"Yes, there’s a girl." He smiles, as he opens the door for me. He's already pulled his car around to the front.
"Ha, I knew it!" I say, as he opens the car door for me.
"And her name is Austin, and she's a pain in my ass." He says just before he closes the car door. My jaw drops open.
As he gets in the car, I turn to face him.
"I dressed up for you, don't overthink it, okay. It's just the first time either of us will be out in public, since the whole Branden thing, and it's just starting to hit the news, so I thought we should be dressed in case." He says.
I turn to the back seat to face Mason and the other bodyguard. "He really expects me to believe that?" I joke with them, and they smile.
Mason will be with me for a few more days, until he finds someone to replace him. I think it's more, until Landon and Dallas approve of whoever is to take his place.
The first part of the drive is quiet, before I ask, "Have you read what is being reported about Branden?" I ask.
"I've looked, and we had our PR manager release a statement to get ahead of it and control the story. She's good at what she does and is also coming with us to the new label." He smirks.
That would be my subtle hint to change the topic. So, I do and ask him about the label, and that's all he talks about for the rest of the drive. He talks about who they have gotten to come with them, employee wise. "Deanna will be over this weekend. She’s coming to see you, but we want to ask her to join us at the label. Our contract says no poaching clients but nothing about employees. We don't want to steal anyone, but many have been working with us for so long that they want to follow us over. Deanna coming is just as much for us as it is for you."
"I like her, and it’s nice to have a normal friend, even if she gets a little star struck over you and Dallas every now and then. And I feel like I need to put this out there. She's off limits for now. Until we establish our friendship, give us a little time." I tell him.
"She's sweet, but I have my eye on someone else," he says.
"Oh, do tell."
"Oh, look at that, here we are." He says.
We enter and get a table in the back. Every head turns, and I know it's because of the bodyguard. Everyone knows they mean we have to be someone, and they don't want to miss out on who.
"This is why I never wanted a bodyguard. I get why you want me to, but all this attention is not something I like." I tell him, once we’re seated.
“I know, but thank you for humoring us."
We place our order, before I turn to him.
"So, why are we here?" I ask.
"First, the not fun stuff. On advice from the private investigator, we had someone look over all the books. He stole upwards of fifty-million dollars from us by paying several people that didn't exist and using some other write offs. His accounts have been frozen, and it will be a bit of a battle, but our lawyer is certain we will get most, if not all that money back."
"Well, that's good news then."
"Yes, but here's the rest. Some of that money is yours, too. Dallas and I want to donate the money to charity, we haven't missed it, but we wanted to talk to you first."
"Of course, I agree to that. I barely touch the money you have deposited into that account for me. I haven't missed what he stole. But fifty-million is life changing to some charities. Any idea where you want to donate them?"
He pulls a list from his pocket and hands it to me.
"We thought ten charities to get five million each." He says.
I recognize several musical charities on here, but the last three I've never heard of.
"What are the last three on here?" I ask him.
"Oakside is a rehabilitation facility for veterans wounded in action. It's a place for them to heal and transition back to the civilian world. Mason was a patient and met his wife there, or they started the relationship there I’m not sure. He also has a friend whose brother was there. The other two are also military related. One helps with prosthetics, and one helps with reconstructive surgery."
"These are all good choices. I agree to all of them."
"Perfect. Now, for what this lunch is really about." He says, as the food gets here.
Once the waitress leaves, he turns to me.
"I was an asshole for the way I acted, when I found out about you and Dallas." He says in a serious tone.
I feel like all the air has been let out of me. I know we have to talk about this, but I guess, I didn't think it would be today.
"I was blindsided, though after thinking about it, I guess I always had an idea of how you two felt about each other back then, but I told myself it was a crush, and it would pass. You'd both grow up and move on. Then, seeing everything on tour, I was fighting it myself, which wasn't fair to either of you."
"Landon."
"No, Austin. This had nothing to do with you or him, this was me. I was being selfish, because I didn't want to lose what we have. I didn't want to lose my two best friends to each other, and I didn't want to be the third wheel. It didn’t help that I had just asked out the girl I want, and she turned me down, because of me being a musician and the tour. I was just in a weird place, and that wasn't your fault. If I had the pick of any man in
