. Is that still happening?” he asks.
I sit up a little straighter in my seat as I try to figure out how to reply to that since I’ve spent most of my time here in Chicago so far wallowing.
“If it is,” he continues before I get a chance to say anything, “I think I may have a job for you if you’re open to consultation.
I know I offered you a position here with our marketing department, and it wasn’t the right fit for you, but if you’re done with Langford and you’re a free agent, I’m shopping around for the best and brightest. And I’ve already gotten Stuart on board with my plan. ”
“But you let me go,” I protest.
He laughs. “Not because you were ineffective. Because Maverick is impossible.”
“It took you a whole week to figure that out?”
He sighs. “Nah, I knew before. But I learned this week that you’re the only person in the world who can get through to him.”
“So you…want me back to be his brand strategist again?” I ask.
“Not exactly.” He fills me in on what he’s learned about Maverick over the last week and what he intends to do to help Maverick make a difference and leave a lasting legacy. And then he tells me what he needs me to do.
“Can I think about it?” I ask. I pulled into my parents’ driveway in the middle of his offer, and now I’m just sitting here with the engine running.
“Of course. I’ll be here tomorrow waiting to hear from you.”
“Thank you for thinking of me, Mr. Dalton,” I say softly.
“I had no other option, Ms. Bradley. You’re it.” His voice is low, too.
We hang up, and I blow out a breath as I stare straight ahead at my parents’ mansion.
It’s a big ask. I’m back home now, close to my mother, close to my family. My roots.
At this point, it feels like it’s too hard to turn back and put my heart on the line again.
I told Jack I’d think about it, but mostly it was so I could end the call—not because I’m seriously considering it.
Still, I’ll think it over. I’ll weigh it.
Maybe I’ll even talk to Penny about it. And then tomorrow, I’ll call Jack back and tell him thanks but no thanks.
I never wanted to work with football players, and I stand by that.
My first attempt to work with one was an absolute fucking disaster.
I finally cut the engine and head to the front door. I ring the bell, and a moment later, my mother answers it.
“Everleigh, darling. What are you doing home?” she asks, and I walk in and give her a hug.
She seems shorter. Is that weird? It’s been a few months since I’ve seen her, and in the meantime she was diagnosed. She couldn’t possibly be shorter, could she?
She’s smaller, too. Weaker. But she’s still my mother.
“I’m back in town for a bit,” I say. It’s nonchalant, as if I didn’t get fired and I’m not totally flailing as I reel from what Jack just said to me.
I hear my father’s voice from down the hall. “Who was at the door, Vivienne?”
He appears in the foyer, and he looks surprised to see me. “Everleigh.” He walks over and gives me a quick hug that feels more out of obligation than love. Or maybe it’s just my imagination.
And that’s when I spill my guts. “I was fired because I couldn’t get Maverick Jennings under control, and he’s about to get in a boatload of trouble because he won’t name the operator behind the Legacy underground lounge.
You know why he won’t name that operator?
Because of me.” My voice trembles as the waterworks begin.
“Because I told him not to. And we were involved. I fell in love with him. But he can’t be with someone who doesn’t choose him, and I didn’t choose him.
I chose you. So give me a good reason why I shouldn’t fly back to Vegas and beg him to take me back. ”
My father is quiet for a few beats before he finally says in a quiet voice that’s both menacing and scary, “You want a good reason? The legacy, Everleigh. Think about your brothers and sisters. Think about your mother.”
I glance at said mother, who’s rolling her eyes at my father’s words. He misses it completely as he focuses on talking in circles instead.
“Think about your family,” he continues. “You were right to choose us. We’re the ones who will be here for you always. Not some guy you’ve known for a few weeks.”
I realize for the first time as he talks…he really has nothing to say. He’s telling me to think about the family, but what he really means is to think about him. He’s putting himself first. None of us have ever come first. Ever. Not a single one of us.
My father may be in for a boatload of trouble if his name is associated with that place, and maybe it’s time he pays for that. Maybe it’s time he realizes what it really means to put family first…especially the family we make with the people we choose instead of the ones we were given by blood.
“I am thinking about family,” I hiss at him. “Are you?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You kids, your mom…you’re all I think of. What do you think all of this is for?” He holds his hands out wide as if to indicate the mansion, the fortune, all of it, and my mother rolls her eyes again.
“Is it for Archer?” I hiss.
When he freezes at the mention of my brother’s name, that’s the moment I know that I chose wrong.
He doesn’t answer.
“I heard through the family grapevine that his name was on the underground casino. Is that true?” I press.
“It’s complicated, Everleigh.” He sounds like he’s scolding a child, and I feel like I’m just about done here.
“No, Dad. It’s a pretty straightforward question. Was Archer’s name associated with your illegal casino?” I ask, spelling it out for him.
He sighs and presses his lips together. “Yes,” he finally admits.
“Oh, Tom.” When my mother shakes her head and rolls her eyes for a third time, I realize that even she is fed up with his lies, condemned to living the rest of her days with a man who thinks of no one but himself.
“Then change it. Get his name off,” I hiss at my father. “Take the fall for your son if you care so goddamn much about the family legacy.”
If I’m supposed to be the protector of my siblings, maybe this is my moment. My mother has never taken on that role, and my father keeps pushing all of us into danger. But I’ll do whatever it takes not to let Archer go down for this—including telling Maverick to name my father.
Maybe especially that.
It’s what I should have done from the start. The feds won’t care that it was Archer’s name on the paperwork if my father is the one behind it, and I’d imagine two of his own children testifying against him—Dex and me—would be enough to take him down.
“It’s not that simple,” he says.
“Then figure it out.” I walk out with those as my last words, and I scramble to figure out what to do next.
Yes, I chose wrong. I just hope it’s not too late to fix it.