Page 11 of Standing Still

Elle George always had a way of stirring up my emotions. I behaved like a little bitch while Elle asked sensible questions, trying to come up with ideas and figure out how to fix things. All I’d done was yell and storm out. And I am going to have to face her again if we have any hope of sorting this out. I swipe a hand down my face.

Well, congratulations Acer, you got what you wanted. I have a feeling it is not going to end well.

After I leave the bar, I go home and change out of the damn suit. My skin feels itchy wearing it, even though it’s an expensive suit. There are voicemails from my parents, Denny, and Jared. All wanting to know how it went. I don’t really want to face anyone, but hiding is pointless.

I call my older brother.

“Hey, Mr CEO!” he greets me. “We gonna celebrate tonight? I get off work about seven.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I sit down at the end of my bed, my closet is still open after I got dressed and I happen to glance up to the top shelf where there are a few boxes of old shit I toss out of sight. Including her books. That just makes me angry again. I explain what happened at the meeting.

“How can we fight it?”

I smile, loving how he includes himself in that statement. Jared works in construction, so there is no way he can help legally, but he has a good mind. He’s smart beyond belief and I’ve always thought he could have done more with his life, but he enjoys his work.

Being outdoors is in all of our blood, but he loves to work with his hands, building things. He could have been an architect, but he never wanted to go down that road. His construction business has built half the new buildings around Mystic. He’s very well thought of.

“Not sure. Larry thinks the only way around this is a lengthy legal battle that I can’t afford. If Elle wants to take that route, I’m sure she has enough cash to do it. She turned down her inheritance cos shedoesn’t need the money,” I sniff, getting up to close the closet door. “She wants to give it to charity.”

“Bro, you can’t be pissed at her for that.”

“Yeah, her benevolence knows no bounds,” I point out sarcastically.

“Careful, your green is showing through. Stop and think about it logically. Don’t let your feelings for her get in the way.”

“I have no feelings for her,” I snap.

“Course you don’t. Listen, I’ve got something going on right now. I need to go. I’m sorry it turned out this way today, but we’ll figure it out. You should call her, speak to her outside of the legal setting. You might be able to figure something out.”

“Unlikely.”

“You’ll never know until you try it. Besides, sometimes the softer touch works, especially with broads.”

“Don’t let Terri hear you talking like that. She’ll beat your ass.”

“That she will,” he laughs. “That she will. Now, pull your head out ofyourass and just go talk to her. It’s been years since you guys were together. You were just kids. Strap on a pair, bro. You want to sort this out, make sure you get the business, then you gotta sweet talk her.”

I hate that he’s right. We say goodbye and I eventually work up the energy to get up. I have to go to the office and meet the guys to tell them what happened. That is a conversation I am not looking forward to.

George Fishing & Charters is not a large building, just the front reception, where Sarah sits and runs the administration side of things. There is a conference room and a couple of smaller offices at the back. One for me, which used to be Acer’s, and one for a break room.

I try to keep things organized. One of the first things I did when I started managing for Acer was bring the company into the twenty-first century and get everything computerized. Having all the accounts on bits of paper in filing cabinets was asking for trouble. Plus, I want to be as paperless as possible, to help with the environment.

After leaving the truck in the parking lot, I walk down to the dock. Both of our fishing boats are moored. The charter boat is out on the water with a group of people who’d hired it for the whole day. Sarah is long gone, but the office door is unlocked, letting me know the guys are inside.

Four of them have worked alongside me for a good five or six years. One of them has been here almost as long as Acer. He is a cantankerous old fart, but his knowledge and expertise are invaluable. I’d hate to ever lose him.

I hear the sound of my brother’s hyena laugh as I come through the door. At least he isn’t complaining. Although that could bode well for him losing interest in borrowing the Mustang.

That is wishful thinking.

I enter the conference room where they’re all sitting eating lunch. Dale and Devlin, twins a couple of years younger than me, are playing rock, paper, scissors over God knows what. Charlie is over by the coffee machine getting himself a drink. Denny is with Anthony, showing him something on his phone, probably a stupid Tik Tok video. The kid is obsessed. I am still yet to figure out why, seems like a bunch of idiots filming themselves being idiots to me.

Charlie spots me first and dips his chin, then holds up a mug, but I decline. He heads over to the table and takes the seat at the head.

“How’d it go?” Dev notices me, a big grin on his face. “We calling you boss for real?” he laughs as Anthony starts making crowd cheering sounds, his hands cupped around his mouth.

Dale looks up from his dinner, although he doesn’t stop shoveling it into his mouth. They’re identical twins, but they couldn’t be any different. Both built like line backers with arms as thick as tree trunks. Dale is quiet, keeps to himself, and is far more introspective than anyone else I know. Dev is loud, boisterous, and thinks he’s funny. They’re both really hard workers, though. I’m lucky to have all the guys who work here. My fifth guy, Rex, is out skippering the Charter.

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