Page 95 of For Butter or Worse
@justice4ninayou weren’t dating Nina?? It was all fake?? How could you???
@doughbro12they kissed a LOT. Wasn’t all fake...!
@leoluvmeplxLeo ur so hot. I would never do a tell all interview about you. DM me, please!!!
@le0snumber1Said it before... #NastyNina strikes again
@nuts4ninahe still was shitty to her behind the scenes, why are you always defending Leo??
@le0snumber1have you not seen my username?
@nuts4ninac mine?
@le0snumber1#NastyNina strikes again...
@LeoODonnelluse this hashtag again and I will block you. Do you understand?
@le0snumber1omfg
@le0snumber1omfg yes, I mean. NEVER AGAIN.
@bakeryboxbod9LOL
@bbqbrotherLEO IS READING THIS
@rollingpindiva@LeoODonnellI AM SINGLE, COME TO ME
37
LEO
Leo held the binder tight to his chest, his fingers so firmly wrapped around the sides that his knuckles ached. He’d been preparing for this moment—the handoff—but the reality of letting go was only hitting him now. Could he actually step away from Vinny’s?
“Yo, do you need a towel or something?” Gavin sounded concerned. He handed Leo a napkin. “You’re sweating.”
“I’m fine.” He dabbed the napkin across his forehead.
They sat in a booth at Vinny’s. He was seated across from his brother and Elisa—the new associate who would be helping him oversee the business.
He placed the binder on the table and pushed it hesitantly toward her. It was stacked with papers he’d put together on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly checklists, important phone numbers, passwords, latest sales figures, a mission statement and end-of-year goals. He’d worked tirelessly to put all of the knowledge he had about his dad’s business into one place, and was surprised it all fit in a binder.
“If you get any questions, you have my cell. Anything I can answer right now?” He swallowed. He wanted an excuse to stay. Surely they needed him...right?
“Dude, we’ve gone over this how many times?” Gavin scratched the back of his head. He looked around the room, like he wanted out of the conversation. “There are no more questions, just get a life.”
To be fair, his brother was right. Leo’s daily check-ins with Elisa and Gavin had been extensive and maybe excessive. He’d been in charge of growing the business for so long that it had inadvertently become his life.
“I’ll text you if anything urgent pops up.” Elisa smiled warmly. She was the daughter of a woman his mom knew from church and had graduated cum laude from UCLA. Overseeing Vinny’s day-to-day spending would be a massive opportunity, and Leo just had to hand over the keys, so to speak.
“Okay, then.” Leo stood from the table. His knees wobbled slightly. He could do this.He. Had. To. Do. This.
A song started to play. He looked over and saw Gavin hold up his cell—98 Degrees’s “I Do (Cherish You)” blasted out of the phone’s speakers.
“This is your exit song,” Gavin explained. “Get out, but just know, I do...cherish you.”
Leo chuckled. “How long have you been planning that?”
“Take a hint, bro, get out of here!” Gavin stood. He hugged Leo and then, rather forcefully, led him to the front door of the restaurant.
