Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series

by Randileigh Kennedy

  “Yes, Mal, I couldn’t be happier. I really didn’t expect it. It certainly wasn’t what I was looking for. I mean really, under different circumstances, I would say it’s too soon for me given what I just ran away from. But Mal, he’s just… amazing,” I gushed, unable to stop beaming. “So why all the calls from you? What happened?”

  Mallory changed the subject and told me all about a new job we got. It was a steady order two days a week for one of the resort casinos in town. It was a large enough job to where Mallory felt she could sustain being open full-time. They even signed a year contract, guaranteeing us the steady business. Mallory was elated and I was too, mostly out of happiness for her.

  Mallory led me up to her apartment. I quickly changed into a light striped cotton dress, and I hurriedly pulled my hair back into a pony tail, hoping to look somewhat put together before people came in for the open house. I still felt a little disheveled, but smiled as I thought of why. We headed back downstairs to the bakery to lay out all of the desserts.

  The open house was another success, and we received a good number of party orders and had a lot of people stopping by for carry-out boxes. Johnny came by with a new girl he met that week, something Mallory and I would gossip about later for sure. Megan stopped by as well to grab a box of pastries to take into her office for a meeting she had the following morning. When we were finished, we cleaned up the shop and added up our orders. When we were done I decided to go home to finally shower, smirking at the thought that the only cleansing I had in the past twenty-four hours had been from sprinklers.

  When I got home I showered and cleaned up my place a bit, waiting for Griffin to call. We didn’t have a set meeting time that night, but I had assumed on a weekend he wouldn’t be working long, so I was surprised when six o’clock rolled around and he still hadn’t called. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door, and a smile spread across my face.

  I flung open the door, surprised to see Mallory standing there.

  “Oh, hi Mal. Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be you,” I said, confused as to why she just popped over without even calling. She knew I had plans with Griffin tonight. We had talked about it at the bakery. “I thought you had to drive to your parents place in Sacramento tonight?”

  “Addie, have you seen the news?” she asked with a shaky voice.

  “No. Why, what’s going on? What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “It’s Griffin. He’s been arrested,” she said, shaking her head. She walked over to my TV and turned it on to the local news station.

  The reporter spoke about Gregory Dixon, flashing a picture up on the screen, mentioning the huge arrest that had taken place after a long investigation.

  “Dixon?” I asked Mallory, “as in Dixon Industries? I think I’ve heard of them. Don’t they own a bunch of the casinos around here and a couple in Vegas?”

  Mallory nodded her head.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” I said, shaking my head. “So Griffin’s father was arrested?” The news reporter went on, discussing details about Gregory’s financials, and Mallory turned down the volume.

  “I don’t know exactly what happened, Addie. But they took his dad, Griffin, and six other employees to prison. It’s something bad. Something with the gaming commission I think. They were misreporting some numbers. I don’t know,” Mallory said, her voice trailing off.

  “So Griffin was part of it? I still don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. “So his family actually owns the casinos? Griffin’s last name is Dixon?”

  Mallory nodded, pulling out a magazine from her purse. “Check out the finance section. There was a whole article about Griffin’s dad last month. They’re worth $37 million dollars, Addie. So for something to be wrong, it’s a pretty big deal.”

  I glanced over at the magazine, opening it to see a color photograph of Griffin’s father smiling in a dark suit. “That’s definitely him,” I muttered softly, shaking my head. I hated that my first interaction with Griffin’s father was less than ideal. I wasn’t even fully clothed for it, and his demeanor seemed so angry.

  “Griffin never told you what his dad did? They are crazy rich. I mean I get why he wouldn’t have come out and said it like that, but I guess I’m surprised he didn’t tell you how much of downtown they owned,” Mallory replied.

  I set down the magazine. I felt frustrated at the feeling of not really knowing Griffin much at all, despite the past week we had spent together.

  Mallory went on to explain the casinos were originally owned by Gregory’s father, but switched over to Gregory’s control once his dad passed away several years ago. Griffin didn’t have nearly as much of a hand in things back when his grandfather ran the business. But once Griffin’s dad took over, his expectations shifted from wanting him to take an interest in it to wanting him to help run it, despite Griffin’s reluctance to the whole thing.

  “I talked to Steve about all of this. He’s actually going to come over in a bit. From what I gather, Griffin was in charge of a few departments. But he always joked that he didn’t do much, like it was more of just a title. But bottom line, Griffin oversaw some of the departments. Unfortunately I think one of the departments he was in charge of is the one with the misreported numbers,” Mallory said, pacing my apartment.

  “Griffin said something to me about that, about overseeing some different areas of the company. But he made it sound like he didn’t make any actual decisions, like other people technically called all the shots. What are you getting at? Do you think Griffin really did something wrong?” I asked. Tears started to well up in my eyes.

  “I would say no, Addie, it’s just not like him. I don’t think he would have done anything intentionally. But I don’t know what he knew, you know? He never really talked about his job that much. We just knew his father drove him crazy and that he was always torn between doing what was expected of him rather than what he wanted. I don’t know how far that went,” Mallory said, plopping herself down on my couch. I really didn’t know what to think or feel in that moment. My mind was blank and my body felt numb.

  A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door. Steve walked in, looking stressed out. He embraced me in a big hug.

  “Did Mallory tell you?” he asked sincerely. I nodded my head. Steve pretty much reiterated what Mallory had already said. He turned up the news, looking for more information. Sure enough, they mentioned Griffin’s name as one of the people busted in the investigation, and more about the fraud involved with misreporting the numbers from the gaming equipment in two of their casinos. The other casinos they owned were still being investigated, but they insinuated having enough information on the people involved to charge them with a pretty serious crime.

  Mallory made some food, trying to piece a decent meal together with the few things I had in my refrigerator, though I didn’t feel like eating. I knew she had to get going to her parents’ house, but she didn’t want to leave. I was only able to push her out the door after Steve promised to stay around. Mallory didn’t want me to be alone, just in case the information got worse.

  “So, what do you think? Honestly? Do you think he did it? What is going to happen to him?” I asked Steve after Mallory left.

  “I don’t know, Addie, truthfully. I agree with Mallory, I just can’t believe Griffin would have done anything on purpose. But there is a lot of money involved, so either way, it isn’t good,” he said, motioning me to sit down on the couch next to him. I complied.

  “Why didn’t he tell me his family ran Dixon Industries? I asked him his last name once, and he told me Hayes. He said he wanted to switch over to his mom’s maiden name. I guess technically he didn’t lie, but why didn’t he tell me about any of it?” I asked. It did seem unusual that Griffin never mentioned his family had such a prominent connection to this town.

  “I don’t know, Griffin has always been weird about the whole thing. To some degree, I get it, especially with new people. It would probably be weird to say ‘hey, I am di
sgustingly rich’ when meeting someone. You can tell which women already know who he is, they just flock to him. They act like they’re so interested in him before he’s even said anything. I guess it was just his way to avoid all that. You know, being judged by something like that before people really got to know him. I guess I didn’t realize he hadn’t mentioned it to you though,” he said sympathetically, staring at me.

  “I don’t know, I mean, I guess I figured out by his loft and his car and everything that he came from money. I’m not surprised by any of that. I just didn’t realize it was casino money, I guess. Not that it matters. I’m just surprised he never really told me much about what he did for a living. He was always so vague about it. Do you think it’s because he knew something was going on all this time?” I asked, my eyes welling up with tears again.

  “I don’t know, Addie. I really don’t know,” he responded. “I mean, thinking back to some of our conversations in the past few weeks, he did mention there was a lot going on at work recently, but we just never got into it. I know he’s always hated talking about work stuff, so I didn’t exactly pry for more information. Even if he had mentioned there was an issue, I never would have imagined it would be something this big.”

  We turned the news up. As soon as they mentioned the charges against Griffin, I lost it. Tears poured down my face. It was bad. If Griffin was convicted, which sounded likely, he would be going to prison for a long, long time. I wept.

  Steve was very comforting. He wrapped his arms around me on the couch and we laid like that for quite some time. He didn’t say much, he just let me cry while he stroked my hair. Some hours later I woke up, still on the couch with Steve’s arms wrapped around me. My thoughts took me back to Ardell, holding me on the couch the entire night when my world felt broken. Here I was again, being comforted by someone because yet another person in my life had left.

  I looked up at Steve and he smiled down at me. He was so handsome with his blonde messy hair and green eyes. For a brief moment I cursed myself for always choosing the wrong guy, when I knew there must be other, better, choices I could make. But it didn’t matter, because no matter how handsome and comforting Steve was, I still thought of Griffin. I drifted off to sleep again, hoping for dreams like the ones I had the night I stayed with Griffin.

  Chapter 14

  The next morning I awoke, still wrapped up in Steve’s arms. He had fallen asleep as well, but stirred when I moved.

  “Good morning,” Steve said softly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Well, not here with you on the couch anyway.”

  “That’s okay. It was nice actually. Comforting,” I replied genuinely. “So do you have to get to work? I hope you’re not late for something.”

  “Work is actually pretty light for me this week. I just finished a big job, so I don’t think I’ll even go in today. My schedule is relatively flexible like that, it’s more of a job by job kind of thing. I know Mallory is out of town today, were you going into the bakery at all?” he asked.

  “I don’t really need to. But I don’t know, maybe it would be good for me. Just to keep my mind off everything,” I replied, shrugging.

  “How about calling Meg and Johnny to see if they can play hooky today? Maybe we can all go to the beach?” Steve asked. “That would be fun. I think it would be a good distraction for a day like this.”

  I smiled, happy to have these kinds of friends. To think Steve was willing to give up his day to hang out with me, just so I might feel a little less miserable, made me feel really good.

  Megan had a promotional event to be at all day, but Johnny didn’t have to go into his restaurant until four, so he agreed to meet up with us at the lake. They discussed a meeting spot, and Steve and I made some peanut butter toast for breakfast. It was one of the few foods I had around. We packed up a small cooler with some water and the only two Diet Cokes I had in my fridge.

  “Don’t you go grocery shopping?” Steve asked, amused by my lack of food. It made me laugh.

  “I used to. I actually love to cook, but ever since I met you guys I feel like I’m barely home. Plus I’m eating frosting and cookies all day at the bakery, so I guess I just haven’t really settled in to a normal food routine yet,” I said, smiling.

  “Well maybe after the beach we can hit up the store. This is way too sad for a girl’s refrigerator. A guy, sure, mustard, beer, maple syrup, the staples. But I thought girls always had food around. We’ll need to work on that,” he replied, picking up the small cooler as I grabbed some towels.

  We drove in Steve’s SUV, making a quick stop by his place so he could grab his swim shorts and a change of clothes. I realized in that moment he was still wearing what he showed up in yesterday. He lived in a small apartment close to downtown, only a few minutes away from my place. It was definitely a single guy’s apartment. It had nice furniture, but it lacked some décor and was clearly missing a woman’s touch. I was mildly surprised Megan hadn’t decorated the place for him. That seemed like something she would do.

  I stood in his living room, glancing around at a few pictures he had in frames on a table next to the couch. They were pictures of what looked to be a very happy, smiling family. It warmed me to think of him growing up in a close-knit loving home, and it made sense to me why he was so warm and giving himself. I smiled, always amused to think those types of families actually existed. The thought of it used to make me angry, wondering why I never got that kind of life. But to think of someone as nice and sweet as Steve growing up like that, it made sense to me in a way that he deserved that kind of upbringing.

  Once Steve packed up his stuff, we drove up the highway to a small dirt lot tucked off the side of the road. After we parked, we hiked down a dirt path through the brush to a place called Hidden Beach. The name was fitting, as there were only a few other groups of people, and the small beach area was surrounded by large rocks on either side. I smiled, thinking of Griffin and our crawdad experience.

  Johnny beat us there. He was spread out on a towel with a pile random things next to him. He had a book, Frisbee, a small football, and an iPod. The sun was warm with only a few sparse clouds in the sky, and the water was as clear and blue as any I had ever seen.

  We talked a little bit about Griffin’s situation, but Steve seemed mindful of his attempt to keep my thoughts away from it. The morning flew by as we played Frisbee, threw around the football, and laid out in the sun listening to Johnny’s music. It was a perfectly relaxing day, and I actually really enjoyed myself despite the circumstances. I tried hard not to think about Griffin, but I constantly wished he was there with us, laughing and having fun.

  Johnny left around two to go get ready for his restaurant shift that evening, but Steve and I elected to stay a little longer. We played tic-tac-toe in the sand, which seemed a little silly at first, but then became rather addicting.

  Steve was very funny and time passed easily with him. I was surprised to find out he was an avid reader, especially into biographies, and he really enjoyed documentary movies as well. He was smart and I was very surprised he was single, given his obvious good looks and fun personality.

  “So, you and Megan, what’s the story there?” I mused as we relaxed on our towels.

  “Oh man, that was a train wreck. We were never meant to be together, not in that way, anyway,” Steve replied, shaking his head. He told me stories about how their last year in college on a bet they had gotten a little frisky with each other one night. They tried to make that into something, though they failed miserably. He laughed at the memories, and I was amused at the fact that they seemed so normal with each other now, despite what had happened.

  “Meg is one of the reasons why I’m single now, though, in an ironic way,” Steve continued. “The last few girls I was interested in, they never really bought that Meg and I were just friends. It made them uncomfortable that I would still hang out with her when they weren’t around. I would argue with them about it, because obviously I wasn’t going to give u
p hanging out with one of my best friends. But they never let it go, so those relationships didn’t work out I guess,” Steve said, shrugging. “Why are girls so threatened by a guy who has pretty female friends? I just don’t get it.”

  It was such an innocent comment, and I smiled at how genuine and sincere Steve sounded when he spoke. He asked me a little bit about Grant, wanting to know what was so bad that it forced me to pack up and leave, moving to a new place where I didn’t know anybody. I gave him a generalized explanation of it all, mentioning Grant’s drinking problem and how we just essentially grew apart. That was the mild version at least. As comfortable as I felt with Steve, I still couldn’t bring up the pregnancy and losing the baby and all that. I hadn’t even told Mallory that part of the story. I tried so hard not to give it much thought ever since I left, so I didn’t see the point of bringing it up now. Especially not to a guy.

  “Are you ready to head out? We can swing by the grocery store on our way back. We need to get you some food. I’m starving, actually. That toast, although delicious, wasn’t enough to make up for us missing lunch,” Steve said, sitting up.

  “Sure. Maybe we can call Megan and see if she wants to come over to my place for dinner? I can cook a real meal,” I replied, sitting up as well, throwing my shirt over my head. “Are you interested?”

  Steve nodded and we packed up our stuff. We headed back up the trail to the car. As promised, on the way back to my house we hit up the store to stockpile my fridge and pantry, and Megan agreed to come over for dinner.

  I had just thrown the pasta in to boil when Megan knocked on the door.

  “Addie, I’m so sorry to hear the news. I know you and Griffin were spending a lot of time together recently,” Megan said, hugging me sincerely.

  “Yeah, well, the past six days really. I guess in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that much time. What’s six days?” I responded, trying to sound like this whole situation bothered me less than it did. “I don’t know, it just really surprised me I guess.”