“The contracts, what are the clauses in there for breaking them?”
Brad’s chuckle was evil. “Pennington was more worried about getting stuck with having to fork out sums of money to us if something should become delayed with Heinz, resulting in us having to shuffle business around and hit him with penalty fees. He removed the clause locking us in.”
“Stupid asshole,” Dad said with way too much glee.
Brad heard the sound of a zinging slap and figured Mom and given Dad a slap to the arm, as she was prone to do when she thought he wasn’t being nice, when Dad grunted. “He is.”
Brad quickly continued, seeing his parents were going to squabble. “As for the house, that has a penalty clause, and it’s steep.” As far as Brad could remember without looking at the paperwork.
“We’re more than able to take the financial hit,” Mom shouted in the background. “That man is going to learn that respect costs nothing… or in his case, a lot.”
“I know you’ve a lot on your plate, so are you happy for your mom and I to draft up the emails to send to Pennington to advise we are no longer doing business with him?”
“Dad, you just wanna stick it to him,” Brad snorted, struggling to hold back his laughter. “And yeah, go ahead, the sooner we distance ourselves from the asshole the better.”
“Language, Bradley,” Mom called, then burst out laughing.
Brad rolled his eyes, slowing down when he saw a parking spot close enough to the café not to have to worry about carrying his tools too far. “Sorry, Mom,” he replied anyway. “Dad just copy me into the email so I can show Lionel later.”
“Will do. I’ll also reach out to other builders and let them know what kind of man Pennington is. You know, just to be fair and give them a heads up. My friends don’t enjoy working with assholes, either.” There was a put-upon sigh in the background as Dad continued, “And when are we going to meet our new son?”
Brad was glad he’d pulled in because his vision blurred at the total support Dad offered Lionel without meeting him. “Not sure, shall we say Saturday afternoon? We could have a barbecue on that new grill you bought last week.” To Brad’s mind thatwould be a bit more relaxed than a formal sit-down meal. Just to start with.
“Perfect, I’ll stock up on meat.”
Brad groaned, knowing exactly what Dad meant by that. “Don’t go wild, okay.” The call ended a few seconds later, Dad clearly in a rush to send the emails and speak with his friends. Dad knew all of the building trade in the area and had worked with nearly all the established firms. Pennington was going to be in for a rough time, Brad was sure of it. It was no less than he deserved.
Out of the truck, with his thoughts on the next item on his list, he was just in time to catch Hector leaving. “Hi Hector, do you have a minute?” Brad wanted Lionel to understand he was ecstatic to be mated to him, and that involved speaking with Lionel’s best friend. Brad wanted to prove to his mate that he never had to feel lonely ever again. It was not acceptable. And as much as Brad could shuffle work around, he felt that wasn’t the only answer, showing Lionel how proud he was, which meant more.
“I can spare a couple of minutes. Is this to do with the building works? I heard there was an issue yesterday.” Hector shifted the laptop bag he held, so it was more like a tray, while bringing the pastry box in the other hand to balance on it.
“No, we fixed the issue yesterday. I can only apologize for that. Morty, was he okay last night?”
Hector nodded, grinning. “More than when I…” He blushed and coughed. “Why yes… So what can I do for you?”
Where to start? “Lionel and I are mates—”
“Oh, my goodness, how amazing! He’s such a wonderful, kind-hearted lion. Funny and witty, you are both so lucky to have found each other, and through a Bucket List Buddies eve…” Hector frowned, stopping mid-word.
Brad's eyes narrowed as he registered what Hector had said. He hadn’t mentioned they’d met at the Bucket List Buddies event…Morty.“Did Morty send me to Lionel’s with the éclairs… was he matchmaking?” Brad mustn’t have been as discreet as he thought when he was pumping him for information about Lionel.
“What?” Hector wore a complex look. “No, I was meaning his suggestion I got Lionel tickets to the ghost hunting when Morty knew you were going.”
Now Brad was confused. “He did? Why would he do that? It’s not like he knew Lionel and I were mates?”
Large shoulders shrugged, and Hector’s suit jacket stretched at the seams. He looked uncomfortable, staring intently at the pastry box. “Morty didn’t, he just wants everyone to be as happy as he is.”
Brad got that. “Well, whatever he did, it worked. Lionel is my mate, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Hector looked up, a frown tugging at his brow. “If you knew you were mates, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I hadn’t told my parents, and I wasn’t sure Lionel would be happy for his mom to hear about his mating second hand.”
Hector made a scoffing noise. “That woman wouldn’t care if Lionel suddenly started shitting gold nuggets, she's so wrapped up in herself.” It was as if Hector realized too late what he’d let slip and his blush was back. “Please don’t say I said that to Lionel. He’s…”
“Sensitive. I know and he deserves better.” As Brad spoke, another thought occurred to him about how to make Lionel feel special. “Do you know all of Lionel’s friends?” At Hector’s nod, Brad warmed to his idea of a party. “And what do you think about me organizing a surprise mating celebration for him—us this Saturday?” Was it too soon to arrange it for this weekend at his parents’ home, which was big enough to host fifty or sopeople in the garden? They had the outside heaters for when it got chilly.
Brad knew his parents would be up for it, though he’d have to call to check before issuing invites.
