Page 12 of The Tycoon
The house is silent save for the ambient sounds of an old Rangers game echoing from the media room. My parents are creatures of habit, especially on harvest days. They usually hunker down and watch a championship game. It used to be that they would watch the Cowboys win the Super Bowl way back in ninety-six, but now they watch the Rangers clench their first ever World Series. Bless them, they love their Texas sports teams. It kills them that my younger brother Griffin wasn’t drafted into the Stars.
Cautiously winding my way into the center of the mansion, I’m careful not to step on any of the creaky planks of walnut. But even with my stealthy ways, my Mama’s little demon Pomeranian hears me just before I enter the room. Ever the attack dog, the little fluffy, rust colored rat starts growling and barking. Letting it be known that I have so rudely awoken her from her nap.
“Who’s that, Sweetie?” I hear my Mama call out.
Jumping from her place on the couch, Sweetie comes running towards me. My Mama follows suit, walking towards the wide door frame. Pulling her gaze from her dog, she stops dead in her tracks as her eyes settle on me.
“Sutton? What the hell are you doing here?” she asks in bewilderment.
“Hey Mama,” I say, trying to turn on my charm.
“What the hell are you doing here, boy? Why aren’t you at the hotel? Did something happen? Did you call Harrison yourself? Did something go wrong? Did the bitch get away? Did you not do it right?”
The more she speaks, the more frantic her voice becomes. I lift my hands in an attempt to calm her, shushing her in the politest way I can.
“Mama, please, give me a moment to tell you. I don’t want to tell you to calm down because I know that pisses you off, butI really do need you to calm down.Please.”
Blinking at me, her cheeks turn as red as her hair. I can see her mind running a mile a minute, but she actually listens to me. Leaning down to pick up her barking yip yap, she pulls the pup to her chest.
“Shh, Sweetie. It’s just Sutton, be a good girl.”
Ceasing her incessant barking, Sweetie bounces her beady black eyes back and forth between my Mama and me. I may be her favorite son, but even I don’t hold a candle to this damn dog.
“Alright, Sutton. Tell me what the hell is going on,” she demands.
Taking a deep breath, I soften my features as best I can. I know I need to rip off the band-aid as quickly as possible, there’s definitely no beating around this bush.
“She turned me down, Mama,” I reply with a shrug of myshoulders.
Staring at me for a handful of seconds, a range of different emotions flash over her face. Her mouth finally drops, and she lets out a sharp laugh.
“Very funny, Sutton. Now tell me what really happened.”
Taking a couple of steps towards her, my head nods as I once again shrug my shoulders.
“I’m telling you the truth, Mama. I took her to the hotel, brought her back to the room. And before we did anything she turned to me and told me that she didn’t feel right about it, that she’s not that type of girl. That she doesn’t have sex with someone unless she’s in a committed relationship.”
Huffing in disbelief, she gives me an incredulous look.
“She saidwhat,now?”
Lifting my hands in exasperation, I chuckle in kind. I know I really have to sell this, I try to recall everything I learned fifteen years ago back in high school drama class.
“I’m just as shocked! I tried to talk her into it, I used all of the tricks in my book, but…she stuck to her guns. She said that she really liked me and that she didn’t want to ruin what could be if she let me use her before I loved her.”
Widening her blue eyes, I can tell my Mama is having a hard time believing me.
Her opinion of women my age isn’t that high, she doesn’t think that there are still ladies with morals. I know this will be atough pill for her to swallow.
“You should have tried harder, Sutton. A lot was riding on tonight, you know that.”
I hate to hear the disappointment in her voice. It takes me right back to when I was nineteen and had botched my first kill. After I thought Cara had slipped, I called my Mama to tell her the good news, only to have the tight bodied brunette wake up sputtering on her own blood. My Mama had to then walk me through it, coaching me the correct way to hold her throat, and how much pressure to use. She had the same tone to her voice then as she does now. Even with me not wanting to hurt Dolly, it still fills me with shame to disappoint her.
“I know, Mama! But what would you have had me do? You know that I only kill the ones that deserve it. And this girl? I promise you that she doesn’t. She’s intelligent and kind. She’s sweeter than honey and has a giver’s heart. She’s perfect. She really is. I know you will love her!”
Studying my face, a loud gasp leaves her lips. She knows me better than anyone else on this planet, she can tell that I’m smitten. She always told me that I would know when I foundthe one.She might not want to admit it right this second, but she can feel in her mother’s heart that I have met her future daughter-in-law.
“Think long and hard about this, Sutton. Senator Murphy really, really needed that liver for his niece. This girl, what’s hername?” she asks.