Todd drained the last of his second glass. “Because ever since Daddy’s death, Grandpa is the one you’ve been so eager to please. For what reason, I have no clue. The man is mean as fuck, but you wouldn’t know that because you’re his favorite. Look at how he treated Mama.”
I bristled at the mention of Grandpa and our mom. It was true. Grandpa Senator was never nice to our mother. Our Grand-Mere was even worse. When our father died, it gave them more of a reason to pretend Mom never existed. In the end, I think guilt weighed on his conscience which was why he bent over backward for Todd and me. He paid our college tuition. He quietly set up trust funds and rewrote his will to have Todd and I inherit all of the family property and money upon his death. We didn’t have to work. We were set for life.
Todd folded his arms across his chest. “Who got you into Hampton because we all know your grades were mediocre? Grandpa Senator. Who made a call and got you the internship that landed you the job at Riddle and Robinson? Grandpa Senator. Maybe kissing this girl was your way of blowing up your own career? Because it’s not the career you really wanted in the first place.”
I wasn’t sure what they put in those drinks, but they must have given Todd liquid courage to be an even bigger asshole.
I leaned across the table. “C’mon, Todd! You and I both know I got into Hampton on my own. Listen, I’ve been there damn near fifteen years. I’ve more than proven myself as a damn good architect. I love what I do.”
Todd rolled his eyes with a groan. “Be real with yourself, PJ. Do you really want to make partner at that firm? What are you trying to prove? That you aren’t some entitled kid? You don’t even like being an architect. You picked that major because Grandpa was going to cut you off if you stuck with fine art. Your paintings were so good, and you loved it. One thing Des and I can agree on is that you could have been the next Basquiat or something. But no! Listening to that mean old man, you’re stuck doing some shit you’re lukewarm about because you didn’t want to be a disappointment.”
“Uhm, I don’t recall you turning down any money Grandpa gave you!”
Todd laughed. “The money? That was the least he and Grand-Mere could have done for me. God, don’t get me started on that old hag.” Todd mimicked our grandmother’s accent. “‘Stay out the sun, Todd, or you’ll get darker, Cher. Put on a different color, Todd, that doesn’t suit your complexion. Toddrick would be so handsome if he was just a touch lighter.’ Crazy, colorist shit! Always pitting us against each other. You were the handsome one. I was lucky that I was the smart one, the next great Harrison politician. Fucking ridiculous. I damn sure wasn’t going to do what they wanted me to do. I didn’t want to be the next Senator Harrison. Fuck that.”
I watched Todd’s face contort at the memories. “I know. I’m sorry. I was a kid back then. I couldn’t do anything about it, and I didn’t realize how that hurt you. I would have if I could. But trust me, it has never been a competition between us.”
Todd waved off my apology. “Whatever. I’m over it.”
I knew deep down that he wasn’t. It was why he drove himself to become a partner at his law firm before thirty-five. It was why he married and had kids first. It was why every conversation between us usually imploded into Todd airing his grievances. Todd was light-years ahead of me. Not much of a competition. If he could get his head out of the bottom of a glass of rum, maybe he could see that.
We sat in silence for several minutes, avoiding each other’s heated glares until Todd’s head was unsteadily nodding. Yep, he was officially drunk. I was never sure which Todd I was going to get when we went out. Baby brother with the sage advice or the heated, inebriated one who liked to dredge up old stuff and reopen wounds. I guess today I was getting heated, inebriated Todd.
I let out a sigh, running a hand over my head. “Todd, I didn’t come here to argue with you. I just... I just wanted to talk to you. Get your advice.”
“Why? Why do you care what I think?”
I laughed uncomfortably. “Because despite your bullshit, I love you. And when you’re not two sheets to the wind, you give good advice.”
Todd mumbled “whatever” under his breath, then got up from the table, wobbly but still standing. “I’m going to go to the bathroom...no...the bar. Maybe they have something stronger than this weak-ass rum.”
I slid his keys off the table into my pocket. No way was he driving home.
Chapter Twelve
Porter
“What about this elevation?”
“No. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Then give me a better solution because nothing you’re suggesting is working.”
Ari and I had been going at it like this for days. Our kiss was the elephant in the room, making our work dynamic weird, and running into her at Dunn’s River Café had only compounded the tension. The vibe I had bragged about to my brother was clearly off.
I stared at Ari, raking my hand over my head. Her eyes darted away from me, choosing to stare out the window. “Porter, we’ve been at this for hours. I need a break.”
I shrugged, loosening my tie. “Sure. Whatever you need.”
Ari nodded with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I watched as she made her way toward the door. I took off my glasses and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I couldn’t sit here and say nothing. We could either dance around what happened or address it head-on.
After a few minutes, I made my way toward the break room. In the cramped space, we did an uncoordinated two-step toward the coffee machine, trying to keep a respectable distance between us.
“Sorry,” I said as we simultaneously reached for the last espresso coffee pod.
“It’s okay. You can take it,” insisted Ari, pulling her hand back.
“No. It’s all yours.” I watched as she did her morning ritual of way too much sugar and cream in her coffee cup, her head straight ahead avoiding me.
“Where’s the coffee to go with that sugar?” I quipped, hoping to elicit at least a chuckle out of her. I reached for one of the tea pods, opting for Earl Grey. Not my favorite but it would have to do.
Ari shrugged. “Sugar helps me focus.” She stirred her coffee slowly and turned to face me, looking directly at me for the first time in hours.
“Ari, we need to talk about...”
She held up a hand. “We really don’t. What we need to do is focus on our presentation.”
“That’s the thing, Ari. We aren’t focused.” I glanced into the hallway to make sure no one was approaching before closing the sliding glass door for privacy. “Everything’s been off since our kiss. Really since I ran into you at Dunn’s last week. Your emails are short. You scurry back to your office after we have a meeting. Ari, you won’t even go to lunch with me. I...” I miss us. I stopped myself before I could say that out loud.