<Middle finger emoji>
I made my way out of the café and to Drew’s house, my cap and sunglasses in place. I was trying to hide my identity for more than one reason at the moment.
three
Brinkley
“What did he say?” Georgia asked when I returned to the table. We were having a family dinner at my brother’s restaurant, and I’d stepped outside to take a call from my ex-boss. He’d fired me when Lincoln had called me out for crossing a line and invading his privacy. He didn’t even allow me to tell my side of the story. It was all because Lincoln Hendrix was paid millions of dollars and was a public figure. He’d had a temper tantrum, and it had cost me my job.
“He offered me my job back.” I shook my head and took my seat between my mother and Lila, my brother Hugh’s fiancée.
“Well, that’s great news.” My father held his glass up, and everyone reached for theirs as if we were going to toast in celebration.
“Glasses down,” I hissed, looking at each of them one at a time. “He only offered me the job back because that pretentious”—I glanced over at my niece and thought about my words before I said something that would have Cage ripping my head off—“guy, you know… the football player, made a call.”
“Lincoln Hendrix?” Maddox asked, his eyes wide. He and Lila were already part of the family.
“Do not even get me started about that rat bas—” Damn it. Why did Gracie have to be so little when I wanted to unleash all the ugliness I could muster about this guy? “Rat basset hound. Yes. Do not get all starry-eyed about that man. He cost me my job.”
“But he obviously made a call to get it back for you,” Hugh said, using his thumb to swipe some barbecue sauce off Lila’s cheek. I would swoon if I wasn’t fuming at the moment.
“The audacity. Like some guy has the power to make a call and get me fired. And then make another call and get me rehired? The nerve. The absolute cajones on this guy.”
“What’s cajones, Auntie?” Gracie asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh when I looked up to see her mouth covered in sauce as she smiled up at me.
“Cajones are testicles,” Finn said as he barked out a laugh.
“Finn!” My mother shook her head and chuckled.
“I removed a set of cajones today on a bulldog, actually,” Cage said, and the table erupted in more laughter.
“It means… the man has a lot of nerve doing what he’s doing.” I winked at Gracie.
“Why not just take the job back?” my father asked. “Maybe he realized he made a mistake.”
“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “The man accused me of stalking him when I stopped in Cup of Cove for a lemonade the other day. He’s probably doing this so he can get me fired again. He probably gets off on all that power.”
“It seems like a lot of work for a professional athlete, right?” Georgia asked as she looked at me like I had three heads. “I mean, do you really think he wakes up every day and tries to get you hired and fired over and over again? I’m with Dad on this one, Brinks. I think he realized he made a mistake, and he wants to fix it.”
“I think he wakes up every day and wonders what will suit him best,” I snarled.
I hated this man.
“Well, I admit that I wake up every day wondering what will suit me best. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.” Finn shrugged, and I rolled my eyes as everyone covered their mouths to keep from laughing.
This was all fun and jokes for everyone, but this man had gotten me fired. It was embarrassing. Sure, I wasn’t a well-known journalist, as I had only been at it for a few years, so it hadn’t made the news that I’d been let go. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t horrifying. I’d had to come home with my tail between my legs and give up my apartment in the city.
But aside from that, Athlete Central was not an option. My ex-boss, Harvey Talbert, had been horrible to work for. He gave all the good stories to the men in the office, and he’d made offensive remarks about my sexy legs and recommended I unbutton a few buttons on my blouse more than once. Plus, the man had a boner for Lincoln Hendrix. I wasn’t going back there.
“Whatever. I can’t work for that man again. It was time for a change. So, I told Harvey to take his offer”—I glanced over at Gracie, who was watching me like everything I said mattered—“and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”
“Auntie said to shove it where the sun don’t shine!” Gracie fist-pumped the ceiling, and I laughed so hard tears sprung from my eyes. I wasn’t much of a crier, but the laughter felt damn good. It had been a rough couple of weeks.
“Great. Yet another saying Mrs. Appleton will have to speak to me about. Thanks for that,” Cage grumped, and more laughter erupted around the table.
I was still on edge just knowing that my nemesis was here in Cottonwood Cove. Hopefully, he’d gotten the hint, and he’d gotten the hell out of town after our run-in a few days ago.
“Well, we support whatever you want to do,” my mom said, putting an arm around my shoulder. “I like the idea of you being home while you figure it all out.”
“You don’t think you can make freelancing work?” my father asked.
“I think someday, down the road, it will be an option, but not yet. I do think it’s time to make the leap to a bigger organization. One that isn’t allowed to mistreat their employees. I just need to find a really good story and sell it so I can get my name out there.”
“There’s that hotshot hockey player that everyone’s talking about. Why don’t you talk to Hawk?” Cage asked. Our cousin, Everly, was married to one of the best hockey players of all time. He was no longer playing, but he coached and was very involved with the team, not to mention the fact that he knew every player out there.
“That’s an idea. I never want to bother him with this stuff, but I could use some help to get my foot in the door.”
“I still think that article you wrote about Hawk when he retired was your best work,” my sister said.
“Thanks, Georgie. I was proud of that one. That’s what I need. Something big to get their attention and see what I’m capable of.”
“You can do it, Auntie Brinks,” Gracie said, clapping her hands together again. “And it’s on our dreams board.”
“Thank you, my little angel.” I blew her a kiss.
We spent the next hour getting filled in on Lila and Hugh’s upcoming wedding, which would be taking place at Georgia and Maddox’s home. We were all going to be bridesmaids along with Lila’s best friends, Del, Rina, and Sloane. Gracie was going to be the flower girl, and we’d all gushed over Gracie’s dress that Lila showed us on her phone. The time was ticking as it was only a little over two months away.
Georgia and Maddox let us know that they had also made their decision, and their wedding was going to be small. They wanted just family and close friends, and they were having their ceremony and reception in Paris.
Ah… the life of a billionaire.
Finn told us about a scene he did yesterday where he was going too fast and almost got bucked off a horse. He said Jessica came running out to help him, and he waggled his brows as he shared the story with us. His new show was going to premiere in a few months, and we were all excited for his breakout role. We were thrilled that we were going to get to view one episode early at my parents’ house. He’d been acting for several years, but he was the lead in this new Netflix series, Big Sky Ranch, and everyone was talking about it. It was still surreal, thinking about my brother being a movie star.