Mixed, p.16
Mixed, page 16
part #2 of Breaking Free Series
“Is he in his office?”
“Yeah.” Charlie hesitated. “He’s up there, but you might want to hang out down here for a bit.”
“Why? I know he might not want to see me right now, but I really need to talk to him.”
“Jen, wait,” Charlie called out behind her, but she pushed ahead and made her way to the back of the bar. She climbed the steps to the office with her heart pounding a mile a minute. Her hands were sweaty as she imagined Mark being pissed at her for throwing everything he’d done back into his face. Her own fear of the unknown had been holding her back.
The office door was ajar and she could hear people talking inside.
“You wanted the check and I’m giving you the check. What more do you want, Cheryl?”
“Where did you get the money?”
“What does it matter? You get your money. Much more than you deserve. The rest went to cleaning up your mess.”
“But Marky, you know I only did all this to get your attention. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Yeah, right. All you wanted was more money. And you thought that getting me to sell this place would get you what you wanted.”
“I only needed the money to pay for the things I felt you should have been providing me.”
“I’m sure your latest boy toy is all about providing you with lots of material possessions.” There was a small thud, like someone backing up into something. “Do not touch me, Cheryl. Don’t come anywhere near me again. We’re done. I’m with someone else now.”
“Jen,” she spat.
“Yes, Jen. And while I would never have given this place up for you, I’m more than willing to make that sacrifice for her. You’ve got your check, so you need to get the hell out.” Jen burst into the office.
“You’re selling The Bramble?”
“Jen!” He turned to her. He pressed up against the bookcase and Cheryl turned, assessing her prey.
“I told you before and I’ll tell you again. Get the hell away from him.” She stormed across the room and got in Cheryl’s face. “I think he said it was time for you to go!”
“At least I got my way and you won’t get to have your cake and eat it too. I always hated this place,” she spat as she stormed out of the office, waving her check. Jen turned back to him.
“You’re selling The Bramble? How could you? This place means so much to you. To your family. If it’s the money, I’m sure we can find a way.” Jen paced the office, trying to wrack her brain for ways that she could help him out of this. The place was doing so well. It would be crazy to give it up now and let it go. Jen glanced up at him and he had a big, goofy grin on his face.
“What?” She stopped her hand midway through her hair.
“I’m just glad you came back. And you said we.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did.” He came over to her and held onto her arms.
“I guess I did,” Jen said, cracking a smile. “Did you really sell?”
“No, but Cheryl didn’t need to know that. I got an investor.” Mark chuckled at her shocked look. “I know I said I wouldn’t, but there was a chance for a partner who checked all the boxes I would want and even broached the topic of me starting up another location.” He trailed off and glanced away. Clearing his throat, he stared into her eyes. “Another location in New York.”
“New York? As in art fellowship New York?”
“Yes. If that’s where you decide to go, and you’ll agree to forgive me.” He crossed to the desk and pulled out two small envelope-sized folders. He handed them to her. She opened them up and it looked like two reservations to New York from LA in both their names. Her jaw dropped and she looked up at him in disbelief.
“You want to come to New York with me?”
“Does this mean you’re going to New York? That you’re going to take the fellowship?”
“I gave my notice to the partners this afternoon.” She peered up at him and he beamed down at her. He picked her up and spun her around, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m so proud of you. I know you’ll do an amazing job. I just know you’ll be shown in galleries all over the world in no time.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m determined to give it a real shot. But I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to go with me.”
“You don’t want me to come?” A crestfallen expression passed over his face as he put her down. She reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Mark, it’s not that I don’t want you to come. It’s that I can’t expect you to give up The Bramble for me. To start somewhere new from scratch based on my crazy pipe dream. What if I get there and I suck? Or they kick me out of the fellowship once they see my work up close? Or I just can’t cut it as a full-time artist? I can’t expect you to give up all that you’ve worked so hard for on the off chance that this isn’t a fluke and I can really do something great.” He started shaking his head about halfway through her rant about her possible failure.
“Jen, you still don’t get it. You’re not some fly-by-night, just-okay artist. I don’t know anything about art and even I can see that. Keira would probably give her right boob—hell—both her boobs to have the talent you have, and she’s a phenomenal artist. You should hear the way she raves about you. Didn’t you read what the evaluators said about your work? Jen, your talent cannot be disputed and to be able to say that I got in on the ground floor of the next up-and-coming artist before she slipped completely out of my reach is enough for me to pack up shop and head out. Well, that and the fact that I love you.” He held her face between her hands and stared into her eyes. “I love you, Jen. I’m sorry that it took me so long to finally get here and tell you how I feel, but I figured even better than that would be showing you how I feel. I love you and I want to go to New York with you, if you’ll have me.”
29
The bon voyage party was in full swing. The Bramble was closed to the public as friends and family crowded in to bid the happy couple adieu. The past month had been a whirlwind of craziness, between Jen preparing to hand over her caseload and Mark showing Liam all the ins and outs of the business. They were also trying to find the best place for a second location in New York.
Her fellowship had been instrumental in helping them find a place to live in the city, as well as a studio space. Liam’s investment cash injection provided them with a bit more leeway than they might otherwise have had for the move. Rox had not taken the news well when she found out about Mark leaving. She was happy that he would be with Jen, but did not like the idea of Liam taking over.
The sounds of an acoustic guitar being tuned filled the air, snapping Mark out of his musing. “I can’t believe he’s here and I’m here at the same time! Finally!” Keira bounced as Eric took the stage. He’d said he heard that Mark was leaving town and insisted on coming by for a performance. Taking a short break from his tour with Uncharted, Eric had driven overnight to get to play at The Bramble.
“It’s pretty cool that he decided to come.”
“You have no idea. I’m going to go get a seat before all the ones up front are taken.” She bounded off to grab a chair right at the front of the stage. Giddy like a school girl, Keira stared up at Eric as he set up his equipment. Jen’s arms slid around his waist and he leaned back against her, then pulled her to the front of him. Swaying from side to side to music that hadn’t started yet, Mark kissed her on her forehead and gave her a squeeze.
She squeezed him back and rested her head on his chest. He could feel her take a deep breath.
“It’s really happening, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. How do you feel about everything?” Her worries about taking off and moving to New York were ones they still talked about.
“I’m getting more and more used to the idea. It still gives me those heart-racing episodes when I think about what I’m getting into, but I’m looking forward to this new adventure. A new adventure with you.” She peeked up at him and grinned. This woman, she did things to him that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to describe.
“I’m glad.”
“What about you? How does it feel to leave all of this in Liam’s hands?”
“When you put it like that, it makes me want to throw up, but I think it will be okay. And starting up a new place in a new city is exciting. I’m afraid I’m going to fall flat on my face, but Liam doesn’t seem too concerned with pushing for profits above all else.”
He smiled down at her and continued. “Plus, we already know I’m an excellent nude model, so if things go south and everyone in the restaurant industry realizes I’m a fraud and the new bar doesn’t take off, we can always get by on my good looks.” She chuckled, and turned as Eric started up his set. Mark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the dance floor.
“It’s going to work out. I am not going to New York to mooch off you. I’ll make it work.”
“You can always take up dancing to make some side cash, if need be. I think you’d do well in a male review,” she said and he squeezed her tighter.
“You know I’ll only dance for you,” he said.
She tilted her head back and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know private dances were in the cards. You’ve been holding out on me!”
The music screeched to a stop, and they looked up to see what happened. Eric stared at past them and they turned. Rox staggered out from the kitchen, holding her head with blood pouring down her face. Mark ran over to her, grabbed her, and helped her sit on one of the chairs. Everyone crowded around.
“Rox, what happened?” Jen asked from over his shoulder as she grabbed napkins to press to Rox’s head. Rox shook and seemed to be in shock.
“Rox!” He got in her line of vision and her eyes snapped to his. “Rox, what happened?”
“It … it was Jon. He found me,” she whispered as they pressed the napkins to her head. Someone came rushing out with the first aid kit.
His heart plummeted. “Oh shit! Someone call the cops!”
He saw a few people in the crowd pull out their phones and start to dial. Eric hopped down off the stage and stood next to Keira. She wrung her hands together as she watched Mark and Jen tend to Rox. Liam pushed his way through the back, clutching his bloody hand.
“What the hell happened to you?” Mark demanded.
“I saw some guy hit Rox out in the back and I chased that fucker down. Beat the shit out of him, but he got away. I punched the ground, trying to punch him in the face, and he managed to slither away.”
“Rox, are you okay?” Liam placed his hand on her shoulder and she flinched away from him. He raised his hands and backed away. “Sorry.” Someone arrived with some ice in a towel and gave it to Liam. He iced down his hand as everyone else took care of Rox.
Once they cleaned all the blood away, there was only a small cut on her forehead. She didn’t need any stitches and brushed off any attempts to get her to go home. When the cops came, they brought her upstairs to the office and they took her statement. She described Jon and their previous run-ins, and they said they would be on the lookout for him and would grab him as soon as they could.
“I can’t believe they didn’t let me know he was out.” She shook her bandaged head. They’d used a couple of butterfly bandages to clean her up.
“Rox, you should go home,” Mark said.
She shook her head. “I’m fine. He’s gone.”
“Rox, you were attacked. You can’t expect to work tonight.” Mark started to raise his voice but she took him by the arm.
“I’m not going, Mark. I don’t want to be alone right now, okay? I feel safe in the kitchen. I won’t go out into the alley, and Jon isn’t coming back tonight. I just want to do my work and have a normal evening. Okay?”
In her eyes, he could see her renowned determination and knew that she was not going to back down. She stared at him, steely-eyed, without a hint of backing down. He didn’t like it, but figured that being able to watch over her was better than her being at home by herself. Liam came up and tried to get Rox to open up to him a bit, but she shut him down. He would have to talk to Liam about what to do concerning Rox when he was gone.
“Okay, fine. But if you start to feel even the slightest bit off, I want you to tell me. After you take some time to relax, you can at least come out and sit with us while we’re partying instead of hiding in the kitchen the whole time.” She paused, thinking it over before nodding, and stood. They all left the office and made their way back downstairs where Rox took off, heading back into the kitchen.
“That was scary,” Jen said, clutching his hand and pulling him close. “Will she be okay?” Mark looked after Rox as she walked through the kitchen doors.
“I hope so. She’s tough—has had to be—but I don’t like the idea of Jon being out there. I want to make sure they get that fucker.” He squeezed her hand and she laid her head on his shoulder.
“Me too.” The evening took a more subdued turn after the incident with Rox, but picked up again when Rox ordered Eric to get back up on stage and play something and Jen got behind the bar with Charlie to make up a round of Bramble Bombshells for everyone. Not one to deny a lady’s demand, Eric hopped back up and asked if she had any requests.
“I don’t care as long as it gets everyone dancing and keeps everyone occupied.”
“Ask and ye shall receive,” he called out.
Rox disappeared into the kitchen to finish up the food for the party, but he noticed Liam hovering by the kitchen door. She’d kicked out him out. His hand still wrapped in an ice laden towel and relief washed over Mark that there would be someone there to look out for Rox while he was away. Liam and Rox had never gotten along, but he knew that his friend would look out for her, whether she liked it or not.
Worry over Rox hovered in the back of her mind, but Jen tried to enjoy the rest of the party with everyone who came to wish her and Mark well on their trip. There were a few people from her team, but other than that, most people were his friends. It made her sad to think that in all her time in LA, she hadn’t made any real friends.
This adventure to New York would bring her out of her comfort zone and maybe result in some new friendships. Even though she hadn’t made many friends in LA, getting mixed up with Mark was one outcome she couldn’t have predicted. They were both bouncing along to Eric’s music when there was a tap on her shoulder.
She turned to find her dad staring down at her. That got her attention, and she stood immediately. Mark turned to see what had caught her attention.
“Dad?”
“Jennifer.” Her father shifted his weight from foot to foot, obviously out of his element.
“Mark, can we use your office to talk?”
“Of course. The door’s unlocked.”
“Thanks. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jen nodded her head at her dad and he followed her up to the office. She closed the door to shut out the music and sounds from below. Jen stood like a bad kid outside of a principal’s office waiting in the middle of the room for her dad to speak. She hadn’t spoken to him since the day he had shown up at her apartment.
“I’m sorry for crashing your party, but Mark sent me the invitation and I didn’t want to turn it down.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you came.”
“I wanted to apologize again. There are so many things that I have messed up in your life. I promise that from here on out, there will be no meddling from me. I’m going to stay in LA.”
“You are?”
“I thought that maybe a change of pace for me would be a good thing as well. I could use some new challenges, and I want to give you your space. I would like to visit though,” he added, looking at her with hope shining in his eyes.
“Of course, Dad! Anytime. I’ll be sure to let you know our address once we get settled.”
“You can always use the apartment that I have there. It’s just sitting there empty, and it’s going to stay that way since I’ll be here.”
“Thanks. That would help a lot with getting us settled.” She wasn’t sure what to say, and just looked at her feet as the uncomfortable silence stretched between them.
Her dad stepped forward and took hold of her hands, stopping her from twisting them in front of her.
“I haven’t said it before, but I’m very proud of you, Jennifer. I know it hasn’t have been easy having me as a father, especially after your mom died.” Jen attempted to speak up, but he shot her a look that told her to keep quiet. “And I know how much your art has meant to you. It’s been a difficult time for you and I haven’t made it easier. I promise to butt out from here on out. I think staying in LA will help with that, but I do hope that you’ll invite me to any showings you have of your work.”
“Absolutely. I have no idea what will happen when we’re in New York. I don’t know what’s expected of me or the benchmarks for success when it comes to any of this. It’s scary, but exciting at the same time. I’ll let you know about any showings I have and I look forward to seeing you there.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” He gave her a smile and a quick peck on the cheek. “I’d better get going. I have a lot to arrange with the move and I don’t want to step on your time with your friends. I would like to have lunch with you before you go. Can you let me know when it would be a good time?”
“Any day this week will work. I’m not working, so you’re free to choose.”
He smiled and walked to the office door with a little more bounce in his step. “Great, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it, Dad,” she said, with a bright smile she couldn’t hold back. It would take time, but maybe they could repair their bond and get it to at least some semblance of a good father/daughter relationship. All this time, they’d both harbored these secrets that had been eating them up, but she hoped that with those out of the way, they would both be a bit freer in their lives. The office door opened back up and Mark stepped inside.
“Knock, knock.”
“Hey.”
