“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Indy murmured to me as we walked over to where Nathan and Austin waited for us.
“It’s a lazy thing for sure. And expensive.”
“Well, considering I might be getting fired, dinner is totally on you tonight.”
I laughed again. “Deal.” I was still smiling when we stopped a few feet short of my brothers’ patio table. “What’s up?”
Both were wearing sunglasses and had beers on the table in front of them. But empties weren’t littering the ground, so they couldn’t have been waiting long.
Austin tipped his head at Indy. “You’re not fired.”
Indy crossed her arms over her chest and inched closer into my side. “Okay.”
“That’s a piss poor way of apologizing for how you both treated her today.” I scoffed.
“You’re right.” Nathan tipped his head. “We’re sorry for how lunch went down, Indy. You didn’t deserve that. And neither did you, Dyl.”
My gaze bounced between Nathan and Austin. This wasn’t what I’d expected. I didn’t really know what to say. “Okay.”
“It’s not okay.” Austin coughed like the words were fighting against him. “You apologized for the past, and we should move on from that.”
I nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”
Austin hitched a shoulder. “We need to start treating you like you’re an equal partner in the business. Because you are. So if you’re going to vouch for Indy then she’s in.”
“So no background check?” I asked for clarity.
Austin shook his head. “No background check. And maybe we need to have our lawyer talk to the network about James. You’re right—he’s getting out of hand.”
“He was cool at first, but he’s gone all manic with power.” Nathan huffed in annoyance. “And that’s bullshit. It’s our fucking show.”
I nodded. “I get that conflict drives viewers, but the way he’s going about it is dirty.”
Austin tipped his beer back, took a pull, then set the can on the table with an empty clink. “We’ll put pressure on the network to fix it. But it might be the end of the show, and honestly I’m okay with that.”
I nodded. “It might mean some lean months, but we’ll be okay.”
“Or you could start your own show.” Indy raised her eyebrows. “Hire your own crew and put up episodes on social media or YouTube. That way you guys control the narrative.”
The three of us turned and stared at her opened mouthed.
After a moment, Nathan laughed incredulously. “How the hell hadn’t we thought of that?”
“We’ll have to call it something else.” Austin nodded slowly. “But I’m liking the idea.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered before wrapping my arms around her and kissing the side of her head. “You’re fucking brilliant, Indy.”
“Fuck yeah!” Austin shouted as he jumped out of his chair and came over to join in the hug.
“You guys are crazy.” But Nathan laughed as he joined the group hug. “And Dyl is right—you’re brilliant, Indy.”
“Smartest thing this one here has ever done.” Austin tipped his head at me even as his arms were still wrapped around us all. “Good job, Dylan.”
I glowed for a second under the rare approval of my big brother. “Thanks,” I whispered roughly.
“Okay, someone is going to have to fill me in,” Ryan called out. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Chapter 13
