Page 49 of Sapphire Sunset

“What’s the point then? I need to go.”

“Bullfinch said you’re going to be a target with your coworkers.”

“For Christ’s sake, Dad. It was a throwaway comment. I’m notthirteen. I can take it.”

“After the shit that place has put you through? No raise infive years. Passing you over for that idiot Buddy Haskins. I’m sorry. Idiot andcriminalBuddy Haskins.”

“Yeah, and the health plan that allowed you to turn yourlife around.”

“You have more than paid them back for that, and theyhaven’t given you shit in return. In fact, now it’sonlyshit. You’rethe last man standing in a corrupt department, so now you’re going to getdragged through Rodney’s mud and Buddy’s mud. Alone!”

“Maybe not.” Logan reached behind his dad, grabbed the knob,and pulled the office door open enough to knock his dad forward off his feet.The morning regulars all turned their heads. “Hey! What’s up, guys?” heshouted. “Anybody want to go to work at a hotel today? It’s a beautiful place,great benefits. We just got a little problem with the media right now.”

He was answered by a chorus ofNo thankyousandNot on yourlifes,which told him they’d been following the story closely, maybe thanks tothe bank of televisions above the row of cardio machines. When Logan saw onlytwo out of the five were broadcasting Sapphire Cove coverage, he was relieved,a fact that was testament to the madness of the past twenty-four hours.

“I appreciate your concern, Dad.” Logan shoved past him andinto the gym. “But I’ve got a job to do.”

“Work here.”

Halfway across the gym, Logan stopped in his tracks andturned to face his father.

They’d had this conversation before. And it hadn’t soundedlike this.

His dad ran a chain of successful businesses now.

If you’d told Logan five years ago that would be the casetoday, he would have laughed in your face. But the path there hadn’t been astraight line.

It started with the clinical depression that formallysettled over his dad after he could no longer deny that he’d never work aconstruction gig again. Then Logan spent several months trying to get him intotherapy and saving up the funds to pay for it. Then, after finally letting thetherapist crack his shell and talking about his difficult past, his dad had startedposting YouTube videos.

Which Logan had thought was absolutely nuts.

His grouchy, hard-as-nails dad talking into a camera abouthis difficult life like some teenager? What drug was that therapist giving him?But he’d made a pact with himself that he wouldn’t second-guess the therapist’sadvice, no matter what. Convincing his dad to go in the first place had beenhard enough.

And the vids, it turned out, weren’t just emotionalconfessionals about where he’d been and what he’d suffered. They were essentiallyself-defense and fight tips he’d learned on the streets and then fine-tunedthrough training later in life. Chip Murdoch was good at talking about that kindof stuff. Chalk it up to a life spent trying to impress women in bars.

When his dad came running to him claiming a video on Chip’sKicks had a million views, Logan was sure he’d read the counter wrong. Sureenough, when Logan checked the channel’s page, he saw the views on all of hisdad’s videos were north of a million five. A few were closing in on two millionand higher. After that, the numbers kept growing. Something about his dad’sstory—the tough background and the late in life injury that felled him—combinedwith his dad’s grouchy, no bullshit sense of humor had turned Chip Murdoch intoa standout YouTube fitness celebrity in a sea of guys who usually looked likeLogan and ladies who looked like Jillian Michaels.

The ad revenue wasn’t going to buy a house on NewportHarbor, but it wasn’t something to sneeze at either. Then came some strategicpartnerships with other YouTube fitness personalities, and within another year,and with Logan’s help, the first Chip’s Kicks opened in Fountain Valley. A yearlater, another location followed in Tustin, then a third in Irvine. They weresmall, humble gyms where the real stars were the trainers, kickboxing diehardsdrawn by Chip Murdoch’s Internet fame and love of the sport. Each had a healthyroster of members, most of whom showed up each day, constantly hoping Chiphimself would walk in with the camera crew that followed him around as hefilmed demonstrations with his favorite staff.

If Chip couldn’t kickbox anymore, he could talk about it atleast, and he’d found an audience that was eager for him to do just that.

The fact that his grouchy, balding, and now paunchy dad wasmaking serious bank off a platform where the biggest earners were usuallyteenagers opening boxes of new makeup or playing Minecraft for hours on endseemed like one of the world’s best surprises.

“You don’t want me working here,” Logan said. “We talkedabout this.”

“That was before.”

“Six months ago.”

“You were mad about getting passed over for Buddy, and Ididn’t want you to make the choice just’causeyouwere pissed.”

“What would I do? Mop the floors?” Logan asked.

“Aw, bite me. Of course not. We’d figure it out. You got madskills. You’re smarter than I am. Always have been. Pisses me the fuck offsometimes, to be frank. But we’d make it work. But maybe that’s not what it’sabout.”

“What’s it about?”

“You helped me get back on my feet when I was down.” Chipaverted his eyes like he was making an embarrassing admission, or a scary one.“Maybe it’s time I help you get back on yours.”

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