Page 105 of Beyond the Bright Lights

“Huh? No, I do not want cheese. What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, Bruno. Keep going.”

“You stopped being a boss when you paid my family’s debts. You saved their lives because they owed a lot of money to some very bad people. Then you moved them to a new home far away from those people, set up a state-of-the-art security system to protect them, and even hired 24/7 guards.”

“I had the money, so . . .”

“Yes, you did, but Mylan, it’s not just about the money. If it was just about the money, if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t ask me how Mutter and Vater are settling in at their new home in their new town. How Vater’s steel sculptures are selling. I know you bought them all anonymously, triple his asking price.”

He knew about that?

“You talk to them on the phone despite not knowing a word of German. You went above and beyond for me. Bosses don’t do that. Family does.”

Bruno lays a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I’m crying and then he’s pulling me into a hug. We part and I turn to Eloise.

She holds up her hands. “I already reached my crying quota for the year, so don’t expect me to get all mushy like the big guy.”

I laugh. “I’d expect nothing less.”

She bites her lip, which lets me know she does have something to say to me. “When I came out to my parents, you were there for me.”

I nod. My jaw tightens remembering the devastation on Eloise’s face when she returned to L.A. after a visit home for her cousin's wedding.

“Midwest Christian parents find out their only child is a raging lesbian, and they disown her. Shocker.”

She pauses, offering me a sad smile.

“I’d only been your assistant for six months, but you didn’t hesitate to give me time off.”

“Which you didn’t take.”

“Because you were my escape. You let me vent, let me cry, let me get stupid drunk. I never had siblings but, on that day, almost two years ago, I gained a brother and you’ve been supportive of me ever since as I slowly repair my relationship with my parents. My parents who were too quick to cast me aside, and you were faster to pick up my pieces. Bosses don’t do that. Family does. So, yeah, you’re our family asshole.”

“I’m your asshole,” I say and cringe. “No, wait, that sounded bad.”

Eloise laughs and wipes a tear. Look at us, three emotionally closed off assholes crying on the tarmac in the middle of nowhere.

“So, what happens now?” Eloise asks.

I sigh, blowing out a long stream of breath to prepare myself for my next words. “I’m relieving you both of your positions.”

“What?” they say in unison.

“I’ll pay your salary while I’m in recovery. After that, you are welcome to come back and work for me, but I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

Neither of them speaks, though I can see how badly they want to argue or fight me on this. Still, they don’t.

“Do you really have to let us all go?” Eloise says.

“It’s the only thing I haven’t tried. I have to hope it’s the one thing that will work.”

Chapter 27 - Lana

Donut and the Brat.

I lost count of how many times I traced over the carving of our nicknames on the wooden counter of the bar where Mylan used to sit. He must have snuck in and carved it when he dropped me off before heading to the wrap party. It was fresh and big enough that I spotted it the moment I walked by.

That was a year ago.

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