“Yeah, and Dad’s an excellent listener. But how are you doing with all this shit?”
My grin faded. “Trying not to think about it. Does that make me a wuss?”
He shook his head. “Not at all, but your mother better not make you feel like shit when you talk to her.”
I gave him a look. “That’s a tall order.”
34A Proposal for You
Gabe
CASSIE’S ISSUES WITH her mother forced me to contemplate my relationship with mine. I texted Vamp to find out when he might be back in town. He didn’t normally respond very fast, but to my surprise he got right back to me.
No idea. Why?
I texted back: Thinking of having dinner with our mom.
As I watched the dots jumping around on my screen, I wished I could’ve seen his face when he read the text.
The dots stopped and my phone rang.
“You couldn’t just text me back, big bro?” I chuckled.
“No, shithead. You made me spit out and nearly choke on my beer at the same time, you’re lucky I didn’t get my phone wet or you’d be paying for that shit.”
“Whatever. Not my fault you can’t hold you liquor better, and what the hell are you doin’ drinking this early anyway? It’s not even lunchtime.”
“It’s eleven-thirty, Gabe. Close enough to lunch for me. Now, when are you planning to take our mom to dinner? And why?”
I looked at the clock and realized the morning had gotten away from me. “I don’t know. Thursday, maybe Sunday. Whichever day works better for her.”
“You’re bringing your girlfriend, right?”
“I guess, but I thought it might be better if it was just us with her.”
“You’re not bitter any more, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not good to hold that grudge.”
He hummed questioningly for a moment. “I guess you might be right about that. Well, either of those days works for me. Just let me know.”
Half an hour later, I ended a call with my mom, and I was surprised when it rang in my hand. The number wasn’t one I recognized, but I answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Gabe? This is J.P. Daughtry. How are you?”
My eyes widened. “I’m fine, sir. How are you?”
He chuckled. “I’m well. Listen, I heard you made an offer to invest in Club Eclectic with Ryan Pruitt.”
“Yes, sir, I did. But—”
“Don’t finish that sentence. I also heard why you made the offer. In light of everything I’ve found out recently, I’ve had my lawyers examine my contracts. My gut said to get out of that club and be done with it, but I have a proposal for you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Ryan is facing charges and my investment is possibly subject to legal claims. However, the original contract between us included a clause which allows me to fire him in the event of criminal activity. To make my money back, I need a manager for the club. Someone who knows a thing or two about the club scene would be nice. My daughter tells me you’ve been working various clubs for quite some time.”
“Yes. It will be four years in October.”
“Excellent. If you have time tomorrow morning, I’d like to interview you for an assistant manager position for Club Eclectic.”
I grinned. “Thank you, sir. I can meet with you in the morning. Will we meet at the club?”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t planning to be so formal, though we can do it that way if you prefer. I planned to see my daughter and thought two birds, one stone, if that works for you?”
“That works for me. Thank you, Mr. Daughtry.”
“You love my daughter?”
His question brought me up short. “Yes.”
I could tell he was smiling from the tone of his voice. “Then, I think you can call me Johnny like your dad does.”
I exhaled my relief. “Well, thank you, Johnny.”
Brock walked into the room as I tucked my phone into my pocket, and a strange look crossed his face. “Does our mother have a boyfriend named ‘Johnny?’ Because I’m not down with meeting him on Sunday.”
I chuckled. “No. Or at least, not as far as I know. That was Cassie’s father. He’s dropping by tomorrow to see her and to interview me for an assistant manager position at Club Eclectic.”
“Really?” Brock asked as he sprawled on the couch and shoved his feet into his shoes.
“Yeah. And don’t sound so damn surprised, man.”
He cocked a brow at me. “That wasn’t surprise, Gabe. I’m impressed. Not many people can say they’re working for J.P. Daughtry.”
“He does have an unfair advantage,” Cecilia said as she sauntered into the room with her high heels dangling from her fingers. Her cheeks were flushed and I didn’t have to ask how she got such a rosy glow.
I closed my eyes for a beat. “You two need your own place.”
Brock chuckled. “Maybe you need your own place.”
I shook my head. “Gotta get through school before I’m ready to do that.”
Cassie moved into the room. “I told him we could stay at my place—”
“My bed’s better, Daughtry. We’ve been over that.”
She blushed, and I chuckled. “I said my bed. Not my headboard, though there’s that, too.”
“Christ. You really do need your own place, numbnuts,” Brock muttered as he stood from the couch.
Cassie sat down at the dinette table. “So, are you guys meeting your mom or are you taking women along as sidekicks?”
I grinned. “She’s leaving that up to us. If Vamp feels like bringing Rainey, then that’s cool. But I thought I’d spare you the awkwardness of meeting my mother so soon.”
She laughed so loud it surprised me. “Gabe. Legitimately, me meeting your mother is not going to be half as awkward as you meeting my mother.”
I crossed my arms on chest. “That won’t be awkward. It’ll just be tense, assuming she treats you poorly. Otherwise, not awkward at all.”
A sweet smile curled her lips. “I love you.”
“On that note, we have jobs to go to, and don’t bother cooking. We’re eating out tonight,”
