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26
When Monday rolled around, Austin felt like a new man as he drove to work. L.A. had been a whirlwind, and he had taken a long weekend to recover and catch up on sleep. He knew that Jane had to report back to work the day after they arrived home to handle other work commitments. He couldn’t figure out how she did it. As much as he knew his brothers might have a few choice words for him for needing a couple of days to recover after a business trip, he didn’t care.
He also wanted to take the weekend to try to figure out a few things. Molly had called him regularly all weekend, which he was fine with because he liked her, but it was obvious she was looking for more than a working relationship. He didn’t want to lead her on, but he also didn’t want to mess anything up for work, so he felt a little trapped. As much as he knew that any guy would be counting his lucky stars if Molly McKee were interested in him, all he could think about was Jane.
Austin couldn’t pinpoint when things changed for him, but when he felt her sleeping on his shoulder on the way home from L.A., a peacefulness came over him that he had never experienced before. They had both fallen asleep on the way back, almost as soon as the plane took off. His sleep was fitful because he kept waking up every now and then to people talking, or some slight turbulence. At one point during the flight, he realized Jane was resting her head on his shoulder. He had a feeling that if she knew, she would have been mortified, but he liked having her resting on him. It felt natural and comfortable, which was a feeling he wasn’t used to experiencing with a woman, so he stayed still, not moving an inch while she slept.
As Austin parked and made his way into The Oxford, he noticed his father and mother pulling into the parking area. He hadn’t seen them since he left for L.A., so he wanted to make sure he said hello and walk in with them. As he watched them get out of the car together, he thought back to what Jane had said about them, and he smiled. He was lucky to have parents who were still in love after all these years. Just watching his father waiting for his mother and then grab her hand was a rare thing, and they were fortunate to have this kind of love.
“Well, well, well…” Austin said loud enough for them to hear, “look at these lovebirds walking in late to work,” he joked.
His dad chuckled when he spotted Austin and quickly looked down at his watch, “I never thought I’d see the day when you beat me to the office,” he joked back. “Actually, you’re just the person we were talking about on the way over.”
Austin waited for his parents to catch up with him and gave each of them a hug, “Is that so? All good things, I hope.”
“All good things,” his mother nodded. “We heard everything went great in L.A., and that the wedding planning is in wonderful shape.”
“Jane fill you in?” Austin asked, feeling a heat in his body by saying her name.
“Actually, Jane and Molly spoke to us,” his mom said.
“Jane and Molly? Austin asked, surprised by her response.
“Yes,” she said, “Jane updated us on Friday. She seemed very encouraged by the trip and happy to hear the menu is 100% finalized.”
“That’s great,” Austin nodded, smiling to himself as he thought about Jane.
“Seems that Kat is going to pay an arm and leg for this wedding since everything is so last-minute, but that’s the beauty of working with someone who has a big budget,” she commented.
“Yeah,” Austin answered, “they’re not worried about the finances on this one. Plus, according to Molly, it seems that the guest list is super small. Invitations were being delivered by hand, not even by mail.”
“Ohhhhh…” his mom said, “snazzy!”
“Hey, as long as everything comes together,” his dad chimed in, “I don’t care if she has 500 people.”
“What did you talk to Molly about?” Austin asked curiously. She had called him so many times this weekend that he was surprised Molly didn’t bring it up.
“Oh,” his mom said, “we didn’t actually talk with her. She emailed your father thanking him for giving you, Jane, and Robert the time to jet off to L.A. for the sampling. We thought it was very nice of her to do that, but she reiterated how happy Kat and Mike were with everything, and what a top-notch team we have,” she gushed. “See… what did we tell you? We knew you would be great at networking and representing our family.”
“Which brings us to why we wanted to chat with you,” his father interrupted.
“What’s up?” Austin asked curiously, as they walked along the path to the doorway of The Oxford.
“We want you to continue networking and nurturing clients for events, but we also want you to take on the role as more of a family spokesperson. You’re great with people and comfortable with just about everyone,” his father added.
“So you want me to be the public face? Isn’t that your job?” Austin asked with a slight laugh as they walked into the lobby and smiled at their employees.
“It was because I was the only one here to do it,” his father responded. “I have way too many responsibilities on my plate to be visible all the time, and your brother Chris is seeing that now. He wants to be a behind-the-scenes guy, not out in front.”
“And you want that person to be me?” he asked.
“We do,” his mother stated, “which is why we wanted to talk to you today. I want you to be with me today in the restaurant, talking with our guests and meeting some of our regulars. They know you by name, but not many of them have actually met you.”
Austin walked along, following them to their office suite, processing what they were saying. “And my brothers are OK with this?” He asked.“And Jane?”
“Honestly,” his father answered, “none of your brothers want to take on the role. They also think you were made for it,” his father chuckled. “Seems you’ve always liked the limelight, at least more than the three of them. And,” he added, “Jane said it would be fine with her since pretty much everything has been done for the wedding. You won't be working one-on-one with her any longer.”
Austin felt a sinking feeling come over him hearing those words, but didn’t want to give anything away to his parents, “Well, I don’t have any objections to it, as long as nobody else does.”
