I feel my cheeks heat as everyone turns their attention to me. “What? I’m freaking tired, okay? I’m working my ass off, unlike some other people,” I say, pointedly looking at my brother. “It’s been a few weeks since I’ve worked out with Lorn and Castiel.”
“We should have a spa day and get some massages and a facial. That will make you feel better and more refreshed.” Vienna bounces in her chair with enthusiasm.
My cheeks heat even more. “I’ve never had a spa day before,” I tell her. I’ve had manicures and pedicures, but none of the other fancy things.
She claps her hands together. “It’s a date. I’ll organize it. Are you free tomorrow? I don’t have any classes.”
I think about my schedule. It’s hard to know, because I don’t know what the meeting with the guys will yield today.
“Yes, she can clear her schedule,” Sage states firmly, and I frown at him.
“I don’t know if I can.”
He waves a hand at me. “If something comes up, I can handle it. Go get pampered. You have been working overtime and deserve it.”
I sigh. “Fine, why don’t you make an appointment at the Lucky Diamond? We won’t have to pay for it, and apparently, the spa there is excellent,” I suggest to Vienna.
“Oh, I’ve heard really good things about it. I’ll call them today.” She’s practically vibrating with excitement.
I hear Gio grumble under his breath, and Sage glares at him. What the fuck is his problem? I decide to take one day off in I don’t know how long, and he gets pissy.
Casey puts her hand over his and whispers something to him, and he shuts up. Huh, she must have some magical powers to be able to get my brother to stop whining. Maybe just a magical pussy.
“Okay, well, on that note, I have to go. Sage, are you ready?” I ask him, and he stands up and stretches. His shirt rises, leaving a patch of bare skin between the hem and the waistband of his dress pants. He grabs a suit jacket off the back of his chair and pulls it on.
“Yup, I ordered the limo for this morning since I knew you were tired. You can nap between meetings if you need to, and no driving.”
Wow, that was thoughtful of him. I thought I was hiding how exhausted I was, but I guess I’m not fooling anyone.
Gio stands as well. “Good, you can drop us off at school on the way. Saves us all from driving.”
“I’m not sure how long my meetings are going to be,” I warn him.
“But how will we get to our appointment and then home?” Casey asks, biting her lip with worry.
“I’ll have another driver pick us up. Tori isn’t the only one with access to family perks.” Gio glares at me again, and I narrow my eyes and glare back. Neither of us want to break the stare down.
“Well, that’s all settled. Shall we get moving then?” Sage says loudly, interrupting our stare down. The others hurry to finish their breakfast. Suzy offers to prepare to-go cups of coffee for those who want them while everyone grabs whatever they need for the day. I head into the kitchen to talk to Suzy and Ben.
“Have we heard from Mickey about that background check yet?” I ask Ben quietly, and he shakes his head.
“No, we haven’t heard from him since we gave him the information.”
“I’ll give him a call today. I might even go out and see him. It’s been a while, and I miss him.” I turn my attention to Suzy. “Should we hire a chef to give you a break?” I ask her, but she shakes her head.
“Absolutely not. Finding one that passes the background checks will be a pain in the ass, and I like having this many people to cook for. It gives me something to do. Our lives were so lonely for so many years, it’s nice to have people to take care of.” I see the sadness in her eyes.
Ben and Suzy tried to have kids of their own for many years, but it just wasn’t in the cards for them, and because of Dad’s choices, they missed out on seeing me and Gio grow up. I think they are making up for all that lost time and trying to fill the void Dad left behind.
“Okay, but if it gets to be too much, let me know,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her cheek before doing the same to Ben. “I’m going to see what Sam and Dean learned about Lorenzo. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Gio is getting annoyed at being shut out,” Suzy points out, and I shrug.
“He knows the deal. We don’t discuss family business around nonfamily members. He shouldn’t have asked about it this morning or last night. If he wants to know what’s going on, he can come into the office or approach me privately. We can always use the secret meeting room, but he keeps bringing it up around the others.”
Ben sighs. “That boy needs to get his head on straight and decide what he really wants. If he wants to have a white picket fence kind of life with a wife, two point five kids, and a dog, then he should really step down as the head of the family. I mean, he’s basically just a figurehead now.”
“I don’t remember the last time he came into the office for work. I know he has college, but it’s like he’s completely forgotten he has other responsibilities. He was good right after Dad died, but for months now, he’s been shady as shit. I guess that was when Casey came back into his life.”
