Brook hugged Tami.
“I wondered who trained him.”
I was glad when Tim and Wolf joined us.
◊◊◊
Everyone wanted to go with me to my meeting with Cindy. She’d sent me a text with the location and directions to Hayes Hall, the oldest standing building on the Ohio State campus. It was located on the oval. We found her with what looked like a mixture of students and professors. I’d thought this was supposed to be a one-on-one meeting. Come to think of it, strike that, I’d received an email from Caryn that held no details. It looked like my rants about her being in charge and not to bother me with details had just bit me in the butt—not that I would change that.
I noticed that Cindy and everyone else was dressed professionally. I felt a little out of place in an Ohio State t-shirt and jeans. Cindy motioned for me and my dad to join her talking to the three professors: Dean Lloyd, College of Engineering; Professor Donaldson, Knowlton School of Architecture; and Professor Katz, Interior Design.
“I didn’t expect so many people,” I said, looking around.
“When Cindy came to us and said she had a project for your house in LA, I assumed it was just a remodel. Then as she started to uncover all the additional requirements, it sort of snowballed,” Professor Katz said.
“Snowballed?” I asked.
“Yes. The security systems, updated entertainment features, roof deck, detached garage with apartments, and security hub. We will go over all of it in the presentation,” Dean Lloyd explained.
My dad grabbed me and guided me out of the room so we could talk.
“Did you know about any of this?” I asked.
“A little, but I suspect that Fritz and his team got involved, and then your mother talked to Rita about what all she would want in a home. You need to decide whether you want to get involved in all the details or just write a check. I’ll have a talk with Caryn and make sure this doesn’t get out of hand,” Dad assured me.
I was torn between the idea this might be my home someday and the desire to back off and just let my mom have her way. Mom had explained the real estate market in the Malibu area, and I really couldn’t get hurt no matter which way I chose. Someone would either write a song, pick up a TV series, or star in a movie and have money burning a hole in their pocket. They’d want something ready to go, and this would fit the bill.
I had to remind myself to focus and keep my goals in mind.
“Just keep me from losing my mind over this.”
“You know I will,” Dad said with a smile, knowing full well that he never had a chance with that.
Dean Lloyd spoke first. He was leading this interdisciplinary project and introduced Cindy and several of her classmates who could potentially be involved. Most were graduate level, with Cindy being the only junior. If I agreed with what they proposed today, they would use this project as an internship. The dean assured me that they would have professionals in LA review everything. The pros would ensure what his team created was up to code and didn’t violate any land use or association covenants for the subdivision.
What they showed me was a possible outcome based on the requirements that had been collected to this point. It seemed a trip to LA was in their offering so they could get a better feel for the house’s layout and structure. They also wanted to walk the lot to confirm what was possible.
I was impressed with what I saw so far, so I signed a letter of intent to allow them to get started. We would sign a contract with the university to do the internships and give them capital to be able to cover their costs. Dad talked to the dean to work out the logistics and make sure we understood what they were supposed to deliver. I suspected that part of it would be to get Ms. Dixon involved. Dad shared that he’d been in contact with Jack Mass, who would also look at everything. That was one of the perks of having a builder as a business partner.
I admit that after the meeting, I was more on board with having a home in LA. Up to this point, I’d just taken advantage of Rita and Halle’s generosity. If I planned to make more movies, it would be nice to have my own place, even if it turned into some kind of compound or estate.
I made a point to thank everyone who helped put together today’s presentation. Cindy was treated like a rock star for snagging this project for them.
Talking to the students was interesting. They had some seriously creative ideas. I would never have thought about leather floors, or glass walls, or windows that could be changed to either transparent or opaque with a flip of a switch.
Wolf and Tim didn’t want to leave. I saw them both in deep conversations with some of the students as they bounced ideas off each other. I suddenly couldn’t wait to get to college. From listening to the students and professors, everything seemed possible. I stepped back to observe the room’s dynamics.
“What are you thinking?” Brook asked me.
“That this will be us next year. I don’t believe I’m about to say this, but I can’t wait to get out of high school.”
“Have you figured out what you want to be when you grow up?” she teased.
“I have no idea, but I see why people want to go to college for like eight years. Tami might have the right idea.”
“You could always get your MBA or law degree. Heck, if you like it enough, we might someday be calling you Dr. Dawson.”
“I can see it now. I’ll get my doctorate in something useful like philosophy and have to work at a Wendy’s drive-through when I graduate.”
“You really are a ‘stupid boy.’ If you got your doctorate in philosophy, you would obviously be a professor. It would be like you’d never leave university life,” Brook quipped.
“As long as I had cute grad assistants, I’d probably be okay.”
“No, I’d never allow that. I’d make sure you were so happy at home you wouldn’t care about all those hot coeds that would be trying to catch your eye.”
I kissed her forehead. She was right about that. If anyone could keep my eye from wandering, it was Brook.
◊◊◊
On the flight home, Brook joined me in the back of the plane. She noticed me scrolling through text messages. It suddenly dawned on her that I had her phone.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.
“Haven’t you ever been curious about what your boyfriend gets up to when you’re not around? My PIN is double oh eleven,” I shared.
I could see her mind working, but her curiosity won out. I hit pay dirt when I found her photo storage app. It had pictures of her and her friends from before she moved here. I realized that if we’d met in middle school, she would have been way out of my league. I found several pictures of a guy who looked older.
“Who’s this?” I asked.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she complained.
I showed her where I kept my photos online.
“That’s an ex who was in college,” she explained.
I could see how she’d go for him. But I couldn’t figure out why a good-looking college guy would date a high school girl.
“Why did he date you?” I asked.
If looks could kill … Then it struck me.
“You dirty girl,” I teased.
“You’re one to talk,” she said, showing me the picture of Adrienne and me naked.
We’d been on a photo shoot getting spray-tanned when one of the other models had snapped the picture. Adrienne thought I’d deleted it and would kill me if she found out I’d kept it. I was still a guy, and there was no way I would delete that picture. But I thought I’d hidden it better.
“How did you find that?”
“Please! When you stick something in a folder called ‘Secret Pics,’ you surely didn’t think that wasn’t the first folder I would open?”
She had a point when she said it out loud like that. I really was a ‘stupid boy.’