by JA Huss
“I’m sure the family would like a lot of things. Doesn’t mean they’re gonna get them.”
“It’s a very simple background check, Mr. Boston. The same one they give their employees.”
“I’m not their employee. So my answer is still no.”
“Your lawyers forwarded the name of your… girlfriend.”
I sent Brooke’s name over via text in the car ride back to the penthouse so the Kane family knew I was bringing a plus one. “What about her?”
“We don’t know who she is.”
“Well, I guess you’ll find out this weekend,” I say.
“I’m afraid that’s not acceptable. You see—
“Dude, you’re starting to piss me off. The answer is no. We don’t need to submit a background check to you. Now, if you want to get a court order, you can talk to my lawyers.”
“Everyone who comes to the estate has—”
“Again, you’re missing the point. And I didn’t set this location. I’m happy to see Maisy in the city, if that is better suited for the Kane family security concerns.”
So much dead air sits on this line I finally say, “Are we done here?” half expecting him to have hung up.
“I will contact your lawyers then.”
“Great. You do that.” I end the call.
“Who was that?” Wald asks. He’s still in the kitchen, now making a sandwich.
“Fucking Kane security.”
“Why do they need background checks?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“They want to stop you by digging up dirt?” he asks.
“Probably.”
“You shouldn’t dismiss this so easily. If we do end up in court they will run those checks.”
“I know,” I say.
“Are you worried about her?” Wald nods his head to the terrace where Huck and Brooke are probably talking social media strategy.
“Aren’t you?”
He nods. “Yeah, she’s definitely got a secret history. I already ran her background check with our own security.”
“What did you find?”
“She’s real. And it’s her pic on all the documents. So… I don’t know. She either knows some very powerful people who can fake everything in every database, or she really is Brooke Alder.”
“Which one do you think it is?”
“Powerful friends.”
“Why can’t it just be her real name?”
“Because Brooke Alder has no police record. Not even a speeding ticket. Brooke Alder grew up in Ocala, Florida and never had a job. Not a single job, Joey. She has no footprint at all. This woman is not her.”
“It could be her.”
“If it is her, then she does not make sense.”
“Just ask her,” I say.
“It’s fake.”
Wald and I both turn to see Huck and Brooke standing in the open terrace doorway.
“My record?” she clarifies. “Brooke Alder was my best friend growing up. She died thirteen years ago.”
“So…” Wald begins. “You stole her identity?”
“It’s complicated. But… yeah. You see, she moved out of the country when she was sixteen. Her dad ran some agricultural research station in Ocala and got transferred to Europe for a big project. Brooke got sick and died a year later.” Brooke shrugs. “And when I decided to leave everything behind when I came to the city, I used her as my new identity because there’s no record of her death here in the US and her father is dead now too.”
“Well, that’s fuckin’ sad,” Huck says.
“So what’s your real name?” I ask.
“Brooke Alder,” she deadpans back. “That is my legal name now.”
“But you had another name,” Wald says. “What was that name?”
“If I wanted anyone to know that I wouldn’t have changed it, would I?”
Wald frowns. “The Kane family wants to run a background check, Brooke. They’re gonna figure this out.”
“No, they won’t,” she says. “Trust me. It’s been taken care of.”
“By who?” Huck asks.
Brooke smiles at him. “Someone very good at their job.” Then she looks at me. “I promise you. They won’t figure it out. I won’t fuck this up. I know what I’m doing. I’m telling you, meeting me was fate or something. It’s kinda freaky weird too.”
“How?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I came here to put that life behind me. I was very excited about working at Bright Berry Beach. And then… there I was. In that room with you guys. And I was literally the perfect woman for the job.”
“Yeah,” Huck says. “That’s super-convenient.”
“Convenient?” Wald says, raising one eyebrow. “It’s not convenient. It’s because we’re all living in a virtual reality.”
“Don’t start,” I say.
Just as Huck says, “Dude, I can’t listen to your conspiracy theories today. I just can’t.”
Brooke chuckles. “OK. Well, either way, doesn’t matter. They’re not gonna find out about me. There’s absolutely no one left from my old life for them to find.”
“What’s that mean?” I ask.
“They’re all dead. Just like me.” Then she smiles.
“On paper,” Wald adds.
“Sure,” Brooke says.
Which is not really an answer. But I nod. Slowly. “OK. But if you get an inkling that they could, Brooke—”
“I’ll let you know. This is your child, Joey. I’m not going to ruin that.”
“If they did figure out your real name,” Wald presses, “what would happen?”
“To me?” she says, pointing to herself.
“Yeah.”
Brooke inhales deep and then lets her breath out slowly. “They’re not going to find out, but if they did, it wouldn’t mean anything to them.”
“How so?” Wald asks.
Brooke swallows. But other than that one swallow, she shows no other signs of annoyance or discomfort at the discussion. “I mean, that’s the only way I can explain it. Very few people on this Earth give any fucks about me.”
“But there are some,” I ask, “who do?”
“Maybe one or two,” she admits. “But they’re not in a position to mess anything up.”
“They’re dead?” Huck asks.
“I don’t know for sure. But they’ve been out of my life for a very long time and I don’t expect them to ever come back.” And then she smiles. “Those security people can run a background check on me if they’d like. They’re not going to find anything.”
“You’re super sure about that?” I ask.
“One hundred percent.” And she crosses her heart with a fingertip.
“Well,” Wald says, “we’ll fight the check anyway. They’re a bunch of assholes.”
“One more thing,” I say, holding up a hand. Because I don’t trust her. She’s too willing. Too easy. Too convenient. “What are you getting out of this, Brooke? Why are you helping us?”
She opens her mouth to reply, but Wald beats her to it. “Don’t say doors, Brooke. There’s more to it than that. The Boston family is no joke.”
I side-eye Wald.
“You know what I mean,” he says, noticing my look. But then he directs his gaze to Brooke again. “You saw Johnny Boston. That guy is fucking serious with a capital S. There might be more to this than you realize. And if you’re not really doing it for the money, just the opportunity, then…” He shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m not buying it.”
“Well,” she says, taking a moment to consider this. “I’m alone now. And I’ve never really been alone. I’ve never had a lot of people looking out for me. But I always had one. And he’s gone now.” She glances my way. “Really gone. Like no chance of ever coming back kind of gone.”
“The one you were just referring to,” I say.
“No,” She says. “That guy was a nobody to me. But I did have a somebody for a very long time and… and now I don’t.”
“OK. Go on,” I say.
“And maybe I’m not cut out to be alone? I’ve had several weeks to think about this now. How my life changed so suddenly. And you know the one thing I’ve realized? I don’t like being alone. I need more than this. I need a team. I need people who get me. People I can be myself with. Because in the real world, I do not fit in and no one understands the real me.”
“Professional liar,” Huck mutters.
Brooke shrugs. “Being able to admit that’s what I am? It’s a big deal. I’ve been a girl with secrets for as long as I can remember. And today that changed. I need... friends.”
“Friends?” Huck asks.
“Yeah.” Brooke shrugs. “I want to hang around after we get Maisy back. That can be my payment.”
“Friendship?” Wald asks.
“Is it weird?” And now she’s looking at me.
I frown at her. Not in annoyance or even sadness. But in understanding.
Because this is me as well.
I hate being alone. That’s why I give no fucks what Wald and Huck do. There is literally nothing they could do to make me leave or break up our friendship. I am in this arrangement forever. Until they kick me out, I’m staying. I don’t want to be Brooke. I don’t want to be left drifting. That scares the fuck out of me. So I get it.
Sometimes Huck, and Wald, and I talk about the future. Because nothing lasts forever. We all know that. Still, I hold on to this idea that we are permanent. We’ve talked about girls and getting serious with one. But I always say no. And thank God, so far, they’ve always let me say no.
They let me cling to my rigid one-night-stand worldview.
Not that I am some kind of ringleader or anything. I’m not. There’s no real leader. At least on the personal side. Wald definitely runs the business. But our private lives are unequivocally equal.
I say no steady girl, they go along.
Sometimes I think it’s wrong of me. Maybe even selfish of me. Because I know that Wald and Huck both picture themselves with families one day.
And I don’t.
At least, not that kind. Not the traditional kind.
Not even when I get Maisy back. I’m just not wired that way. If Brooke does stick around. If we do become friends, then that’s all it will ever be. Just friends.
It doesn’t seem like much of an offer so I add, “You can have the house too. And whatever money you want. I have so much of it, it doesn’t even mean anything to me.”
“No,” she says. “See, that’s the thing. I don’t need the house unless someone comes with it. I’d rather earn a paltry paycheck selling Bright Berry Beach cosmetics for money than live in a nice house and have a fat bank account. Because a job would give me a purpose. I’m not looking for things, or for money, or even security.” She pauses. “I want to fit in. I want to be on your team.”
“To fill the void,” Huck offers.
“Yes,” Brooke admits, letting out a breath. “Exactly.”
“You do realize this is bizarre?” Wald asks. “You don’t even know us.”
“You’re wrong,” Brooke says. “Well, you’re right. I don’t know you. But I know your kind. We’re alike.” She’s looking at me again. Like she heard that whole private conversation I just had in my head. “We need each other. So that’s my price. That’s my door. That’s my new opportunity that will lead to a new life.”
“You’re lonely,” Huck says.
“Yes,” Brooke admits. “The world is big and I am small. So yes. I don’t want to be alone anymore. It’s just… not for me.”
Huck likes that answer. It’s poetic and that’s his thing. But I’m not sure.
“We’re not really looking for another team member, Brooke.” I say it because it’s true—I’m very satisfied with my two best friends. There’s definitely room for Maisy, but Brooke? I just can’t picture the four of us that way.
“I don’t know,” Wald adds, looking at me. Then he looks at Brooke. “Maybe we are? It can’t hurt to try. We need her for the job, anyway. And I’m sure Brooke will move on if we don’t hit it off. We’re not pledging ourselves with blood under a full moon at midnight, for fuck’s sake. Let’s just see how it goes.”
Brooke’s eyes meet mine. Wondering if I’m gonna object.
But I don’t.
Because he’s right. She’s not gonna hang out if we don’t hit it off. And I have no clue what I want. I never have. I’ve been drifting aimlessly for over a decade. And if Wald and Huck feel so sure about it then, fuck it. She can stay.
“OK,” I finally say. “So… you wanna go buy a house?”
She smiles. Nods. “Yeah. Why not?”
The realtor is an older, nondescript man in a very nice suit. Just a guy I found online who handles million-dollar properties. Because if we’re gonna buy a place, we’re gonna buy a nice place.
I drive and Brooke is quiet as we make our way to the first house.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” I ask her, just as we pull up to a house and park behind a silver Mercedes.
“Nothing.” She huffs a little. “Just… life is so freaking weird. Yesterday I didn’t even know you. Now, we’re shopping for houses. It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe Wald is right? Nothing’s real.”
I smile at her. Half a day. I’ve known this girl half a day and she’s got Wald down. She’s definitely the right woman for the job and I take a minute to study her as she glances around the neighborhood.
Then I glance around the neighborhood too.
It’s a nice fucking neighborhood. It’s old, you can tell by the architecture. None of the houses look alike and most have walls with gates. There’s two private schools down the street. I know. My brothers and I went to both of them. Kindergarten through eighth grade for the one closest by and high school in the other. Hell, even Zack went there.
Thinking back on our early school years now, I realize something.
That’s when my brothers and I grew apart, I think.
When Johnny got to ninth grade and went to high school Jesse and I stayed behind.
One year. That’s how long Johnny and I were apart. Just one.
But when I got to ninth grade he was settled into some new life that I wasn’t a part of.
I didn’t belong anymore.
When Jesse joined us a year later it only got worse. He had grown into someone else too.
That’s the trouble with being in the middle. Johnny got his year to himself. Jesse got his year to himself. But me? I didn’t get any years alone to figure out who I was.
Before Jesse’s last year at primary school he spent his whole life in the shadow of his brothers. So that year alone he changed. He changed a lot.
And Johnny? One year with no little brothers tagging along and watching his every move? He took advantage of that. Because I barely recognized him when I got to high school. And I never saw him at home, either. He was always somewhere inside the Bossy Building doing… well.
I guess I can guess what he was doing after I saw that shit-show ceremony last month.
Three years and the right circumstances. That’s all it took to rip us apart forever and realize the only thing we had in common was a last name.
But Maisy won’t have that problem because there are no older or younger siblings to move forward without her or leave her behind.
I don’t picture Maisy at these schools. Not yet, anyway. It’s too soon for that. I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like to get his hopes up too high.
Maisy is my daughter and the Kanes can fuck me through the legal system all they want. They can’t really keep me from her. Not forever. So one day she will be part of my life.
But that day could be a long way off if I fuck this up. So I’m not gonna daydream about school uniforms just yet.
If Wald is in charge of the dreams, then Huck is in charge of the soundtrack that goes with it. Me? I’m just a realist.
Way too early to count on anything yet.
“
Do we really need something this big?” Brooke asks. Still looking around the neighborhood.
Even though her use of the word ‘we’ in the context of what kind of house is needed by ‘us’, immediately has me thinking about Wald’s crazy theories, I just play it off and shrug.
“I dunno. But if I ever get to bring Maisy home with me, then I want her to have a nice proper house, ya know? And I like this neighborhood. I like the trees and the shade. And the lots are all big. I imagine myself building her a playhouse in the back yard.”
Brooke kinda laughs.
I will allow myself that one daydream. I always wanted a tree house. But of course, there’s no trees on the top floors of the Bossy Building.
The realtor is getting out of the Mercedes in front of us, but for some reason Brooke and I still don’t move.
“I’m not laughing at that,” she explains. “I think it’s nice, actually. That you want that kind of stuff for her.”
“It is a little bit weird. So you can laugh if you want. I don’t even care what people think. I want to be a father to this little girl so bad I can’t explain it. I don’t even understand it.”
She turns her head to look at me. Smiles.
But I think it’s a sad smile. I’m just about to ask her why she’s wearing that expression when there’s a tap on my window.
Her eyes flick over my shoulder and she smiles bigger. “Here we go. Time to make up some more memories.”
And then she laughs again, only this time, it’s real.
CHAPTER TEN - BROOKE
This neighborhood is something else. It’s old and the lots and houses are big. Possibly more on the huge side. They are not massive houses. Not mansions or anything. But this is a proper rich-people neighborhood.
I walk around the car and stand next to Joey. He’s already shaking the realtor’s hand. “This is my girlfriend, Brooke Alder,” he says, introducing me.
That is so weird. Hearing this literal stranger introduce me as his girlfriend to a realtor who fully expects to make a fat commission off us today makes my body buzz with so many unidentifiable emotions I falter for a moment and forget how to talk.
“Very nice to meet you,” the man says. “I’m Allen Burkhart.”
