ingenuity and passion do impress me, especially considering those traits are coming from a lying moocher and an uneducated invalid.”
“Told you he was impressed!” Brody said.
Another sharp glance from Mr. Mason had Brody calm again.
“The bottom line is I’ve never seen my son so motivated or accomplished, and I’d like to see more of that. I’d like to discuss the possibility of investing in a business if the two of you are willing to run one. As I told Brody, I think Nite Bites has run its course. I’m not sure it can sustain the success it’s had long-term, so I asked Brody if he had any other business ideas he’d like to pursue. He didn’t have much to offer, which wasn’t exactly surprising, so I wanted to ask you as well. You and Brody seem to make a pretty good team. Is there a certain type of business you’d be interested in?”
This was an unexpected opportunity, to say the least. And I didn’t want to make the same mistake Brody did. Nite Bites was one thing, but I’d never been in a place to consider owning a real business. And if I was interpreting Mr. Mason’s backhanded compliment correctly, he was willing to invest in us if we had an idea he wanted to invest in.
“I’ve worked at Rafferty’s since I was old enough to get a job. Cleaning, busing tables, that kind of thing. And I’ve been bartending there for a few years. It’s a good job and decent money when I can work enough hours.”
Mr. Mason already knew this, and he looked less than thrilled to be hearing it again.
“But it’s kind of a dream of mine to have my own place someday,” I added.
“To be honest, I don’t love the idea of a bar. They’re a dime a dozen, and the overhead can get expensive. If you don’t have the customers to sustain it, it can go under pretty quickly.”
I nodded but otherwise didn’t respond.
He turned to Brody. “What do you think of running a bar?”
Brody hesitated for a moment, looking around at all of us before responding. “I think I’m good with people and would thrive in something fast-paced. I’d expect it to be a good fit for me.”
Mr. Mason sighed and stared us down for a second. “I still don’t love your chances of being successful, but I’ll tell you what,” he said, and I allowed a spark of hope to light a small fire inside me. “If you two come up with a business plan—a real business plan—I’ll take a look at it, and we can go from there. If it seems like it might have potential, I’d consider investing some money to get you guys started.”
There was a knock at the door, which allowed Brody to jump up without making it seem like the sudden movement was a direct result of his excitement, though he probably wouldn’t have cared either way.
“Yes, definitely,” Brody said. “We’ll get you that tomorrow.”
“Not tomorrow,” I told him. “A business plan is going to take some research.”
I turned toward Brody as he opened the door, and though I couldn’t see his face, I assumed his expression looked a lot like mine probably did. Why the hell was Veronica back?
“Sorry,” she said, already heading into the apartment.
I saw the moment she noticed Mr. Mason, not that she knew who he was.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I forgot my laptop bag. I’ll be out of your way in a minute.”
“It’s okay,” Mr. Mason told her. “I was just getting ready to leave. I’m Brody and Sophia’s father. I’m assuming you’re a friend of theirs.”
She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Actually,” she said with a hint of a smile, “I’m Brody’s wife.”
Chapter Two
S O P H I A
I’d never seen my dad reach the level of red he was exhibiting. He was spluttering like a faulty sprinkler as he looked back and forth between Brody and Veronica.
Finally, my dad pointed an accusatory finger at Brody. “Start talking.”
“Dad, I—”
“I can’t even believe this,” my dad interrupted as he began to pace. “To think I actually thought you’d finally grown the hell up. I should’ve known better. You’ll always pull stunts like…this.” He waved a hand toward Veronica. “And again you’ve dragged someone else into your mess.”
“I can explain,” Brody tried again.
But then our dad did something that made us all look at one another in fear. He began laughing.
“You know,” he said between chuckles that didn’t sound all that