The week in London was nothing compared to the three weeks that followed it. Avery and I had stayed in better contact than the week before I left for the UK; however, we were in this stalled-out zone, one could say, with her ex. He hadn’t been off the rails entirely since that day at the beach, but I wasn’t a fool to think he was clean and sober. People with addictions like his didn’t walk away from daily use without rehab. No fucking way.
Was I still irritated that Avery wasn’t pursuing his ass in courts? Fuck yes. It was making me miserable, seeing her acting like someone who was backed into a corner. What was bothering me most was the feeling that this dirtbag was a heartbeat away from another bender, it was only a matter of time.
Avery and I had a friction point in our relationship because of him, and it was driving me insane that we couldn’t see eye-to-eye on this issue. She seemed closed-off to hearing my advice, and I was not going to lose her over this asshole, so I was pushing it all down.
The two weekends I’d spent with Addy and Avery since Derek’s beach blow-out episode were the highlights to the past month. I was officially in over my head with stories of Sally and the Three Little Rascals, and Addy wasn’t letting these made-up characters leave anytime soon.
Avery gave me the okay to renovate one of my rooms for Addy to use when they stayed the night, so the previous Saturday, we had a shopping experience, to say the least. Since Avery and Ash had become a lot closer in the last month, Clay and Joe even came along, making it an all hands on deck situation. Addy was as adorable as ever, gripping my hand as she put the master of design, Clay, in his place while picking out her favorite color for everything—purple. I laughed as I looked around and realized that all of these grown adults had bent over backward, doing whatever this little girl wanted, and she ate it up that whole day.
Now, here we were, dropping off Addy with her grandparents for the weekend again. I’d been dreading this all week long. Avery had asked me earlier in the week if I would like to come along to meet Larry and Annette in the hopes that it might ease my mind about Addy staying here. I appreciated Avery’s gesture, knowing her heart was in the right place, and I hoped I could make some kind of sense out of Avery’s rationale after meeting them.
“Hey, daydreamer, are you coming?” Avery asked, letting Addy out of her car seat in the back of my two-door Bentley while I sat in the driver’s seat, zoned out.
“Just thinking about tonight, Av,” I said, getting out of the car, peeling off my suit jacket, and draping it over my seat.
Avery’s hand grabbed mine as Larry let us into the house, and we walked into the quaint but nicely-arranged living room. Larry closed the door and followed us in, greeting me and shaking my hand. “I’m Larry,” he said. “It’s nice to finally meet the man who papa’s little peep talks about all the time.” He chuckled.
“She’s the best,” I managed, studying the casually-dressed man. His clean goatee and graying hair made him look well put together, and made me question why in the fucking world he hadn’t kicked his adult addict kid out of the house yet. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jim.”
“Have a seat,” Larry said.
I sat on the other end of the sofa from Larry, noticing his television was turned to some boxing documentary.
“Hey, there,” a woman said as she popped her head into the room from around the corner. She smiled, but it was painfully evident that she was worn down. She was either overworked or just fucking done with life. “I’m Anne.”
I heard Addison and Avery in the back of the small house, Avery seemingly getting Addison in the bath.
“Avery, I can give her a bath,” Anne said, walking down a hall that was lined with family pictures from across the decades.
“Don’t worry about it,” I heard Avery say. “Go back to baking whatever you’re spoiling Addy with tonight.”
“You ever see this guy fight before?” Larry asked, pointing at his television after tossing some peanuts into his mouth and casually leaning back on the sofa.
I crossed my ankle over my knee and loosened my stiff position. “No,” I said, studying the black and white highlight reel of two boxers.
“That’s Sugar Ray Robinson,” he said with a knowing laugh.
“He’s a bit before my time, I guess,” I answered. Boxing had never been a sport I’d regularly watched, so I had nothing to contribute to this conversation.
“Do you realize this guy fought over two hundred and fifteen times?” he asked with a laugh. “With only two losses and one draw.”
“Holy cow,” I said, refraining from cursing. “Are you kidding me?” I was no expert, but that sounded like a hell of a record.
“When this guy turned pro in 1940, he was eighty-five and zero with sixty-nine knockouts.”
“Dang, man,” I said.
“He was only nineteen years old.” Larry laughed again, casually having more peanuts. “This guy knocked out more people before he was nineteen years old than most fighters in their whole career.”
“That’s pretty incredible. What was his professional record?”
He looked at me, and his forehead creased in humor. “A hundred twenty-eight—one and two,” he prattled off. “The guy actually retired in two weight classes, then came out of retirement and took another damn title,” he said with a laugh.
I was settling in some with the man and understanding why Addy enjoyed his company. He was more likable than I’d imagined. I could see why Addy’s relationship with her grandparents was so crucial to Avery—especially since she didn’t have much in the way of a family on her own. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before I saw a shadow making its way down the hall. Derek stepped into the living room, gave me a nod, and took the recliner situated next to his dad.
“Best fighter right there,” Derek said, reclining and eying the television. “What’s up, Jim?” he asked. “Nice suit. I’ve got some expensive ones like that too.”
Larry was silent as he looked over at Derek. “You just now waking up?” he asked. “What time you get in last night, bud?”
Fucking bud? I thought, growing more irritated every second, seeing this idiot wearing his hoodie and sagging jeans.
“Late, but I was at Rick’s place.”
“Rick?” Larry asked. “Is that the guy who owns that dealership?”
Derek eyed me, smiled, then looked at his dad. “Yep,” he said. “They got some badass trucks that came in this week.”
“No kidding,” Larry said dismissively.
Unlike Derek’s father, I wasn’t dismissing shit at this point. The fucker had been out all goddamn night and was just now waking up? Rick, my ass. Derek’s bullshit may have manipulated this family, but where he’d lost Larry’s attention, he’d gained mine.
“Yeah, they’re pretty legit, like the truck I got.”
“What’s the name of the dealership?” I questioned, knowing my company had acquired a few in Anaheim years ago, seeing their potential in this location.
“Rendell’s,” Derek said, our eyes locking. “Why?” he asked, settling into his chair like the dick he was. “You interested in trading in your million-dollar Aston Martin for a nice truck?”
“I don’t think so,” I answered. “Rick Rendell. I’ve met that man,” I said as Larry looked back and forth between Derek and me as the tension in the room grew.
“Old man Rendell, you mean?” Derek asked.
“No, we acquired that dealership and another a few years back. Interesting that you know Rick,” I said. What I wanted to say was that I knew Rick had a family, and the multiple times we’d met over dinners, this man never once struck me as the type to hang out with the piece of shit that was now trying to stare my ass down.
“Well, that’s my boy,” Derek said.
“Nice,” I responded, and then Avery walked out with Addison, running to her papa first and then me—not to the prick who started to argue with Avery about what time we got there even though he was asleep when we did.
“You ready to have fun with your papa this weekend?” I asked Addy.
“Lots of fun.”
“Get over here and come say hi to your daddy,” Derek said, leaning forward in his recliner.
“Hey, Dad,” Addy said, then looked at me. “Bye, Jim.”
I watched how the once-calm atmosphere of the room became more and more toxic after Derek had entered it. Avery was going over last-minute details about picking Addy up on Sunday while Addison walked to her papa, who focused on her, her stuffed pup, and a book she brought with her.
I stood, knowing we were about to leave, and once farewells were given, Avery and I walked out, leaving Addy in the care of her grandpa. Her dad, however, apparently couldn’t give a shit about his daughter being there since he felt the urge to follow Avery and me out to my car.
“What are you doing, Derek? Go back inside,” Avery ordered him while I pointedly ignore him.
“You know my boy, eh?” Derek said, lighting a cigarette.
“I know enough,” I answered, opening Avery’s door for her and making sure Derek didn’t feel inclined to charge the car and start ordering her around again.
“Enough? What the fuck does that mean?” he asked, taking a drag from his cigarette. “You trying to make my dad question me about being out all night?”
“I was just wondering if you were talking about the same person who owned the business I acquired a few years back,” I said, walking toward my side of the car.
“You don’t know dick.”
This mother fucker had no idea how thin the thread was that was keeping me together.
“If that’s what you want to assume, then I’ll allow that,” I said, holding back.
“Oh, you’ll allow it?” he mocked.
“Let’s just go, Jim,” Avery snapped.
I sat in the car, disturbed that this unstable mother fucker was going back into that house with Addy, pissed off that I was leaving with Avery. Fuck this whole situation. I fired up the car and looked at her while Derek wandered around the back of the house.
“That jerkoff is too angry for us to leave Addy here, Avery,” I said in a low voice.
“Jim, drive the damn car. If you haven’t caught on to the fact that he hates you yet, I don’t know what will help you figure out why he’s pissed.”
I clamped my mouth shut and drove the fuck out of there.
“You haven’t spoken since we left Larry and Annette’s,” Avery said a few blocks from my house.
“Sorry. I’m just struggling with all of this, Avery,” I finally said as I pulled in. She nodded as she unbuckled, and we both entered the house, kicking off our shoes by the front door, and I threw my suit coat over the back of a chair while she set her bag down.
After I’d poured myself a bourbon and Avery had poured herself a glass of wine, we sat on my sofa.
“Jim.” She ran her hand over the vest I still wore. “Tonight was weird. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry, Av,” I said, kissing her head. “Jesus, I don’t know what to ask you to be at this point.”
She sat up. “What does that mean?”
“Larry,” I said, looking at her sharp eyes, feeling her defense mechanisms coming up around her. “He’s a nice man. Although, when Derek came out—after just fucking waking up from his long night out—he only mildly questioned him and then ignored it. It was almost like he didn’t want to start shit with him.”
“No one wants to engage Derek’s bullshit,” Avery said.
“It’s not right, Avery,” I said, leaning my elbows on my knees, holding my glass of bourbon with both hands. “How can any of you not see this?” I looked back at her. “I know you’re not afraid of that little shit, so why—fucking tell me here and now—why won’t you protect your daughter from him?”
“Fucking hell, Jim.” She sighed. “You knew this was the bullshit side of my life when you signed up for it, and now—fuck. You’re trying to—”
“Help you?” I interrupted. “How is it that I’m the bad guy in this situation?”
“I never said that, did I?”
“You’re defending this dirtbag by not allowing me to help you. You get so fucking angry every time I ask why you won’t fight for custody of Addy. How is it that I’m not okay with leaving her anywhere near that house with that fucker, and you are?”
“Because I know Larry and Annette,” Avery said. “I know they won’t let my daughter get hurt no matter how badly Derek behaves.”
“Behaves? That’s the fucking word for what he does now?”
“Wrong choice of words. Jesus Christ,” she said and rubbed her forehead. “I can’t do this.” She stood up. “I can’t fucking do this with you, Jim.”
“Damn it.” I stood and brought her into my arms, and then lifted her chin, bringing her eyes to meet mine, “I don’t want to do this either. I want to help, but I have no idea where my place is in any of this anymore.”
“I don’t need you trying to step in and control this. This is how it’s been for a long time. Larry loves Addy as much as you, Jim. She’s the light in the darkness that Derek puts him and Annette through. You have to know he won’t let anything happen to her. I know this because I know them.”
I couldn’t pretend to understand why Avery was so sure about Derek’s parents. It all seemed so dysfunctional.
I sighed and pulled her in and held her tightly. “I hate this,” I said. “It brings up shitty memories of my mom’s addiction, and Jake and me being left with that woman. Maybe I feel that is what’s happening to Addison when we drop her off anywhere around that prick.”
Avery’s tense muscles loosened, and she returned my hug. “I’m sorry you have to deal with any of this.”
“Stop fucking apologizing,” I said. “You have to stop apologizing for something you can fix.”
“I know,” she conceded.
The rest of our night was not what I’d imagined it would be. It seemed that we’d been heading this direction since the beach incident. I couldn’t fix anything or help anyone. I had no say in this, and every time I opened my mouth, all I did was push Avery away. For the first time in my life, I was fucking stumped.
The weekend ironed itself out in its own way. Avery seemed always to wake up happier and healthier than the day before. I opted to shut my fucking mouth about the whole thing so we could enjoy each other before heading back to work and having to squeeze in time together during the workweek. We enjoyed a full day on Sunday, Clay coming over and putting the final touches on the transformed room that I couldn’t wait for Addy to see. Now, it was Monday again, and time for another hectic week.
“Hey,” Alex said, nodding back at Summer dismissively.
“Everything okay?” I asked, eyeing the papers Alex held.
Alex pinched his lips and looked past me and out my windows as he sat across from my desk.
“Alex,” I said, “did you and Summer finally call it quits?”
What the hell is his problem?
Alex rubbed his forehead, then cleared his throat. “This was my responsibility, and I was going to handle it.”
“Am I firing you today?” I smirked.
“Funny,” he said. “Jim—”
“Save the drama and suspense, dude. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Here are the reports from the investigation that’s been ongoing since that lady in the preschool gave Avery and Addy shit,” he said, holding a stack of papers.
“I’ve been getting reports for the last month when they started in on investigations in all departments. What are those papers?”
“The ones we have to terminate immediately. They never passed background checks, but they were hired anyway. The investigators were looking into it, and they pointed out that we need to tighten up the system we’re using or use a new process. We have to fire around eighteen people today because of this fucking mistake,” he said.
“Being that it was our mistake—in one way or another, we misled these employees—we’ll send them with a severance package,” I said. “I don’t want the reputation for throwing people out on the street.”
“That’s not the issue.”
“Okay, so what, then?”
Fuck, he didn’t look well.
“Avery—your Avery—was one of them.”
“What? Why? Because of something stupid? Maybe we ought to look into these cases, then. I don’t want people fired over nonsense.”
Alex leaned forward and slid the papers that he’d been holding across my desk. I felt the blood leave my face when I read Avery’s report. All this time, I’d been made to feel like the bad guy. Maybe I was willfully blind. All I knew was that the reality of the situation was something I wasn’t prepared to see.
