Chapter 22: Something in the Water

Saturday January 7
Everyone was headed home today. While Brook packed, I went downstairs and made cinnamon rolls, a giant frittata using a lot of the leftovers, hash browns, and bacon.

Lexi was the first one down because she didn’t have to pack. She made a pot of coffee and opened a bottle of fresh orange juice.

“What are you doing today?” I asked.

“I’m going home. My mom is complaining she never sees me. I think she plans to have family over,” she shared. “What about you?”

“After everyone leaves for the airport, I’ll just hang around here. Can you let the neighbors know that they’re not invited? I don’t want to have to deal with being harassed today. I’d like to be able to let Manaia have a day off.”

“I’ll call Teresa and Liza now. Teresa can deal with her mother,” Lexi said.

Everyone started to show up when the cinnamon rolls came out of the oven. We had a good breakfast, and then most of them had to finish packing.

“Can I talk to you?” Tami asked. “In private?”

That didn’t sound ominous at all.

“Care if I tag along?” Brook asked.

Tami thought about it for a second, then nodded her assent. We went out by the pool to soak in some rays.

“Thank you for inviting us all out for the week. It was interesting to get a glimpse into what you’re doing out here,” Tami said.

“Mostly, he works sixteen-hour or more days, and I never see him,” Brook shared.

“This was a good week for me. I needed a break,” I admitted.

“Look, I’ve known you longer than anyone here, and we’ve been best friends for most of that time. I know if you saw something going on in my life that wasn’t quite right, you’d say something. I hope you don’t take offense at what I’m about to tell you,” Tami said.

“With that kind of buildup, I’m a little worried,” Brook said.

Tami got a pained look on her face, like she wasn’t sure if she should say anything or not. I smiled at her to let her know I was okay with whatever she had to say.

“It’s not just you. I think it might be how things are done here in LA. It might be something in the water.”

“That’s clear as mud,” I teased. “Just say it.”

“You’ve lost your moral compass out here,” she said, and then shut up.

Brook knew me well enough to give me time to process this before she commented.

I was sure Tami was talking about all the sexual activities that had occurred recently. It wasn’t like I’d always been a little angel. Tami saw my confused look.

“From what I’ve seen, people act differently here in LA. It’s like that couple that hooked up with your friend Ridge and his girlfriend. Everyone thought it was no big deal that the guy would offer up his wife and want to watch.”

“Really? Who did that?” Brook asked.

“Liza and Carl. They’re the younger neighbor couple. They approached me after she’d hit on me the other day. She runs around with Paulina,” I explained.

“That bitch Paulina is a slut,” Brook said without thinking.

Of course, Tami picked up on my girlfriend’s anger. I was glad she didn’t ask what that was about right now.

“I was talking to Lexi, and she explained that it’s much more casual here, that people don’t necessarily date but hook up. That’s why there aren’t a lot of people who are married for extended periods of time. I bet you can’t name ten Hollywood couples that have been married for several years.”

“She’s right. I’m not sure I could name five off the top of my head,” Brook agreed.

“Take your friend Zak. When you were filming with him, you told me about him hooking up several times a day. I know he’s dating Bec for now, but do you honestly think that will last?” Tami asked.

I wasn’t about to throw my boy under the bus, but he didn’t have a great track record.

“Then there was last night,” Tami said. “You broke your personal code with two different women.”

“What’s she talking about?” Brook asked.

“Cindy and Isabel. One of my rules is to not spend time with anyone who has a significant other. I also promised my mom,” I said, suddenly feeling a little sick.

“And do I need to bring up Gwen Larkin? Was she sober when she decided to spend time with you?” Tami asked.

Frick!

“No,” I admitted.

“So what? We had a few drinks,” Brook said.

“Part of my personal code is not to have sex with anyone under the influence. Hell, I made a big deal about that with the football team two summers ago.”

“But we’ve had sex after a few drinks,” Brook pointed out.

“You two are in a relationship and have given consent in the past. David gave Kent and Chuck the ‘take a drunk girl home’ talk just last week. You know better,” Tami pointed out to give me no wiggle room.

I hated it when she was right. Why couldn’t she let me make mistakes and ignore them like everyone else did? My uncle was probably chuckling right now and had a smart comment that my feelings were valid, but I was still just a ‘stupid boy’ who needed to grow up before I figured things out.

“She has a point,” Brook said to pile on.

Up to then, she’d been defending me. When your girlfriend backs down, you needed to take a hard look at what’s being said.

“I agree.”

Tami kept a straight face, but I knew she was dancing inside. To get one of us to admit we were wrong was always a big deal.

“How do I fix this?” I asked.

“You don’t have to be like everyone else. Just because Zak, Trip, and Ben are all man-whores doesn’t mean you have to be. I think you once said ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,’” she reminded me.

“Just so I’m clear. If Kate Upton walked through the door and told me she was divorcing that baseball jerk and wanted to have sex, I should say ‘no’?”

“If that happens, I say you go for it. There has to be an exception to every rule,” Tami assured me.

Brook just rolled her eyes. She knew that if Kate Upton showed up, I would dump her in a heartbeat. Just like I suspected that if Ryan Gosling were ever around, I would have to allow her to have her fun. Or maybe he was Halle’s fantasy man—I couldn’t remember.

“Why do you have to point stuff out to me? I was happy having a little fun. I even included Brook,” I complained.

“Because if you thought about it, you would’ve figured it out. You just needed me to point it out for you,” Tami said.

“Everyone complained that ‘fun’ David was gone,” Brook reminded us.

“The problem is, David has started to grow up,” Tami said to Brook. “While I expect him to still have fun, he has to do it within his moral boundaries. Otherwise, he won’t be able to look himself in the mirror when he wakes up in the morning.” Then she looked at me. “I don’t expect you to be perfect. None of us are. The thing is, you’re a leader, and people look to you for guidance. You have to walk the walk if you expect them to follow you.”

“You’ve beaten me into submission. I get it,” I said with a forced smile.

“You know I love you. It was hard for me to tell you this,” Tami said.

“That’s something we have to fix. You’ve never been shy about telling me what to do before.”

“That was before. Since then, you’ve proven that you don’t need me bossing you around. If I remember correctly, that was something we’ve worked on changing. I have every confidence in you. You have people around you who give you good advice. Today it was my turn to provide it,” Tami assured me.

“I’m glad you said something. I think we have some damage control to do after last night. Not just with our friends, but with Ben. He didn’t look happy when he left,” Brook said.

“You talk to Ben, and I’ll handle our friends,” I suggested.

“Nope. I’m not the one Ben was upset with.”

“You had sex with his girlfriend, too,” I pointed out.

“TMI!” Tami said, getting up.

I stood up and pulled Tami into a hug. We didn’t have to say the words. We had enough history together that Tami and I both knew how much we meant to each other.

Manaia had the small bus to take everyone to LAX for their flight home. I didn’t want to ride through traffic to and from for that trip, so I said my goodbyes in the driveway. Tracy was first.

“When I get back, I want you to introduce me around to your new college friends.”

“I received an email from my new roommate, and she wanted to know if I knew you. I told her that you were the Big Man on Campus and were too good for the likes of me. Your showing up will surprise her,” Tracy said.

Pam came bounding up and hugged me.

“Where’s everything you bought?” I asked.

“Lexi boxed it up and is mailing it back for me. We all agreed to just take carry-ons so we don’t have to mess around with baggage claim.”

“When you get back, give all the little ones some love from me. I miss them,” I said.

She just gave me another hug.

“Love you best,” I whispered in her ear.

Tim and Wolf gave me one-armed bro hugs while Sarah and Tami teased them for liking me better than them.

Cassidy was in security mode with her blue slacks, white button-up blouse, and sunglasses.

“Keep Brook safe for me.”

“Will do. Don’t you get into any trouble where Manaia has to bail your butt out.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and then kissed her forehead. “Go easy on the Demon.”

She smiled at the mention that she had car privileges since she saved my hound and son. Brook was last. We just hugged each other and kissed goodbye.

“I’ll see you in a week,” I promised.

She got on the bus so they could get going. I watched until it was out of sight.

I had the afternoon to myself. Lexi had left after breakfast, and Manaia said he had laundry to do. I would see the two of them tomorrow.

They’d been gone all of five minutes when there was a knock at the door. Either they’d forgotten something, or it had to be one of the neighbors. I opened the door and found a man who looked to be about 40, wearing a good-quality suit with no tie. He was a big man, probably six-one and 225 pounds. He just stared at me, and I got the vibe that he wasn’t someone I wanted to mess with.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“We need to talk.”

“I don’t know you, and I think you should probably make an appointment,” I said as I tried to shut the door.

He put his foot in the door to stop me from closing it.

“You should invite me in.”

Was he a vampire or something? I reached for my phone to hit the panic button. He slapped it out of my hand before I could. I took two steps back and readied myself for a fight. What unnerved me was when he talked, it had been very matter-of-fact with an even tone, like he was confident in his ability to handle me.

“I’m just here to talk. Invite me in,” he said.

“I have a feeling I can’t stop you.”

“Invite me in,” he repeated for the fourth time.

“Come on in. Can I get you anything?” I asked.

“Whisky, neat.”

He had me lead the way. When I was out of reach, he bent down and collected my phone. He opened the back and took out the battery. That made it much harder to call for help, and I was more than a little concerned for my safety. I just hoped that someone was monitoring my security cameras in Fritz’s office.

I took him out back, where we still had the bar setup from the party last night. I found a good whiskey, poured a good measure, and handed it to him. I watched as he downed it in one go and handed back the glass. I poured another and gave it to him.

“David Dawson,” I said.

“Pádraig O’Malley.”

“What can I do for you, Mr. O’Malley?”

“Paddy.”

“Sorry?”

“Call me Paddy.”

This guy was creeping the heck out of me. His voice had an East Coast accent, and he talked in a monotone. The actor in me wanted to remember everything about him in case I ever had to play a character that had to intimidate someone.

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”

“Boston.”

“What do you do?” I asked.

“I fix things.”

“Like?”

“Like the issue you’re having with Zander Lewis. I need you to agree to settle. Your lawyer is being unreasonable.”

“We might have to disagree about that,” I said.

“We are going to talk until we come to an understanding,” he said quietly.

“Or?”

“There is no ‘or.’ I need you to understand that,” Paddy said.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“David. I know you think you can handle yourself, but even if you were to take me, they would send someone else. I would worry that they might not come at you directly.”

“Are you threatening my family?” I asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

The hell he didn’t. I felt a shiver go up my spine. I was being shaken down, and the scary part was he was going to succeed. I couldn’t risk my family getting hurt over something like this.

“What does Zander want?” I asked.

“He’d like you to withdraw the lawsuit.”

“Not happening,” I bluffed.

Paddy gave me a hard look and downed his whiskey. I would give him credit; he could handle his alcohol.

“Can I show you something that might change your mind?” I suggested.

“Sure.”

“I need to get my tablet. Help yourself to another whiskey, and I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll just go with you.”

He followed me into my bedroom; I got my tablet and accessed my cloud account to show him the video of Zander threatening Halle and Brook. Then I showed him the video of the car ramming into the van.

“One of those girls is my girlfriend, and the other is Halle James. His recklessness almost cost me my life. Zander has to pay for what he did,” I said.

He got quiet.

“Do you have kids?” I asked.

“A daughter and son.”

“How old are they?”

“Fourteen and twelve.”

I left the rest unsaid. This could have been one of them.

“Find out what Zander will do to make this right. If it had just been me, I might let it go. I need something from him. Something that makes him realize he can’t pull this kind of crap again.”

“All right. I’ll go talk to him,” Paddy said and turned to leave.

Fritz stepped through my bedroom door with his gun drawn.

“It’s all good. Mr. O’Malley was just leaving.”

Paddy gave Fritz a dead-eyed stare that dared him to try something. For a moment, I thought Fritz might actually shoot him. Fritz never lowered his gun, but stepped to the side to give Paddy room to leave. Paddy just walked past him and never looked back. I wanted to follow him around to learn how to pull that off. Damn, that was impressive. The man must have ice flowing through his veins.

Then reality set in and my knees went weak, and I had to sit on the edge of the bed. Pádraig O’Malley put the fear of God into me. I couldn’t believe I’d just stood up to him.

“Jesus, David. What did you do to have Paddy O’Malley give you a visit?” Fritz asked.

“Zander Lewis sent him to get me to settle the lawsuit.”

“My best advice is to do whatever he says. Paddy is no joke.”

“I think I understand that. Thanks for showing up.”

“I’m going to get some more security here until this is settled,” he assured me.

I called my dad and filled him in. That turned into a whole circus of lawyers and my mom. Dad apologized for telling her, but I knew if he hadn’t, we might both be living on my uncle’s farm in the barn with Satan’s Spawn. Fritz called Manaia back as well as another beefy guy, who moved like he’d been in the military, for the additional help.

During the afternoon, I paced as I worried.

The housekeeper showed up. Fritz was about to send her away, but the place needed a good cleaning before my aunt, uncle, and grandmother arrived. I wasn’t brave enough to check how my friends had left their bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.

I also ordered food for the next week and had it delivered. It gave me something to keep my mind occupied. I was putting the food away when there was a knock at the door. Pádraig O’Malley was back.

Manaia searched him for weapons. I’d brought the bottle of whiskey into the house earlier, so I had a drink ready for him.

“Thanks,” he said as I handed it to him.

We sat down at the kitchen table with Fritz and his team standing around us. Even with them there, I wasn’t sure we had enough firepower to handle Paddy if things went south. There was just something that screamed that you should never bet against him if the situation turned ugly.

“Zander left out a few details when he hired me. He told me that you’d been involved in a traffic accident and were just trying to cash in. I had my office look into it, and they uncovered the truth. I told Zander to pay you and make it go away.”

I just blinked as I tried to get my head around what he’d just said.

“Did he agree?” I asked.

“We still have a couple of problems to work out. Zander doesn’t have much cash on hand. His lawyers have almost bled him dry. He does have real estate he can sign over. The other problem is personal. He can’t pay my fee.”

“Damn. He hired you and planned to stiff you?” I asked.

He smiled for the first time.

“What if I paid your fee?” I asked.

“I thought you might do just that,” he said, and then turned into a scary mob-like guy again. “You willing to take the real estate in lieu of cash?”

“Will it hurt him?” I asked.

“Take the deal.”

“Okay. Have your office send me a bill, and I’ll approve it. Have Zander’s lawyers get us a list of properties, and we’ll get them transferred to settle this,” I said.

Paddy stood up to leave.

“Would it ever be possible to hire you if I needed something ... uhm... ‘fixed’?” I asked before my brain engaged.

He looked at me, and I felt my insides turn to jelly. That look trumped the ‘Mom Stare’ by a hundredfold. I would be practicing that look tonight. I noticed that my security all inched their hands to their guns.

“Sure ... why not? We done here, kid?”

“Yeah.”

I held my breath and let it out only after the front door closed as he left.

“You’ve got balls, kid,” the new guy said.

If he knew how scared I’d been, he would never have said that. I was a total idiot. Something I did know: if I ever hired Pádraig O’Malley, I would be sure to pay his fee. Zander must not realize how dangerous that man was.

Sunday January 8
I came back from my morning run drenched in perspiration. Lexi was in the kitchen, eating a bagel.

“So, what do you think?” I asked as I hit an athletic pose. She wrinkled her nose and gave me the evil eye. I got closer and shook my head, and beads of moisture splattered her face.

“Gross, David!” she shrieked.

“You don’t like me all sweaty and breathless?” I asked, giving her my best sexy grin.

She checked me out closer and then averted her eyes.

“It’s okay,” she grudgingly admitted.

“I think you like it,” I said in a husky voice as I enveloped her into a hug, pulling her against my damp t-shirt.

She pushed me away.

“I’m going to have to change clothes and take a shower now,” she grumped.

“Aw. You poor thing.”

Manaia walked into the kitchen and handed me his phone. I looked at him, confused, and he just nodded towards it.

“This is David,” I said.

“Don’t tease the help,” Brook said. “Lexi will think you’re serious.”

“Sorry, Lexi. I was just goofing around,” I told her, and then put my ear back to the phone. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now go take your shower and then go make some money.”

After I hung up, I handed the phone back to Manaia, and he gave me a sheepish look. At least he hadn’t called my mom.