Page 32 of Wildly Inappropriate

“It adds a different dynamic to the relationship for sure.” Although it doesn’t seem my parents feel particularly guilty about losing my money.

“That it does. But just so you know, there won’t be many investors at the Vegas event. I know that rumor went around when we first announced the event, but my brothers and I are starting to focus on sports investments—like the Ferguson Tournament. To help balance the investment, we are also going to start giving a large portion of our philanthropic dollars to sports programs for underserved kids. We’ll primarily be inviting people who run those programs and a few of the families they serve. We hope that by connecting the programs across the country, there will be more collaboration and less duplication of services.”

“That’s amazing,” I say. And it is. It’s just not the people my parents are hoping to meet that night. Although it might be a smart long-term play for them if they can create connections with the parents of golfers on track to play professionally someday.

“Well, thanks. We’re excited about this new avenue for the firm,” Tyler says in what can only be described as his interview voice.

Crap.I somehow managed to turn this casual dinner into a work event. Wanting to dispel that immediately, I shift into fun-guy mode. “But enough about work, tell me about what Xander is up to these days. He seems like the type of guy I should be spending more time with. Is it true he went skydiving naked? That seems…cold?”

The brothers laugh and regale me with stories of their wild younger brother. When we finally decide to call it a night, we’re all a bit drunk, but I feel like I’ve possibly made enough of an impression to help my parents with introductions at the event in Vegas—even if it’s not with the exact clients they are hoping for.

I walk with the brothers out of the restaurant, saying goodbye outside the front doors as they head to their house that’s in the opposite direction of mine. I make my way to Jameson’s place using the path that follows the first fairway, only stumbling once as I navigate the dirt walkway in the dark. I stop outside the house, my impaired brain trying to understand why the lights are off. Shit, I guess Lila isn’t home yet. Unwilling to go inside to sit and stew about what Lila is up to and whereMatthewis or is not touching her, I turn the firepit on and drop into one of the chairs facing it.

Realizing it’s not too late to call my Mom in California, I pull out my phone to let her know I made progress on her request. I’m excited to finally be able to give her some good news after letting her and my dad down so much lately.

“JT,” my mom says as her greeting.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Are you calling to let me know you’ve finally been able to meet with the Ferguson brothers? Or that you finally decided to give up on this ridiculous ‘injury’ and start golfing again? You know your dad does not agree with your decision.”

I do know, he’s called me at least twice a day about it since I’ve been here.

“I’m not—” I cut myself off, recognizing how fruitless it would be to explain why I need a break. My mom needed a break twenty years ago, and she worked through it. Worked so hard to earn the money we needed for me to play golf that she fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a tree. “I actually just finished up dinner with both Conrad and Tyler Ferguson.”

“Oh, darling, that’s fabulous.”

“It is!” I say excitedly. “I think we really hit it off. I’m sure they’d be willing to introduce us to a few people at the event. However, just so you know, they did mention it will primarily be young athletes and their parents in attendance.”

“Oh, JT,” my mother says, her tone making it clear just how displeased she is.

“I know it’s not the demographic you were hoping for, but I think it could be a smart long-term play. The parents of junior players will appreciate your insight, and you can start building connections that may pay off in a huge way in five or ten years.”

“Five or ten years will not work, JT. We need the investments now.” And with that cryptic statement, my Mom hangs up on me.

Why do they need money so badly?

Chapter sixteen

Lila

Matthew leans forward, hisarms crossed with his elbows on the table. We’re sitting out on the back patio at Wild Crusts. We finished our meal a while ago and, somehow, we’ve had enough to talk about that we’re just getting to what we do for a living. “My job isn’t too exciting. I work on the family farm.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

He smiles and, dang, the man has a nice smile, one that feels like a hug from your best friend after a long day. Not necessarily the feeling we are hoping for with a date, but it’s better than the alternatives. Plus, I’m not ready to call it a night, and this is just our first time meeting. Maybe the sparks and butterflies will surface once I get to know him a bit better.

He’s got on light jeans and a white button-up with boots. It’s a good look in general, and Matthew wears it well. He clearly spends time out in the sun, with his tan skin and sun-kissed short brown hair. I guess that makes sense if he works on his family’s farm.

“You must be new around here if you think working on the farm is cool. It’s what most of my classmates are back doing at this point.”

“Oh. You don’t like it?”

“No, I do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job, and I’m lucky that I enjoy working with my dad and brother. Not every family deals well with passing the baton on to the next generation, but my dad is great and has a really clear process for how and when ownership and leadership will get passed to me and my brother, Chris.”

“That’s…wow. I guess I’ve never put much thought into succession planning for family businesses. It seems like it’s a field of interconnected landmines just waiting to explode.”

“It sure can be. But enough about me. Tell me more about working with Kelsey. How did you end up working for your brother’s girlfriend’s sister? That feels like it might have just as many landmines to navigate as my work does.”

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