Chapter 87 Reed
REED
So far, so good. Although I can’t help feeling like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or, perhaps, a hammer. Onto my head.
I’m at Georgina’s father’s condo, sitting at a small table with Mr. Ricci and Georgina, eating homemade spaghetti Bolognese for Georgina’s birthday dinner.
It’s one of the man’s specialties, apparently.
Also, one of Georgie’s favorites. Which is why I’ve been shoveling my meal down enthusiastically, even though I rarely eat red meat or simple carbs.
But, hey, whatever it takes to get onto this man’s good side.
Because, frankly, he hasn’t welcomed me with open arms thus far. Not that I blame him.
When Georgina and I first arrived this evening, and Georgina introduced me as her “boyfriend,” her dad took one look at me and made a face I’d caption as, You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Which, right away, told me this was going to be an uphill battle.
Although, in the man’s defense, I wasn’t particularly thrilled to hear Georgina call me that word, either.
The minute Georgina uttered it in her father’s presence, I couldn’t help feeling exactly the way Henn and Josh described it to me the other day, only in reverse. It’s not nearly enough.
I was shocked to think that way. By all rights, I should be thrilled to be introduced as Georgina’s boyfriend, seeing as how, mere days ago at the RCR concert, that’s the word I coveted.
But the thrill is gone now. I’ve realized “boyfriend” is actually a stupid, juvenile, overly vague word.
For crying out loud, it’s the same fucking word Georgie used when introducing that bastard, Shawn, to her father.
Also, thanks to the bombshell Georgina dropped on her father fifteen minutes ago—namely, that I’m the guy behind all their recent financial windfalls—he seems suspicious as hell of me.
Although, he did thank me profusely for my generosity.
But, still, it was abundantly clear he was feeling deeply worried and conflicted.
He’s already said “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you” at least ten times.
To which I’ve replied, every time, “The payments were gifts. No strings attached.”
The last time he made the comment, I told him I donated a whole bunch of money to that cancer charity, not just to him and Georgina, in an effort to make him feel less singled out.
But, immediately, I could tell the comment had backfired on me.
Rather than reassuring him, it only served to make me sound like I was bragging about my wealth.
And so, realizing I was only digging a hole for myself, I shut up and let Georgina change the topic.
Which she did. To Alessandra. Specifically, to Alessandra’s performance at that coffee house in Boston the other day.
And that’s what she’s still talking about, a solid ten minutes later.
“You should have seen Ally’s face when Reed told her he wanted to sign her to his label!” Georgina gushes. “She was so excited, I thought she was going to pass out!”
Georgina’s father looks at me, his face impassive. “Add that to the list of generous things you’ve done for my family.”
“Oh, it wasn’t charity, Mr. Ricci,” I say.
I pause, hoping he’ll correct me regarding his name this time.
But yet again, he doesn’t. Which annoys me to no end.
I mean, I get it. This is his home, and Georgina’s his beloved daughter, so, he’s clearly exerting his alpha status in this pack.
But, come on, this man is only seventeen years older than me, and he’s been letting me call him “Mr. Ricci” all fucking night?
I continue, “I was genuinely blown away by Alessandra. Specifically, by a song she performed called ‘Blindsided.’ To be clear, I’ve only offered to produce and release that one song, as a single.
I told Alessandra, if the single goes well, we’ll talk about what comes next, if anything. ”
“Daddy, trust me, this is such a huge deal. Every student at Berklee—every aspiring artist in the world!—would sell their soul to have a single released by River Records!”
“Very kind of you, Reed.”
Did the dude not hear a word I just said?
Forcing myself not to scowl, I say, “It wasn’t charity.
Alessandra earned her spot. I listened to a demo of hers a while back, and the improvement and growth between then and now was staggering.
With the right mentoring and guidance, I think Alessandra will do great things.
If I didn’t wholeheartedly believe that, I wouldn’t have signed her. Not even for one song.”
“It’s true,” Georgina says. “Reed’s name and reputation are too valuable to him, not to mention his investment of time and money, to throw it away on anyone he doesn’t believe in wholeheartedly. He says that all the time.”
“It’s the truth.”
“A while back, Reed told me he makes it a rule never to take on young artists who need to be coaxed out of their shell. ‘Ponies who need to be led out of the barn,’ is what he called them. And look at him now, talking about mentoring Alessandra, and breaking his rule, because she’s just that good.”
Georgina’s father shoots me a look like he can see right through me, and I can’t help flashing him a look that concedes, Okay, okay, maybe Georgina is being a bit na?ve here.
In truth, Alessandra’s performance at the coffee house was amazing.
Honestly, I was blown away by her growth, and thrilled with how brilliantly she’d implemented every one of my suggestions.
But does Georgina truly think I would have given Alessandra this shot, and committed to investing my valuable time and money and mentorship, if it weren’t for my all-encompassing love for her? Really?
Mr. Ricci smiles at me, ever so subtly, letting me know he saw the white flag I offered, the concession I made, and he appreciated it. Maybe even respected it. He peels his gaze off me and smiles warmly at his clueless daughter, who’s still babbling about Alessandra’s amazing performance.
Finally, when Georgina stops rambling, Mr. Ricci says, “That’s wonderful, honey. I’m so proud of Alessandra. But, as great as she performed, I’m sure part of Reed’s motivation to sign her was knowing how much it would mean to you.”
“No, Daddy. Stop. Reed doesn’t compromise his business judgment. Ever. Not for anyone. Not even me.” She looks at me with little hearts in her eyes. “Not even for someone he loves.”
Mr. Ricci’s eyebrows ride up. “Oh, you two are in love, are you?”
“We are,” Georgina says.
“We are,” I confirm. I feel myself blush, but I press on. “In fact, as I’ve told Georgina, she’s the great love of my life.”
Mr. Ricci looks shocked.
“And I feel the same way about Reed,” Georgina says, her chest heaving. “I met his mom in New York, and she welcomed me into the Rivers family with open arms. And now, Reed is meeting you, and I want you to welcome him into the Ricci family, the same way.”
Mr. Ricci gathers himself. He puts his elbows on the table. “How old are you, Reed?”
And there it is. The elephant in the room. He thinks I’m a dirty old man.
“I’m thirty-four.”
“Have you been married before?”
“No, sir.”
“Any children?”
“No. I’ve been in some committed relationships. I’d say I’ve cared deeply. But now that I’m in love with Georgina, I know I’ve never actually been in love. Never like this.”
Georgina swoons, but her father looks unconvinced.
There’s silence in the room for a long beat before Mr. Ricci exhales and says, “Georgie, will you excuse Reed and me? I’d like to chat with him, man to man.”
Georgina looks at me, and when I nod, she rises, flashes a warning look at her father, and then an apologetic one at me, and heads out of the room.
“Don’t eavesdrop, Georgina Marie,” her father calls after her. “I’m well aware the walls are thin.”
“I won’t eavesdrop,” Georgie tosses over her shoulder. But even I can tell she’s lying through her teeth.
“Swear on Mommy.”
Georgie stops in the doorway and whirls around, looking annoyed. “You can’t constantly pull that out for things that aren’t critically important.”
“This is critically important,” he says. And it’s clear to me he’s dead serious about that.
Georgina seems surprised by that retort. She softens. “Okay, I swear on Mommy. But be nice to him, Dad. Please. I didn’t bring him here to meet you because I need your permission to love him. That ship has sailed. I brought him here because I want him to be part of our family. Because I love him.”
“I understand, Amorina. Please, give us a minute—without you pressing your ear to the kitchen door.”
Georgina rolls her eyes. “I’ll be in my room.”
“With headphones on and music blaring.”
“Fine!”
When Georgina is gone, Marco Ricci leans back in his chair. “These grand gestures of yours, Reed... Aside from the fact that I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you or repay you—”
“Like I said before—”
“Yes, I know what you said. And I don’t want to appear ungrateful to you.
I can’t deny you’ve saved my life. Literally.
I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.
But that’s totally separate from my job, as Georgina’s father, to protect her to the best of my abilities. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
“Of course.”
“So, let’s talk about what these grand gestures are communicating to my impressionable daughter. She’s obviously enthralled with you. Totally under your spell.”
“It’s not a spell. This isn’t smoke and mirrors. We’ve gotten to know each other, in a deep and meaningful way, without any bullshit, and we’re now as close, and in love, as two people can be.”
He sighs. “Georgina doesn’t give her heart away easily, but when she does, she falls hard.
Which means she gets utterly destroyed on the back end, when she gets rejected.
She’d kill me if she knew I was saying this to you, but Georgina isn’t always the firecracker you think she is.
On occasion, she gets knocked on her ass like you wouldn’t believe.
Her senior year in high school, some stupid boy rejected her, and whatever happened, she crawled into bed and cried for a full week. And then, at UCLA, when...”
He continues talking, but I’m too devastated to continue listening. This man thinks his fierce daughter was nothing but a silly high school girl with a flair for dramatics for a week, when, in actuality, she was trying to deal, all by herself, with a sexual assault?
“My point is this,” Mr. Ricci says. “How bad will Georgie get knocked on her ass this time, with you—a glamorous man who took her to New York, and signed her stepsister to his label, and paid off all her and her father’s expenses?
It’s one thing for a twenty-year-old to say his girlfriend is the ‘great love of his life.’ But when you say it, under the circumstances, you’re creating a much higher expectation.
Painting yourself as her knight in shining armor on a white horse.
Don’t you see, you’re implicitly promising my daughter ‘forever.’”
Forever.
It’s the first time that word has been in play in relation to my love for Georgina. A mighty big word that should, by all rights, terrify me. And yet, it doesn’t. It only feels right.
“If Georgina thinks I’m promising her forever, then she’s right. I am.”
He arches an eyebrow, clearly surprised by that reply. “Answer me this, Reed. What did you do, mere days ago, that made Georgina crawl into bed and cry for two days?”
Shit. My stomach drops into my toes. “I made a couple mistakes. But we worked through them and came out the other side, stronger for it. Whatever crying Georgie did here, with you, you should know, when dealing with me, she was nothing but strong and forceful about the level of respect and honesty she required from me, going forward. Despite what you obviously think, Georgina is an equal in this relationship. In fact, I think it would be fair to say she has the upper hand in some ways. Although, please, don’t tell her that, or God knows what she’ll do to me. ”
He doesn’t return my smile.
“Look, you don’t have to worry about my intentions.
All I want to do is to love and protect Georgina, for as long as she’ll have me.
You asked Georgina to swear on her mother.
Well, for me, my most sacred promise is on my nephew.
I swear on him, Mr. Ricci, that I love Georgina and my intentions are honorable. ”
Mr. Ricci remains quiet for a moment, until, finally, he smiles and says, “Marco. Call me Marco.”
My heart leaps. “Thank you. But if it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to call you ‘Dad.’”
Marco can’t help himself. He chuckles. So, I chuckle, too. And, just like that, we’re both laughing, and all tension between us is gone.
“Do you have any questions of me, Marco? Ask me anything. I’m an open book.”
Marco shakes his head. “Nothing else. Just don’t hurt my daughter.”
“I won’t.”
He rises from the table. “Why don’t you get our little force of nature from her bedroom, while I put some candles on her birthday cake and open a bottle of champagne? It sounds like we’ve got a lot to celebrate.”