Billion Dollar Man

by Ali Parker

  My stomach dropped. What did that mean for me? My dad had cared a lot about me. He had left me everything he’d had in his will. What if they were after me, too? They hadn’t gotten to Uncle Dean until seven years later. They could bide their time with me, too.

  And if they were after me, who else were they after?

  “Find out as much as you can,” I said, focusing on calming down and not losing my shit right away. Maybe it was all wrong, maybe David had gotten the whole thing backward. But I didn’t pay him to get shit wrong, and after what I had heard about him, I was willing to believe that he had the right idea about what was going on. Which meant I was in trouble in one way or another. And I had people in my life that I cared about, too. Were they in danger because of me? Because of my dad?

  “Are you still there?” David asked, and I realized he’d asked me something.

  “Yeah, I’m here. What did you say?”

  “I was asking if you were going to come back to town at some point so that we can meet in person. I don’t want to send you anything I found. It might not be safe.”

  “I’ll be in town, soon,” I said.

  We ended the call, and I took a deep breath, letting it out with a shudder. This was the last thing I needed. Inheriting a company from your dad wasn’t something that happened to just anyone. Inheriting the same company twice was almost ironic. To have the Mafia involved now with a possible target on my back, with death threats and outstanding money was a joke. It was like I was caught up in some movie without knowing I was on camera. It was insane.

  I had to get back to New York, soon. Not only to meet in person with David but to get away from all the people I cared about. If there really was someone after me to get me the way they had gotten my dad, I didn’t want anyone else in the crossfire. Mila, Jerrod, Paul and my mom. The Castles. The guys at the fire station. I broke out in cold sweat when I imagined anything happening to them.

  Before I left, I had to mend some bridges. I had to make sure that everything was alright between Jerrod and me. He was my best friend, practically my brother. I had to make right what I had done wrong. Because I had been a total dick, lying to my best friend and not being open with him about what was going on. That was on me, and it was up to me to fix it. He had every right to be pissed off with me.

  When I called his number, he answered as if he didn’t know it was me. Maybe he hadn’t checked the caller ID.

  “Can we meet up and talk?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Come on, Jerrod. Let’s take care of this.”

  “What is there to take care of? You made your choice. I’m not going into that again. I’m busy. I have an actual job to do.”

  The line went dead, and it hit me hard. Jerrod had never been this cold with me. He sure as shit had never hung up the phone on me. This was bad.

  I decided that if Jerrod wasn’t going to let me talk to him, I would go to him where he couldn’t get away from me. On a Friday, The Cottage was at its busiest, and they needed all hands on deck. Jerrod would be managing tables or he would be behind the bar, pouring drinks.

  When I arrived at The Cottage, I was right. There was hardly parking space, and when I walked in, Jerrod and Harry were both behind the bar, working the bar in tandem father-son-style. I walked to them and found an open space by some miracle.

  “What will it be?” Jerrod asked before he turned and saw who I was. “And that will be a tall glass of Fuck Off.”

  “Let’s just talk,” I said. “Please. I was wrong.”

  “Damn right you were.” Jerrod took out two glasses and poured beer for the two gentlemen that had just ordered. He slid the glasses to them, took the bills and fished for change in the till. “And I have nothing to say to you.”

  He said something to his dad and disappeared, leaving me at the bar. Harry glanced at me in between filling glasses.

  “What was that all about?” he asked.

  “Jerrod and I are fighting,” I said.

  “Why?”

  I shook my head. “Because I was a shitty friend. But I can’t fix it.”

  Harry nodded. “How about you go through to the kitchen. I’m sure Miranda has a plate of something for you. She happens to serve some great advice on the side.”

  I grinned despite my crappy mood. Harry was a great guy. He was like a second father to me and treated me as his own son. I did as he suggested and found Miranda in the kitchen.

  “Word has it Jerrod is pissed off with you,” Miranda said when I walked to her.

  “How does word travel so fast?” I asked.

  “I have an open link with Harry, don’t you know? It’s a parent thing.” She smiled at me. “I was also right next to Jerrod when you called, and he gave you the cold shoulder.”

  I shook my head and chuckled half-heartedly.

  “Do you want to tell me what it’s about?” Miranda asked.

  “Ben is dating Mila,” Jerrod said, coming into the kitchen behind me. “And no, I’m not going to stop being like this about it.” He picked up two plates and disappeared into the dining room again.

  Miranda shook his head. “He’s stubborn, like his father. Why is Jerrod angry that you’re dating Mila?”

  “We kept it a secret. From everyone.”

  Miranda smiled and nodded. “I see. That would make him angry.” She wasn’t freaking out and shouting at me, yet. Maybe she didn’t realize that it was her daughter I was talking about.

  “Yeah, I should have gone about it differently,” I said carefully.

  “But you’re so good together,” Miranda said.

  “What?” I had half-expected Miranda to have a shit fit about me being with Mila, too. I had been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “You and Mila, you’re great together. I think you’re the best man for her. We know you, and you’re a good boy.”

  I chuckled. “Thanks. I don’t think Jerrod sees it the same way.”

  Marina shook her head. “He will come around. I think it’s wonderful.”

  “Really?” I asked, still unsure.

  “Of course. Rather the devil you know, than the devil you don’t, right? She could be with someone we know nothing about. Like one of those shady doctors at the hospital.”

  She had to be joking, but her face was straight as she prepared the next plates to go out. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Nothing was going the way I had planned. I had expected Jerrod to give me a chance and Miranda to give me a hard time. Instead, it was all backward.

  “Why don’t you come for dinner on Sunday? At the house, not here at the restaurant.”

  “Don’t you have a busy dinner service on Sundays with that buffet?” I asked.

  “Harry hired a new manager. We’re dropping him in the deep end to see if he can swim.” She nudged me and winked. “So, come on by. And bring Mary with you, I miss her.”

  I agreed to go to dinner at the Castle’s and to bring my mom with me. It was all so strange, I didn’t know what to do other than go along with it.

  Chapter 39

  Mila

  On Saturday, I had a rare single shift. I would have worked a double shift, but I asked for a single shift because I was worn out after working so hard. I got it as long as I was on call. I was fine with that. I was always ready to jump in when there was an emergency. And it didn’t happen all too often.

  Jessica Wright had finally been moved to a regular recovery room, and I was glad about it on so many levels. First of all, she was getting better. In my career, we were happy people left and didn’t come back. It meant they were healthy and safe and that was something we wished for everyone as nurses and doctors. Secondly, I was relieved not to have to deal with Mr. and Mrs. Wright anymore. Of course, they had only been concerned parents. But Mrs. Wright had been harder work than some of the other parents I had dealt with. Having said that, since Jessica had woken up, Mrs. Wright had changed into a calm, nice lady.

  Stress and fear changed a lot of people.

 
Jessica’s bed might have been empty for a short while, but we had new patients in the ICU that needed our attention. One of the patients coming in was a mother of three. She’d had a seizure at home while her kids were with her, and they had come in with tear-stained cheeks and scared eyes. Claire had taken care of them while we stabilized the mother, but it wasn’t looking good for her.

  They were with their father, now. The parents were divorced. I couldn’t imagine a worse scenario.

  Every time we thought she was alright, the mom started seizing again. We had paged Dr. Nash, and he arrived almost immediately, but even he had no idea what was going on. Every time the patient seized, something went wrong, something was damaged in the brain or elsewhere in the body, and I was starting to worry that she wouldn’t be able to bounce back from it.

  It wasn’t looking good.

  When Dr. Nash finally called in the ex-husband to speak to him about what was going on, the look on his face confirmed my fears that she was in a bad way.

  “I can’t deal with this,” Claire said. “She has so much going for her. She has three beautiful children, and she’s only thirty-five. That’s only ten years older than us. And she might be at the end of her line.”

  Claire looked like she was going to cry. We all struggled when the patients didn’t make it through or when they were barely holding on. I hugged her.

  “We don’t know that she’s going to die, yet,” I said. “She might still bounce back.”

  “You can’t use your pep talk on me, Mila,” Claire said. “It works for the families of the victims but you and me, we know we’re just feeding them a line.”

  I nodded. She was right. I was trying to feed her a line to get her to feel better. I hated seeing people upset, but the chances that the patient would pull through were slim and getting slimmer.

  When I took a quick break, I walked to the staff restroom and locked myself in a stall. I gave myself a stern talking-to. I couldn’t get emotionally involved with this patient. I couldn’t afford to be so affected when she passed away that I couldn’t function. I was a nurse, and sometimes, shit like this happened.

  After I had reminded myself to stay professional, I walked back to the nurse's station. It was time for Danielle to come in, and I was looking forward to seeing her. Taking care of her, showing her what to do, had become something I enjoyed. It was a distraction, and it was always positive to see her learn and grow.

  When a half hour passed without Danielle showing up, I looked for Claire.

  “Have you seen Danielle?” I asked.

  “She quit,” Claire said.

  “What? When?” I was shocked to hear it. Danielle hadn’t mentioned anything to me when I had last seen her. I had known she had struggled a bit here and there, but which of us didn’t? This job was emotionally draining and physically taxing.

  “Late last night. She sent in her resignation letter, effective immediately. It was all too much for her.”

  The news was like a punch to the gut. Danielle was gone, just like that. Vaguely, I wondered if Claire had won or lost her bet if she had been involved in it all. I couldn’t remember, and I wasn’t going to ask. I had thought it was rude from the start, but some of them had called it, apparently.

  I had wanted so badly for Danielle to succeed. She’d shown promise. She had learned and grown, and I had thought she’d managed to overcome her insecurities. And it had been her dream. Giving up on a dream shouldn’t have been this easy. But the other nurses had been right.

  Disappointment filled me. I had needed the distraction, the naïve eyes and cheerful smile that still showed faith that the world was a good place, to pull me out of the mess I was sinking into about the seizure patient. But things didn’t always work out the way I wanted them to. Not for the patients and not for me. And not for Danielle. Dreams didn’t always come true.

  When my shift ended, I phoned Skylar.

  “What are you doing tonight?” I asked.

  “Spending time with you, doing whatever you want.”

  “Did you know I was going to call?”

  “Yeah, I did,” Skylar said and laughed. “You’re predictable.”

  “I wasn’t even supposed to have a single shift.”

  “I’m in touch with my psychic abilities.”

  I told her she was being full of shit and invited her over. Skylar and I arrived at my apartment at the same time.

  “You look exhausted,” she said after she hugged me and we walked in.

  “It’s been a rough week,” I said. “A lot of double shifts and we have a critical patient that’s getting me down.”

  We sat down in the living room, and I all but collapsed on the couch.

  “So, let’s talk about something completely different. How’s Ben?” Skylar asked.

  I sighed.

  “That’s not the reaction I expected,” she said. “What’s going on?”

  I told her what had happened.

  “Oh, I knew you slept together,” Skylar said when I told her that part.

  “What? How?”

  She gave me a look that suggested I was being an idiot.

  “Do you think I’m blind? You two were all over each other at the bar. If that didn’t scream out that you were together, I don’t know what does.”

  I shook my head. “It turns out we were the only two thinking we were discreet.”

  “Yeah, you were drunk, though. And you’re not a very good drunk when it comes to stuff like that. Actually, you’re a pretty bad drunk, no matter what.”

  I pulled up my shoulders. Skylar was right, I couldn’t argue with her. I was a bad drunk, and lately, I had been drinking a lot more than I should.

  “Why didn’t you say something to me?” I asked.

  “Because you’re already having a tough time with work, and I figured you would tell me when you were ready.” She tilted her head and gave me a wink.

  “You’re a great friend. Jerrod hates me.”

  I told her what had happened with Jerrod coming to my apartment and confronting me and how he went to see Ben as well.

  “He told my parents too. We’re all invited to go to dinner at my parents’ place tomorrow, now.”

  “They’re not upset?” Skylar asked.

  I shook my head. “My parents love Ben. Apparently, not just as a son or as Jerrod’s best friend, but as my boyfriend as well.”

  Skylar grinned. “Your parents have always been awesome. But it’s pretty shitty of Jerrod to tell them before you had a chance to.”

  I nodded. “He’s pissed off, though. I guess I can’t really blame him. Now everyone knows, at least.”

  “So, you can be with him without worrying about anything,” Skylar said. “So, all your problems are solved.”

  I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. “If only it were that simple. I feel like my problems are only just starting.

  “Why? Wasn’t the goal for you and Ben to be together?”

  “Yeah. But now Jerrod isn’t talking to either of us. And Ben might be going back to New York, anyway.” As soon as I said it, I was angry again. “So, all of this will have been for nothing. If Ben leaves, I would have lost my brother for no reason.”

  When I looked at Skylar, she was frowning, looking confused.

  “Why is he leaving?” she asked. “I thought he’d just come back.”

  “I thought so, too. With what he’d said to me. Or rather, led me to believe. I thought he was going to stay. But it turns out that he’s not sure he ‘fits into this life.’”

  “What does that even mean?” Skylar asked.

  “Damned if I know,” I said. “I feel like he’s just running away from everything. Whenever something gets hard, he makes a quick exit. And it’s starting to piss me off. He came back because the business was hard. Then he left because being here was hard. Then he came back because he wasn’t’ sure it was what he wanted. Now he’ll leave again because shit got tough here with Jerrod and the relationship with me. I don’t know
if he has the balls to see anything through.”

  Skylar widened her eyes in surprise. “That’s a very big speech for someone who thought that the sun rose and set with this guy.”

  “We all grow up, I guess,” I said. “And I got to know him well enough to know his flaws as well.”

  “Nobody is perfect.”

  “But he was. At least, he was to me. And now, he’s not.”

  Skylar thought about it for a moment.

  “I don’t think that’s what’s bothering you. You’ve never expected him to be Prince Charming, right?”

  I sighed. “I just want him to make up his mind. If he tells me that I’m so important to him, then he has to prove it by making it happen. And if he wants to be in New York and leave everything behind, he must stay there so I can learn how to get on with my life without him.”

  “Maybe you should give him time,” Skylar said. “Let him figure out what he needs to do. The poor guy just lost his father and his uncle or friend or whatever he was. He has a company, and he’s been away for long enough that he might not feel like he fits in, anymore. He has two homes, now. Which means he has none.”

  “It’s easy for you to be so calm. It’s not your heart on the line.”

  “But that’s why you have me to talk to,” Skylar said with a smile. “Because it’s easier to give advice when I’m not in the middle of everything. One day, you’re going to do the same for me when I find the one guy that has the capacity to destroy me.”

  I wanted to argue that Ben didn’t have the capacity to destroy me, but that would have been a lie. It was exactly why I was upset with him. Because Ben could break me if he kept me on a line only to drop me completely.

  And I wasn’t sure I would be able to bounce back from that.

  Chapter 40

  Ben

  On Sunday evening, I drove with my mom to the Castle house. Paul had decided not to join us. Even though mom and Miranda had been friends since long before he had come into the picture, he never really made my mom’s friends his friends. My mom didn’t seem to mind.