Groaning, he wondered how he was supposed to handle everything.
Or rather…the next five days.
Even though the party didn’t technically begin until Thursday evening, the entire family was told to show up today–Wednesday. He didn’t have a part in the wedding–thank God–but for some reason, he was still expected to be there for everything as if he did.
His backup reminder chirped and Brody knew he had stalled long enough.
The drive to the family compound in Chapel Hill would take him less than twenty minutes. King Hospitality’s main office was also located there and it was a fairly direct route. His own home was in Raleigh–which wasn’t that far away and it seemed silly that he wasn’t allowed to sleep in his own bed for the next several nights–but again, he was trying to do what everyone asked.
No matter how inconvenient.
Fortunately, he had a suite of rooms at his family’s home and knew he could retreat to them at the end of the day and have more than enough privacy away from the throngs of people who were going to be staying there.
He shuddered at the thought.
There was a knock at the door and he looked up as his father walked in.
Great.
“Brody,” he said in his usual booming, commanding voice. “I expected you to be gone by now.”
Standing, he stretched. “I was just getting ready to leave,” he replied respectfully. Walking around the desk, he slid his phone into his pocket.
“Good. That’s good. I’ll follow you out.”
For the love of it…
“Dad, you don’t need to do that. I really am planning on leaving. I just need to grab my laptop and some files and I’ll be on my way.” To prove his point, he gathered up his belongings and put them in his satchel.
“How’s the training going?” his father asked as he watched his son move around the office. “You were here pretty early this morning.”
“I came right from the gym and showered up here. It’s preferable to doing so in a public locker room.”
“When’s the triathlon?”
“Eleven weeks,” he replied. “And if I keep up this pace, I should beat last year’s time.”
“Good for you, Brody. Personally, I don’t know how you do it. Don’t you ever just sit and rest?”
“What for? I don’t see the point in simply sitting around the house.” It was true, he hated to be idle, but what he wouldn’t admit to anyone was that his current training was kicking his butt. He was even considering not training next year.
“Maybe you’ll relax this weekend at the house and do a little less training.” He paused. “You tend to go to the gym at night, too, don’t you?”
“I do, and before you ask, I’m heading straight to the house and don’t plan on going anywhere, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Yeah, about that…”
Brody stopped in his tracks. “Is there a problem?”
“Charlene’s cousin is staying in the house this weekend. She’s in charge of the desserts.”
“O-kay…”
“Her room is in your wing so…please be on your best behavior and don’t scare the poor girl. She was at the house Sunday and heard you having your meltdown and…”
“It wasn’t a meltdown, Dad,” he said with more than a hint of annoyance. “I was simply giving my opinion. Last I checked, that was still allowed.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Marshall King tensed. “We’re not doing this again. Just…please be nice to her. If anything, be overly nice to her. Do I make myself clear?”
It was pointless to argue so he simply nodded.
“Excellent,” his father said, his relief palpable. “Now let’s get going.”
As soon as they were out of his office, Marshall talked about all the plans for the party–as if Brody cared–and all the preparations that were currently underway. It sounded like there were going to be hundreds of people there setting up, and again he had to wonder why his presence was needed or required today.
It felt a little like walking to his execution and Brody knew he was dragging his feet a bit–literally and figuratively. Still, by the time they were down in the parking garage, he was more than ready to be alone in his car. “I’ll see you at the house, Dad,” he said with a small wave, and once he was seated behind the wheel of his Aston Martin DB11, all the tension left his body.
“And I’ve got all of twenty minutes to enjoy it…”
Glancing up in his rearview mirror, he spotted his father’s BMW idling and knew the old man was waiting for him to pull out of his spot.
With a muttered curse, he obliged.
“So much for relaxing,” he muttered and slowly drove out of the garage. It wasn’t until he was out on the highway that he forced himself to forget about who was following him and why. Turning on the radio, Brody let himself indulge in some loud music from his youth. A little Foo Fighters was exactly what he needed to clear his head. By the time he turned onto the long, tree-lined drive of his childhood home, he felt like he just might survive the weekend.
Then he spotted the long line of trucks and vans lining the driveway–caterers, electricians, florists, linen rentals, tents. His shoulders tensed and he had to remind himself that he could be in the house and up in his wing in just another few minutes. Being that he wasn’t part of the bridal party, none of this chaos had anything to do with him.
So he parked his car and grabbed his satchel before getting out. He waved to his father as he walked toward the house, and once inside, he kissed his mother on the cheek while she talked to the florist about her displeasure over the color of the flowers.
Just another day in the King household…
He was halfway up the grand staircase when his little brother and groom-to-be came jogging down toward him.
“Hey, Brody! You made it!” They met on the landing and Travis gave him a brisk hug. “I was afraid we were going to have to send someone to force you to leave the office!”
Brody knew he was teasing, but it still irked him. He took a moment to roll his shoulders and mentally count to ten so he didn’t respond negatively.
With a smile, he shrugged. “Well, Dad came in and walked out with me so…” They both laughed. “So where are you off to?”
“Oh, Charlene’s down at the tent and doesn’t like the lights they’re installing. I’m going to go see what we can do about it.”
“They’re just…” he started but noticed his brother’s glance hardening and simply bit his tongue. “They’re just doing their job,” he corrected mildly. “If they don’t have anything they can swap out, maybe see if the florist or someone has something that can dress them up.”
Travis’s jaw dropped slightly before he smiled. “Wow, thanks, bro. I never would have thought of that!” Then with a clap on the shoulder, he took off down the rest of the stairs and Brody was blessedly by himself.
Jogging up the stairs to the third floor where his rooms were, he whistled. Once in his suite, he shut the door and placed his satchel down on the coffee table in his sitting area. Loosening his tie, he wondered what he should do with himself. There was no way he was going to go down to the tent or risk running into anyone who might want his input on anything. The brief conversation with Travis was enough.