"Ezra. I called you three times yesterday. Are you alright?" Franklin asked. Franklin was the CFO of his father's company and had been running things since his father fell ill and passed away.
"I apologize. I had my phone off. Is everything ok?" Ezra asked.
"No. The board is meeting tomorrow in the California office. It doesn't sound good. Ezra, they don't think you are fit to run the company. They want to vote you out." Franklin said.
"What?" Ezra felt the heat from anger moving up his body. "Why?" He asked.
"Because you haven't been present in the matters of the company both before and after your father's passing."
"I'm booking a flight out there now. I'll be at the meeting." Ezra said.
"Happy to hear it, sit." Franklin said.
Ezra was furious. His father worked until his death at creating and building that corporation. How dare these greedy board members try to take it from him. He picked up his phone and made the reservations.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Billie slid the patio door open and sat down. It had been a long week. She thought back to the camping trip. How she and Gabe returned to the campsite and everyone seemed to pick up on the weirdness between them.
"Everything go alright?" Pete asked.
"Yeah. Good." Gabe said. They all looked at both of them and smiled.
Later that night, she and Gabe were by the campfire.
"What did you mean? About the gilded butterflies?" He asked her.
"It's Shakespeare. From King Lear. It means that we find, or rather, I find it a bit comical when people coat themselves in adoration, they care so much about being wanted and desired and accepted that they don't realize the heavy gilded things they carry only hinder their ability to spread their own wings and fly. Become who they truly are." She explained the best she could.
"Ah, I get it." He said.
"Just an observation." She said.
"So, if I focused on my music more and focused less on the chicks and drunk shenanigans, you think people would take me more seriously?" He asked, looking up at her. His wild long hair blowing in the soft breeze. The fire lighting his face.
"I know I would." She said. Their eye contact was direct and she made sure he knew what she was saying.
He nodded and smiled.
"Maybe I don't want to be taken seriously." He said.
"Well then, looks like you're doing everything right." She said, still maintaining eye contact.
What was happening between them? Was she actually beginning to feel fondly towards him, in that way?
And where was the stranger, Easton? Who was he? She hadn't heard from him at all. It had been two weeks of nothing. He was a mystery to her, a conundrum. He just appeared, twice, and invaded her life for mere hours. Then, disappeared again. If he hadn't been seen by her group of friends, she would believe he was a figment of her imagination.
+++++++++++++++++++++
She finished her glass of wine and went back inside. Gabe's band had a gig that night and they had invited her. She wasn't thrilled about coming out but the silence in her little house was too much for her. She put on a pair of jeans and a black strappy top she had bought when she was grocery shopping at Walmart the other day. It probably showed too much cleavage but it was cheap and she needed more clothes, so she bought it. She grabbed her purse and headed out.
"Paula!" Billie said as she walked into the Roadhouse.
"Hey Lily! Some guy I met online invited me out tonight. I don't know what I'm doing." Paula said, shaking her head. Billie was happy she was starting to date again.
"You are out having a good time. I'm happy to see it." Billie said, then offered to buy her first drink.
"Well, he's not here yet. Maybe he found out about my past. Maybe he decided a date with the black widow isn't the best idea." Paula said.
Billie shook her head. "Nonsense." Just then, a tall man with shoulder length gray hair and a goatee came over and said hello. Billie could tell this was who Paula was waiting for. Billie smiled and slowly excused herself.
"Lily." She heard a voice say. "Man. You look, you look incredible." Gabe said, standing beside her and smiling.
"Thank you." She said. He seemed awkward still and Billie wasn't sure how to feel about it. He looked good, as always. His hair was pulled back into a man bun and he had on a white Bowie tee and tight black jeans that accentuated his tall and lean, muscular legs, with a scarf tucked into his back and leather lace up boots.
A young blonde came up and put her arms around Gabe. He pushed her off and walked a few steps away.
"Gabriel, what is your problem?" She asked.
"I just don't understand why you all think I'm some kind of piece of meat you can just touch whenever or however you want." He said, sounding frustrated.
She rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Gabe!" Pete called, holding up a shot glass.
"Ready to get this show on the road?" He asked Billie. She nodded and headed over to the table.