Lead

by Kylie Scott

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The next evening, Jimmy's attitude had not improved. His resistance to the very tall thin and polite Tom Moorecomb read plain as day in his body language. Should he turn any further in his seat, his back would be to the poor man completely.

  "Tom was involved in couples counseling, Jimmy. Isn't that interesting?" I said, jaw aching from clenching so much. A tension headache was slowly but steadily brewing behind my eyes. "Jimmy?"

  The jerk didn't even look up from his phone. It was like trying to deal with a toddler, a very cranky one. Sadly, he'd seated himself opposite the room from me, out of kicking range. I'd hate to have to smack him in the head with a pillow in front of Tom. Perhaps it could be left as my final die-hard option.

  "Jimmy?"

  He looked up at me from beneath his dark fringe. "What?"

  The doorbell rang. Fortunate for him really.

  "Let me just get that while you two talk." I gave the ignorant jerk a meaningful look.

  He just blinked.

  Before I could reach the door, Mal and Ben barreled on in.

  "Lena, helloooo." Mal shook my hand so energetically I feared my shoulder would dislocate. "Looking foxy and strict in your business suit. I would totally take orders from you if my heart and soul were not spoken for."

  "Thanks." I'd bought the navy suit in an attempt to make the right impression on Tom. Jimmy had just given my new outfit a weird look and told me double breasted didn't suit a girl with such assets. I'd been nervously fussing with the buttons on the jacket ever since.

  "We in the living room?" asked Ben, already making his way into said location.

  "Wait, we're--"

  "Hi." David, Ev, and Anne followed close behind. Ev and Anne were dolled up, the first in jeans and a slinky top, the second in a smokin' hot green knit dress. Their awesome style however did not answer any of the questions pouring into my head.

  "Hey," said Ev, kissing my cheek while David gave me the rockstar chin tip.

  "I'm really looking forward to tonight," said Anne.

  "Great." I smiled.

  She stopped and studied me. "Shit, you have no idea what's going on, do you? Ev."

  "What's up?" Ev about turned on her cool boots.

  "Lena doesn't know anything about this."

  Her face fell. "What?"

  "Nope."

  "Crap."

  "Yep."

  "Please," I said, getting a little desperate. "What's going on? Why are you all here?"

  "Jimmy invited us over for dinner," said Ev.

  "He did?"

  And through the open door marched what I could only guess was a small army of butlers and one chef. So many black suits with one tall white puffy hat standing head and shoulders above the rest.

  "We'll get set up," said the eldest of the butlers entering.

  "Right," I murmured, turning back to Anne and Ev. "He's outplayed me."

  "Sometimes," said Ev, throwing an arm around my neck. "You just have to follow Jimmy's lead."

  "Are you insane? He'll lead me straight to hell."

  "Perhaps. But he likes you, so I'm guessing he'll bring you back out safe and sound."

  I narrowed my eyes on the insane woman. "We're interviewing my replacement. Right now."

  Her face fell, yet again.

  "We need to get in there," said Anne.

  "So, Tom. Tom was your name, wasn't it?" Mal projected his voice so well. It positively rang through the marble halls of Jimmy's mini-palace.

  All three of us females bolted for the living room.

  The drummer sat beside the poor innocent Tom. His muscular arms were stretched out along the back of the two-seater sofa.

  "Yes, Mr. Ericson. It is." Tom's rather pronounced Adams apple bobbed.

  Oh god help him, they were going to eat him alive. I leveled a death glare at Jimmy, a futile, wasted effort since he failed to notice.

  "Tom, would you consider yourself, a rock 'n' roll man?" Mal asked.

  My heart stopped when Tom visibly paused. "Ah, actually, I prefer classical music."

  Ben huffed out a laugh. He was so off my Christmas card list. "Ah yeah, he'll fit in just great. Good call, Lena."

  "He's here to discuss becoming Jimmy's sobriety companion," I said. "What music he listens to is irrelevant."

  "Of course, of course," said Mal, soothingly. "Just curious."

  Ev had perched on the arm of David's chair while Anne sat sandwiched between Ben and Jimmy on the couch opposite Tom and Mal. We had a full house. With all the seats taken, I chose to stand.

  "Now, Jimmy likes to spend his free time working out," said Mal. "How do you feel about jogging and free lifting, Tom?"

  By the look of him, I highly doubted Tom lifted anything heavier than a book.

  "Mal, that's enough." I interceded, someone had to.

  "You now go jogging with him, Lena. He's used to having company. Would you deny him that? We all just want what's best for Jim, don't we?"

  The man in question had a hand covering his mouth, his face half turned away from me. So fucking glad he was amused.

  "He still jogs on his own as well." I stood, hands on hips.

  "Perhaps. Tom, Lena also spends all of her free time with Jim, watching TV or just generally hanging out with him. Will that be a problem?"

  The man gave me a worried look. "Being a sobriety companion is a major commitment, of course. But ... she doesn't have a life of her own at all?"

  "Of course I have my own life," I said in a slightly shouty voice.

  "Jimmy is her life, Tom. That man is everything to her." Mal crossed his legs and lazed back against the couch. "Are you willing to do as much?"

  Tom blanched.

  "Lena has also been working with Jim on breaking down his boundaries regarding physical touch. A sort of hug therapy shall we say. I believe her next step in this delicate process will be sleeping with him nightly with advanced cuddling practices. Will that be a problem for you?"

  Tom looked around in confusion.

  "Right." I clapped my hands together, summoning the room's attention. "Jimmy, we're talking in the kitchen. Now."

  He rose slowly from his chair, face calm as could be.

  I turned to the drummer. "Mal, you say another word and I shoot you."

  He drew back, aghast. "Threats of violence are not necessary. Tom, quick, counsel her, she's going over the edge!"

  At which point, thank god, Anne stepped in and saved the day. She did this by sitting with her legs further apart. It was amazing really, almost as if Mal had some sort of extrasensory perception when it came to the girl and her sex. His gaze shot to the widening gap between her knees and all else fell away. The shadow beneath her skirt seemed to call to him on some mystical higher level. Or around the groin level, hard to say which exactly.

  "What was I saying?" Mal muttered, leaning over, trying to get a better view up Anne's skirt.

  "Nothing important," said Ben, playing on his phone.

  "Something about how Tom seemed great for the job." Ev wound an arm around David's neck. "Not that we'd ever want to lose Lena."

  "Right, right." Mal leaned a little further.

  There were no ends on the two-seater Tom and Mal sat upon. And so, when Mal finally tipped over far enough in his attempt to see between Anne's thighs, he toppled straight off the end of the couch. David chuckled while Ev smiled. Big Ben didn't even notice, so taken was he with his texting. These people, I loved them as much as they drove me out of my god damn mind.

  Anne just smiled. "Oops! You okay, babe?"

  "All good." The man set himself to rights, still seated upon the ground. "But I need to tell you something in the bathroom."

  "Do you?"

  "Yep. Right now."

  "Something good?" she asked, a certain lustful twinkle in her eyes.

  "Yes, something good. It's a show-and-tell type thing, I think you'll really like it."

  "Okay."

  Mal sprung to his feet, hands
in the air. "Hooray! Quick, let's go. Hurry, woman, no time to waste."

  With much giggling, Mal carried Anne from the room. Ah, young love, all the feelings.

  "After you," said Jimmy, standing beside me being all calm. It instantly brought my rage back to the forefront.

  "Actually, let's make it the office," I said. "I forgot your dinner crew are busy in the kitchen."

  "Sure, Lena."

  I should have known he had something planned. For someone so resistant to the idea of my replacement, he'd gone all out dressing for the appointment. A black long-sleeved button-up shirt, black trousers, and shiny shoes adorned his fine self. His hair was carefully slicked back. Usually hanging around home warranted just jeans and T-shirts. The signs had all been there. But I could still salvage this situation damn it, right after I ripped Jimmy a new one.

  Except it was too late. Tom got to his feet, his movements jerky. "I think I better go. You obviously have guests to entertain."

  I stepped forward. "What? No. Tom--"

  "That's a pity," Jimmy replied. "Nice to meet you Tom. See you around."

  "Quiet." I turned to the counselor, hands outstretched. "Please, Tom. Just ... if you could just give me a minute to talk to my employer. They're not usually like this."

  "Don't lie to the man," said Jimmy. "This is exactly what me and my friends are like all the damn time."

  I growled. "Way to throw him in the deep end."

  "Honesty is the best policy."

  "You're such an asshole."

  "Language, Lena," he tutted. "Watch the fucking language."

  Tom cleared his throat, straightening his already unbearably straight tie. "Mr. Ferris, I'm afraid I'm going to have to withdraw my interest in the position. And Lena, you seem like a nice girl, but this relationship you have with your employer isn't healthy."

  "Hey," said Jimmy, looking down his nose at the man. "You don't know anything about it."

  "Believe me, Tom, I'm aware," I said. The man obviously knew a train wreck when he saw one.

  With one last nod, he strode out, taking with him my last hope of an easy exit. It had always been a pipe dream really, I should know better. Nothing about Jimmy had ever been easy.

  Speaking of which, I took the opportunity to smack him in the arm with the back of my hand.

  "What was that for?" he bitched, rubbing at his arm as if I'd actually hurt him. Such a damn baby.

  "Don't even start with me."

  His scowl increased. "We talking in the office?"

  "No, why bother? You've already managed to run him off," I said, folding my arms beneath the swell of my breasts. "Well done, Jimmy."

  "You said I had to meet him. I met him."

  "You take orders from her now?" Ben asked, putting down his phone for once. "When did this start?"

  Jimmy didn't even spare him a glance. "Shut up, Ben."

  "Yes, you met him," I said. "And then you terrified him. You probably just took ten years off his life."

  "That wasn't me. That was Mal. Fuck, no one can control him."

  I poked him in the chest. "You unleashed Mal upon that poor unsuspecting man. It was cruel, Jimmy."

  "These people are my family, Lena. What, I'm supposed to hide them away, act like I'm ashamed of them? The guy was a judgmental dickhead with a stick up his ass. He would have lasted two seconds with me. Never would have worked."

  "That is not true. You had your mind made up before he even walked in."

  He cracked his jaw. "Look, just let it go, Lena. Everyone's here. Can we have dinner now?"

  "I've got a date with Dean. Enjoy your dinner."

  "What? You didn't tell me about that."

  "You knew I was going to go out with him again."

  Little lines sat alongside his lips and the story they told was not one of joy. "But not tonight. I organized this."

  "Yes, behind my back. So sorry, I can't make it."

  His chin rose and for a moment he said nothing, just looked at me. "You don't look sorry."

  "Yeah? Well, I guess I'm mad at you right now," I said, my blood still rushing through me at a rate of knots. "And it's kind of hard to care about your feelings when you give so little thought to mine."

  "That's not fair," he bit out.

  "Oh, really?"

  "You know I'm trying."

  "Not today, you weren't," I said. "Today you just did whatever the hell you wanted and fuck what matters to me."

  Someone made a noise and I actually startled, spun on my heel, and gaped. I'd completely forgotten about the others. Entirely forgotten about our three-person audience, just sitting in the wings, watching the drama. David looked shell-shocked, his mouth hanging open. Ev was busy rubbing his shoulder, offering comfort. Meanwhile, the bass player's eyes were wide and white as moons.

  "Huh," said Ben.

  Down the hallway, Mal and Anne fell out of the ground floor bathroom, both laughing. They were still putting their clothes back to rights. It made for a perfectly timed distraction if I could just make a break for the door.

  "That was fast," said Jimmy, voice cutting.

  "But it was meaningful," cried Mal. "Shut up, Jimbo. What would you know about significant intimate relationships?"

  "Seems Jim might now more about them than we realized." David gave his brother a speculative look.

  Jimmy gritted his teeth. "Fuck off, Davie. She works for me. End of story."

  It didn't hurt. It couldn't. Even my idiot heart had to accept the truth eventually. This particular harsh reality had been shoved in my face so many times I'd formed thick ugly scabs where the wounds would have been.

  "Ah, I see," said Mal, still buttoning up his jeans. "Interesting. I'm going to tell you what I told Killer at puppy training today when he tried to mount a teacup poodle he'd only just met. If she means something to you, you gotta do the woo, son. You can't just be trying to stick it in."

  "Fuck's sake." Jimmy scrubbed at his face with his hands. It would have been amusing if it hadn't been about me.

  "And on that note, I'm out of here," I said, waving and walking backward. My hip of course caught the corner of the side table, a swift or smooth exit beyond me. "Shit, ouch. Have a nice night."

  "You all right? Lena, c'mon. Blow him off." He swallowed hard. "Don't worry about that counselor guy."

  "Tom. His name was Tom."

  "I organized dinner to try and apologize to you about the door."

  I shrugged into my coat. "Not necessary. I'd already forgiven you for that. Why don't you try apologizing for sabotaging the meeting with Tom instead?"

  His lips thinned.

  "Right. Well, why don't you give Liv a call, Jimmy? I'm sure she'd be delighted to get an invite. I'm meeting Dean in town soon so I have to go. 'Night." I jogged down the stairs. Right then, I just had to get away from him as fast as I could. A pity I'd be missing out a night with Ev and the guys. Despite the insanity they were beginning to feel more and more like family. Right now, I could have done with some of that.

  # # #

  The fake biker bar was hot and crowded and I most definitely wasn't having fun. If one more nice, clean, leather-clad cool person accidentally knocked into me I'd punch them in the face. This was, apparently, Dean's crowd. He seemed to know everyone here. Sure as hell, no self-respecting biker would step foot inside the place. You didn't have to be an expert in mc culture to know the place was a fraud. I'd more chance of tripping over a trust fund baby's leather loafer than a real live biker boot.

  Bet they were having fun at Jimmy's dinner party.

  Maybe I shouldn't have tried to force Tom on him. Crap, I no longer had a god damn clue what the right or wrong thing to do was regarding Jimmy Ferris. If I ever had to begin with. From day one I'd been out of my depth, wading in shark-infested waters. I wondered if he'd called Liv and invited her over as suggested. Jealousy slithered up my spine. Dating was the right thing for Jimmy, it was. My inability to find inner peace and harmony over it was my own damn problem.


  Time to suck it up, baby.

  Dean stood a few feet away from me, deep in conversation with some guy about the values of different soundboards. No one could blame him. Tonight, I'd officially been voted world's worst company. I played with the straw in my gin and tonic, pushing the slice of lime first to the left, then over to the right. Back and forth, back and forth. I'd yet to take an actual sip, it just felt wrong. Like I was cheating somehow, stupid but true.

  Stage Dive blared out over the sound system and it was all I could do not to scream. Further proof of my predicament. My whole world was Jimmy Ferris and it was my own damn fault. For years I'd been drifting, getting over the betrayal of my delightful sister and her wonderful fiance. It was time to start making plans again. If I could just figure out what I wanted.

  Maybe I should talk to Pam again, ask about how she got into photography. There'd been something about lining up the shots, seeing the world through the lens that appealed to me. Bored, I pulled out my cell and started snapping off some pictures. The swaying dreds of one of the male bartenders as he shook up a cocktail. A crowd of patrons' hands, reaching across the bar, calling for service. A partial shot of a couple, the two women leaning in close, holding hands. This was fun. My night had been saved.

  I lined up a view of some of the bottles behind the bar. The flat screen beside them caught my eye and I lowered my camera. On screen was a face, an eerily familiar one. The marrow in my bones turned to ice.

  "Oh, no."

  They'd cleaned her up, but it was still definitely her, Jimmy and David's mother. Her normally pale sickly skin had been covered in garish makeup. She looked orange with coral pink slashes instead of lips. Still too thin with all sorts of nasty shit shining bright in her blue eyes, the bitch. Next a series of pictures of Jimmy flashed up, him walking into rehab and another of him obviously high on something. Then there was the snake herself, sitting on a couch, pouring her heart out to the camera if the dewy look in her eyes was any indication. Text ran along the bottom of the screen which was good. I couldn't hear a thing over the music.

  "I'm homeless. I'm on the street while they live in mansions. They've turned their backs on me because they have money and fame. They're ashamed of the simple loving home that they came from. It's such a betrayal. My heart is broken, I don't know what else to say."

  A big fat tear ran down her face, leaving a streak in her makeup. The equally tarted-up blonde interviewer reached across, clasping her hand, offering comfort. My stomach rolled queasily.