I walked over in hopes of thwarting anyone else from divulging more information about me.
“Okay, Dad, let him sit down. He probably doesn’t have a lot of time to hang around today,” I said.
“I have plenty of time. In fact, I have the whole afternoon,” James said as he winked at my dad.
James followed me over to the table I had been occupying for a while and sat across from me. He leaned back and stretched his arm across the top of the chair beside him. He glanced around the shop again until his eyes found Brandon.
“Can I get you anything to drink? Our coffee machines aren’t all here yet. They’re being delivered this afternoon. We have cold bottles of water, soda, juices, and teas.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine, Andrew.”
“I’m fine too,” I replied.
James raised his eyebrow. “I doubt that.”
I nodded.
“Just in the neighborhood, huh?”
He smiled and nodded at me.
“Something like that,” he said, not committing to anything.
I huffed out a laugh and felt a sharp pain in my side and reached for it. Unfortunately, it drew James’s attention right away.
“Is something else going on, or is it the pain from the injuries you sustained from her?” James asked quietly. Thankfully, he kept his voice down.
“It’s the same,” I admitted. I felt as though James was already penetrating my shield. Actually, he knocked it down the second he parked beside me. I was submitting to his ability to control the situation. I suddenly grew defensive and put up a new wall while I pressed him on ratting out Brandon.
“So, did you train him to tattle to you on me?” I tried to make my tone even and flat to sound like I hadn’t really cared. But it still came out full of emotion. James entertained my question and pitch, unbothered by my tone as he knocked down my new wall.
“Brandon is very loyal, Andrew. You know that.”
“I figured he’d tattled,” I quickly replied, trying to close him off again. The funny thing was, I knew exactly where this conversation was going, and truth be told, I wanted to be able to talk to him about it. But the fact that he was able to get me to talk suddenly made me feel weak. It led me to feel like I had been weak by submitting to Elise in the first place. The worst part about this was I hadn’t equated submission with weakness since James had begun mentoring me. But lately, especially now, I hated the fact that I was submissive.
“He’s loyal to you, Andrew. That’s what I was referring to. You know Brandon pays close attention to everyone around him. He knows your demeanor, and he saw it change drastically. He was concerned.” James sat up straight and placed his forearms on the table, leaning forward. “Your father is concerned.”
“My dad is okay.”
“Andrew. I hadn’t been here five minutes, and one of the first things out of his mouth was expressing concern over you. He commented about you working too hard, his concern about the club, and even mentioned the pulled muscle that you lied to him about. I’d call that worried sick.”
“He was happy to see you. He doesn’t have many friends to hang out with, and he thinks of you as a family friend. I didn’t lie to him.”
“Iama family friend. And I doubt you’re doing much working out. You’re not able to get in and out of that new SUV of yours without holding your side. It’s a lie to protect you fromyourfear.”
“I could have pulled a muscle,” I said in a deadpan tone. I wasn’t willing to accept his accusation that I wasn’t afraid. I most definitely was afraid of my father finding out that I had allowed Elise to cause physical damage.
“It could also be from cracked ribs and stabbing injuries sustained during an assault and battery from someone you gave your trust and consent to. She’s being charged with attempted murder. That’s not child’s play.” James matched my tone almost perfectly.
I quickly relented and stopped saying things that weren’t helping but instead were causing me more stress. Plus, James was right here, and my dad was close by. I couldn’t risk anything else.
“Please, James. I can’t have my dad worrying about any of this. He has the stores to worry about, and he struggles with depression.” I glanced at my dad. His back was to us, and he was pointing to the electronic menu board while Brandon had the iPad to set things up. I reiterated my feelings about my dad knowing about Elise. “He has too much to worry about, and I can’t add to it.”
“He’s already worried.”
“I’ll sort it out. He’s only worried right now because I’ve been distracted and haven’t helped much this morning.
“Then talk to me.”
