Page 79 of The Estate
Cal’s first response was to refuse. He wasn’t good company right now. And a mountain of work remained to be done.
Before he could refuse, he remembered how he’d spent last night. Staring at the blank walls of his condo, his mind racing in circles, the lack of artwork adding another layer of pissed off. He never bothered to fully decorate because he was always at the estate. The estate that was on borrowed time because of a certain amazing, beautiful woman with a report to write. A report that would kill everything he’d worked for.
Looking at the lists on his desk, Cal assured himself everything that could be done, was done or scheduled. At least for today. So it was the bare walls of his condo bearing down on him or mindlessly watching the game with Vinny.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “Sounds good. You need me to bring anything over?”
“No. I got it covered. See you tonight.”
Hanging up, he went over the gala file one more time. Thank god, Jess set them a clear path. She could only give him time when she wasn’t working her regular job, but between the two of them, they’d made a solid start on fixing everything. Every day leading up to the gala on Saturday was jammed with appointments, deliveries, pickups, and phone calls. The schedule was hectic, but doable.
He made a few more notes, then was out the door and over to Vinny’s. He didn’t bother knocking, knowing the door would be unlocked. Stepping inside, he could already hear the TV blaring from the living room.
Entering the kitchen, it was clear that Vinny really did have it all handled. A platter of deli subs sat next to a plate of nachos and his friend was busy arranging a charcuterie board. Cal’s stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him of just how long it had been since he’d last eaten. But even at his hungriest, this seemed like overkill.
“I heard that,” Vinny laughed.
“I skipped lunch,” he explained. Breakfast too if he was being honest. But telling his friend he’d been existing on very little food and barrels of coffee was not something he wanted to share.
“But Vin, this is a ton of food.”
“I convinced him we needed to go big,” Jacks said, waltzing through the doorway.
“Jacks! I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said, hugging her.
“I ended up being free tonight, and then Vinny mentioned something about food and watching the game. It was actuallypretty easy to talk him into going a little wild with the snacks,” she joked.
Their friend group all knew how easy it was to talk Vinny into anything concerning food. The tough thing about Vin living alone is that he never bothered to make anything for himself. But he always got excited to cook for others. They’d teased him for years about creating a rotating schedule of friends to come for meals. Whatever Vinny touched turned out delicious. It was why his deli was consistently voted among the best in the state.
“Grab yourself a beer and a platter, Cal, and we’ll move all this into the living room.”
In short order, Cal was slumped into one of Vinny’s overstuffed chairs with a drink and a plate heaping with food. For the first few moments, he could only focus on eating. He really needed to keep some nuts or something in his desk, but it was so rare that he didn’t eat a lunch of some sort. He’d never thought of having an emergency food stash.
Several moments passed before he registered his two friends staring at him. “What?” he demanded when he finally swallowed a bite. “I told you I’d skipped lunch.”
“It’s not that,” Vinny replied, his friend’s eyes scanning his face. “Well, it’s partially that, it’s just…”
“You look like crap,” Jacks interrupted.
“Bloody hell, Jacks,” Cal replied sharply.
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand and looked at Vinny with a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m not sugar coating it or dancing around it.”
Turning back, she said again, “You look like crap. How long has it been since you got some sleep?”
“I sleep,” he replied defensively.
“The luggage under your eyes begs to differ. And your coloring isn’t good.”
“What in the world does that mean?”
“Your skin looks kind of sallow. You looked stressed. And you’re missing meals? You never do that. What the going on, Cal?”
Cal looked at Vinny, imploring him to bring some sanity to the conversation. His best friend shrugged and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m with her on this one.”
Cal blew out his cheeks. He loved his friends, but sometimes they were a right royal pain in the ass. That said, he appreciated their concern, and that they were watching over him. It was more than he could say about his own family.
Taking in Jacks’ expectant look and raised eyebrows, he knew she wouldn’t let it go. She was one of the most upbeat and cheerful people he’d ever met, but once she decided on something, there was no dissuading or distracting her.
