Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 7

Between school, dates with Tristan, and late night studying with Nicole and Nate, time seemed to be passing too quickly. It is already the end of the week and we've passed the official three week countdown to Thanksgiving. The chilly fall air grows colder everyday, as does the impending deadline to put together a plan to present to The Underground's old and new board members. As part of Brian's return as temporary owner of the club, he has brought in his old board members that Tristan had replaced to oversee the change of hands coming up.

Tristan understands from a business perspective why his father needs the old board to be involved in the voting party, however it leaves him and Uncle Luke outnumbered. When Tristan replaced the members his father had chosen, he also decided to maintain a smaller group. He was, and still is, young and didn't need the responsibility of managing a huge board on top of vendors and employees. Though a smart decision at the time, it puts him at a disadvantage with the upcoming vote.

And now I only had less than three weeks to help him and Uncle Luke come up with a new business strategy to win the majority. As the newly, and unofficially, appointed head of media I had as much as a say in the way the club would proceed to be represented as anyone. Uncle Luke disagrees in my position as I haven't actually been involved with the club yet, but Tristan is headstrong about keeping me in the loop. He also knows since Carter is part of the equation that there's no use in trying to stop me otherwise. This affects my life just as much as theirs.

With time running out, schedules have also started to overlap. Instead of trying to separate study time with Nicole and Nate from strategizing with Tristan from bouncing ideas off of Uncle Luke, all these events have mushed together to one big pow wow in the kitchen.

"Pass me that vendor folder," I tell Nate, gesturing with the study guide in my hand. "And here, take this and review question five. I think you need a stronger point than 'because he's crazy'."

Nate trades the folder for the literature study guide and flips to the second page. "I mean, he is crazy. I guess I can elaborate on that, though." He slides the pen out from its place behind his ear and scribbles some notes down.

"Tristan, if Carter and Katy are trying to dig up dirt on you, why don't we do the same?" Nicole muses over her Chinese takeout. "You said earlier that their probably going to play dirty and sabotage, so it's fair game now right?"

"Technically, yes," Tristan replies while grabbing the top page from the vendor folder and scanning the contents. It was my first pick for special event decorators that I thought we could contract out for theme nights instead of doing it ourselves. "But as much as I would love to sabotage my father and his minions, I would rather them slip up and be their own downfall while we have a legitimate business case. There's no doubt in my mind that my father, though he's a horrible person with bad habits, will stick to his obligations to remain in control. I'm banking on Carter and Katy messing something up. They are too volatile to maintain the level of composure they've been at."

"We can't just wait around for them to mess up!" Nicole argues, jabbing her utensil in the air towards Tristan.

"We're not just waiting," I remind her. "We're working on being the best candidates. That's all we can do to beat Brian and Carter out."

Nicole grumbles in disappointment and returns to filing out her third application. I look away, thinking about how I'm running out of time for that part of my life, too. Maybe I should swap out this vendor folder for one of the many blank college forms in my room...

"Nate, that's a terrible justification," Uncle Luke peers over my friend's shoulder at his study guide. "Did you even read the book?"

"No, have you?" Nate flips the question around.

"No," Uncle Luke sheepishly admits. "But I can come up with something better than that!"

"Then you can take my exam for me," Nate jokes with him. Their easygoing back and forth takes away some of the tension in the air. It's enough of a push to slide The Underground related work towards Tristan and pick up some school work. I can't say as much for my concentration on the work as I can for the sudden motivation, but there's no reason not to try.

~~~

The night proceeded as usual, winding down around midnight with Nicole and Nate packing up their study materials. As much as I had tried to study with them, I kept gravitating back to Tristan and Uncle Luke's huddle around the club's business plan. They had made some progress on budgeting the renovation and allocating funds to vendors over a short two year plan. It made feel better about the presentation, but frustrated that my time was the only one being split between these two aspects of my life. Tristan doesn't necessarily need to study, he's just been humoring Nicole and Nate for the most part. My two friends can't be heavily involved in the presentation or planning as they have no stake in the club other than their knowledge of it and friendship with Tristan. Uncle Luke's only priority is the club and protecting Aunt Clara from the craziness surrounding it.

I thought about this for the entire night, up until saying my goodbyes to Nicole and Nate. Tristan is still back in the kitchen with my uncle drafting up a formal proposal of all they had discussed tonight. I walk in and catch the tail end of their conversation.

"We're trying to figure out how that will affect our own proceedings, though I don't think it will," Uncle Luke puts a hand on Tristan's shoulder. He looks like a father consoling a chid, though Tristan is at eye level with him. "What's important is your own safety. If possible, a protective detail might be necessary just in case. We can even ask one of the club's security officers to do it."

"I can handle myself," Tristan says, shaking the hand off his shoulder. "I don't need someone to follow me around just because my father is staying close by."

"What's going on?" I ask, this time not trying to conceal myself like the last time I eavesdropped. "Why does Tristan need security?"

The two exchange a look before Tristan answers. "I don't need security. Luke is just worried that my father is going to physically attack me in order to pause our plans. He was able to move into a permanent residence, which happens to be between the school and the club. We have reason to believe he's been tracking my movements in order to get an upper hand on the situation."

"Maybe you should have someone escort you," I say quietly, thinking about how I'm always with Tristan going from place to place as well. I know he would do whatever to keep me safe, but why let him take the risk?

"I'm not a little kid. I can take care of myself," he dismisses the suggestion and grabs the remaining folders from the counter. Shoving them into his bag with one swift movement, he turns to the back door and leaves promptly.

Uncle Luke looks at me with a sad expression and I instantly know what he's thinking. This won't end without more blood spilled.