THE BEST-LAID PLANS
Jordan
“I’m cursed.” I sat on the roof, passing the bottle to my brother.
“Oh, cursed doesn’t even begin to cut it. What did she look like?” He took a long draw off the bottle and passed it back.
“An Egyptian goddess, done up in all this makeup.” I laughed. “Which should have been a major turnoff, but she was cool. Different. We kissed, and for a second I just—” How did I say I had her in my grip and then she was gone, running off, leaving me crushed?
“You blew it. You always blow it. I told you being a gentleman was overrated. I certainly didn’t get Cynthia by being a gentleman.” He was boastful sometimes, like Dad.
“Maybe not, but you sure won’t keep her by being a douche.”
“No.” He took another drink. “That’s fair. What’s your plan for finding this mystery goddess?”
“I don’t know. She had so much damn makeup on, I might not recognize her again. Except that smile.” I moaned into my hands. “Fuck! Why did I meet her tonight?”
“Okay, well, now you’ve seen the light—hallelujah!—and tasted the rainbow and all. Surely this girl is a means to ending this Amy thing Dad’s saddled you with. You got a plan for that?”
“No clue. I don’t understand how Dad thinks it’s acceptable to use the old ways to get business now. Who does that? Do the old merger marriages even happen anymore?” I groaned and took the bottle back.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Even Grandpa probably wouldn’t do that kind of shit anymore.”
“Right. The way to get business is by working hard and being the best. Only an entitled asshat like Dad would ever think he could swing his name around and get what he wants.”
“Did you see her tonight at the party?”
“Who?” I asked.
“Amy.”
“No, was she there? I was wearing a ball cap to avoid her recognizing me.”
“Yeah, that didn’t work. I saw her staring at you. It was creepy.”
“Great.” I hadn’t ever felt so disturbed by how my family was using me before, which was saying a lot.
Stephen changed the subject. “Monty said you never texted him. You need to. He misses you.”
“Yeah, I will. We have a poker game on the books for the summer kickoff celebration. Should be good.” I glanced at Stephen and thought hard about what I was preparing to say. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
“Make my own mark on the world. I would say fuck Amy. Not a chance. Especially after hooking up with a hottie on the boat. She was a sign that you should not go through with this. To not ruin your summer with some bullshit babysitting job masquerading as a girlfriend. You need to grow some balls and learn how to say no to Dad.”
“I said no.”
“Right, but then he beat you down and you said yes. You always do that. You’ll end up married to this chick if you even let this start. Hell no.”
He wasn’t great at eloquently articulating his thoughts, but he had a point.
“Well, I don’t want Grandpa and Dad to hate me. My future is tied to the family business just as much as yours is.” I chugged back more booze in the hope of drowning that fact as well.
“Oh, you and I both know you’ll never end up there permanently. I think even Grandpa knows that. Dad just doesn’t have the memo yet.”
“There’s no memo.” I gave him a side-glance. “I don’t know what I want to do when I graduate. So, working there until I do is the only option I have. It doesn’t exactly hurt the résumé.”
“Is marrying Amy what’s-her-name fine too?” he challenged, and stole back the booze.
“No. I need a stellar plan to end this. Maybe even a way to outsmart Dad so he can’t blame me for it.”
“Like what, fake your death?”
“That, or fake hers. Or something. I don’t know. I’ll start brainstorming.”
“Just swear you won’t let this play out. I hate it when Dad wins.” He offered me the bottle again.
“Dad can’t win. I won’t let him. I’m twenty-two. I can’t be expected to go to college, get stellar grades, work all summer for Grandpa, decide my entire future at the end of this year, and babysit literally everyone. The fate of our world cannot rest squarely my shoulders. I’m not worrying about Dad anymore. And I’m not saving him with this deal. If he can’t close it with genuine effort, then he’s on his own. Grandpa can’t expect me to toe the family line on this.”
“We’re going sailing with him Monday. You can talk to him about it then.”
I nodded. It wasn’t exactly a plan, but it was a step in the right direction. The direction that led to me finding that gorgeous girl I’d met on the yacht, which was the only deal I was personally invested in sealing at the moment.