“The Alpha Mus told me that he planned to look you up. I went to the Delta house today and explained to them that you were off-limits.”
David took a moment to wrap his brain around what she’d just said.
“So, you talked to him, and he agreed to come over here and tell me that?” David asked to help clarify what had just happened.
“Yeah, let’s go with that.”
“Cassidy,” David said in his best ‘dad voice.’
“I might have had to convince them. And maybe made an example of him. The Deltas aren’t nearly as tough as they thought they were. In the end, they saw it my way, and they won’t bother you.”
Some things were better left unsaid. The only positive was that she’d probably reached her quota for hurting boys for the semester. That meant that his dumbass friends were safe over spring break.
“Come on. I’ll buy you lunch at The Palace.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes at him because David had paid to allow her to use the cafeteria in his building for lunch. That way, she could eat there before their workouts. Cassidy wouldn’t accept money from him for being his trainer for some strange reason. This was his compromise, which she’d taken.
They went up to his dorm room and dropped off their books before going downstairs to eat. On the way down, David decided to press his luck.
“You owe me money for the massages I’ve been doing.”
“What money?” Cassidy asked.
“What you’re charging the girls. I should get some of that,” he pressed. When he saw her confused look, he broke out laughing. “You didn’t think to charge them, did you?”
“No,” she admitted.
“If you go to a spa or workout place, they charge you for extra services. Women pay good money for stuff like massages,” David explained.
“I’ve never been to a spa,” she admitted.
“Call Lexi and tell her to set up a spa day for all the girls going on spring break as my treat,” he offered.
“You’d be willing to give massages?” Cassidy asked.
“No, I don’t have time. Talk to Greg, and he can help you figure it out. I’m sure you could find someone who would come in and work for you. There are plenty of people in this dorm who would pony up for being pampered,” he suggested.
“Will you still help the girls out?” she asked.
“If I have time, I will. They might have to come to my room late at night,” David said as he waggled his eyebrows.
“Jerk.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who’s killing them. You can’t expect them to jump in and work out as hard as you make me,” he shot back.
“But don’t you want them to look good? Plus, it gives you a chance to perv out,” Cassidy fired back.
“Bite me, Buttercup,” he said with a smile.
This felt like old times, David and Cassidy giving each other a hard time. When they reached the cafeteria and grabbed their lunches, they found that Jamie and Lauren had saved them a table.
“Did Lexi let you all know what the plans are?” David asked about their trip.
“Just that a shuttle would pick us up Saturday morning here at the dorm,” Lauren said.
“It’ll take us to LAX, where we’re meeting some guys flying in from Oklahoma. Then we’ll head to Canada,” David shared.
“I saw some names on the list that I didn’t recognize,” Jamie said. “Who are we meeting from Oklahoma?”
“Two of my best friends from high school, Tim and Wolf. They play football at the University of Oklahoma,” David said.
“Lexi said we’re all rooming in the six-pack. There were two people listed for that room that I didn’t know, Tami and Alyssa,” Jamie said.
“Tami and I have been best friends since grade school. Alyssa is in my accounting class,” David shared.
“Why is Alyssa coming?” Cassidy asked. “I don’t know her.”
“She just got cheated on, so she dumped her boyfriend. Alyssa needs time away from school. I suggested she come along with us to get her mind off her ex,” David said.
“What if she gets all weepy? If she does, you’re dealing with it,” Cassidy warned him.
“Cassidy said your brothers are coming. Tell us about them,” Lauren said.
“Greg is a senior in college, and he’s bringing his girlfriend, Joey.”
“Wait! Joey’s a girl?” Jamie asked.
“No question about it; she’s definitely a girl. I had a huge crush on her, but my brother swooped in and stole her from me,” David said dramatically.
“What the stupid boy isn’t telling you is that she was hired by our high school to be a trainer. She helped David get into shape,” Cassidy shared.
“I take it Phil is your younger brother?” Lauren asked.
“That he is. Phil is actually my half-brother that I didn’t know I even had until just a few years ago. He’s a bit ... uhm ... socially awkward,” David said with a straight face.
“He’s cute and fun. David thinks because he’s a big brother, he has to pick on poor Phil. We’ll have to make sure he’s included,” Cassidy said.
Then she asked, “When are your brothers getting here?”
“They fly in tonight and will stay at the house in Malibu. I wish I hadn’t said I would go to Senator Hatley’s fundraiser tonight. The earliest I’ll see them is tomorrow afternoon since I have class in the morning,” David complained.
“No one goes to Friday classes after midterms. All they do is hand your tests back,” Jamie said.
“That’s just David. He has his priorities all wrong. It’ll be our job to set him straight on spring break,” Cassidy said.
“As of noon on Friday, I plan to have some fun. I need to blow off some steam,” David admitted.
Cassidy quickly pulled out her phone and began to furiously type out a message.
“What are you doing?” David asked.
“Letting everyone know that ‘Fun David’ is coming out to play on our trip.”
’This won’t turn out well,’ David thought.
The fundraiser was being held in a hotel in downtown LA. Kat wore a little black dress that David noted covered her tattoos. He guessed she did so to appease her parents. On the ride there, she’d filled him in on her family.
Her dad, James, was the managing partner of the law firm Burrows and Burrows. Kat’s mother, Sandra, had stayed home to raise Kat and her two brothers, Seth and Ethan. Both of them were older than she was and worked for her dad.
Once Kat and her siblings had gotten older, their mother had begun doing volunteer work to keep busy. One of her ventures was to help Senator Hatley. That had turned into a paying position a few years ago. She now ran the local office for the senator.
The Burrowses and the Hatleys ran in the same circles and attended many of the same events. That was how Kat had gotten paired up with Daniel Hatley over the years. When they went off to Yale, they officially began to date. The plan was for the two to get married and for young Daniel to join her dad’s law firm along with Kat.
That was the plan—until she caught Daniel cheating on her. Then he’d dropped the bombshell that he’d hoped she would have gotten pregnant. That way, they could have hurried up and gotten married.
Then, according to Daniel, her parents wouldn’t have had to waste any more money on her education. He had shared that her dad really didn’t want her to join his firm. Kat’s father would prefer she raised babies and did charity work like her mother had. Working in the office was man’s work, and she should leave it to them.
David could see she was nervous about seeing this group again.
“Do yourself and me a favor: no drinking tonight,” David said and saw her flinch. “I’m only saying it because you’ll want to have a clear head when dealing with everything.”
’Plus, I don’t plan to carry you home,’ he didn’t say out loud, but he could tell that Kat had read his mind and nodded sadly.
Kat’s parents looked like they’d come out of Hollywood casting in the roles of high-powered lawyer and trophy wife. David was impressed that James had been lucky enough to get it right the first time. Several other lawyer types obviously had their second or third younger model on their arms tonight.