A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 54
"Nick, does ten mean ten thirty in your head? I just wanna know for future reference. And I see you follow Deacon's dress code." Rayna greeted Nick at the front of the office when he walked in.
"Ray, it's ten oh five. I had trouble findin' parkin'. I like Deacon's dress code. This is the first day since I graduated college that I haven't woke up and had to put a suit and tie on to go to work." Nice held his wrist in front of her face and showed her his watch. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
"I really don't care what you wear as long as you look presentable. You know how to dress, you don't need me to tell you. Come and go as you please just be aware of what's on your schedule. That's all I ask for. Tandy is gonna be in a little later and she's gonna walk you through what you need to know. Even though there are notes for you all over her desk. I have an office you to make yourself at home in. I don't think you wanna take over Tandy's office. I thought we could start with a tour to get you used to this place." Rayna told him.
"A tour would be great. I can get my bearings and settle in before I get to work." Nick replied.
"Take a break and calm yourself down. This isn't what you're used to and it's gonna take you a minute to get your bearings. I'm here for you don't hesitate to ask question if you need to." Rayna smiled at him.
"You don't know who you're talkin' to right now. Tandy trained me personally. That means I should be able to put boots on the ground, appraise the situation, and come up with a solution in half a day. I can swim with the sharks if I have to." Nick squeezed her shoulder and smiled back at her.
"You don't have to worry about very many sharks around here. You have to worry about artists givin' you a migraine. And in interest of full disclosure you make have to stretch a dime into a dollar. I don't know what our finances look like, but I know that we are on a little bit of a bumpy road right now. Tandy and Bucky have been protectin' me." Rayna informed him.
"I'll take a look at things and see what I can do. Now, show me around here." Nick reassured her.
"You really are a Wyatt. We don't go around mountains we move them. That's about the only thing I got from my father. Come on, follow me." Rayna gestured for him to follow her.
"I can say for sure that if you're like any Wyatt it's my momma you take after." Nick followed behind her.
Rayna led him to the cubicles in the middle of the office. "This is the bullpen. This where all the PAs are. They are normally just floating around, but if you're an executive you get your own assistant. You can have Bucky's. On second thought I better give you someone else. I'm sendin' Bucky and Tandy's assistants on vacation. That way neither one of them are tempted to work."
"Alright, I can hang with that." Nick just took everything in.
"Emily isn't in today Juliette must have needed her for somethin'. I employ her here when Juliette has down time. For the record, I don't like it when Juliette has down time. That gives her time to make messes that we have to clean up. If Juliette, Maddie, or Casey come to you with any crazy ideas you tell them no." Rayna warned him and led him to another part of the office.
"Got it, if they come to me with anythin' stupid I shoot 'em down." Nick nodded his head.
"This is our social media director's office. That job title didn't used to come with an office. I started lettin' Tandy have interns and she too a shinin' to this one. MJ, say hi to our temporary CFO." Rayna knocked on the doorjamb.
MJ looked up from his computer with his headphones around his neck. "Hey, I was just puttin' the finishin' touches on Maddie and Jimmy's music video. I think I finally have it all edited together. Tandy told me that it had to be a top priority. I took that to hear and I have been workin' on it nonstop." He stood and offered his hand to Nick. "MJ Waterson, social media director."
"Nick Wyatt, temporary CFO. I was one of Tandy's pet projects once upon a time. I know what that's like." Nick shook his hand.
"MJ, Nick is my cousin who is more like a little brother to me. Nick, MJ is Max's son. I know you remember him. He's also Maddie's future nephew." Rayna explained.
"Aw man, small world. Your daddy is singlehandedly responsible for my first hangover. It's really a pleasure to meet you." Nick gave him a charming smile.
"It's real nice to meet you too, Mr. Wyatt." MJ smiled back.
"Mr. Wyatt is my Uncle Lamar. You call me that and I'm gonna look over my shoulder to make sure he's not standin' right there checkin' up on me like usual. I want you to call me Nick and maybe when we get to know each other better I'll even le t you commit the unforgivable sin of callin' me Nicky." Nick patted him on the back.
"I can see that this is gonna be a dangerous relationship. MJ, just because Tandy is out of the office right now doesn't mean that you're allowed to slack off in here." Rayna warned him.
"I never slack off. If this is 'bout Maddie and Casey comin' in here and takin' over I can't fight both of 'em off. I'm pretty sure that Casey could kick my ass." MJ replied.
"MJ, I'll kick your ass if you let them into my office again. I really need to figure out how Casey knows my password." Rayna pointed her finger at him.
"Yes, ma'am," MJ gulped.
"Nicky, let's let MJ get back to work. He needs to finish that video and get it up on YouTube." Rayna had him follow her again.
"Damn, he reminds me so much of Mad Max." Nick chuckled.
"Yeah, he really does." Rayna knocked on the door of Deacon's office. She smirked when she saw Jack sitting on her husband's desk. "Did you actually fail at preschool drop off for a change?"
"No, I forgot that today was a teacher development day and there was no school. He's bein' daddy's big helper right now. We need to pick the picture that we want them to use for Maddie and Jimmy's inductions." Deacon took his glasses off and sat them on the desk.
"Damn it, I was hoping that you wouldn't have the high horse over me on that one anymore." Rayna sighed, and turned to Nick. "As you can see this is Deacon's office."
"These are pretty nice digs for the guy I used to know." Nick teased.
"I kinda got the job forced on me while she was pregnant with the boys. I just never gave it up. I'm kinda glad I didn't now. I don't know what I'd do with myself in that house all day. I'd probably go crazy." Deacon laughed softly.
"Don't let him be so modest. He's our utility guy around here. If he can't handle it you've either fucked up very badly or it's a problem for Tandy to handle." Rayna told him.
"I will keep that in mind." Nick replied. "Oh my gosh, is that Jack Henry? It can't be. He is gettin' so big."
"Yeah, you didn't get a chance to see him last night. He was in the other room occupied." Rayna replied.
Jack finally looked up and noticed that there were other people in the room. A smile slowly lit up his face. "Uncle Nicky!"
"Jack Attack! Come here!" Nick bent down and opened his arms to the little boy.
Jack ran to him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "What are you doin' here?"
"I'm workin' here for a little while. I hope that's ok with you." Nick hugged him tightly.
"That is so cool!" Jack wrapped himself around him.
"You're really excited to see me." Nick laughed.
"You're only special 'cause of who your momma is. He knows you're Aunt Dottie's son. The boy loves his Aunt Dottie 'cause she teaches him how to smoke cigars and play cards." Deacon informed him.
"I'll take what I can get." Nick shrugged.
"Alright, Jack, let Uncle Nicky get to work. I'm not payin' him to hang out with you." Rayna kissed her son's head.
"If I get a minute I'll come see you later, bud." Nick gave him another hug.
"Ok, Uncle Nicky." Jack let go of him.
"Favorite book?" Rhett reached over to grab a wrench. He and Paul were laying on the floor of the garage working on his motorcycle.
"To Kill a Mocking Bird. I've read it probably ten times." Paul as usual had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
"That surprises me. I didn't expect that answer from you." Rhett sounded shocked. That just wasn't the way he pictured Paul in his head.
"Like I told you there's a lot you don't know 'bout me. I did sit-ins and marches and I helped get blacks registered to vote. That's why I call you down every time you refer to me as a slave owner. I was big into the civil rights movement. I was a decent enough guy before I became a drunk. And before I got back from 'Nam. I saw some things over there that changed me. I didn't sleep well anymore and the only thing that would put me to sleep was drinkin' myself to that point. Then I got mean and you know the rest of the story." Paul took a long drag off his cigarette.
"What did you do in Vietnam? What branch of the service were you in?" Rhett inquired.
"I went over there as a mechanic and I ended up gettin' pressed into service as an infantryman. I was in the Marines." Paul answered. He got one of the pipes off the bike and took a look at it.
"I guess you really were in the thick of things then." Rhett didn't know what else to say about that. Paul had just painted a picture for him that he didn't expect.
"I was and it wasn't pretty at all." Paul confirmed. "Son of a bitch. This is what I was afraid of. It's a damn good thing that I have a new set of pipes for this in the back of the truck. These are so rusted on the inside that just a little bit of pressure in the right spot will put a hole in 'em."
"You have a set of pipes for this bike?" Rhett's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. He didn't think that it would be possible to get parts that quickly.
"I do. The hard to find I can get within a few hours. The impossible takes a little while longer." Paul smirked.
"You ready to put the engine back on?" Rhett sat up.
"Yeah, we should do that now and then put pipes back on. I wanna fire this up and see how it sounds." Paul got off the ground with some effort.
"I don't quite know what I'm doin'. I'm gonna need some help." Rhett walked over to where the engine sat.
"Well, hell, I know that, boy." Paul joined him.
"You gonna be able to pick this up, old man?" Rhett wasn't sure about the wisdom of having Paul lift that heavy piece of equipment.
"I ain't sure 'bout it, but I'll it a try." Paul replied.
Rhett looked at the engine then at his father and back again. "On second thought, I'll get it. I'm pretty strong."
"I'll help if you need me to." Paul offered. His pride wouldn't let him back down.
"Nah, I don't need any help. I can get it." Rhett shooed him away.
"I ain't gonna stand in the way of that Claybourne pride." Paul stepped back and let him do what he was going to do.
Rhett bent at the knees and lifted the engine with a loud grunt. He carried it over and sat it on the bike frame.
"Rhett, what in the hell do you think you're doing? You hurt playing around and our season is over." Lamar scolded him.
"Lamar, what are you doin' here?" Rhett hadn't expected him to be there.
"I came by to see how you were feeling. I want my star well rested and happy. Whatever it is that you're here I don't want going on. We can't afford to have you pull something or drop something on your foot and break it." Lamar crossed his arms over his chest.
"I have to do somethin' to keep from goin' crazy. I can't just sit 'round and do nothin'." Rhett informed him.
"It smells like a barroom in here. Are you smoking now too on top of everything else?" Lamar demanded.
"No, he's not smokin'. My son and I are workin' on a project together." Paul lit another cigarette off the butt of the one he'd just finished.
"Paul, I didn't see you standing there." Lamar looked down his nose at the other man, but he offered him his hand.
"Lamar," Paul nodded at him ignoring his hand. "You don't wanna shake my hand right now I'm covered in grease."
"I thought that was just the color of your hands honestly." Lamar took a dig at him.
"I was a mechanic for a long time. My hands are stained that way. As far as I'm concerned it's a badge of honor. It means for once in my life I did a hard day's work for an honest wage." Paul let the dig pass him by.
"Ya'll this boy wants to be out here with you. Keep a good eye on him." Sadie opened the door and yelled out. She'd just diffused a bad situation.
"Pawpaw!" Wyatt ran right to Lamar.
Lamar bent down and picked the little boy up. "Hi, Wyatt,"
Wyatt hugged him tightly. "Hi, pawpaw."
Paul did a slow burn, but he didn't say anything. Over the years he'd learned to control his horrible temper. Part of that was knowing when to keep his mouth shut and knowing when to speak up.
"How's Nick working out for you?" Tandy crossed her legs.
"How's Bucky?" Rayna answered her question with a question. She wasn't going to let her sister sidetrack her with work.
"The oncologist that we saw is very optimistic about Bucky's prognosis. He thinks that he has a really good chance of going into remission without having any relapses. There's this clinical trial they are doing for prostate cancer and he wants to put Bucky in it. He seems to think that that will work better for him than radiation or surgery. The treatments would last for a month and depending on the results we will go from there. Thanks again for pulling some strings for him, Babe." Tandy smiled at her.
"He's family. I will do whatever I can for him. You don't have to thank me this is what we do for each other. You sat up at that hospital with Deacon and read him business proposals to help him sleep even though I know he isn't your favorite person in the world. I love Bucky to death. Did you really think I wouldn't pull out all the stops for him? I've known him even longer than you have." Rayna pointed out to her.
"Now answer my question." Tandy ordered her. She'd spent the whole morning with a doctor she needed a change of subject.
"Nicky is working out great. He fits in like he was born to work here. You did a great job picking your temporary replacement. I like him better than I like you. He does what I tell him to and he doesn't act like he knows so much more about business that I do. He's smart as a whip and he gets results." Rayna teased her a little bit.
"I do know more than you do about business and someone around here needs to keep you honest. He's one of my personal protégés he better be smart." Tandy joked back weakly. She wasn't up to par with her insults.
"You don't keep me honest you just try to tell me what to do." Rayna hooked her eyebrow.
"Mhmm, keep mouthing off. Take me to Nick I wanna check in on him and see how he's doing." Tandy rolled her eyes. At least she could count on her close, but sometimes contentious relationship with her sister always staying the same.
"I'll do that, but first I want you and Buck to come over for dinner tonight. It's family game night and I think it'll be good for both of you." Rayna made it seem like a request, but it wasn't. She would drag her there kicking and screaming if she had to.
"I know that you won't take no for an answer, so we will be there." Tandy agreed.
"I'll show you where I stuck Nicky." Rayna led her to Nick's office. He was hunched over his desk working on something.
"Nicky Wyatt, look at you working away like I taught you well." Tandy made their presence known.
"Someone needs to. The head of marketin' is a dumb ass. You wouldn't believe the costs that I can cut there alone. I already have a proposal written up. Who is the head of the perspective talent department? That expense account is ridiculous. There's a ton of fat that can be trimmed there. Rayna, I understand that you're the boss, but really? Do you absolutely need someone to come in to give you a pedicure? And why don't you just pay for it outta pocket?" Nick pushed himself back from his desk.
"That's really great work, Nicky." Tandy praised him.
"Talk to Tandy about the pedicures. She's the one who said that it was justifiable expense. Deacon is the head of the perspective talent department. We don't touch his expense account. If he has to entertain future artists it's better that we just leave him be." Rayna advised him.
"Whatever you say. I won't touch that stuff." Nick laughed a little.
"Did you get the piles of papers out of my office?" Tandy asked him.
"I did." Nick replied.
"They are sorted by department. After you go over them they go to their respective departments. From there they take them to Rayna for her to sign them. Sometimes you cut out the middle man and there are papers you take right to her for her signature. I'm sure you noticed the stack of papers that really don't belong in a category. That's what's known as Deacon work." Tandy explained to him.
"For the time being it's Nick work. If we put too much more on Deacon's plate I'm afraid of stressin' his heart out. He just had that surgery and I want to be careful." Rayna added.
"I'll take care of it no worries." Nick reassured her.
"I have this for you to sign. It officially makes you acting CFO." Tandy sat a piece of paper in front of him.
Nick signed it. "There you go."
"While I'm thinkin' about it, what's your full name? You want me to get that right if you want me to pay you. You do payroll, but I have to sign your check because you're an executive. I can't remember what your first name is, Nicky." Rayna laughed.
"My name is Oliver Nicolas Harlan Wyatt the second. The only thing my momma did that was considered proper was give me that horrible name, a name she never calls me by. I can only ever remember her callin' me Nicky or Nick. If I misbehaved it was Nicolas. A couple times it was Oliver Nicolas. Only once do I recall her callin' me Oliver Nicolas Harlan. That was because I got drunk and borrowed pawpaw's car without askin'. She was only so pissed because she had to get Uncle Lamar involved to keep me outta trouble." Nick answered.
"I thought Harlan was your first name that's why I checked with you. So, I should put Oliver on your check?" Rayna double checked.
"No, you can make it out to O. Nicolas Wyatt. I've had payroll doin' it for years. I've never had a problem." Nick replied.
"Whatever you want, Ollie." Rayna teased him.
"Don't call me that. I hate it." Nick stiffened up.
"Because Harlan is such a normal name." Tandy rolled her eyes.
"I'm sittin' in a room with two people who have no room to talk right now. Oliver and Nicolas are both very common names. Harlan is a southern name. What the hell kinda names are Tandy and Rayna anyway?" Nick smirked and arched his eyebrow.
"With me ask your uncle he came up with my name. Momma named the brat. Keep up with me and next time I need one of my protégés to do something for me you won't be the first person I ask." Tandy frowned at him.
"Aunt Virginia was always one to go against the grain. I shouldn't really be surprised." Nick mused.
"You remember my momma?" Rayna smiled. "And I'm not a brat."
"Of course, I do. She made Uncle Lamar bearable." Nick swiveled around in his chair.
"I won't argue that one with you. Rayna, you are so a brat." Tandy replied.
"That's your opinion." Rayna glared at her.
"It's a fact. Nicky, back my up here." Tandy turned to her cousin.
"Since I'm the only child of a woman whose family owns half of Nashville I'm in the unique position to judge who is a spoiled brat and who isn't. My mother has given me everythin' I've ever asked for and then some. Ray, you're a spoiled brat. I love you to death, but you're as rotten as I am." Nick squinted his eyes and waited for her temper to explode.
"How do you two figure that I'm a brat? I know a few brats myself. Maddie and Jayme come to mind." Rayna demanded.
"Daddy has never paid off a record label on my behalf or paid a radio station to play my album." Tandy pointed out.
"My daddy never built a baseball stadium to give my artists a place to perform. Oh, wait, my daddy never gave me anythin' not even his name." Nick snorted.
"The whole stadium thing was to serve himself. If memory serves he also offered to give the whole team to Tandy. He was gonna give her whatever position she wanted. She's the one who turned him down." Rayna defended herself.
"He favors you we've been through this. You're the only part of momma he could semi hold on to. Not that anyone can hold on to you, but you know what I mean." Tandy reminded her.
"You two are just alike. He looks at me and sees momma. He tries to buy my affections so, I don't leave him again. With you he doesn't feel like he has to try. He takes you for granted, because you're both cut from the same cloth." Rayna explained to her.
"How does any work get done around this place?" Nick asked.
"Now you feel my pain. I feel like a camp counselor instead of a CFO sometimes. It's impossible to keep them focused. They are children. That's an insult to children because Jack does better work than all these clowns combined. The CEO and the head of talent procurement like to trade shares back and forth for favors. At any given time, I'm not sure who has controlling interest of the label." Tandy answered him.
"I'm pretty sure as of right now I own fifty-one percent of the shares. He traded me a share for a pizza that he absolutely was not supposed to have, because of his heart surgery. He originally traded me twenty percent of his shares, but I ate half his pizza." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.
"Ya'll ain't right. Though I wish all my ex-wife took from me was half a pizza." Nick chuckled.
"Nick, you paid your ex-wife off to just go away." Tandy laughed at him.
"No, I paid her off to stay away. She went away just fine. The crazy bitch just took the kids with her and I wasn't ok with that. She's a certified looney tune. I'm still payin' for her psychiatric care and we've been divorced for thirteen years. It was worth the money just knowin' that I have sole custody." Nick shook his head.
"It's crude, but effective." Rayna chuckled.
A knock sounded on the door. A teenage boy stood there. "Uh, who do I have to talk to 'bout seein' my dad?"
"Oh, my goodness, Harley, look at you, you handsome thing. You are so grown up." Rayna hugged him tightly.
"Harley, say hi to Aunt Ray." Nick instructed his son.
"Hi, Aunt Ray," Harley smiled at her.
"I can't get over how much you're startin' to look like a man. You've got facial hair and you're drivin'." Rayna marveled.
"Our men are still little boys who don't have mustaches yet." Tandy referred to her nephews.
"A man who is 'bout to be in a world of trouble if he doesn't have a good reason for bein' here durin' school hours." Nick crossed his arms over his chest.
"Relax, I ain't skippin' class. I have the rest of my afternoon free. I thought I'd come by to see ya." Harley replied.
"That was thoughtful of you. I'm just gettin' settled in here. There's really nothin' for you to see." Nick told him.
"I didn't come just to see how your first day was goin'. I came here for somewhat selfish reasons. I need a favor and I was thinkin' that maybe you could help me out." Harley informed him.
"I'll do what I can for you, son, but I make no promises. What do you need? And how much is it gonna cost me?" Nick sighed in resignation.
"Ok, so, I was hopin' that you'd be able to get me Opry tickets for tonight. It's sold old, but I know that there is always wiggle room." Harley rubbed his hands together.
"No can do, kid. I don't have any pull over there. That's like the only business in the city that Wyatt Industries doesn't have a relationship with. If you wanna go to the symphony I can get you tickets no problem. Baseball season rolls around I can get you box seats. Uncle Lamar doesn't look kindly on that organization." Nick hated to let him down, but he couldn't help.
"It was worth a try." Harley sounded dejected.
"Sorry, buddy, you know I hate tellin' you no." Nick replied.
"It's ok, dad, I know you'd do it if you could.
Rayna got a thoughtful look on her face. "Will Lexington is playing the Opry tonight. It is sold out. Will makes me happy because he sells out shows. Is this to impress a friend, a girl, or just for yourself?"
"Well, there is this girl, but I am a big Will Lexington fan." Harley blushed.
"Is she a friend, a girl you're tryin' to impress, or a girlfriend?" Rayna asked him.
"She's a girl I'm tryin' to impress." Harley admitted.
"So, is this a date or are you just hanging out?" Tandy questioned.
"I guess we're just hangin' out, but I want it to be more." Harley shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll be right back." Rayna left the room quickly.
"What's with her?" Harley asked.
"You're guess is as good as mine, son." Nick's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
Rayna walked back into the room. "One of the perks of bein' a member of the Opry is I can get in there whenever I want. Even when the show is sold out. If you're lookin' to impress this girl this is the way to go." She held out a backstage pass.
"What's this?" Harley took it from her.
"That's my pass. They won't question you usin' it. That'll get you and another person in there without a problem. Just give that back to your daddy when you get home tonight." Rayna explained to him.
"What do you say to Aunt Ray?" Nick looked at his son expectantly.
"Thank you, Aunt Ray." Harley parroted dutifully.
"I can do you one better than watchin' the show from the side of the stage." Rayna pulled out her phone and made a call. "Hey, Will, I need a favor. The closest thing that I have to a nephew on my daddy's side of the family is gonna be at the show tonight. I was hopin' that you wouldn't mind givin' him the VIP treatment." She listened to what Will had to say. "Thanks, Will, I appreciate it." She hung up the phone. "Ok, you are all set. Will is gonna put on a dog and pony show for you tonight. If this girl doesn't already like you after tonight she's gonna really like you."
"You're the best." Harley grinned.
"I know I am. So, are you free for the rest of the day?" Rayna asked him.
"I am." Harley answered.
"If you were inclined to wanna pay me back you could do that by workin' it off." Rayna suggested to him.
"I can do that." Harley agreed.
"Ok, if you wanna go in the social media director's office I'm sure that he can find a thing or two for you to do." Rayna replied.
"Sure thing." Harley grinned.
"Come on, I'll show you the way." Rayna put her arm around his sholders.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.
