Uncut (Unexpected Book 4) (64 page)

T
he headquarters of Transcending Productions moved from L.A. to Seattle. We have two studios here and four in Vancouver. It all made sense and I didn’t have to sacrifice anything for the greater good. The new offices are close to Decker Records. Their buildings are similar—old brick historical from the outside. However, the production company doesn’t have walls covered up with posters, framed billboard charts or pictures of bands that have recorded in their studios. Here the immaculate white walls blend with the glass desks. The décor is all Pria, our image consultant, and her sidekicks—Thea and AJ.

Dad has an office here, too. He’s out of retirement and back into show biz. His decision was based on a mixture of the way television and movies are streaming, how the business is changing, and that the offices are only a few minutes from his house. He now works for me. Convenient, but at the same time a pain in the ass. He can call me whenever and ask to see me at any time. Like now that he wants to discuss the Nix series.

Shutting the door of his office behind me, I wait for him to finish his conversation with Pops. I sit down in the chair across from him, pull out my iPad, and check my emails. I don’t pay attention to what my parents discuss. Though, I am thankful I didn’t catch them making out like last week.

“Did you find him?” Gabe asks anxiously.

I set my iPad on top of his desk and grab his pen to chew on it.

“Or her?” Chris adds because according to him, J. M. Hurst could be the pen name of a woman too. “I can have Mason do the work, Matt. We have assets for that kind of shit.”

My jaw tenses. This is it. I let out a frustrated sigh. They never trust what I am capable of doing. Hence, we’re having this conversation today. My family is invested in a Sci-Fi series. The Nix series. They want to buy the rights to make them into a movie. Maybe I can be the screenwriter since I know so much about the series.

“I love you dearly, but I hate when you assume that I can’t take care of shit.” I drum the pen against the desk. “Makes me feel like shit. Useless. Reminds me that I have limitations.”

“We know you are capable, but also that you pile more than you can carry.” Pops takes a breath, moving from one side of the room to the other and then stopping in front of me. “It has never been our intention to make you feel . . . Really? You have zero limitations, Matt. You set your goals, meet them, and add more . . . and more and, for fuck’s sake, concentrate on one thing and stop trying to prove yourself to us. Right, babe?”

Dad purses his lips and straightens his posture before leveling his gaze. “That’s why I let you head this company, Mattie. Because you’re capable of that and more. You almost failed because you believed those jackasses. I mean the board. You let the suits run over you. Once you spoke up and made your own decisions, the company took a different direction. You moved the entire operation here. That’s fantastic.”

I grab a Post-it from his desk to explain who J. M. Hurst is. Switching my initials J.M. to M.J. and adding the Colt to Hurst. As not many know that my name is Matthew James Colthurst-Decker, the connection between the two is almost impossible. They are both quiet, staring at each other for a few minutes. Pops looks at Dad, who studies me, and I wish I knew what they’re thinking.

“Talking about putting extra shit on your plate, Mattie.” Pops takes a deep breath, and his eyes move from Dad to mine a few times. “Gabe, our son is a kickass author.”

The pressure I’d felt since the moment I decided to tell them about it is gone. Damn. They are making it too simple. Usually they make a big deal out of my
oops, I own that company too.
Not anymore.

“Well then, have Pria’s people release a communication that we’ve acquired the rights,” Dad begins ordering. “Tomorrow you can set your team and start working on the script.”

I nod, standing up and picking up my iPad before I leave. “Do we really want to make this into a movie?”

“It’ll be a great series of movies, Matthew,” he says staring at me. “You’ve created great things in the past year. You’re cut out for this and much more, Son.”

Much more.
I feel more hope knowing my personal life is headed in the right direction, especially after this weekend with Thea. Arizona is my new favorite place. Heck, it was fucking awesome to get reacquainted with her. Yes, we did that talking thing she loves, but for as much as we talked, we made love too. Losing myself inside her while knowing that everything will be all right makes all the bullshit of the last six months almost worth it.
Almost
. After everything that happened and after what we lost, we’re finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally my heart and soul have that feeling like we’ve found a new molding, a new way to exist without . . . the old way is behind us.

“Thank you for being such great parents.” I turn around to leave Dad’s office.

“We love you,” Pops says.

I smile while slightly nodding his way then close the door to the office. Maybe it is time I believe them—my parents. Stop second-guessing myself and understand that they know I’m competent enough to handle myself, my business, and even this company. Today is a good day to transform the pattern and create something new.

I head to my office and take a good look at what I've accomplished. I leave my iPad on my desk after shutting my door, and sit down at my drums. I need to find my footing, organize my ideas, and set a plan for the upcoming movies in motion. Maybe I should call Jacob and ask him to let me use a practice room or an empty studio, to use the equipment to come up with the right words to finish that song. The missing words slowly mix with the notes, but for the first time in my life I’m having trouble coming up with just the right ones. Lyrics that describe the beginning of the tale and the end of an uncut story.

I pull out my phone, unlock the screen, and look at my favorite picture. Her bright beautiful eyes stare at me. I love everything about her, her warm heart, her witty streak, and that sweetness she’s added to my life. My butterfly. I press the call button and wait.

“Hey,” she responds at the first ring. “How did it go?”

“Would you like to be part of the screenwriting team?”

“Aaaah! I love you, Mattie, with all my heart.” Those words fill my heart with love, but of course, there’s a part of my heart that can never be touched by anyone, not even her. I also know there’s a part in her heart that is dormant, and no matter how much I love her, it’ll never come back to life. “Let’s celebrate over the weekend.”

“Let’s do this one step at a time. I’m picking you up at noon, right?” I check the time. It’s only eleven; I still have plenty of time to email Pria and see if she can work her magic.

“Yes, I’ll be across the street. My crafts class starts now,” she whispers. “Ten little children are ready to become Picasso today, or, you know, play with finger paint. Love you, baby.”

“Love you too, baby.”

My entire body is jittery as I notice we are driving to the new house.
Our
new house. The house we designed thinking about our future, back when we believed that we’d be three. Matt never stopped the construction of the house, even after the break up with Tristan, or the crucial four-month break that we had.

“Did your man deliver, or what?” Matt asks as he parks the car in front of our place. He kisses my hand.

“My man delivered.” I place a big smooch on his lips and climb down from the truck.

“The house is ready!” I scream, rushing toward the porch, admiring the greenery and wondering if next spring we’ll be able to raid the nursery and plant flowers everywhere.

“I hired a landscaper that’s waiting for you to tell him what kind of flowers you want.” Matt comes from behind me and takes me by the waist. “He’ll have them ready for you next year.”

“How did you know . . . ?”

“That you’re thinking flowers?” He kisses my earlobe shooting electricity from there to my entire body. Damn, he has to know this isn’t the right time to make me needy for him. “I want to believe that I know my woman. Mostly, you love flowers, baby.”

“Have I mentioned that I love you?” I disentangle from his sturdy limbs and enter our new home.
Ours
.

We walk through the majestic formal entry. From where I stand, I can see the opulent windows that look to the backyard, the lake, and the cloudy sky. The polished hardwood floors shine, making the white walls seem even brighter. The first fireplace is to the left of the room, where Matt plans to set the piano. “This is perfect,” I twirl a couple of times before we continue. “We have ten extra bedrooms for the Colthurst clan. This is going to be so much fun. Dad can stay with us when he’s in town.”

“Joy. Arthur staying at our house.” Matt’s eyes are half-mast.

The master bedroom is on the main floor and has four rooms, including a sunroom. For now I’m ogling the clean interiors and wondering what kind of furniture will mash our styles.

We enter the gourmet kitchen that includes an Indian tandoori oven—in case it rains we can barbecue. The kitchen island has a bookcase on the side, plus the stove. The breakfast bar is long enough to sit at least six. Behind it is the breakfast nook that faces the lake; the pond is only feet away from the house. Christmas is going to be so much fun.

“I read your interview in
Today’s Entertainment
,” he says out of the blue.

Shit. I forgot about that stupid article. A
Where Are They Now?
segment about
Sophie Knows It All
.

“Want to talk about it, Miss Levitz?”

I stop walking, giving him all my attention.

“You denied being attached to one of the Decker triplets—the single one. You’re mine.” The last word is muffled against my lips.

I angle my head to look at him better. “Have your people send an amendment if you like. Former Hollywood tramp dates the bad boy of the Decker Trio.” I can’t help but laugh at how stupid that sounds, and how false it is.

“If you’re serious.” He releases my body and pulls out his phone, then hugs me back. “Smile.” As I do, he clicks a selfie of the two of us. “I’ll Face-Tweet-Instagram this selfie of us.
#nestisready soon moving in with the love of my life #s2bfiancee #SKIA #MJDecker off the market
.”

“What does SKIA mean?”

“Hashtag SKIA:
Sophie Knows It All
. The show has been trending since yesterday, when the article came out.” Hmm, that was yesterday and no one told me. “My people notified me, I let it slide. Shall I press share?”

“I don’t care what the world knows or not as long as I . . . Wait, you said soon to be fiancée?” He answers with a slight nod. My mouth opens and closes, as I try to find the words to reason with him. “Isn’t it too soon?”

He taps his phone several times. “Shared.” He places his phone back inside his pocket.

“I’m not proposing just yet, but . . .” His full attention is back at me. “I will soon. Janine wants you to make an honest man out of me.”

I doubt his grandma has anything to do with this, but it’s adorable he’s starting to consider the million ways to tip the balance and change my title.