“I know. You crowed about it all over the press while I was celebrating my last birthday.”
He stops, turns, and sniffs. “Now, Son, you know I'm a very busy man. That's the price for lifting up our name and giving us this lifestyle. Someone's got to do it. There's no need to get angry.”
Not you, the fuck's preaching between the lines, throwing it in my face like he always does. He doesn't think I'll ever match his lofty heights.
Well, fuck him, I don't need to. I'm gonna live my life as more than a slave to the shareholders, and I'm sure as shit never marrying a gold digger looking for a few more cash injections to fluff her political career.#p#分页标题#e#
“I wasn't getting pissy about it. I'm a big boy, Dad. It's not like I need you to light the candles on my cake. Don't need your help running my club either. I know what works.”
“Of course you do, Ty. I'll be right behind you whenever you announce an expansion in the near future.” He cocks his head slightly, knowing I've refused that shit a thousand times. “Try not to bring your sister home drunk or damaged. She's a good girl. Much too good for this family, I'm afraid.”
There's no point to screaming in his face. I grab the door and slam it so hard in his face it rattles the whole basement. I'm lucky it didn't break the frame or splinter the wood – wouldn't be the first time.
I wait 'til my old man's footsteps are on the stairs before I move. Shit, I haven't even had time to think about what he said.
She's gonna be there. She's accepted my invitation. That's something, yeah? Even if she's either too busy or chickenshit to say it to my face.
Fuck. It's happening.
I finish packing up my shit, polishing my little speech to the donors from a few notes I've scribbled on my desk, and then I'm gone. I'm not gonna blow tonight and squander this chance to get my lips all over the hottest chick I've ever met.
The weekend traffic going into Seattle slows me down. I'm roaring into my private parking space with less than ten minutes to spare. My boys meet me at the door and start ushering me to the back.
Ed, Mike, and Tommy keep this place in one piece when I'm away. They've been my brothers since high school, and the only thing that keeps this place from running on auto-pilot without me are their own egos butting heads. That's why I've put the big Swede over them as head manager, a guy named Karl.
It's like half a dozen people are trying to talk at once amid the endless clatter of their phones going off.
“Shut the fuck up, guys! One at a time, and nobody speaks if it's not important,” I finally say, coming to a dead stop in the middle of the hall, ripping off my shirt and pants. I strip down to nothing but the trunks I'm wearing into the ring.
Nobody says shit. Yeah, that's what I thought. Just a bunch of overeager friends jockeying for my attention. I'm used to it by now, but it still gets grating before I head into the ring.
“I'm ready to go. Karl!” I point to the muscular Swede with blonde hair and baby blue eyes just slightly duller than mine. “You're telling me what's what. Is everything out there set, without any problems?”
“Sure is, boss. The turnout's looking fantastic. Fat Boy wanted to say a few words before you climbed in together, but it doesn't look like there'll be time for that.”
I nod, remembering my opponent's moniker. I don't study up on this shit beforehand because I like a surprise, a challenge. I don't use those silly fucking wrestling names either.
Maybe it's a good thing the guys on the receiving end of my fists do because it always seems to go over well with the crowd. As for me, I'm just Ty, undefeated owner who keeps bringing these hungry bastards in, trying to knock me out.
They always lose, and that's not changing tonight. I'm the one who wins, and so does my club and the charity we're raising cold hard cash for.
“What about the chick I texted you about?” He shakes his head like hasn't gotten the message. “Find her and make sure she's safe and sound in her VIP box. That's Claire Frost, my new step-sister. I gotta know she's safe and sound, without any hitches.”
“I'm on it.” He breaks and starts running down the hall.#p#分页标题#e#
A couple guys are at my side, and they walk with me toward the big door leading into the storage area behind the bar. It's the only place big enough to accommodate the ring and several hundred chairs. The back of the club's an old, heavily remodeled theater, and it could've seated twice the crowd in its prime.
My boys open up the big door and I walk through with my fists in the air. People flip the fuck out and come close to bursting their lungs, guys and their gals alike. There's lots of scanty clad sluts in low tops and even lower skirts lining my path. They all reach out and brush their drunken nails over my skin while I walk past. They must think I'm a lucky fucking charm, or else they've got some magic touch that'll make me climb into bed with 'em later tonight.