I had to hide the smirk that itched to spread across my face.
“Dad, wait?—”
I paused my pen from marking up the blank check.
“Uh, it’s probably best to not have a paper trail … if you know what I mean.”
“Jackson, do you understand how dangerous it is to have this kind of money lying around in cold hard cash? How do I know it won’t get stolen and then your shit out of luck again?” I dropped my pen and pushed my checkbook out of the way.
“Dad, I know it’s messy. I know it sounds sketchy as fuck, but once this is all over, I can put this all behind me, and I swear I won’t be in this position again,” he pleaded.
I really wanted to believe him.
I still had no idea how I was going to turn this into a teaching moment—a way for him to understand that thiswasn’t okay. That I couldn’t solve all of his money problems for the rest of time.
I let out a slow breath.
“I’ll have someone I trust drop off half in a few days. You’ll have the rest shortly after that. Sound good?” I really didn’t like the idea of cash in this situation, but the more I thought about it, I didn’t want some hard ass who was coming after him to have my information on a check.
“Yeah, I really appreciate it.”
He started to stand before I stopped him.
“Sit.” I leaned back, interlocking my fingers. “You came all this way, might as well catch up. How’s the job hunt going?”
He’d been in and out of jobs since he moved here. And if he was going to milk half a million dollars out of me, he sure as shit wasn’t getting away from having a conversation with me.
“Good. I actually secured a gig through a friend about a week ago. I start this weekend.”
“Happy to hear it. What’s the job?”
“He’s a director. I’ll be helping him in the casting department.”
Seeing as how we were in Vegas, and not Los Angeles, it didn’t take a genius to read between the lines.
“You’re working in porn, Jackson?” My eyes narrowed.
“Hey, don’t judge. I’m just spending my days looking for men and women that look like they would fit certain parts my boss is looking to fill.”
I wasn’t judging. I couldn’t judge. Avery was a sex worker.
“I don’t care what you do for a living, Jackson. Just promise me you’ll stay safe and stay out of trouble. No more debts.”
“No more debts,” he repeated.
“Good. So, is this what you want to do? What’s your long-term goal here?”
“I haven’t figured out my future yet, but this opportunity kind of fell in my lap. I couldn’t secure anything else at the moment, so I ran with it. Might be a good place to meet someone, you know?” His shoulders lifted slightly like he was unsure of what he’d said, but then he chuckled as if he liked the idea of meeting someone at work.
“Just remember to keep your head on straight. Do the job. Anything else that comes from it is just a bonus.” My fingers interlocked, resting over my stomach as I leaned back in my chair.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. What about you? Gonna stay a bachelor forever?”
It wasn’t often that Jackson and I talked on a personal level, but I was trying to change that. I was trying to make this strained relationship between us feel as natural as possible. So, I decided to open up.
“Nah. I’m actually seeing someone.” My lips lifted in a smirk at the thought of Avery.
Jackson’s eyes widened. “No shit? Is it serious?”
