Page 71 of College Town

The heavyset guy resumes his path across the room to get to the food while Lawson stands like an idiot in the doorway. “This him?”

“Yes,” Tommy says, and motions from the desk. “Lawson, come in, have a seat.” He’s all business this morning, his hair severely slicked, no sign of his whispered “hi” and his sad puppy eyes this morning.

Lawson shuts the door and goes for an empty chair beneath a whole lot of unwanted scrutiny. The heavyset man is scooping up scrambled eggs and giving Lawson a thorough looking-over at the same time. He makes a considering noise.

“He’s bigger than I expected,” he declares, and turns his attention to a tray of pastries. “If you do something about the hair, and give him face lessons, you could pass him off as another bodyguard.”

“Face lessons?” Lawson asks.

“No,” Tommy says, when Lawson’s lowering into his chair. “Here, Law.” Tommy points, and Lawson sees that there’s a chair pulled up beside his on the far side of the desk. Thebossside of the desk. Apparently, Tommy wants him to sit in it.

Lawson does not want to do that, but Tommy keeps pointing, and then his brows slowly go up.

“Fuck my life,” Lawson mutters, gets up, and ducks as quick as he can across the room to take the indicated chair.

Office supplies have been shifted over to clear a space on the blotter for two plates, already loaded. Tommy slides one over in front of Lawson, and then sets a neat roll of silverware and napkin beside it.

There’s two sunny-side-up eggs, a heap of hashbrowns, pre-dashed with hot sauce, which he can smell. Four slices of bacon, and a little pile of mixed berries.

It’s the exact breakfast his mom used to make them the morning after Saturday night sleepovers. He still isn’t brave enough to ask her if she knew what they’d gotten up to the night before and if that was the reason she saw fit to feed them so well.

Tommy passes over a steaming mug of black coffee, and Lawson takes it with a murmured thanks.

The gray-haired man clears his throat pointedly. “If we’re ready?”

Tommy nods. “Lawson, you know Frank, and Noah. This is Paul” – the gray-haired man – “and Ray.” The other one. His voice shifts, slightly, a trifle uncertain. “You remember my mother?”

“Yes.” When he meets the woman’s eyes across the office, she flinches as though burned. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Cattaneo.”

She doesn’t respond besides a thinning of her lips.

“Yeah, yeah,” Frank says, “it’s nice to meet everyone. Let’s get on with it.”

“I still say this is a bad idea,” Noah says.

“Agreed,” Paul says.

Tommy sighs loudly through his nose. “Duly noted, but this is how we’re going to do things.”

Ray smirks to himself.

Lawson’s belly swoops pleasantly, and he fills the sensation with a bite of bacon. He can exhibit all the self-restraint in the world, but he’ll never be able to stymie his body’s reactions to Tommy flexing attitude or authority.

“There are really only two options here,” Tommy says.

“That’s not true,” Frank chimes in.

Tommy glares.

A light tap sounds at the door, and Natalia enters, wearing very fashionable workout gear with a towel slung around her neck. “Hello, hello,” she chimes, going to pour a glass of orange juice at the buffet. “Sorry I’m late. Where are we?” She turns, juice in hand, and beams at Lawson. “Good morning, Lawson.”

“Morning,” he parrots.

“We’re at the part where we tell Tom this is ridiculous,” Frank says.

Noah nods in agreement.

“Tom is never ridiculous.” Natalia sits down beside Tommy’s mother. “I’m always telling him he should be more often, but.” She shrugs. Gestures with her free hand in a way that clearly sayscontinue.

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