The Mane Squeeze
Page 19
Once he seemed comfortable, he observed, Youve stripped the trees of their bark quite nicely.
Yeah, Lock mumbled around the honeycomb. Sorry about that.
Ric shrugged. My father had them imported from Japan for a tidy seven-figure sum, had them featured in that Vanity Fair article on him and the Van Holtz dynasty, and got an award from the Tree Rescue Foundation for his efforts to resurrect nearly extinct treesbut Im sure he wont be too upset.
Lock winced. Now I feel bad.
Dont, Ric said good-naturedly. Now Ric cringed when Lock bit into a honeycomb and spit out a bee hed started to chew on Adelle is going to make her honey-glazed chicken. Unless youre all honeyed out.
Lock stared at his friend, and Ric nodded. As I thought. So dinner is set. But before we go back, perhaps you can fill me in on why youre sitting out here, tearing the bark off trees and abusing bees.
Ric cringed again when Lock spit out another bee.
What? Lock demanded, tired of being judged for his eating habits. Would you prefer I eat them?
No, no. You keep doing whatever it is you enjoy doing. No matter how vile.
Lock stared down at the remnants of the hive and admitted what was bothering him. Something that even honey wasnt curing. I should never have left her.
Did you have a choice?
If I wanted to fight a polar.
Werent you the one who told me that when it comes to bearsbigger wins?
Yeah. And Toots was definitely bigger. But I promised her I wouldnt leave her. I guess I just feel like I let her down by not being there when she woke up fully.
Okay, so maybe you did let her down a little. But Im sure when she calls, you can explain
Calls?
To thank you, of course. Its proper etiquette to send a thank-you note or call after someone saves you from a violent Pack, Pride, or Clan attack.
Im sensing she didnt get much shifter etiquette training in Philly. Or, now that I think about it, any etiquette training in Philly.
But you did give her your number? Or you got hers?
Lock stared at his friend. My number?
You didnt give her your phone number?
She was wounded. It didnt occur to me. When Ric sighed, his disappointment clear, Lock threw in,
And Im sure that cat wouldnt have let me leave anything for her anyway.
What did the cat look like?
I dont know. He was a little thing. Tiny. LionI think. You know, thebreed with all the hair.
Tiny. Right. The world is filled with tiny lion males. And the only tiny lion I know of this close to my territory is Brendon Shaw. And, if I remember what you told me correctly, hes the one you beat up at Jess Wards wedding. Something Im sure he did not forget since last you two met.
He didnt. But I didnt beat him up, Lock quickly added. II simply threw him fiveor maybe it was fifty feet into a tree.
The two friends gazed at each other for a long moment.
Finally, Lock shrugged. That does make it all kind of awkward, doesnt it?
And thats when Ric started laughing.
You dont want to talk about the bear? Blayne asked.
No.
But you just yelled about him. So maybe we need to discuss
No.
Okay. The sun began to slowly set and thats when Blayne abruptly turned to Gwen and spewed out in one, never-ending sentence, My father wants to retire and he wants me to take over his business and Im moving to New York and I want you to move with me so we can be partners and run the business together, preferably in Manhattan rather than Queens, because youre my best friend and I love you and itll be great!
Gwen continued to watch the sun go down behind some trees. Only you, Blayne, she said calmly,
would spit out life-changing decisions like bullets from a tommy gun.
Is that a yes? Blayne asked, with that hopeful eagerness that never seemed to die a humane death.
No. Thats not a yes. And what makes you think you need a partner to run your dads business? Youre smart, Blayne, no matter what Sister Mary Rose told you. Youll be fine.
In business terms, Im a big-picture thinker. I have big plans for this business. But details, Gwenie, are not my friends. Youre the one who handles details beautifully. To sort of quote my dad, Im the fuck-up with big ideas and youre the stabilizer.
Gwen chuckled. Youre not a fuck-up.
Maybe not. But I dont want to do this on my own.
And Gwen knew why. Because Gwen had all the confidence but none of the courage to see her dreams through, while Blayne had all the courage but none of the confidence. In many waysthey were a perfect team to run a business. If only Gwen could walk away from her family. Walk away from Philly. But she couldnt.
Why make me a partner, Blayne? In a year youll have everything running fine and youll resent me taking part of your profits. And I will take part of the profits if Im a partner.
Yeah, Lock mumbled around the honeycomb. Sorry about that.
Ric shrugged. My father had them imported from Japan for a tidy seven-figure sum, had them featured in that Vanity Fair article on him and the Van Holtz dynasty, and got an award from the Tree Rescue Foundation for his efforts to resurrect nearly extinct treesbut Im sure he wont be too upset.
Lock winced. Now I feel bad.
Dont, Ric said good-naturedly. Now Ric cringed when Lock bit into a honeycomb and spit out a bee hed started to chew on Adelle is going to make her honey-glazed chicken. Unless youre all honeyed out.
Lock stared at his friend, and Ric nodded. As I thought. So dinner is set. But before we go back, perhaps you can fill me in on why youre sitting out here, tearing the bark off trees and abusing bees.
Ric cringed again when Lock spit out another bee.
What? Lock demanded, tired of being judged for his eating habits. Would you prefer I eat them?
No, no. You keep doing whatever it is you enjoy doing. No matter how vile.
Lock stared down at the remnants of the hive and admitted what was bothering him. Something that even honey wasnt curing. I should never have left her.
Did you have a choice?
If I wanted to fight a polar.
Werent you the one who told me that when it comes to bearsbigger wins?
Yeah. And Toots was definitely bigger. But I promised her I wouldnt leave her. I guess I just feel like I let her down by not being there when she woke up fully.
Okay, so maybe you did let her down a little. But Im sure when she calls, you can explain
Calls?
To thank you, of course. Its proper etiquette to send a thank-you note or call after someone saves you from a violent Pack, Pride, or Clan attack.
Im sensing she didnt get much shifter etiquette training in Philly. Or, now that I think about it, any etiquette training in Philly.
But you did give her your number? Or you got hers?
Lock stared at his friend. My number?
You didnt give her your phone number?
She was wounded. It didnt occur to me. When Ric sighed, his disappointment clear, Lock threw in,
And Im sure that cat wouldnt have let me leave anything for her anyway.
What did the cat look like?
I dont know. He was a little thing. Tiny. LionI think. You know, thebreed with all the hair.
Tiny. Right. The world is filled with tiny lion males. And the only tiny lion I know of this close to my territory is Brendon Shaw. And, if I remember what you told me correctly, hes the one you beat up at Jess Wards wedding. Something Im sure he did not forget since last you two met.
He didnt. But I didnt beat him up, Lock quickly added. II simply threw him fiveor maybe it was fifty feet into a tree.
The two friends gazed at each other for a long moment.
Finally, Lock shrugged. That does make it all kind of awkward, doesnt it?
And thats when Ric started laughing.
You dont want to talk about the bear? Blayne asked.
No.
But you just yelled about him. So maybe we need to discuss
No.
Okay. The sun began to slowly set and thats when Blayne abruptly turned to Gwen and spewed out in one, never-ending sentence, My father wants to retire and he wants me to take over his business and Im moving to New York and I want you to move with me so we can be partners and run the business together, preferably in Manhattan rather than Queens, because youre my best friend and I love you and itll be great!
Gwen continued to watch the sun go down behind some trees. Only you, Blayne, she said calmly,
would spit out life-changing decisions like bullets from a tommy gun.
Is that a yes? Blayne asked, with that hopeful eagerness that never seemed to die a humane death.
No. Thats not a yes. And what makes you think you need a partner to run your dads business? Youre smart, Blayne, no matter what Sister Mary Rose told you. Youll be fine.
In business terms, Im a big-picture thinker. I have big plans for this business. But details, Gwenie, are not my friends. Youre the one who handles details beautifully. To sort of quote my dad, Im the fuck-up with big ideas and youre the stabilizer.
Gwen chuckled. Youre not a fuck-up.
Maybe not. But I dont want to do this on my own.
And Gwen knew why. Because Gwen had all the confidence but none of the courage to see her dreams through, while Blayne had all the courage but none of the confidence. In many waysthey were a perfect team to run a business. If only Gwen could walk away from her family. Walk away from Philly. But she couldnt.
Why make me a partner, Blayne? In a year youll have everything running fine and youll resent me taking part of your profits. And I will take part of the profits if Im a partner.
