Page 5 of When You Stayed
The night sky was lit by obnoxiously bright streetlights, breaking up the darkness. I could make out the lines of his face and the way his mouth refused to lift into a smile.
“Royce, you know I have a soft spot for you. Mostly because of your mom, but also because I know how much all this means to you. I mean, heck you’ve been running around the stage and club since you were, what? Seven?”
Courage expanded in my chest. He was right, I had been running around the stage and even pretending to run things since I was old enough to hold a clipboard. By all rights, I should have this in the bag, but Rodney had a strange way of rewarding loyalty. My mother was one of the regulars that used to sing at the Hollow. She would bring in a crowd like no other whenever she took the stage. Through the years, she had turned toward writing music instead of singing it.
“But you’re only twenty-four years old—” Rodney’s tone brought me back to the moment. “You barely scraped by with community college, and you don’t have enough experience to run a place like this.”
I had to take a second to breathe because my first inclination was to argue with him. I didn’t barely get by in community college. It took me longer to complete because I was also interning in DC at a record label a few days out of the week. Dad hated that period of time because three of his men were sent with me each time I went. Rodney had no idea how qualified I actually was.
I knew Rodney was leaving and was about to put up a job listing for his position. I didn’t want to just run the club and manage the music. My eventual goal was to own the entire building, including the bookstore and coffee shop located upstairs.
My mouth parted with a well-calculated response when his eyes drifted to the side, and he let out a sigh. “Then, there’s that.”
The sound told me what Rodney was referring to, but I looked anyway. Five or six bikers rode together in a cluster toward the side street where the parking lot exited. They were there for me, waiting to follow me home. Rodney didn’t need to know that though.
“What about them?” My heart paced rapidly, but I played stupid. This couldn’t be about my father. I refused to believe it, not when Rodney loved my family so much. My mother was a staple here, practically a part of the Hollow history. At this point, by all rights, I shouldn’t even have to ask Rodney for his blessing to take over for him, but Mom told me we had to play it by the book.
“I heard some gossip last week that the Stone Riders have a new leader.”
A laugh spilled from my chest because that was the dumbest shit I had ever heard. “Don’t you think I’d know if my father stepped down from being president of the club?”
Rodney sneered at me, lifting his too-thin lip. “No, actually. I don’t.”
Shit, he had a point there. But by that standard, he shouldn’t know anything either.
“Okay, I’ll humor you. What difference would it make if he stepped down?” I asked, confused at his concern.
Rodney rubbed at his small goatee patch. “Well, if there is a new president, then shit will get stirred and the town will pay for it.”
This was so stupid, which I conveyed with a slow blink. “I’m not a part of my father’s club, but I can tell you that he isn’t looking for a replacement any time soon.” Dad was healthy for being in his fifties, and despite what Rodey said, I would know if he were stepping down. Dad didn’t tell me a lot, but him not being the leader would certainly be a topic we discussed as a family.
Rodney glanced around and let his eyes linger on the motorcycle parked a few spaces over. “You aren’t part of his club, and yet you ride?”
Of course I did. My father had taught me to ride a motorcycle before I learned to drive a car.
“What does any of this have to do with me running the Hollow?”
He ran a hand over his balding head. “Taking that risk isn’t an option for me, Royce. I owe the town that much, and I’ll be retiring. I plan to enjoy the peace.”
Red crept into my neck as anger stirred in my veins. “What drama have I brought to your doorstep within the past six years, Rodney?”
“There’s been no drama because I’m the one in charge. If I hand things over to someone from that world, then it’s giving them access to even more of our town. Right now, there’s a boundary of how far they can go and what they can do. I’m the one holding that line. I shouldn’t have even given you a job to be honest, but I owed Nick a favor.”
Owed Nick a favor?That meant he didn’t care that I had been volunteering my time, or that I had improved things for him? What did Nick care if I worked there? Rodney laughed as he must have read my expression.
“He always hoped to have a shot with you, assumed if you worked there, eventually you’d fall for him or some shit like that.”
My stance shifted the smallest bit as I crossed my arms. “So, it didn’t matter that I had been a stellar intern or willing to stay after hours to clean up. That I drove all the way to DC and back in one day just to get you a band when you needed a bump in numbers? It didn’t matter that I helped…” I realized I was wasting my breath.
I was bitter and annoyed, but I had to push it down and try to get Rodney to see this from my perspective.
“Rodney, I love this job. I only want things to improve over time and for this to be a place people can continue to come for generations. My goal is to create somewhere talent gets discovered. I want it to be a place that helps artists emerge into the industry. Please let me do that. Let’s pretend my dad’s motorcycle club isn’t a part of it. I’m qualified for this job. I’mgoodat this job. You’ve had triple the sign-ups for performances, and you’ve had more foot traffic and more people buying drinks. I’m good for business. I help do your books, so I know that’s not a lie.”
His head dipped with a laugh while he toyed with his car keys.
“Tell you what, kid,” he smirked. “I’ll give you a trial period of three months. If in that time it’s confirmed that there’s no new leadership or no drama stirred up for the town, then I’ll give you a shot.”
Trial period? What the hell did that mean?
