Chapter 9
I step out of the shower to the sound of my smartphone ringing on the bathroom counter. The caller display tells me that it’s Maxwell. I’ve been waiting for my little brother’s call all day. I quickly grab the fluffy pink towel from the hook on the wall and wrap it around my waist then I hit the ‘answer’ button, putting the call on speakerphone.
“It’s about time you called me,” I say as I lean toward the foggy mirror and wipe away the steam.
“Well, I’ve been kind of busy what with back-to-back executive meetings and press conferences all day.” Maxwell has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle; he was drafted to the Los Angeles Boomerangs straight out of college and quickly rose in the ranks to become their star quarterback. But he let the money and the fame get to his head. It’s been one scandal after another. From bar brawls to hooking up with his teammates’ sisters and everything in between.
Now, he’s in hot water with the team’s management. The bad publicity caused by last week’s naked jog down a southern California (non-nudist) beach (during a drunken game of ‘truth or dare’ with a gaggle of local beauty pageant contestants) was too much to ignore. They’ve finally had enough and their threats of dropping him from the team mid-season are starting to look more and more like promises. He’s got to get his shit together.
I sort of blame myself for the mess he’s in. If I hadn’t spent the past few years locked away, I would have been there for him and kept him on track. It’s just one of the many, many things that I feel guilty about these days.
I rub my hand along my prickly chin. “Just stay out of trouble and everything will turn out fine.”
“I know, I know,” he says impatiently, sounding just like he did whenever I’d give him advice when we were growing up. We moved from place to place with our mother after our deadbeat dad ditched us for good and I took it upon myself to teach my little brother everything I learned about life along the way. Since our father wasn’t around, I felt like it was my job to look out for him. “Anyway, that’s not why I called you.”
I lean against the counter and grab my scissors from my grooming kit to trim my beard. “Yes. What’s the status on the documents?”
“I sent them off by overnight mail. They should be delivered first thing in the morning,” he assures me.
“I really appreciate this, man. Especially since you’re so busy. You didn’t have to take over the reins of my tattoo parlor while I was in jail. I really appreciate that you did.”
“It’s nothing, brother. I just wanted to make sure you’d have something to come home to after you got out.” Maxwell literally saved my tail and my business while I was locked up. He’s not a tattoo artist, nor is he a businessman but he made sure to keep Master Ink alive, hiring the best artists and managers to keep the cash flowing in. So, at least my business would be waiting for me when I got out…even though I’d lost everything else.
The one thing my brother didn’t take care of was the accounting.
The books are a mess and taxes haven’t been filed in three years. It’s a shock that the IRS hasn’t come knocking yet. Anyway, now that I’m a free man, I’m reassessing everything in my life, including my business. I want to know what my options are. Should I sell the thing or should I just hire someone to manage it while I figure my life out? I need to see the numbers so I can make an informed decision.
My brother interrupts my thoughts. “While we’re on the subject of things and people that weren’t waiting for you when you got out, the workers tell me that Rhys showed up this week. Twice. And she brought the kid.”
My blood boils just hearing her name. I loved that woman, but she lied to me, she cheated on me and she ruined my life in the process. I hope we never cross paths again in this lifetime.
“She’s lucky I wasn’t there,” Maxwell seethes bitterly, “or else I’d probably be making this call from jail right now. Or maybe from my getaway car, halfway to Mexico.”
That gets me to laugh. Still, I’ve got to remind him of what’s important. “Rhys isn’t worth getting in trouble over, Max. One Masters brother serving time because of that woman is more than enough. You don’t need to stain your record because of her, too. Besides, you’ve got too much to lose.”
He sighs. “I know.”
A yawn barrels out of my mouth. “It’s getting pretty late over here. Gotta hit the sack.”
“Yeah — time zone difference. Right.”
I set down the scissors and run the towel down my cheeks. “When are you gonna come out here and visit your old stomping ground? I went out tonight. Everybody was asking about you, man.”
Maxwell laughs and I imagine him tipping his head back slightly, squinting his eyes and pounding the nearest surface the way he always does when he finds something funny. “You’ve been gone for ten days and you already miss me, you big teddy bear?”
I laugh too but it’s bittersweet. I resist the urge to remind my brother that the last time I left him, I was gone for three years.
And I do miss him. We’ve missed out on so much.
Maxwell’s voice sobers. “I’ll come up there…soon.”
“Alright,” I say. I’m banking on it.