“What the ever-loving fuck?”
The sound of a phone ringing rudely awakened Matt. Lifting his head, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness caused by the pillows he held over his head. The retina burning whiteness from the television screen offered the room’s only light as he reached for the phone. Picking up the receiver, he rolled onto his back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Mr. Bongiovi, we are sorry to call you at this hour, but we have a situation.” A soft-spoken voice came across the line.
“Who is this?” Matt asked abruptly
“Please forgive me. It’s Mr. O’Halloran, head of hotel security.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Well, not exactly. It seems your brother needs some help in the gym.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Matt was not amused. “Is this some kinda joke? Lema, is this you?”
“No, sir. I'm afraid it’s not a joke. We need you to come and retrieve your brother from the hotel gym.”
“You're serious?” Pushing himself up, Matt dangled his feet over the side of the bed. What the fuck had happened since he left Jon after dinner? “I’ll be right down.” Matt grumbled.
Not yet fully awake Matt jumped out of bed and grabbed the closest article of clothing before jogging to the door. His cell phone in one hand, and the two-way radio in the other. Just in case, he made his way down to the gym. Recounting the day’s events, he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what had happened. After they left the airport, they headed to the hotel, hit the gym for a workout. Jon had some things to take care of with Tony, so Matt went to shower and change before they met up for a late lunch early dinner. After which they said their goodnights and retreated to their own rooms.
Somewhere between then and now something had happened, but what?
Matt gave a curt nod to the security guard who stood outside the gym before pushing open the door. An older man he presumed was Mr. O'Halloran walked towards him, but he just waved him off and made his way to the rows of treadmill and his brother. His face slick from sweat and his sleeveless, grey Giant’s shirt drenched hugged his skin.
“Care to tell me what the heck is going on?” Matt stood in front of the equipment.
“What’s it fucking look like?” Jon spat, not taking his concentration away from the mirror behind his brother.
“Do you realize what time it? Don’t play this shit with me.”
“I needed a run.”
“Excuse me.” Mr. O'Halloran interrupted.
Twisting the cap off his water, Jon shot the man the stink eye, then looked back at his brother. Taking the man by his elbow, Matt directed him off to the side.
“Mr. O’Halloran, can you tell me just exactly what the problem is?”
Annoyed, he pulled on the lapels of his generic blue blazer. “The facility is closed, Mr. Bongiovi. To everyone. Your brother here seems to think those rules don’t apply to him. He threatened one of my employees with a lawsuit if he didn’t let him in the facility. Not wanting to cause a bigger scene, he did what he asked and came to find me. When I tried to explain this to your brother, he… well, let’s just say I didn’t appreciate being spoken to in that manner. As Head of Security, it's my job to oversee the hotel's safety protocols. If this was just your average hotel guest, I would have called the police. I called you instead."
“I see.” Matt shook his head. “Thank you. I appreciate you calling me first. On behalf of my brother, I’d like to apologize for any misunderstandings.” From the corner of his eye, Matt saw Jon had finished his so-called run. Returning his attention to the man in front of him, he continued. “Now, if you can give me a few minutes with my brother, alone, we will be out of your hair.”
It took three strides for Matt to cross the room as soon as the door closed behind the gentleman. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he pushed at his brother’s back.
“Don’t start Matty.” Searing blue eyes stared him down.
“Me? This is all you!” His two arms waved in the air. “Whatever it is, you sure are lucky he didn’t call the police instead of me.”
“Oh please, stop being so dramatic. It’s not like I killed someone.”
“No, but threaten, c’mon Jon, you know better. Wanna tell me what this all about?”
With the towel around his neck, Jon wiped his face. “Ex-wife.” Jon grumbled as he turned towards the door. “Fix this Matt! I’m going to bed.” It was the last thing he said as he stepped from the room.
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
Ariana looked at the clock on the wall. It had been two hours since she and Luc had discussed his next project. The nursery. While she rambled off what she wanted done, he took notes. Every now and then, he’d stop her to share some ideas and suggestions, or just to tell her it couldn’t be done. After the work he’d done in Petite Soho, she trusted him completely. He was a master at his craft. Though she made him promise her one thing. Whatever he did, the room was not to be overly girly. He was still laughing at her when her cell phone rang.
“Hey Matt, what’s up?”
“I take it you haven’t heard from Jon yet?” His somber tone left an uneasy feeling.
“No. Is he okay?”
“Physically, yes. Mentally, I’m not so sure.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I had to go save his dumb ass from hotel security in the middle of the night. The shithead thought it would be a good idea to threaten an employee so he could use the gym. At two a.m.!!”
“What? Why was he in…” Ari stopped to excuse herself into the other room. “What was he doing in the gym at that hour?”
“Fuck, if I know. He said something about ‘ex-wife’. Do you know what that’s supposed to mean?”
Ari pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. “Yeah. I told him not to call her. So much for listening to me. Is that all you know?”
“I spoke to Tico this morning. Jon called him around nine-thirty-ish and they headed down to the hotel bar. He confirmed Jon had fought with Dorothea. He also polished off half a bottle of Jack. Which explains his erratic behavior.”
“Good lord. Why can’t he just ever…? Never mind.”
Matt laughed, “Yup. I know exactly how you feel. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Sorta warn you of what could come.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t scare me.”
“I keep forgetting that. How’s things going there?”
“Good. I should be heading back to Canada in a day or two.”
“The better question is, when are you heading back to us?”
It was Ari’s turn to laugh. “Why? You think with me there he’d be any better?”
“No, but it would make my job a little easier.”
“I’ll see what I can do from here. Thanks for the heads up, though.”
“Sure thing. Take care, Ari. Talk to you soon.”
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
Walking out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel, Jon paused at the knocking on the door, followed by a voice stating it was room service. He didn't order before going into the shower and wondered what was going on. Stepping into his gym shorts, he’d scooped off the floor, he toweled off his hair and answered the door.
“I didn’t order…” Jon opened the door; his puzzlement grew when he looked down at the rolling cart.
What in the name?
Stepping aside, the young server wheeled the tray in and set it in the middle of the room and turned to exit.
“Do you need me to sign something?” Jon asked.
“It’s already been taken care of. Enjoy and have a nice day.” With a wink and a smile, the young man left.
“Yeah, right.” Jon mumbled and lifted the metal dome. A pang of guilt tightened in his chest as he revealed its contents. A double bacon cheeseburger and fries. He knew immediately who arranged this. The question was who told her. Tico or Matt.
Next to the plate sat two items, a bottle of Advil and a highball glass. He didn’t need to sniff to know what was in it. From its amber color, it was his drink of choice from last night. A small envelope laid across the top of the glass. Opening its seal, Jon pulled out the cream parchment.
A little hair of the dog + two Advil should do the trick.
xoxo
Me
Popping a fry into his mouth, he went to search for his phone he threw across the room last night. He’d knew he’d have some groveling to do, just how much he wasn’t sure.
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