"Eating, obviously. What are the two of you doing here?" Georgia Bevans asked with a smirk on her face. "Shouldn't you guys be fighting or something?"
Tommy was reminded how much he hated Georgia's theories at that point. He remarked, "We have our creative differences…" Tommy, and everyone else, knew it was a horrible lie with the brilliant music they make together.
Georgia nodded intently with a curious look on her face. She turned her attention towards Jude and looked her up and down. She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "No school today, Jude?"
"Still excused," Jude answered.
Continuing her nod, Georgia added, "Good. You need time." Georgia flashed looks between the couple and the room opening as they stood in silence. "We've already gotten our food, but you're welcome to join us."
Tommy glanced down at the table to see Georgia's plate accompanied by a few others. "Us?" Tommy questioned.
Turning the corner, Darius Mills made his way over to the table. After putting his phone away, Darius looked up to see Jude and Tommy standing around the table. "Looks like we've got ourselves a party," Darius said sarcastically as he took his seat. He directed towards Georgia, "Shay just passed Morrison Park, so he should be here in a few minutes."
"Shay's coming?" Jude squealed. She knew she was over him, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him any time soon. She wasn't really sure if she ever wanted to see him again.
The smirk disappeared from Georgia's face as she remembered what Shay had done to Jude. Georgia didn't want to betray Jude, but it was all for business. "It's just a business meeting, Jude."
Shock rushed over Jude. Shay had asked for Tommy to produce his next album earlier, but she figured her birthday would've changed things. Jude could hardly imagine working at G Major around Shay. "What kind of business?"
"What do you think, girl?" Darius snapped at Jude. "Are you stupid or something? We need to get his album finished and released."
Georgia calmly stepped in, trying to spare Jude's feelings. "Darius? Could we leave them out of this?" She looked deeply into his eyes, trying to tell him to shut up with her own eyes. "We can talk about it later."
Darius ignored Georgia's look and went right along with his comments. If Darius Mills wanted to say or do something, he wasn't doing to let anyone stop him. "We can't just stop everything because he broke the little girl's heart."
An embarrassed Jude looked down at her feet. She knew she never liked Darius for a reason. He could be the biggest name in the music business and have more money than every person in Canada combined, but she would never like him. He was probably the main reason celebrities got the reputation of being smug jerks.
"You don't talk about her like that." Tommy knew it was his place to interject when Darius embarrassed her. Jude kept her feelings in, but Tommy couldn't when it came to her. As long as they were together, Tommy knew he was going to take care of Jude.
Darius looked at Tommy with an irritated expression on his face. "Excuse me. Did I miss something, Tom?" Darius stood and faced Tommy, trying to intimidate him. "Since when do you get off talking to me like that?"
Tommy took a step closer to Darius, getting in his face. "Since you decided to talk to Jude like that." Tommy never gave in to a fight with Darius. Especially with Jude involved, Tommy would beat Darius into the ground if he had to.
"Hello? Guys?" Georgia stood over the table, trying to separate them with her words. "Can we try to calm down?"
In a swift motion, almost graceful, Darius grabbed Tommy by his jacket. He lifted Tommy up and pulled him closer. He whispered into Tommy's ear, "You really want to go? Because I've been ready for this for years."
Jude stood close enough to hear what was happening. She crossed her arms, still embarrassed by the current events. "Tommy, don't."
Tommy took a small step back, but Darius yanked on Tommy's jacket harder and whispered again, "Could that leash be any tighter? Bitch's got you whipped."
In one quick blow, Tommy shoved Darius backwards. Darius lost his balance, almost falling, but caught himself on a chair. He keeled over, on to a table, trying to catch the air he had knocked out of him. Tommy simply stood and fixed his jacket. "I told you not to talk about her."
"What the hell is going on?" Shay entered the restaurant and rushed to his uncle's side.
Tommy breathed rapidly, anger and frustration running through his veins. Jude put a hand on Tommy's arm, trying to relax him. "Tommy?" she whispered, trying to bring him back to her.
He glanced back at Jude and saw how shook up she was. He placed his hand on her back. "Let's get out of here."
Together, Tommy and Jude started for the exit, but Tommy was stopped when someone grabbed his arm. "You're not getting away that easily," Shay said in a deep and serious voice.
"Go eat. Your food's getting cold, Shay Shay," Tommy stated mockingly. He forced Shay's grasp away and quickly made his way to the exit.