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Sebastian rolled his eyes. “We’ll take care of that for you.” He pulled out his cell and phoned their butler, Gerard.
“Yes, Mr. Schultz,” Gerard answered.
“Oliver Wood’s police cruiser needs cleaned and detailed. We’re at Gus’s loft. And please send a car to take Oliver wherever he needs to go.”
“Yes, sir. A car will be there in ten minutes and his vehicle will be ready within the hour,” he replied and hung up. What would they do without Gerard? He was more than just their butler and had been managing the Schultz family household since Sebastian was a kid.
“One hour and your car will be good as new,” Sebastian told Oliver.
Oliver nodded and glanced over at Gus. “I was starting to think he’d really done it, turned over a new leaf and all.”
“So was I. So were we all.” He’d been hoping Gus was done with all the drinking. Dad had told Gus on more than one occasion that if he wanted to be part of the family business, he had to stop his playboy ways and prove he could be serious. And they’d all been so proud of the way he’d turned things around. He wasn’t always present to oversee all of the day-to-day at the office, but he had started to steer away from his old lifestyle, and it seemed like he wanted to take his responsibilities in the company seriously.
Dad wasn’t going to be happy about this incident.
“Thanks for all your help and your discretion, Oliver. You know we appreciate it so much.”
“What are friends for?” he replied as they walked to the door.
“A car should arrive downstairs for you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Once Oliver was on his way down the stairs, Sebastian closed the door and looked over at his brother, whose eyes were closed and mouth hung open. It saddened him to see Gus that way.
Sebastian moved to the sofa and sat down. The sinking of the cushion startled Gus awake, and he slowly rotated his head to face his brother.
“Oh, it’s you, Bash. What are you doing at the bar in the middle of the afternoon?” he slurred out.
“We’re at your place, Gus.”
Gus looked around, suddenly realizing where they were. “My puh-lace. Puh. Lace. Plaaaace. Place.” He chuckled. “Place is a weird word.”
Sebastian handed him a pillow from the end of the sofa. “Sleep it off, brother.”
“Mil …” He struggled to keep his eyes open or get his words out. “Milter … Milton insulted Skylar.”
“Milton Hanley?”
Gus managed a nod.
“Why were you even talking to that guy?”
He shrugged. “He came in after I got there.”
“And what? You got drunk together?”
Gus’s face scrunched up as if he was struggling to remember. “I think I was already drunk.”
“Just rest, Gus. We’ll talk later.”
A nod was Gus’s response as he squeezed the pillow close and slid to lying down on the floor, mumbling things Sebastian could not understand. Only three words slipped through.
Never good enough.
Sebastian shook his head sadly. He really thought Gus would have it all together by the time he turned thirty.
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