Mandy

I know exactly why Trey is shaking his head as he approaches the bar to join Liv and I. She has been acting like an attention starved socialite since the moment we arrived and it’s obvious that Trey is onto her.

“Turn over the Black Card,” he says in a hushed tone, holding out his hand as soon as he sits down.

“Oh, hi baby,” she bubbles. “Mandy and I have been having the best time! Everyone is so nice here.”

“I’m sure they are.” He smirks, still holding out his hand.

“Fine.” She slaps it into his hand. “You should get an extra one of those with my name on it.” She gives him a big gin infused smile.

“What are you drinking?” he asks arching an eyebrow.

“It’s a Rose Lychee Martini,” she holds up the pink concoction with rose petals floating on top. “It’s their signature cocktail.”

“It’s pretty. Is that your third or fourth one?” Trey teases.

“Only my third,” she clarifies, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m just giving you shit. Have as many as you want, but no more talking to the paparazzi. They were totally fucking rude when I pulled up.” His eyes instantly turn dark.

“What happened?” I ask, since Liv seems genuinely disinterested.

“They shoved their cameras in my face and a couple of them were questioning whether Tyler and I had something to do with Dad’s murder,” he gasps, seeming floored by the notion.

“The media always speculates about those things. Statistically, it usually is someone who has a strong financial motive and unfortunately that is most often a family member.” My law school knowledge temporarily overrides my sensitivity.

“Et tu, Brute?” He raises his hand and orders a dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives.

“I wasn’t insinuating anything, just stating a fact.” I caress his arm. “I know you had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

“How can you be so sure?” Liv counters with a slight slur. “He hated Victor with a passion!”

“Shhh…” Trey scolds her. “Could you use a little discretion? We are in a very public place. Besides, just because Dad and I didn’t see eye-to-eye doesn’t mean I could do anything like that. It’s not exactly in my nature.”

“I know, I was just saying.” She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the guy she had been staring at. “Who is that guy with the two girls?”

“I’ll be damned,” Trey lights up. “Brandon!” He waves him over. “He was a year behind us in school. He’s a good shit! I haven’t seen him in years.”

Trey

Brandon is the son of Jack Ryker, a local billionaire who revolutionized the fashion industry. We both had similarly introverted personalities when we were young, so we became instant friends once we met. Now look at us, both flanked by gorgeous women. Holy shit, the blonde with him looks like a supermodel.

“Trey! It’s been a long time buddy,” he says reaching out and giving me a one-arm hug.

“I was just saying, I don’t remember the last time I saw you. Are these your girlfriends?” I joke.

“They are. This is Sasha and Ellie,” he says. “When I started dating Sasha, Ellie came along with the package. Now I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grins and gives Ellie a kiss on the cheek.

“You dog,” I reply with a twinge of jealousy. I wonder if I can work out a deal like that with Liv and Mandy. Unfortunately, I already know the answer to that question. “These are my girlfriends, Liv and Mandy,” I tell him just for the hell of it.

“Uh!” they both utter, giving me a shocked look while simultaneously slapping me on the chest.

“Just kidding! Relax girls.” I laugh at their identical reactions. “Actually, they’re just a couple of escorts I rented for the weekend.” That gets an even more violent reaction from them. Both Brandon and I are busting a gut. I know the girls think it’s funny too, even though they are acting like I’ve offended them.

“I’m his girlfriend, Liv,” she says, setting the record straight. “This is my friend Mandy.”

“They aren’t quite as enlightened as you guys,” I joke. By this time both Mandy and Liv are simply grinning and shaking their heads. “They seem to be coming around, though.”

“Here you go, Trey,” the bartender interrupts, handing me my drink. “Brandon, what do you guys need?”

“Bring us a couple bottles of Crissy,” he replies, glancing at both girls to make sure they agree with his choice.

“Brandon, Brandon…” I chide him. “Crissy is out according to Liv and her buddy Jay Z.”

“I know, right?” Sasha immediately reaches out to Liv, affirming her view. “Brandon insists that he likes Cristal better.”

“What can I say? It does taste better.” Brandon shrugs his shoulders and shakes it off.

“It’s okay Brandon, I like beer,” Mandy admits. “You should’ve seen the look I got when I asked for a beer list.”

“Oh my god, it was totally embarrassing,” Liv chimes in with a devastated look on her face.

“I’ll bet it was,” Brandon pats her on the shoulder. I know exactly what he’s thinking, but Sasha appears to be his own version of Liv. Those two are totally hitting it off.

“They managed to find me a Smithwick’s,” Mandy holds up the bottle with the cutest look on her face. “I guess Guinness didn’t make the cut.”

As the group breaks down into one on one conversation, I have to wonder how kids who grow up in similar circumstances can turn out so differently. Brandon and I are both pretty laid back. Mandy and Ellie both seem to be a little on the serious side while Liv and Sasha are still babbling about Cristal versus Ace Of Spades. What a diverse crew.

“Judging by the sidewalk out front, they must be expecting a big night,” Brandon says, scanning across the room. “I don’t even see any celebs.”

“Yeah, they were total dicks to me when I pulled up. Yelling shit about who killed Dad.”

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry buddy. I did hear about that. What the hell happened?” Brandon asks, obviously feeling bad for not bringing it up earlier.

“I have no clue, other than they think it was a professional hit of some kind,” I explain over the growing noise of the crowd.

“Jeez, that’s totally freaky. But crazy shit happens all the time,” Brandon says, suddenly growing quiet.

“Yeah it does. Sorry about your Mom, too.” I give Brandon a pat on the shoulder. “That was just as freaky from what I heard.”

“That’s for sure. We were all a mess at the funeral,” he replies with a somber look on his face.

“But your Dad is doing better now, I hear.” I give Brandon a knowing smirk.

“Yeah… he had his own run-in with the paparazzi last year.” He laughs. “No matter what floor you are on, don’t have sex up against a big glass window.”

“Unless you want to make the tabloids!” I laugh. “Are they still together?”

“Yeah, they actually got married.” He raises an eyebrow and nods. “She’s younger than all of us, but somehow they make each other happy.”

“That’s all that matters.” I would give anything to get rid of the aching feeling in my chest that always shows up in the middle of the night. It’s a feeling that I have lived with for so long I think it’s actually become part of me. “Do you and Jayne get along with her?”

“I’m not gonna lie. We weren’t too excited about it at first, but by the time we found out we were already in business together,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “She’s a pretty innovative designer though and doesn’t seem to care about fame and fortune. So that’s cool.”

“So, Jayne is okay with her?”

“Yeah, Jayne is happy that Dad has someone. Now she can quit worrying about him and focus on raising her daughter,” Brandon replies, with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Is she married too?”

“No. She was the one who was supposed to get married, but her fiancé bailed on her about the time she found out she was pregnant,” Brandon says, shaking his head again. “It’s been quite a year.”

“I’m sure she is a great Mom. She was always so serious in school.” I think back to how we used to tease her about it.

“Then there’s me.” He glances over at Sasha and Ellie. “I think I’m going backwards.”

“Hey, you’re only young once. I had a blast at Stanford and didn’t slow down until I had to settle two paternity suits,” I admit. “That kind of made me stop and think about what I was doing with my life.”

“So, you are back now?” he asks inquisitively.

“No. I’m still in Palo Alto. I haven’t found any place I would rather live, yet. There is so much going on out there; the energy is amazing.”

“There’s plenty of energy here too, unfortunately most of it is negative,” Brandon comments hitting the nail on the head. New York City is a vibrant, fast paced city but it’s a completely different type of energy here. I’m much more relaxed and clear headed when I’m out west. The sheer noisiness of this city really gets to me.

“I’m impressed that you and your family can build a business together,” I tell him after having a minute to process what he had told me. “I never could’ve worked with Dad and now I have a feeling that Tyler is becoming a mirror image of him.”

“So you and Tyler won’t be running Addison Media?” he asks looking a bit shocked.

“God no. I’m just hoping Dad and the board have some type of succession plan in place. I have absolutely no interest in it.” Brandon seems completely surprised by my admission. “Would you have wanted to take over your Dad’s old business?”

“Definitely! It’s much easier to build on a huge base like that instead of starting from scratch,” he exclaims with surprising conviction. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re doing great, but I would much rather inherit a multi-billion dollar company than do a startup.”

“I’m your Dad’s succession plan.” A familiar voice announces from right behind me. I turn to see the beaming face of Tommy Fowler. “I just thought he would give me a little more time to make the transition.”

“Tommy… what the hell are you doing here?” I ask, completely shocked to see him.

“I came to pay my respects.” He declares with pursed lips. “Vanessa thought I would find you here. I’m sorry about Victor, he was a good man.” He leans in expecting a hug from me. I’m a bit taken back by the fact that he and Vanessa still keep in touch.

“Thanks Tommy. I appreciate it. What do you mean you are his succession plan?” I ask as his declaration begins sink in. I pull him off to the side for a little privacy.

“The day after I sold my entire stake in Firefly Productions, your dad called me wondering if I would be interested in running Addison Media for him,” he reveals. “I was in the city a couple weeks ago working out the details. He said he was going to switch some things around that would make it easier for him to bring me onboard.”

Holy shit. Dad must have been restructuring everything in order to bring Tommy to the table. I wonder if Tyler knew what was going on? I can’t imagine he would want Tommy around on a daily basis. Maybe that explains his foul mood lately.