Chapter Thirty-Eight
Another week had gone by and John called Kelley with the good news that the owner had accepted his initial offer on the warehouse and that they’d be the proud owners within the month. Kelley had discussed his real estate plans for the lower district with him and John had readily agreed to help them.
Initially, Kelley had thought that John would advise him against it since the initial cost to start buying the decrepit houses would be huge but John saw the bigger picture Kelley had in mind, now he only had to get Carey on board.
While Carey slept Mason had called the hospital and arranged the night off for her. When Carey’s alarm went off, the three boys stood in the kitchen with stupid grins on their faces and a cup of coffee ready for her.
“What’s going on?” Carey asked carefully.
“I called the hospital, you’re not going in tonight.”
“Mason … I need to go to work.”
“Not tonight, Mom, Kelley’s taking you out to dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah, dinner. See it as a thank you for everything you did for me and continue to do for me.”
“Since I’m already off tonight I might as well go to dinner with you, Kelley.”
They smiled victoriously and Marella, who was in on the plan for the night, grabbed Carey’s arm and herded her back into her room to pick out a dress for dinner. Kelley had made a reservation for them in the upper district and booked a private room so they could discuss business in private.
Mason and Lee had both agreed that Kelley needed to be the one to do this. They’d stay at home with Marella and the twins and Juliana would join them after her shift at the diner. They had a party to attend as well since their football team had made it to the playoffs for the Trent Howell Cup that year.
Kelley was dressed in a black suit and he looked like a successful young man. Carey descended the stairs and Mason whistled as Carey waved him away. “You look really pretty, Mom.”
She wore a red dress that flared over her hips and stopped just below her knees. Kelley had never seen her with high heels, makeup and her hair done. Mason was wrong, she didn’t look pretty, she looked beautiful.
“Shall we?”
Kelley held out his arm and Carey took it. Mason and Lee made cat-calling noises and told them to be home by midnight as Kelley laughed at their antics. Kelley drove them to the upper district and Carey looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he parked the Escalade in front of Crust.
“Kelley … this is going to be really expensive.”
“It’s worth it, trust me. You deserve something nice for all your hard work.”
“Thank you, Kelley.”
Just inside the restaurant, Kelley gave his name to the hostess and she glanced at Carey and then back at Kelley. It was obvious that he was much younger than her and they looked like a couple with Carey’s arm tucked into Kelley’s as they walked to the private room.
They ordered drinks, and entrees and waited for their drinks to arrive. Kelley seemed nervous and the truth was that he was. He had spied Charles and his mother at another table in the restaurant and Charles had glanced at Carey while his mother’s mouth fell open but he ignored them both.
“Why am I getting the feeling that there’s something else on your mind tonight?”
“There is something I want to discuss with you.”
“Whatever it is … you can tell me.” Carey placed her hand on Kelley’s arm and smiled at him.
The door of the private room slid open and a feminine gasp could be heard. Kelley turned and looked at his mother’s face, shock evident in her eyes. “Mom?”
“What are you doing with my son? He’s only seventeen! Get your cougar paws off him!”
“Excuse me?” Carey looked taken aback and Kelley could almost smile because he knew exactly what his mother was thinking.
“You lost the right to tell me what to do the day you packed my bags for me. Whatever this is, it has nothing to do with you but if you have to know, we live together.”
“What?” Carey looked at Kelley and then she fully understood what was going on and she turned towards Laura.
“This is a private dinner and we were on the verge of discussing our future.”
“No! I won’t allow this.”
“Laura! What the hell are you doing? People can hear you!” Charles appeared in the doorway and looked at Kelley. “Seems like you’re an Alexander after all.”
“Take your wife home, Charles, she’s intruding on a personal moment.”
Charles smirked at Kelley and looked at the scar around his eye. “That actually suits you, Kelley, makes you look like a man.”
Kelley’s fists clenched and Carey stood up from the table. “Leave, both of you. You’ve got no say in his life anymore.”
Kelley turned away from Charles and Laura Alexander and though he felt bad when Charles pulled Laura away, he didn’t dare go after his mother. Carey sat down and then Kelley started to laugh with Carey soon joining in.
“That was terrible, Kelley, letting your mother think that.”
“Sorry. But you were right, I do want to talk about our future.”
“Okay …” Carey looked sceptical now and Kelley laughed again.
“This is a contract of employment that John drafted, feel free to read through it and make any changes. I’ve entered into a partnership with Lee and Mason. Our trust is called Nascosto Scelto. The introduction letter explains our plans for Yorkdare Bay and we all want you to be a part of it. In fact, I can’t think of anybody more perfect for the job.”
“Kelley … I don’t know what to say.”
“Think about it, please. It’s not because I owe you, and I do owe you. This job is because this is what you’re good at, it’s what you should be doing and I want you to do it with us.”
