I had her call her dad and see if they wanted to go to lunch with us. He passed but gave her permission to go. I checked with the photographer to see if he had everything he needed. He told me he was good, so I led my charges back up to the suite.
WHILE THE KIDS WERE showing Pastor Dan and Mrs. Kelly everything they’d bought, I went into my room to check my messages and emails. I was surprised to see one from Tracy. The email asked me to call her, so I did. Her mom answered.
“David, I’m surprised you’re calling. What can I do for you?”
“Even though your daughter seems to keep dumping me, that doesn’t mean we’re not friends. Plus, I plan on collecting on my Christmas present.”
Mary had promised to teach me how to cook.
“You know what, you’re right,” she agreed. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“I got an email from Tracy asking me to call her. Is she home?” I asked.
I could hear the regret in her voice.
“I’m sorry, David. She went to the movies ... with Luke.”
“I guess if she wanted to hurt me, there aren’t many guys she could go out with that would do the job any better. I guess I should be thankful Bill Rogers isn’t out of jail,” I almost growled.
There was silence from the other end.
“Mary, I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little raw right now.”
She sighed.
“No, I get it. I was surprised when she called him and asked him out.”
That felt like a knife had just plunged into my chest. I tried to think of a way to get off the phone when Tom picked up.
“Hey, David, I wanted to thank you for sending Kara our way. I think we can help her make some additional money.”
I heard Mary hang up.
I ignored him.
“Why is she trying to hurt me? Of all the people she could go out with, why Luke?” I asked.
“I think it has to do with you out whoring around with Sunny and whoever else you can find,” Tom sneered over the phone.
I had finally had enough and snapped.
“So much for being like family. You caused this, you asshole!”
I slammed the phone into the wall, breaking it into a hundred pieces. Crud, you would think I would have learned my lesson. Breaking a phone was expensive. There was a light knocking on my door. Shit, just what I need right now, church group. Pastor Dan slipped into the room.
“David, is there anything I can do?”
“Can you take everyone to the grill for lunch? I’ll put it on my bill, so let them get whatever they want. I just need to be left alone for a little while to get my head back on straight. I apologize if you heard a curse word.”
The church group had set this trip up so they would eat all their meals at the cabins. They didn’t have money for eating out. I knew Sandy and Range Sports would probably help out. If not, I would gladly pay for the kids.
“I don’t think you said anything that any of us haven’t heard before. I apologize for having to intrude on your generosity. Without you, this trip would have been pretty miserable for everyone right about now. I want to thank you,” Pastor Dan said sincerely.
I called down to the grill and arranged for the bill to be charged to my room. I also ordered a turkey burger and large salad to be delivered to my room. I heard everyone leave and I felt relief. I really didn’t want to be a bad example to the kids.
I sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. After a while, I called Kendal. Her secretary put me through.
“What did you tell Tom? He just called the office and is flipping out because he can’t get ahold of you,” Kendal hissed.
“We had a ‘Come-to-Jesus’ moment when he called me a whore,” I shared.
“Oh shit, that’s not right. He’s on the way to the office. No wonder he’s in a panic.”
I laughed.
“You want to work for me directly, and we dump the circus of a law firm?”
“Please, David, don’t toy with me. I can’t do this without them yet. I haven’t even taken my bar exam,” Kendal pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll play nice. Somehow, I broke my phone after talking to Tom. What do I need to do to get a new one?”
“I can have one overnighted to you. We got the insurance on it this time, so we should be good to go,” Kendal offered.
“Have it sent to me. I’ll pull the sim card and pray it isn’t shot. I don’t want to have to re-input everyone’s info.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll just sync it with your tablet and get the contacts off of that. When you get back, I can do it in five minutes. Just do me a favor and put the bigger pieces in a bag for me so I can send it back.”
“Anything for you, Kendal,” I sighed. “Look, I’m really pissed at Tom and Tracy. I’m not happy with Deb and Clare over at Ford, either. I hate it when people meddle in my personal life. This goes beyond that. Tom and Tracy are both trying to be hurtful. I won’t put up with that shit. I’m seriously thinking about going to another lawyer and having them look at my contract. If this continues, I want a way out. I can’t in good conscience continue to feed them business if they treat me like this. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out what you’re doing for me anyways.”
“Easy, Tiger, I’ll make this right. Let’s meet when you get back. Either Tom’ll get back in line, or we’ll talk to the powers that be. I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to help you,” Kendal said.
I could tell she was being earnest.
I pulled my tablet out and found it had all my contact numbers in it. It was a pain to be using the hotel phone, but I wasn’t cut off from the world. I called Sandy Range next.
“Hey, Sandy, it’s David Dawson.”
“Hey, Trouble. Devin went nuts when he saw you kiss Sunny Skye. He kept yelling, ‘Look, he has our clothes on and you can see the logo!’ I personally give you a seven for the kiss. There’s no comparison to what I saw you lay on Adrienne in Chicago. I think you need to practice,” Sandy suggested.
“I agree. If only there was someone I could practice with. You wouldn’t have any suggestions, would you?” I asked.
“Maybe one, but I have a feeling their big brother might have other ideas. I’d hate to see a beautiful relationship come to an end.”
“I hear that. By the way, I need to thank you. The upgrade on the flight and the hotel suite were unexpected. The hotel room was a little over the top, but it’s come in handy. My church group is stranded at the lodge until the storm lets up so we can get to our cabins. I now have fourteen roommates for the duration. In addition, the kids love the gear. I got them matching thermal sweatshirts and we all have them on. We look like a little gang, with all our colors matching.”
“I’ll tell Devin. He’ll be delighted. The photographer told him how you set up some of the shots so they could be sold to the tabloids. Pat’s dad was thrilled to see the photos that were being sent out. I guess the staff and Pat have been talking you up since you left. They’re almost out of the thermal sweatshirts. Everyone at the resort heard you’re wearing one.”
“Hey, they should be, the sweatshirts are great. They’re toasty-warm and fit nice. I just wish there were more colors. You need reflective strips so that they can be worn for running and biking. I love the way they pull moisture from your body while you’re working out. Get me formfitting pants and I’ll be using them everywhere,” I told her.
“Can I steal your ideas? I’ll send you some prototypes and let you test them,” Sandy said.
“You’re more than taking care of me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you be successful. If that means kissing girls like Sunny, I’ll make the sacrifice.”