“OK, well, just know that I’m here. And I love you.” I go over and give her a hug, then joke, “Even if you are a bitch sometimes.”
“Haha, very funny,” she says, “but I’m going to bed now. Apparently I have to help some asshole move early tomorrow morning.” With that, she gives me a little side hug and gets up to go to bed. “Just wake me up with coffee when you’re ready to get going. I can guarantee I won’t do a thing without at least two cups in me first.” She turns and goes into her bedroom without waiting for an answer. I wonder how early I can get away with waking her up, just to fuck with her.
I quickly clean up the pizza boxes and beer bottles, and set my alarm for 7:00am, before going to bed myself. That will give me time to get over to Bump & Grind for the good coffee, pick up Pops at the gym, and get back here by 8:00 to wake up Becca. I text Denise to tell her we’ll be there at 9:00. Since I have very little stuff to move, it shouldn’t take long at all. Pops will be back at the gym by lunch and I should be all settled in and unpacked by mid-afternoon. I’ll have one day to get used to my new digs and then the next 6 months of my life start on Monday. Man, I really hope that the clients are nice. I can’t deal with another dickhead for six months.
Chapter 25
Connor - More Family Drama
This morning my alarm went off at 6:00am. I was intending to get up and go to the gym but fuck, 6:00 is just too damn early so I set it again for 7:00 and slept in a little longer. When I finally drag my ass out of bed, I go to the kitchen to grab some coffee and make myself an omelette. I can’t wait for my new chef to start. I’m getting tired of omelettes and takeout as my only options. I suppose I could learn how to cook, but I know I could never make the kinds of things a professionally trained chef can. And since I make enough money to hire one to do the cooking for me, I may as well do that. Just a couple more days of fending for myself and then I can eat some proper food again. Not that we ask the chef for anything extravagant. They’re probably itching for a challenge again after they finish the contract with us.
Just as I’m about to sit down to eat, I hear my phone ding. A quick look at the screen tells me it’s my mother. Great.
Mom-Hi baby
Me- Hey mom, what’s up? Ted Feeling better now?
Mom-Yes he is, thanks for asking. I was wondering if you were still going to send money for your sister’s tuition. The payment is due soon and I haven’t seen anything from you.
Of course, she’s just texting me because she needs something. Too bad I already figured out her little game and just paid the school directly. I even prepaid for all of Sadie’s books, her meal plan, and her dorm for the entire school year. And since I paid for them all to get a new wardrobe when I thought they were coming to my show, there’s really nothing left she needs money for.
Me-I’ve already paid it. Sadie is set to go. Books, dorm, meals. She doesn’t need anything else for school except to show up.
Mom-oh, good. Well, Amanda is also going to need some stuff for school. It’s her senior year. Prom is coming up.
Me-Cool, yeah. I’ve talked to her about this already. We’re going to go shopping in the next week or two. I’ll even pay for her hair appointment.
Me- Gotta go now, Mom, I’m off to the gym. Ttyl.
I put my phone away before she responds. I’ll read her messages later. I’m sure she needs some time to think of another way to get something out of me, anyway. I don’t mind paying for stuff for my sisters. I have the money, and I don’t want them to miss out on college or school activities just because our mother is useless. They’re both a lot younger than me, and I’ve always felt a little responsible for them. None of our fathers stuck around, but I’ve tried to stay present in their lives as much as possible.
Shit, now my food is cold, so instead of eating I light a smoke and go out to the deck off the kitchen to finish my coffee. I enjoy sitting out here because the deck overlooks the pool and the yard. Not that there’s not a lot going on back there. I bought a house with an enormous yard full of trees just to have some privacy. The pool house is also back here, but I use it more like a staff house most of the time.
My new chef will be living there. It seems to be easier to get someone to commit to a round-the-clock contract if they are at least guaranteed their own separate space. I rarely avail myself of the all hours aspect of the contract, but I do tend to keep later hours than most people. It’s nice to have the chef here to cook meals later in the day than normal, or to get stuff ready in advance if I know we’ll be working late in the studio.
After I finish my smoke and my cup of coffee, I decide it’s time to finally head on over to the gym to see if Mike knows of Alex. If I get lucky, maybe I’ll even see a moving truck. It’s only 8:30 now, so if she’s moving today she should still be packing up the truck. I’m not sure where she’s moving to, but I know that I’m not going to let that stop me from seeing where this can go. I can’t forget the way she made me feel the other night. Actually, I haven’t been able to think of anything but her for this entire week. Hopefully, I find her and she feels the same.
Chapter 26
Alex - Moving In and Mystery Clients
By the time I grab the coffee and pick up Pops, Becca is dressed and ready to go. We get to work right away and get all the boxes loaded into our two vehicles by 8:30. Once that is done, we drive straight over to the new place to meet Denise.
I pull into the driveway and go right around to the back of the main house where Denise said the pool house is located. As soon as I pull up, I see her standing beside the pool house door, waiting for me.
“Hi Denise, how are you?” I say, getting out of my car. “Are we all set with everything for today?”
“Hey Alex, nice to see you again.” Denise says while walking over to me. “I’m so sorry to do this to you, but I have a meeting with a client in just a few minutes, so I have to get going. It’s sort of a last-minute emergency thing. I was hoping to go through the pool house and all the security codes and such with you, but I’m going to just have to give you this instead.” She passes me a large envelope and a set of keys. “This key is for the pool house, and this one is for the main house. The codes for the alarm panels are in the envelope, as are your copies of the contracts and forms. Oh, and I also put in some blank background check and NDA forms in there for you. I’m sure you’ll want to have someone visit you at some point, so I will need those filled out and back to me ASAP. I know you will have someone helping you move today, but as long as you don’t invite them to the main house, it will be fine. That should be everything, but if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call or text. And again, I’m so sorry to be running out on you like this. If it wasn’t an emergency, I would be here to help get you settled.”
She waves at me as she gets into her car and immediately drives away. I didn’t hear it, but I’m pretty sure it was running the entire time. Oh crap, I still don’t know who the client is. At least I have forms for Becca to sign so that she’ll be able to come visit. That should make her happy, especially since this pool is amazing. And my place is just steps away.
Grabbing my new keys and getting the alarm codes out of the envelope, I walk over to my new place. After opening the door and disarming the alarm, I go inside to have a look around. Looks like a nice enough place. Smallish kitchen, but it has a gas range, and it looks like the appliances are newer. The kitchen is on the left of the entryway and it opens up into a large living/dining space. Modern looking furniture is spaced throughout, large enough for comfort but not so large that it overwhelms the space. On the far side of the living room is a set of French doors that open onto a small deck overlooking a large yard with a forested area at the edges of it. It hardly even looks like we’re in the city anymore.
Going back in, I notice that just behind the living room area, on the other side of the kitchen, is a set of stairs. Following them up, I find the master bedroom with a king-size bed and a huge ensuite bathroom complete with soaker tub and separate glass-enclosed shower with a two-headed waterfall shower head. I could get used to this, I think to myself. Across the hall from the master is another slightly smaller bedroom, also with an ensuite, but this one is a lot less extravagant. Still a pleasant room though, a good place for Becca to sleep if she comes for a pool party and drinks a little too much.
After I’m done looking around upstairs, I go back to the main floor and out to my car. Just as I’m pulling out the first box, Becca drives in and parks beside me. She insisted on taking Pops with her and they both get out of the car now.
“Well shit, Lexi Girl,” Pops whistles as he looks around. “This place is nice.”
