Page 98 of Too Sweet
He reaches out to clank his glass to mine, leaving my hasty confession without comment. We spend the rest of the evening booking flights and hotels for Mia and me; it’ll be my first vacation in years. Two weeks with my girl in Monaco and Italy, watching F1 races, dining in the fanciest restaurants, and sightseeing.
I can almost smell the authentic Italian cuisine already, almost hear the F1 cars lining up on the grid and imagine the bliss painting Mia’s face as she inconspicuously cheers Ferrari on when her dad isn’t looking.
Life doesn’t get much better.
???
Jimmy boards the plane early on Friday morning.
We’ll see him soon enough. The Monaco GP is in three weeks. Despite the anxiety of leaving my businesses in my brother’s hands, I can’t wait to get away from work.
“You’re allowed to call with emergencies only,” I tell Jasmine, briefing her on the plan of action on Friday afternoon. “Moody clients are your responsibility. I don’t want to hear about Mr. X’s idea to diversify his portfolio or any other shit like that.”
Jasmine nods, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her slim nose. “Unless the market crashes, you’re unavailable,” she mumbles, making notes. “Got it. I won’t bother you.”
“No, you won’t. Every time you think about calling me, call Colt. Any messages you want to give me go through him.”
Her head snaps to meet my gaze so fast I swear her neck cracks. “Colt? Your younger brother? I can do this myself, Nico. I don’t need anyone’s supervision.”
“That’s not negotiable. Whenever you feel the need to call me, call Colt. He’ll decide if it’s emergency enough to interrupt my first vacation since college.”
Colt’s the one I’ve been bouncing ideas off for the past couple years. He’s bright, quick, well-organized, and a problem-solver, making him the ideal business partner. I’ve been pondering the idea of bringing him into my business for a while. Now, I’ll have the perfect opportunity to check if he can handle the pressure.
A text pings in the group chat while I’m gathering my things to leave the office.
Theo: GET ME OUT OF HERE! Thalia’s driving me fucking insane. I’ve been in the shop three times today for pickles and licorice. I puked twice, too, watching her eat that. I need a beer. Who has time?
Logan: Sure, I could use a beer or five. Where and what time?
Cody: No can do. We’re busy tonight.
Theo: Yeah, no shit. I’ll send Thalia your way, Logan. She’ll keep Cass company. Nico? Shawn?
Shawn: Working.
Mia’s recording with Six, getting new songs ready for another party the triplets want to throw at the start of summer.
I can’t wait to hear the outcome. She doesn’t realize the potential stirring within her. That voice? It’s mighty. A hidden gem, and she writes songs: music and lyrics. You’d expect her to tour the world and line her shelves with Grammys, but Mia’s not interested in fame.
To be perfectly honest? I’m glad. I can’t imagine thousands of men swooning over my girl. I can’t imagine not seeing her whenever I felt like it because the Atlantic Ocean was in the way.
I’d make it work if she decided it was something she wanted to do, but I’m not about to force her. She’s perfectly content recording for fun and selling lyrics to the biggest names in the industry.
Me: Alright. Country Club in an hour?
A wave of thumbs up follows. I leave the office, call my girl to let her know, and exactly one hour later, I enter the building. My brothers are already there. Theo leans against the bar while Logan shows him something on his phone.
“Stop wearing matching outfits,” Theo says. “Don’t force your questionable sense of style on the kid.”
“I have thebestsense of style out of all the Hayes. You’re all boring... predictable.”
I tap the bill of his cap that he wears backward as usual. “Says the guy with eighty baseball caps and a hundred Los Angeles Dodgers jerseys.”
“At least the color scheme of my wardrobe isn’t limited to shades of gray,” he bites back, waving the bartender over.
Within three minutes, with beers in hand, we find a tall table by the window overlooking the golf course and go through a whole beer before Theo’s done listing all the weird cravings his wife’s been having.
“I’m sure she does this just to screw with me,” he huffs.
