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Since Landon went to Malek’s after dinner, I take advantage of his absence to go for a swim in the pool.
Afterward, I eye up the pool house and consider how Hannah would like it if she had to live there. I decide it needs a desk for her to do her schoolwork at, so I’ll do a little browsing online once I finish my homework and see what I can find.
I’m still using the towel to squeeze pool water out of my hair when I come inside. Hayden is standing in the living room. I want to ask if he’s amenable to pool house modifications, but one look at Mom standing worriedly at Hayden’s side as if waiting for more information redirects every thought in my head.
My gaze shoots to Hayden’s face. I just figured he was on a work call, but a work call wouldn’t worry Mom. And now that I’m looking at him, I note Hayden’s locked jaw, the glint of anger in his eyes.
The last time he looked like that was when he had to come to the police station to pick up Landon after he broke into my house.
What did he do now?
Since he’s with Malek, there’s a good chance they did something idiotic.
“Yes,” Hayden says. “Of course. I assure you it won’t happen again. And please extend our apologies to Javier.”
Javier?
My heart sinks. I drop the towel to my side, damp hair forgotten, and approach Hayden as he ends the call.
“What did they say?” Mom asks.
“What happened?” I ask, since I need them to start at what I missed while I was swimming.
He answers Mom first. “They won’t be pressing charges.”
Pressing charges?!
“What happened?” I demand again, eyes wide.
Hayden sighs tiredly and uses one hand to massage his temples. Mom moves behind him and gently massages his shoulders to help ease the tension. “It appears that when Landon ‘lost his phone’ he also stole an entire bottle of Johnnie Walker from behind the bar. After draining half of it, he decided to pull a prank on the valet. He found his way to the employee area in the back and broke into Javier’s locker so he could plant the stolen bottle there. Then, he called to report that when we used the valet service for dinner tonight, he thought he smelled liquor on the guy’s breath. When management looked into the report, they found the liquor in Javier’s locker and fired him.”
I gasp.
Hayden holds up a hand. “Since he was innocent, Javier fought it, and when he pressed the issue and told them he’d be happy to take a breathalyzer test to prove he was sober, management decided to review the tapes. Of course, the security footage did not show Javier stealing the liquor and stashing it in his locker. It showedLandondoing it.”
“So Javi isn’t fired?”
Hayden shakes his head. “It’s all straightened out now. We’ll have to give him a hell of a tip next time we have dinner there,” he adds dryly.
“Is Landon even allowed back?” Mom asks.
“Of course.” He says it so casually, as if it was the only expected outcome. “You throw a little money at these things and they’re settled pretty easily, but that’s not the point.” He shifts his attention back to his phone. “I need to call my brother. Parker, can you do me a favor?”
I nod.
“Can you run upstairs and pack Landon a bag?”
My heart drops. “A bag?”
“He has a brown leather weekend bag in his closet. Just fill it with his toiletries and enough clothes for a couple of days.”
I bite anxiously on my bottom lip. “Where’s he going?”
“He’s grounded. He’ll be staying with his cousin.”
“Okay… Should I pack electronics? Does he have a laptop or an iPad I should…?”
“No. Pack his charger for his phone, and if you see his school bag up there, bring that. He doesn’t need anything else.”
