Someday I hoped to get out of my dad’s business, but I wouldn’t have what I did without him. Growing up, all I wanted was to be a chef in my own restaurant, but reality came knocking not long after I finished culinary school. Dad was insistent in handing over the collection business to me. He promised I wouldn’t have to deal with the people who didn’t pay—he’d take care of that—I just needed to collect the payments. That eventually turned into a few of my dad’s men joining me, and what was supposed to be a thing on the side became my responsibility; my job. It wasn’t something I’d taken on lightly, but Dad made up for it by giving me the money to buy the restaurant. I used the profits from the first to buy the next two. I’d realized my dream, but it came with conditions.
After he’d paid for the restaurant and culinary school, I didn’t feel like I could walk away from my obligations. Someday, I hoped that would change. But that someday wasn’t now.
When I pulled up into the valet of my parents building, I saw my brother getting into his car. “Miller,” I called before he shut the door.
“Ashton, hey.” He stepped out of his car and pulled me in to clap me on the back. “What are you doing here?”
“Just business.”
We both knew that you never talked in the open. It was a surefire way to get your ass thrown in jail.
“Oh, things not going well?”
My jaw went tight and he read it. “Explain later, yeah?”
He opened his mouth then promptly shut it again. My brother happened to be one of the few people who knew me well enough to understand that my silence meant something seriously fucked up had happened. But being as smart as he was, he also knew when to leave it alone.
“All right, man. You know whatever it is, I’ll help.”
“I know.”
“Just call.”
“I will. Later.”
Walking through the front door, I noticed the lobby full of people going about their lives, oblivious to anything but themselves. The elevator doors opened and I climbed in, pressing the button for the penthouse but the doors remained open. It took me a moment but then I remembered. The key. Every single time, I forgot the damn thing. I slipped the keycard out from my wallet, pushed it into the slot, and the doors closed, the elevator rapidly making the climb to the top floor.
The doors opened to reveal my parents’ front door. Without bothering to knock, I let myself in.
“Mom? Dad?”
Mom came out of the kitchen wearing an apron covered in flour and her trademark smile. “Ashton, what are you doing here?”
I bent and kissed her on the cheek as she wrapped me in a hug. “I needed to talk to Dad.”
She stepped back and put her hands on her hips. “Never to see me. Let me guess—business.”
I laughed. As much as she might grumble, my mom knew how things worked. It was, after all, Dad’s business that kept her in the life she loved. That didn’t mean she didn’t like to pull our legs about it, though. “Yes, business, but I need to talk to you too. I just need to talk to Dad first.”
She beamed. “I can deal with that. He’s in the office. I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Despite being able to afford to hire staff, my mom did all the cooking. She refused to hire anyone to work in her kitchen. Growing up, she taught me how to make different foods and she was the one who’d inspired me to go to culinary school. That was why I had to speak to my dad first. I knew I’d end up helping her in there for at least an hour before I left.
The office door was open, but I still knocked before going in. Most of the time, I didn’t want to know what my father was dealing with, the less I knew the better, so it was always safest to err on the side of caution.
"Dad?"
“Ashton. Come on in.” He closed a file and leaned his arms on the top of his desk. “What’s up?”
Normally I would have closed the door, but Mom was going to find out all about what happened anyway so there was little point. “We have a problem.”
His eyes narrowed. “A non-payment? You know how to handle those.” He waved me off, opening the folder and dismissing the whole conversation.
“It’s more than that.” I took a seat and waited for him to pay attention.
He looked up. “Jesus Christ, Ashton. Fuckin’ handle it already. I’ve got enough of my own shit to deal with.”
Sometimes the only way to truly get my father’s attention was to shock the shit out of him. “Dominic Tolley, he couldn’t come up with the cash. Offered to trade his wife to wipe out the debt.”