Page 55 of Flyboy
"I think it would be good for her. I'm happy to let her shadow me. Although I think she's keen to work with Roark."
"If she's there, she does time in each of the departments. She does what we did. Ground up."
"Okay. She's only got a few weeks of school left and I'd like to be there when you tell her she can come to Vegas."
"Um, yeah, not sure she'll be doing it this year. I'll need to talk to Lys about it and…well, let's just say I don't think that will happen any time soon."
"She's avoiding you because she's stressed about her permanent guardianship petition being denied again."
"It won't be. But it's not just that. She and Penny are at odds, and then there's Gina." The woman had been quiet since Roark and his team arrived and as much as Jack liked it, he knew this was the quiet before the storm. They had to be ready for whatever the woman threw at them.
"One thing at a time. You need to tell her who you are and don't tell me you're waiting for the right time,makethe right time. She needs to know. Now. Especially with the annual ball coming up next month."
Fuck. He'd put that out of his mind. He didn't deal with Townsend's charity organization ball or the silent auction. The ball and auction he was expected to be at. "How the hell am I going to convince her to attend?"
"One thing at a time, Jack. Tell her who you are. Then worry about your position and what it requires. Keaton said we should know within the next two weeks about Penny."
"He's still confident? I haven't spoken to him in a few days."
"Yes. He says it's a done deal. Oh, hang on, Jack." There were some scratching sounds as though she'd pressed the phone to her chest before she came back and said, "Gotta go. Talk later."
"I'll message you when I leave here."
"Okay, fly safe."
"Always." He hung up and put his phone on the counter next to the basin. The shower still ran behind him, the room warm and steamy, the mirror in front of him slightly fogged. Not enough to hide the expression on his face unfortunately. His frown was clear as day.
There was no point pretending otherwise. He had to tell Lys who he was and what he was worth. He also had to convince her to let her sister work at Townsend for the summer and get her to agree to attend the annual charity ball in Vegas.
Piece of cake. Ha! More like moving mountains.
Dragging in a deep breath he filled his lungs with steamy air that smelled like Lys and reminded himself of what his sister had said. One thing at a time. First, he'd make the time to talk to his wife and tell her his full name. He'd worry about the rest after that.
Hell, she might be so pissed at him after he'd admitted his omissions that the rest of it wouldn't matter.
"Fuck that," he growled into the warm air surrounding him. He wasn't giving up on her or them or this marriage he'd maneuvered her into.
It didn't matter what it took, he'd fight tooth and nail to keep his wife.
12
Alyssa closed the trunk of her car and rushed to the driver's door. She was late. She'd promised Maz she'd be at Ry's early to lend a hand with setting up everything for today's BBQ. For some reason both Ry and Maz were nervous.
She could understand Ry's nerves, it was at his house after all—but somehow Maz had taken on a co-host role. It wasn't official or anything, then again these get togethers never were. It was a 'come if you can' kind of thing and there had been a couple of last-minute location changes over the five years Alyssa had been attending.
Given that this was the first Ry had held at his new house and only the second Maz had been at since moving to Sunnyville in April and joining their circle of friends, Alyssa had been happy to offer assistance, even if she was heading there straight from a twenty-four-hour shift at Mercy-Life.
Opening the driver's door, she dropped into the seat and shoved the key in the ignition. With a little prayer she squeezed her eyes shut and twisted.
"Yes!" hissed through her lips when the engine turned over on the first try.
After this morning she hadn't been sure it would start. She needed a new car, and it wasn't Jack's nagging about it that made her think so; she'd known months ago it was time to look for a better, more reliable vehicle. She had almost traded up to a newer, bigger four-wheel drive the week she'd found the perfect house for her recently patched together family.
Unfortunately, a roof over their heads took precedence over a car upgrade and with the added expenses of her new larger home it wasn't likely to be in her budget in the foreseeable future. She just needed to baby her hatchback along for another year or two then she might be in a position to splurge on a brand new car instead of secondhand.
Snapping on her seatbelt, she put the car in reverse and turned to look over her shoulder to make sure the way was clear and froze.
Leaning against the tailgate of the truck across the aisle was Gina.
