A Courtesy Call (Green Division Series Book #2) (8 page)

“Um, why don’t you talk to marketing about this?  It’s not up to me.”

“What are your thoughts?”

“You’re acting a bit off.”  His forehead wrinkled.  “Are you okay?  Have you been drinking?”

“Not funny Tom, you know I haven’t drank since—”

“Raleigh, can you please come here?”  Jen appeared in the doorway looking perturbed.

“Me and Tom are in the middle of a meeting.  Can it wait a few minutes?”  Raleigh tried to prolong the inevitable.

“No, it can’t.”

“I’m leaving for the afternoon.  I have a meeting with a sponsor.”  Tom grabbed his car keys.  “Let me know how you make out with your pink car proposal.”

He ushered them both out of his office. 

“Did you know they were coming?”  Jen spoke to her in the doorway in a hushed voice.

“Who?”  Raleigh acted as though she was innocent.

“You know who,” Jen growled.  “Mr. Game Warden and his daughter.”  She motioned with her head.

“Wow, so they came all the way from Maine to see you.  That’s so sweet.”

“Mmm, it’s adorable.  What do you propose now?”

“Give them a hug, say you’re welcome, and send them on their way.”

“I did that.  You see how well that worked.”  Jen maintained a smile so Mike and Cass couldn’t see the contempt.  “They want to go to dinner tonight.”

“I told you what happened.  Play along.  I’ll owe you big time.  How would you and Jack like a vacation?”

“Oh, you’re gonna owe me.  And I’m not doing this alone.”

“What?” 

“Mike, Casey, I’d like you to meet Raleigh Jo Dawson.  She’s one of the drivers for Team Irving.  Raleigh, this is the g
ame warden
I met in
Maine
, Mike and his daughter, Casey.”  Jen smiled slyly.

“Oh my God!  You’re Raleigh Jo the race car driver!  The one I’ve seen on all the TV commercials!  Dad, can you believe that’s her?  It’s really you!”

Raleigh smiled at Cass.  Jen smiled with enjoyment.  At least she somewhat played along. 

“Nice to meet you.”  Mike extended his hand cordially to Raleigh. 

“Nice to meet you too.”  She shook it firmly and froze.  Their hands lingered.  He stared at her and she at him.  The events of that day came flashing back and she yanked her hand from his grip as though it burned.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m—”  She paused and cleared her throat.  “Yeah. I’m sorry, my hand had a spasm.”

“I hope it doesn’t do that when you’re driving.”  Mike looked at her suspiciously.

“Mike and Cass are going to take me out to dinner to thank me for all I did back in
Maine
.”  Jen was putting emphasis on words and Mike noticed it as well as Raleigh.

“That’s very nice of them.”  Raleigh’s hands shook with nerves. 

“
Would you mind if Raleigh came along with us?  I made plans with her a few weeks back and I’d feel bad backing out.”

“No, no.  It’d be okay.  Really,” Raleigh excused Jen.  “I don’t want to intrude.”

“No, I insist.  She is such a modest girl.”

“You should come with us,” Cass said hopeful.

With Jen’s death stare and Cass’s pleading, Raleigh nodded.

“Well then, we all have a date.”  Jen put her arm around Raleigh and smiled smugly.

*****

Cass tossed clothing all around the suite.  All kinds of clothing, nothing to wear, every woman’s dilemma. 

“I have nothing to wear.”  Cass sighed from the bedroom across from Mike’s.

“You must have something, you brought your entire wardrobe.”

“I don’t.”

“We have twenty minutes before we need to leave.  I’m sure you will look fine no matter what you wear.  They said not to dress up.”

“We’re going out with a famous race car driver, I need to look presentable.”

“You’re beautiful no matter what you wear.”

“Your opinion doesn’t count.  You’re my father, you have to say that.”

He heard her continue to shuffle about.  They wouldn’t be on time, not with the way Cass panicked.

Mike buttoned his shirt and looked at himself in the mirror.  Cass helped him shop, a.k.a. made him buy new clothing for their little vacation.  According to her, his clothing was outdated and boring.  The jeans and shirts he normally adorned were not spiffy enough.  So with her expert fashion advice, he sported a hip button down blue checked shirt, fitted gray dress pants, a slim black belt, and black wingtip shoes.  Far more fashionable than he was used to.

He was uncomfortable.  The little outfit Cass put together for him—it wasn’t him.  He wanted a pair of jeans or cargo shorts.  Comfortable and approachable.  The look she’d compiled was business casual.  He wasn’t trying to pick either one of them up.  Jen was married, judging by the ring on her left hand.  And the other one, Raleigh, she was not what he was looking for.  And she was out of his league even if he was interested, which he wasn’t.  He’d seen her on the news a few times.  And not for good reasons. 

For some inexplicable reason Raleigh’s voice sent chills down his spine.  And she seemed to be equally affected. 
Probably scared of law enforcement.
  That was what Mike shook it off as on her end.  On his end, deep under the surface he must have been awed by her fame.  That had to be it.

“This is the best it’s going to get.”  Cass lowered her head and shook out her curly voluminous hair.  She wore a strapless white sundress with wedge sandals, her look alluded innocence. 

Mike would have preferred she change her outfit.  Many a men like to transform innocent women.

“Let’s go.  We’re going to be late,” she said out of breath and hurried to the door.  Mike grabbed her clutch that she’d left on the sofa and followed behind her.  He was still impressed by the way his daughter had slyly talked her way past the gate.

*****

Raleigh’s foot jittered under the table.  The table and a glass of water on it shook as a side effect.   It was 8pm and she sat all alone at Markus’s Grill.  She’d only been recognized by four tables full of patrons, all men of course.  After obligatory small talk, they’d acquiesced her request for privacy.  Jen didn’t answer the text message she’d sent asking where the hell she was.  Raleigh had a feeling Jen’s intention all along was to stand her up and leave her to flounder alone.  The bitch.  She too wanted to bolt. 
Run.  It’s Jen they’re came to visit anyway.

Before she could follow up on her panic, a hostess led Mike and Cass to the corner booth where she sat.

Great.

“Hi again.”  Cass smiled star struck.

“Good evening,” Mike said.

“Hi.”  Raleigh avoided eye contact with Mike.

“Where’s Jen?” Mike asked.

“Um, good question.”  She again looked at Cass as she spoke. 
Where is she?

Mike took notice of the shaking table and her furtive behavior.
  What reason would she have to be nervous?  Maybe she’s on drugs. 
His own nerves were from her fame, they had to be.  And it drove him up a wall.

“I’ll call her.  Excuse me.”  Raleigh hastily walked to the ladies room and rummaged through her purse.

“Where are you?”  She asked in an elevated voice.

“I got caught up in traffic and decided it would be easier to turn around and come home.” 

“You live a mile from here!  I’ll come pick you up.”

“I don’t feel well.”

“You feel fine!”

“This is your mess Raleigh, not mine.  You entertain them.”

“Jen—”

“Bye,” Jen cut her off and hung up.  Raleigh cursed her phone. 
What the hell am I going to do now?

*****

“
I think we’ve been stood up.  We should have called before imposing on her,” Mike reiterated his earlier suggestion.

“Something must have come up.”  Cass scanned the restaurant.  “Remember how happy she was when we talked to her on the phone last month?  There’s no way she’d ditch us.”

“Maybe that’s all she wanted.  To talk to us and get closure,”  Mike said.  Cass frowned.  “And then we show up unannounced.  I can’t blame her.”

Cass shook her head.  She didn’t buy it.

“Why don’t we order?”

“We should wait for Raleigh.”

“It’s been twenty minutes.  I’m sorry hun, but I think she ducked out when she realized Jen wasn’t coming.”

Cass scanned the room.

“I’m glad she did to be honest.”  Mike looked down at his menu.  “I think she might be on drugs. Always fidgeting and won’t make eye contact.”

“Dad—”

“I know you like her and all because she’s
famous
but its best we don’t visit with her.”

“Dad—”

“She’s been in the news for fighting, among other things.  I don’t follow her little career, but I did see that on the news.  She’s not the kind of person we should be socializing with, celebrity or not.”

“Dad!” 

“What?”  He looked up surprised by her tone.  Raleigh stood silently at Mike’s side just out of his peripheral vision.  “Oh…” 
Open mouth, insert foot. 

Raleigh stood stoic, her head held high and face void of emotion.  She heard every word he’d said about her.  It hurt more coming from his lips.

“To set the record straight, I don’t do drugs and never have.  I have nearly two decades worth of drug tests to prove that.  Kinda part of being a driver.  Yes, I’m not perfect, far from it.  I’ve made mistakes and I have been in the news, but that’s because I live under a microscope.  Look behind me.  How many people are staring?”  She challenged him.  “It’s a question.  How many people are looking at my back?”

Mike looked behind her. There were more than a dozen people blatantly staring including one who took a picture with his phone.

“I didn’t realize you were standing there,” Mike said. 
Jackass, you’re making this better. 
Mike thought as the awkward words escaped.

“What he meant to say is he’s sorry,” Cass tried to mediate. 

“It’s alright, I’m used to it.  Comes with the territory.”  With success came drawbacks.  Public scrutiny was one of them. 

I want Aiden. 
He’d asked for the weekend off to spend with visiting family so he was off limits.

“I did talk to Jen.  She’s under the weather and wanted me to apologize for her.  So there, message passed along.  Enjoy your dinner.”  Raleigh reached for her purse.

“I’m sorry,”  Mike finally admitted.  He’d been blindsided with her sudden appearance and further embarrassed when she’d overheard his attack.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Raleigh moved toward the exit.