"Sooo... sugar tits. How do you know the fat shit?" Trevor asked Mack as he continued driving the Truck.
"I'm going to ignore asking where you got sugar tits from because I need to ask you who you're referring to when you say 'fat shit'" Mack responded confidently, holding back a snigger at Trevor's remark.
They were driving around aimlessly. Mack had attempted to tell Trevor where she needed to be dropped off, but he made a comment about how he was new to the city and was staying in his investment property in Vespucci beach. Mack felt sorry for the guy, she had a feeling he didn't have many friends.
She also knew he was dangerous according to Michael so she was a little fearful to speak up and get him to stop driving and take her home. So far he had been fairly stable with her. Mack had never studied psychology but she knew his behaviour was volatile and he could snap, based on what Michael had told her. Trevor had just found out that his best friend had been lying about being dead for nearly ten years. It was safer for Mack to go along with anything he said.
Even after knowing all of this, she decided to get into the truck when he offered a ride with no questions asked. She saw this as an adventure. Her life had been fairly mundane recently and getting into a truck with a dangerous stranger was one way to experience some fun.
"Michael Townley." Trevor responded, using a sarcastic tone in his voice.
"Oh...Michael?" Mack asked, figuring that must be Michael's birth name "He knows my brother from around, I went to a party once at their house and became friends with Tracey."
Trevor's face screwed up with rage, Mack was not sure what he was angry about, but his face then softened quickly.
"Tracey... what an angel. I rushed to the hospital when she was born and tried to gift the happy couple with beer and weed but got kicked out. Then the cops were called so I had to hide for a few days." Trevor stated.
Mack blinked in confusion and tried her hardest not to burst out laughing at how random Trevor's response was. Laughing wasn't a good idea in the company of unstable people, she knew that. Instead she decided to humour him.
"Prudes." Mack responded, screwing her face up and giggling.
"I had the last laugh. Over all of those fuckers. Every single one of them. Including Mr. Townley-whatever-the-fuck-his-last-name is. For I am now an international CEO!" Trevor passionately stated, getting so worked up in the moment he veered onto the other side of the road as he was driving. Cars went crazy and started honking like mad, he attempted to scare them by driving towards them before gliding back onto the correct side of the road.
"Oh really? What do you do?" Mack asked him.
"Business stuff. I have a few ventures. Not many people understand. You have to be business minded to get it. And I am a mother fucking businessman!" Trevor said.
"Try me. I'm currently studying business at university." Mack shrugged, finding herself curious on what Trevor had to say.
This got Trevor's attention as he peered over at the young girl. He knew he was surrounded by idiots. Wade was a good bitch to have and Ron was careful, which was sometimes needed. But they weren't the whole package. He had needed someone brilliant who understood business. What if all he needed was a woman's touch in a man's world?
"What do you know about money laundering, drug manufacturing and arms smuggling?" Trevor curiously asked the girl, his driving becoming shocking as many cars began to honk. He wasn't interested in driving right now, not when he was in the middle of a business meeting.
"I've had this exact conversation with Michael, well minus the drugs and guns thing. I've done money laundering before, but you're right. You definitely need someone who understands to do it, you can't get any idiot who's watched a gangster movie thinking they're all that. Eh, drugs and guns aren't my thing, but the business person handles the business. That's why you hire minions to produce the goods and services. So I might not be an international CEO like you, but I definitely do get it." Mack grinned.
Trevor was in awe, something he wasn't used to. The only time he ever was surprised these days was when he was angry. He was taken by surprise in a positive way and he did not know how to handle it. He was quiet for a few moments as every single emotion flew around in his head. He settled, and became calm, none of them taking effect of his body.
"Well, you've certainly proved yourself Miss Mackenzie. Are you currently looking for work? I have an opening." Trevor grinned at Mack.
Her eyes went wide. She didn't know this was supposed to be a job interview, she was just making conversation with the unstable older male. She certainly wasn't going to be getting involved in illegal activities, and wracked her brain on how to let him down nicely and not anger him.
"Um… I'm really busy at the moment with my day job and with university, I don't have the time to be a good employee. Thanks, though." She nervously declined, trying hard not to stutter in fear.
"Well, I have an opportunity you cannot refuse. I only need for you to come with me for one meeting, I need a good closer. You look like you could be a good business closer. Worst case you're female so you can just get your tits out, or fuck them or something." Trevor stated, not backing down to Mack's refusal.
Mack slumped in her seat. She wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this, she certainly didn't want to make Trevor her enemy.
Michael had been pacing around his house all night. He had been attempted to flick through channels, but wasn't able to settle on something to watch. He did attempt to put on a classic Vinewood movie, but he was interrupted halfway through by his daughter. Not that she was really interrupting the movie as he had been barely paying attention, she was interrupting his thoughts.
"Hey, Daddy. Can I please have a hundred dollars? I'm going out with Rita tonight." Tracey asked him sweetly as she bounded into the living room.
Tracey had not forgotten her anger towards Michael. She was still very angry towards her father and would go back to ignoring his existence soon, she just had to get money off of him first.
This caught Michael's attention. He usually drowned out his daughter's inane conversations about her raging social life, and the airheads she spent time around. But he knew Rita wasn't a name he had heard in a while. Tracey now spent a lot of time with Mack, so Michael knew it was strange she wasn't going to go see Mackenzie.
"Oh. Okay sure," Michael agreed as he dug out his wallet, as he would now be buying information from Tracey. "Why aren't you with Mackenzie tonight?"
"Because Dad, she won't answer her phone. She's probably with her boyfriend or doing some lame nerd school work." Tracey responded, and Michael couldn't tell whether it was an honest answer or if there was an underlying annoyed tone in Tracey's voice. Either way, he wasn't centered on his daughter's passive aggression.
Considering he had been feeling guilty, a feeling that he wasn't used to, this didn't help his mood. All afternoon he had been waiting around anxiously for some indication from Mack that she was okay. He was angry. Angry at himself for both leaving her alone with a psycho, and also angry at himself for feeling like this. Mackenzie was just a spoilt girl who lived in the same suburb as him, why should he let himself get so worked up?
He had been staring at his phone all night. Would she contact him? She had no reason to. He wasn't her dad or her lover.
He decided to get out his iFruit phone and message her. All he needed was a response back and he could go back to his normal life of self-hate and self-absorption. He took a while to decide what to send to her, before deciding to play it cool.
Thanks for helping with Tracey today. She's calmed down enough to ask for money, ha ha. You get home alright?
From there, Michael played the waiting game. Two minutes after he regretted his decision to reach out to her. He didn't realise this would be more agony, as he would be more desperate for a response.
Like a young girl he waited by the phone as he waited for a member of the opposite sex to call. Amanda had come home at one point and said something to Michael before leaving again. He wasn't sure what she said, he was more concerned about waiting for a response. He had even resorted to making a coffee and was sitting at the kitchen table, staring his phone on the table, waiting for it to light up.
After waiting a half hour Michael couldn't stand it anymore. Without even thinking about what he was doing he found himself grabbing his keys and running out the door. He jumped into his Tailgater and found himself racing to the outskirts of the suburbs, where Mack's house resided.
It took him only two minutes, he managed to shave a whole four minutes off the usual drive. Michael wasn't usually the most cautious driver, but tonight he was crazy, even by his standards. He found himself running every red light and driving twice the speed limit. He wanted to get to Mack's as quickly as possible. Not to see if she was okay, but just to put his mind at rest.
He pulled up outside her house. There was no room for his car in the driveway. As her house was more modest than his, there was only room for two cars and both spots were taken. Mack's red Blista was in the driveway and there was another more masculine car. Michael knew that Mack had a male housemate, and was silently hoping it wouldn't be this male that answered the door. He knew this didn't look right, an older male asking for Mack to see if she was fine, for no real reason at all.
He got to the front door and rang the doorbell. After waiting patiently for a few moments he rang the doorbell again. After no response and feeling a bit stupid for waiting around, he gave a loud rap on the door violently.
This seemed to get a response from the occupants inside as a few extra lights were switched on. Michael heard a few locks being unlocked from the inside and the door was cautiously opened.
Michael saw Mackenzie looking worried wearing nothing but a short robe, and a very muscular shirtless guy behind her glaring at Michael. Mackenzie's face softened as she turned to the shirtless man.
"It's just Michael, Tracey's father. Not an intruder." Mackenzie stated to the man.
"Um…your doorbell is broken." Michael awkwardly stated, his words escaping him as he had no idea what to say in this situation.
"Yeah, it's been broken since I was a kid. Brandon and I never bothered to fix it when we inherited the place. Hang on, let me come outside. I'll be back in a second, okay?" Mack stated to the male as she turned around. He only sent her a nod, before giving one last glance to Michael before Mack stepped outside and shut the door.
"So, who's that?" Michael asked Mackenzie, finding himself curious about who the tall, dark and handsome stranger was in her life.
"Um, that's David. Cop boyfriend. Hence why I've shut the door and stepped outside." Mack awkwardly stated.
She took a few steps away from the door for extra privacy before shutting her robe further and looking around awkwardly to see if the neighbours saw her in her current state.
A realisation then dawned on Michael. Mack was in a robe and her boyfriend was shirtless. They both had disheveled hair. It was then made obvious to Michael he was interrupting an act that makes Baby Jesus cry. It made him feel unsettled, more than he knew it should, so he tried to push it to the back of his mind.
"Okay. I bet you're wondering why I'm here…" Michael started, trying to start conversation as he wasn't sure where it was going. He was wondering what he was doing on her door step himself.
"Kind of. I'm guessing it has something to do with Trevor Phillips though…" Mack answered, awkwardly shifting uncomfortably on the spot.
"Well, yeah. He's a fucking psychopath. I just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you, or anything." Michael explained.
Mack looked at Michael and didn't know how to respond. She felt anger rise, but then disappear. Michael abandoned her, but Mack realised he had no obligation to offer her a ride anyway. She then realised he took the time to see if she was okay hours later, so she knew anger wasn't an appropriate emotion.
Then the guilt came. She knew guilt wasn't an appropriate emotion either, as what she had agreed to had no bearing on Michael's life. But she was still dreading informing him what she was about to say.
"Um, no. He didn't hurt me. He did kind of make me agree to help him with something under duress, though." Mack awkwardly stated.
"Oh?" Michael asked, cocking up an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he needs help with some business stuff." Mack added on, cringing as she waited for Michael's negative response.
Michael was silent for a few moments. The thoughts going through his head were very similar to what Mack was going through not too long ago. He felt anger rising, but knew he had no reason to be angry. Mack was just a friend of his daughter's. She wasn't family and she wasn't a lover. Her making a stupid decision had no effect on his life. Unlike Mack, Michael was not an expert at changing or hiding his emotions. He knew he needed to get out of there, fast.
"Well. I can see you're okay, and I can see you're about to make a real stupid decision. Don't say I didn't warn you about Trevor," Michael spat out before he could help himself "I hope you come to your senses and stay away from him"
Mack cocked her head in confusion. She didn't handle aggression well, especially from older males. It made her feel like a child again, and it made her very upset.
She bit back tears, but found herself unable to speak. She knew later adequate responses would come to her, and she'd be angry at herself for not telling Michael to go fuck himself. But in the actual moment she was teary, but didn't want Michael to know.
"Well, okay. Thanks for the warning. I guess I'll see you later." Mack quietly responded, forcing a very fake smile across her face.
Michael took a step back. He was still angry as well but regret washed over him. He had too much pride to apologise or make it better, so he stumbled back a few steps taking one last look at Mack, before turning away and getting back into his car.
Michael had taken a long time to drive home. He couldn't understand the feelings swimming around in his head. His whole life he had always put himself first, so he didn't understand why some twenty-something girl had confused him and clouded his thoughts.
When he finally did come home, he saw Tracey in the lounge room watching television, her trashy friend Rita was passed out on the floor.
"Good one Dad!" Tracey hissed as Michael stepped into the room "Not only are you always actively trying to ruin my life, but now you're trying to ruin Mack's too!"
Michael gulped in fear. He forgot other repercussions of his outburst on Mackenzie's doorstep. He forgot that Mack was good friend's with his daughter, and could have told her anything. Any way Mack would relay the story to his daughter, he looked terrible. Hopefully it wouldn't get back to Amanda.
"You went around to her place to check up on me. Why would you do that?" Tracey screeched loudly, her voice echoing around the whole house. It still wasn't enough to wake her friend in her drunken stupor, who remained passed out.
Michael smiled a little. She had lied, Mackenzie had told Tracey that Michael went around to check up on Tracey, and not herself. Maybe that's what Mack truly believed. But he was out of trouble with his family at least, so that was one small win for the night.
"How is that ruining Mack's life? I was checking up on you." Michael bitterly asked her.
"Because right before you turned up, Mack and her boyfriend David were having sex for the first time! Way to ruin that for her!" Tracey sarcastically bit back.
Michael's smile fell from his face. The image of Mack in her small robe and her very muscular and good looking lover's image came back to haunt him. Suddenly his win didn't feel like a win anymore.
