I hurried back over to the bed and crawled back in. Who had he been talking too? Was there a girl back where he lived? Had he left someone behind to come help me? No. That couldn't be it. He slept with too many women. Maybe it was just a friend.
"Della?" Tripp's voice surprised me and I almost responded. Then I realized he was checking to make sure I was asleep. I didn't say anything.
It must have been a friend of his wondering when he'd be home. But the "safe" comment---that was weird. I closed my eyes and decided to let the exhaustion take me. I would think about this tomorrow.
Woods
I stared down at the list of appointments that Vince had put on my desk that morning. I had been putting off so much shit because I couldn't focus in the last two weeks, and now I was behind. Tomorrow my lawyer would be sending out the letters to the former board members letting them know that they were no longer needed. I expected the shit to hit the fan but I was letting my lawyer deal with the blows. I wasn't in the mood for it.
"Mr. Finlay here to see you, sir," Vince's voice said over the intercom.
"Send him in," I replied. I had called Rush's father, Dean Finlay, before Della had left. I figured if I put someone on the board who was a celebrity, then it would help with the members and the town when they heard of the new board. Besides, Dean had put a lot of money into the Kerrington Club and my father had never approved of him. He'd acknowledged him because he wasn't a complete fool but he hadn't liked him.
"I gotta say, Woods, you look pretty goddamn good sitting in that seat," Dean drawled as he sauntered into the room. He reeked of rock star, from his long hair to his tattoo-covered body and many piercings. He even had on eyeliner. The man was a legend and I had grown up with him as the father of one of my friends.
"Thanks, Dean," I said, standing up and reaching across the desk to shake his hand.
"You got me for about thirty minutes. Then I'm gonna have to get back to that grandson of mine. I had to leave him all giggly and playful and that's pretty f**king hard to do. The kid's adorable."
"Yes, sir. I will make this quick," I assured him, and motioned for him to sit down.
Dean sat down in the leather wingback chair and propped his feet up on the edge of my desk. "What's up?"
"I'm letting my father's board members go. They were close confidants of my father; however, I don't feel the same way about them. I have no need for a board that I can't share my ideas with and whose opinions I can't trust. I'm replacing the board with people I want to have input into the future of the Kerrington Club."
Dean held up a hand to stop me, then he cocked one dark eyebrow. "Are you saying you fired all their uppity asses?"
I nodded.
Dean threw his head back and cackled with laughter. "Damn, that's the funniest shit I've heard in a while."
If I could have managed a smile these days I would have smiled then. "I want you on my board, sir. Rush will also be asked, of course."
Dean dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and studied me a moment. "You want me on your board?"
"Yes, I do. My group of friends are all young. We need wisdom on the board and you're the only man I know that I would want advising me."
A slow smile spread across Dean's face. "I'll be damned."
Probably, but I wasn't going to agree with him. I just waited.
"Hell yeah, I'll be on your board. My grandson is going to grow up in this town and the Kerrington Club and the members here will be a big part of his life. I want to make sure he has the best."
I had hoped he would feel that way. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. I'm honored that you will be a part of the future of the club."
"Me too," he said, leaning back in his chair. "But, Woods, if we're gonna do this, then should you stop calling me sir. Makes me sound old. I bang chicks younger than you, son."
I might not have been able to smile but I was amused. "I'm sure you do," I replied.
"That was pretty damn funny. What's wrong with you, boy? I can't seem to get you to crack a smile."
I didn't want to talk about Della with Dean. He wouldn't understand. Like he said, he was with a different girl every night. "Personal stuff. I'm working through it."
Dean rubbed his chin, then tilted his head as he looked at me too closely. "It's a woman. That look is always caused by a f**king woman. Don't bother denying it. I can see it all over your face."
I didn't admit it but I didn't deny it. Instead, I dropped my eyes to the table and shifted through some paperwork. I had a contract Dean needed to sign and we needed to discuss his monthly salary, not that he needed it.
"Who is she? What did she do? She getting under your skin and you're ready to run, or has she already got you on her hook and she's trying to let you go?"