I wished I had a better comeback than that. For the next week, this would be a future shower conversation where I’d spit the perfectly caustic response to my body wash. He’d managed to cut me down with one barb. Too bad he couldn’t use that precision on his overgrown pine out front.
Dammit, that would have been a good comeback.
“Well, let’s hope you picked the right person, Mary,” Pin Dick said with a final disapproving scowl at me. “Sorry about the practice. Maybe next time.” He turned to Cath. “Michael, hope you understand.”
Cath stared at the floor just in front of her feet and nodded once.
Pin Dick left without another word.
“What a dick,” I said. I didn’t even bother trying to be quiet because he scuttled out of there as fast as he could anyway.
“Hence the name,” Mari mumbled, but her worried gaze was set on Cath. I was so taken aback by the outdated sexism and passive-aggressive bullying that it took me long after he walked away to process what he’d said.
“What’s that guy’s deal with names?” I asked, turning back to them both.
The ladies exchanged a glance.
“He never remembers my name. Or at least, he pretends not to. I’ve worked here for years now, but I guess he can’t be bothered. Shows just how important he is,” Mari said, oddly defeated. I’d expect her to She-Hulk rage out and chase after him, leaving potholes where she stepped. I was looking forward to it, honestly.
This morose acceptance was much worse.
“He’s deadnaming me,” Cath said stonily.
My mouth snapped shut. I already decided I hated the guy since my mother complained about his tree, and then even more the first night Mari talked about him. Witnessing him firsthand was rage-inducing. This was more than a small-dick, insecure man pulling his power around. This was absolute bullshit.
I had a taste of the anger that motivated Mari. The red-out of my brain, short-circuited decision-making.
I felt protective of Cath and Mari and the whole systematic injustice of assholes like this who crushed programs they never deemed worthy. I might not have much to offer, but I had some experience.
That settled it. I was a lot of things, probably most of them weren’t great.But I had been bullied my whole childhood, and I couldn’t stand a bully. Mari and Cath seemed to inherently understand that giving him a reaction was exactly what he fed off. So then be it. I had an idea, and he could fuck all the way off.
I didn’t want to be here, and I sure as hell did not want to have to see that guy again. He reminded me of every mediocre loser who wielded whatever power they had on those they knew were powerless against them. By using the name that Cath was born with and had not chosen, he was purposely hurting her. I would help Cath because I had the ability to, but then I would go back to my life of solitude.
“There is one other option.” I heaved a sigh. And I was probably going to regret it.
CHAPTER 11
MARI
Leo was stone silent and still as I drove us to his mom’s house. He wouldn’t tell me his big idea, saying he’d rather I saw it first. It was agreed that the practice wasn’t going to happen today, after all, despite my best efforts. Cath got a ride to work at Pizza Hut early, ever eager to pick up some extra cash. She’d been hard to read as she walked away, and I wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed with the turn of events.
I tugged the pencil free and let my hair loose. I had so much residual tension in my body from this day, I felt like I could snap. There was so much to do, and nothing felt like it was going right.
I tried not to feel defeated as the rain outside matched my mood: stormy and melodramatic. Some days, it felt like the world conspired against me. I wanted Cath to have everything she could possibly need to set her up for success, but if her and Leo’s first interactions were any indication of what was to come, the months until her audition in late February were going to be an uphill battle.
Leo seemed to be faring no better to my right. He hadn’t even made a snarky comment when I had to move stacks of paper, sheet music, and several travel mugs from the passenger seat. I’d managed to shove the bra into my gym bag of extra performance clothes I kept in the car just in case before he saw. He spotted my copy of the signed NDA at the top of the stack, and he frowned.
“I emailed it in. It’s just my copy.” I didn’t want him to think I didn’t take his privacy seriously.
“No. I know.” His thumb tapped repeatedly against his knee.
“Are you okay?”
“Just wondering why you’re so sure I can help Cath,” he said.
He glanced at me with such vulnerability I was hit with a wave of compassion. I gripped the steering wheel tighter. Janice had suggested the idea, Devlin had the same, and Cath was totally on board, even if she was hard to read through her teenage angst. It would be incredibly shortsighted if I let my own biases get in the way.
“Why not you? Green Valley isn’t overrun with proficient drummers,” I said simply.
