“It was nothing. It didn’t take me that long.”
Jake snickers.
Some people can whip up a quick lunch. Riley isn’t one of them. It’s a well-known fact that I’m a hardcore addict when it comes to her sandwiches. Today she stepped up her game. She prepared four mouthwatering delicacies I’m unlikely to forget anytime soon. We started with the succulent BBQ pulled-pork sliders followed by two types of grilled cheese sandwiches—the bacon and guacamole sandwich was delicious, but nothing prepared me for the sausage-and-pepper chipotle grilled cheese. I’ve never eaten anything quite like this before. The last concoction on the menu is Riley’s buffalo chicken BLT. That thing needs to come with a warning.
“I hope you’ll enjoy the potpie.”
“Riley, I don’t know, to be honest. Miranda isn’t eating much.”
“She’s still not doing better?”
I shake my head. “I was telling Jake outside. It’s as if she’s constantly in a daze. She has a few moments when she’s with us, but for the most part she’s out of it. The only glimmer of hope I have is the fact that after one week the unsightly black and blue bruises around her wrists, chest and chin have faded. Every time I saw them, I had to get a grip on myself and calm down. The only thing I wanted to do was find that son of a bitch and crack his skull in half as retribution.”
Riley reaches out for my hand. “This is the scariest thing that can happen to a woman. I think it’s our greatest fear in life. She’s been traumatized. She’s going to need time.”
“I get it. You’re not saying anything different from anyone else who’s tried to lift my spirits. It’s still incredibly difficult for me to stand back and watch her wallow in this lethargic state. I feel completely powerless.”
“She doesn’t need you to be a superhero, Hunter, she just needs you to be there for her.”
“That’s exactly what I told him,” Jake adds.
I nod, pursing my lips. There’s not much for me to say. They’re both right.
“Are her mom and grandma coming back?” Riley asks.
“Yeah. Her mom had to go back home because she has a restaurant and she had to oversee a few things, but they’ll be back next Tuesday and they’ll stay until Saturday.”
“So you got along well with them?” Jake’s the one to ask the question.
“It’s impossible not to. This is definitely not how I wanted to meet them for the first time. Like everything this past week, it’s been a question of turning lemons into lemonade. I like both of them. They’re absolutely adorable. Hanging out with Miranda’s grandmother made me miss mine so much.” I pause. “In the past week, my place’s been bursting with estrogen.” I chuckle. “Every day Jessica or her sister Michelle show up before nine o’clock in the morning with Miranda’s mom and grandmother in tow and they take over. I’m sure I could’ve managed on my own with Miranda, but I’m grateful those four women are willing to help. I have no doubt Miranda felt their presence.”
“Jake said your dad has been over as well.”
“Yeah. He’s been dropping by every single day after work with my stepmother. Dad and Brea were really looking forward to meeting Miranda… it just wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
Riley squeezes my hand harder. “I think it’s incredible that your dad is there for you regardless of the fact this isn’t necessarily the perfect first introduction to your new girlfriend.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Jake precedes me. “Hunter, you’re breaking new ground here. I’m not sure I like it.” He laughs. Riley and I look at each other, confused, before turning our attention to Jake. “Once again, you’re forcing me to agree with my sister. Come on, man, I have a perfect track record of rarely agreeing with her. What are you doing to me?”
Jake’s comment takes me by surprise and I crack up. I laugh to the point of tears and soon both he and Riley join me. We must be at it for a solid five minutes. Every time one of us tries to stop, the others pick up steam and we’re all roaring again.
When I finally compose myself, I’m able to talk again. “My dad is incredibly supportive and unlike my mom, we’re close. I haven’t even told her about Miranda yet. I’m in no rush,” I say before wiping my eyes with my sleeve. “What I meant to say is that Miranda’s effervescent personality was supposed to seduce Dad and Brea… like everybody else when you first meet her. She’s just a shell of her former self now.”
“I don’t know about that. I wouldn’t be too quick to jump to that kind of conclusion, buddy,” Jake says with a teasing smile on his face.
“What do you mean?”
“A few days ago, I was hanging out in the garden with your dad. Everyone else was in the kitchen and I believe you were checking up on Miranda, but the two of us just needed a minute away from all of the bustling energy. He said something that surprised me, but then again your dad’s always been very astute.”
“What did he say?” I’m curious to know since Dad hasn’t made any candid confessions in the past few days.
“He said that although Miranda isn’t talking much, from the story of that horrible night you shared with him, he already knows she’s a fighter. She might be small, but she’s not weak. He also mentioned those are some of the characteristics in a woman that help a guy gets through shit in life when it’s thrown at him. His conclusion is very simple…”
I hang on Jake’s last sentence waiting for him to continue, but he’s just looking at me. “Are you going to tell me?” I ask impatiently.
He flashes me a cocky smile. Fucker. “He said Miranda is exactly the kind of woman he’s always wanted for you.”
My eyebrows rise high in shock. “He said that?”
“Uh-huh. I think he’s already seduced.”
What Jake just shared affects me far more than I ever thought possible. “Thanks so much. It means a lot to me to know that my dad thinks of her that way.”
“I doubt I’ll be going out on a limb when I say that everybody adores her. It was like that for me on her first day as my assistant. Even Collin was joking about it.” Riley laughs. “He confessed that he wasn’t happy that you were off the market, but he said Miranda’s a darn good reason not to want any other woman.”
I laugh. “Now that’s something I never thought I’d hear him say. He’s been at the house all week and he never revealed anything close to that.”
“You know that on the outside Collin’s a player. He works really hard at maintaining that image, but he has a good heart,” Riley concludes.
“The Dennisons are good people,” Jake adds.
I nod in agreement. “They’ve been there for me every step of the way.”
“It's hilarious how every night Collin would come around your place for dinner.” Jake laughs.
“The guy’s a riot,” I say. “Collin and Shane would generally arrive a few hours after Dad and Brea. Collin was always the first one to whine about how hungry he was. Shane might be a chef in his own right, but he couldn’t get enough of Miranda’s grandmother’s cooking.”
“Well, thanks to those two, your dad and Jessica’s boyfriend, you weren’t lost in a sea of estrogen.” Jake laughs.
“Thank God,” I joke. “By eight o’clock at night, all of us would just hang out, drink and eat. Kevin would usually show up late in the evening and he was always as starved as Collin was. I haven’t had so many people in my house since I left Fort Collins. It’s funny…” I frown and shake my head at the same time.
“What?” Jake asks.
“It takes this”—I lift my fingers in the air to form quotation marks—“to bring all of us together. It sucks, but at the same time, getting to know Miranda’s family and friends has been really great.” We all nod. Just like in a movie, all three of us grab our sandwiches and bring them up to our mouths before taking another big bite. We chomp in silence and once again it hits me how incredibly delicious these are. “Rick is right on the money with the new restaurant concept. Your sandwiches are going to be a huge hit,” I s
ay, swallowing my last bite. “How are things coming along?”
Riley places the sandwich she’s holding on the plate in front of her and beams at both of us. “We just ended the second week of construction. Although we might be a couple weeks late, it’s coming along beautifully. I’m so excited. There are no words to express how much I’m anticipating my opening day.”
“When that day comes, it’s going to be a big deal in Fort Collins, sis,” Jake says.
“I agree with Jake,” I say. “Everybody’s going to be talking about it. Will Allison be able to manage the restaurant and everything else you have her working on?”
“I doubt it. She already has a full-time job that’s keeping her quite busy. The interactions on the blog keep growing every single day and my presence on social media is more and more important to my career. This is already too much for her, but since it’s only a few weeks, she can manage.”
“And let’s not forget that her boyfriend would also like to see her from time to time. She’s stuck most evenings on the construction site,” Jake adds, pursing his lips.
“No need to dig the knife in any further,” Riley retorts. “I’m fully aware this can’t go on forever. I don’t like seeing her stretched like this. Not to mention that Rick plans on starting construction on the Denver location in the next couple of weeks. It’s not fair for me to ask Allison to take on all these extra responsibilities. I’m still going to be traveling back and forth. I’ll definitely compensate her for all the extra hours, but this is a Band-Aid solution. I’m probably going to have to hire another assistant.”
“Really?”
Riley nods. “Yeah. I don’t want to be the bottleneck. Every day those workers are delayed because they have to wait around for me to make a decision is very costly.”
Interesting. “It makes sense. Sometimes you have to recognize when you can’t do it all on your own.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. I guess it’s a little bit like you and Mrs. Silverstein.” Riley smiles.
“I guess you’re right.” I smile back at her.
“Is she still your best friend?” Jake asks.
“She’s more like my mother than my best friend, but I’m glad to have her in my corner. Her grandson Adam is doing an incredible job and once again it’s allowing me to focus my energy on the person who matters the most to me right now.”
Miranda woke up in a panic the next day after her attack. She tried to climb out of bed, claiming she had to make sure everything was okay at the house. After convincing her to get back in bed, I called Collin and asked him come watch over her while I drove up to the place she’s housesitting to take over her responsibilities. Since I didn’t know what I was doing, I think I might have drawn a little too much attention to myself. Just as I was climbing in my SUV after my first visit, Mrs. Silverstein came running at me with a baseball bat. After I was able to calm her down, I explained everything. By the time I was done the tiny and frail woman was crying. After she had regained her composure, she invited me to her house for a cup of coffee. As luck would have it, that the owners left their contact information with her. Mrs. Silverstein didn’t waste any time in calling them and updating them. After speaking to them, I was able to assure them that I’d take care of their place as if it were mine.
When I hung up with them, Mrs. Silverstein immediately phoned her seventeen-year-old grandson to enlist him to replace Miranda while she’s healing. She had everything set up within forty minutes. Turns out that Mrs. Silverstein isn’t a scary neighbor after all. She’s a little cautious and standoffish when you don’t know her, but deep down inside, she’s a warm and kind woman. She even praised Miranda for not allowing me inside the house. She was keeping an eye on us since it was the first time a man had dropped by so often.
“Hey, sis, I’m going to have to get back to the office soon,” Jake says. “I should be there by three to get ready for my three-thirty. We’ve been sitting here since one o’clock and an hour has already whizzed by. Why don’t you update us on your meeting with Gary?”
This lunch has helped take my mind off of things and I almost forgot this was more than just an opportunity for us to hang out. “Yeah, what’s new? Are they bringing back the guillotine just for Nigel Warner?”
“No beheadings planned yet,” Riley mocks. “I know you despise the guy. Quite frankly he’s on everyone’s hit list right now. I think what I have to share is quite an eye-opener.”
I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. “So what did Gary reveal?” I ask. Although I’m sure I’m not going to like anything she has to say, a part of me needs to know.
“As you know, Paul Ward is the attorney representing the network.” I nod. “Yesterday was the first day of court for our friendly British chef, aka the would-be rapist. Gary shared general details on how things unfolded. Obviously, he didn’t share anything that could have a negative impact on the upcoming trial. I’ll spare you much of it because it’s a lot of legal jargon and fairly boring stuff, but the most hilarious part—and please read the sarcasm here—is that Nigel denies any wrongdoing. In fact, he claims Miranda came on to him. Apparently she’s this ‘out-of-control man-eater,’” Riley sneers, lifting her fingers in the air to form quotation marks, “who couldn’t keep her hands off of him. He was merely defending himself. He wouldn’t budge off of that ridiculous story. His attorney asked him on numerous occasions to shut up because he was being disruptive, but Nigel seemed too intent on being heard. The judge was absolutely furious. I mean the guy’s completely ludicrous. The height difference alone should be a red flag.”
“What?” Jake and I shout in horror at the same time.
“Yeah. Funny, right?”
“Riley, I fail to see the humor in this.” Jake sums up exactly how I feel. “I’d hate for the judge to have to take that kind of nonsense into consideration.”
“Nigel has a few screws loose. That’s for sure. I don’t know how it works in London, but here in good ol’ America, especially in LA, you can’t yawn without it being caught on camera—”
“Ahhhh.” It hits Jake and me at the same time.
“Exactly.”
“Everything that happened that night was captured on video?” I ask. Riley nods.
“Have you seen the footage, sis?” Jake asks.
“No. Paul won’t allow it, but Gary says it’s there in black and white. Nigel can argue until he’s blue in the face. Unfortunately for him, the proof is irrefutable.”
“It didn’t even cross my mind until you mentioned it. I’m so happy that retard doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Not that even a moron would believe that a tiny woman like Miranda would go after a guy Nigel’s size.”
“Good. The asshole’s going down.” Jake grins.
“Thank God,” I rejoice. “I would’ve hated for that degenerate to be able to get away with everything that easily. Of course, everything can change at the trial, but this definitely makes it much easier to prosecute a scumbag like Nigel Warner.”
“Gary was practically jumping up and down after someone from the legal team had gone through every single second of those videos. There are several hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment at the network. Do you really think they don’t have that place rigged? I can’t even believe Nigel wasn’t smart enough to come up with a better defense. I don’t know who his attorney is, but he’s got his work cut out for him. Nigel is a loose cannon.”
“He’s definitely dumber than he looks,” I spit out.
“Criminals are rarely the brightest bunch,” Jake snarls.
“You guys have no idea.” Riley’s facial expression concerns me.
“What else is there?” I ask.
“Gary called Nigel's boss while still at the scene of the incident at three o'clock in the morning. Since it was eleven AM in London that was perfect timing. In other words, it was perfect timing. Gregory Hingham, the guy who signs Nigel’s paychecks, was already at work. When he found out, all hell broke loose.”
“What does that mean?” Jake asks.
“Needless to say, the network has no intentions of honoring Nigel’s contract given what he’s done. Gary’s one strategic thinker. Two years ago, the network had so many nightmarish problems with a guest chef, they added a behavior clause in their contracts—both for employees and guests. This isn’t baseball, boys and girls. In this case, one strike and you’re out. Nigel violated that clause big time, and it’s pretty nonnegotiable. On top of that, his boss in the UK fired him on the spot.”
“Nigel deserves much worse, but at least he’s starting to feel the pinch.”
“I’ll be honest, I really want this guy to suffer.” Jake’s never been one to mince his words.
“Not nearly as much as I do, buddy. Had Collin not been there, I’d be behind bars right now. I want that low-life predator to be stripped of his freedom and every one of his possessions. He likes preying on women half his size? I’m sure he’ll enjoy his time in a six-by-eight cell with a roommate who’ll extend him the same courtesy by fucking his ass every single night.”
“I think God preceded you on that one, Hunter. It might not have seemed obvious on that night, but She planned it so well.”
“You lost me, Riley.”
“Yeah, same here, sis.”
“None of the film editors who were still left at that time would have ever been able to hear Miranda’s cries for help because they were trapped in a sound-insulated room. It was only when Shane burst into the building, knocking on every closed door to alert people, that most of them became aware of what had transpired. That’s also when all of them rushed out of the building to witness the tragedy. One of them, whose name shall remain undisclosed, particularly disliked the British chef. Apparently Nigel came onto her one too many times and she got pretty fed up. She’s not much taller than Miranda. On top of that, she’s the shy and introverted type so she lets her camera lens speak on her behalf,” Riley says. Her eyes shift from mine to Jake’s as if she’s just revealed that Michael Jackson is still alive and she’s waiting for our reaction.
Intoxicated Page 5
