22 - We Are Family

Jon climbed in the back of his hired Lincoln Town Car, his expression formidable.  He was in a piss poor mood, and had been for days. 

In lieu of having a ‘real’ life, he’d embraced his inner workaholic and hammered out more, seemingly useless, fine details for the tour, one painstaking argument at a time. 

Why did it seem like everyone was willing to let things be ‘good enough’?  Bon Jovi’s reputation wasn’t built on ‘good enough’, it was built on having the best, most consistent live shows in the business.  While other up and coming wannabes might put on a flashier stage show with fireworks and all that crap, Jon would put his band’s live musical performance up against anyone.  Their talent didn’t lie in a mixing booth, but in the fact that they were real musicians and songwriters.

Fucking flash in the pan techno-pop garbage.

He blew out a breath and tried to let his last meeting go, moving onto the next item on his never ending list of things to do.   The upcoming holidays would be reserved for family and friends, and he had a handful of social obligations on his calendar for January.  That meant he had only a small window to finish up his list.

Besides, stressing over details was the only thing he’d found that successfully distracted him from the fiasco in his apartment on Friday night.

He scowled and tossed the Wall Street Journal across the back seat of the Town Car. 

Petey was fucked up in the head.  It was the only conclusion he could come to, and refused to think past that.  She didn’t want him to know shit about her?  Fine.  He wouldn’t give her another thought other than as one of Tony’s damn video geeks who got on his nerves by always being in the way.

Which reminded him…  He still hadn’t seen all these supposedly spectacular modifications that had been made to his show plans.  One more thing to tack onto the Keep Jon Busy list.

Flipping his wrist over, he saw that it was just after noon.  He’d grab a salad then drop in on Little Brother. 

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he dug his phone out the pocket of his black leather jacket. 

If I don’t call first, he’ll get all disrespected and bent out of shape.  A good day can find us an inch away from a fist fight.  This is not a good day.

“Tony, it’s Jon.”  Forcing a lightness that he didn’t feel into his voice, he told his brother, “I know you told me the show plans had been tweaked.  I’d like to stop by and see them.”

Tony groaned silently.  He hated it when Big Brother started sticking his nose into the details.  “Jon, I doubt you’ll even be able to tell where the changes have been made.  They’re structural.  I told you about all of the visible modifications.”

“And I want to see them.  It’s my damn money paying for them.  Am I not entitled to see what my money buys?”

Great.  Big Brother was in one of those moods.  Tony could count on being involved in a big fucking argument whether it was warranted or not. 

At least I’m short staffed today.

The temporary digs here on the East Coast were serviceable, but he didn’t have a formal office with a door and such.  It was just a desk crammed in the corner while the equipment took up most of the room, and that was fine - except for the rare occasion he wanted to conduct his business privately, or keep his brother’s snarky ass muffled.

Candace had some kind of appointment this afternoon, probably to get her Amazonian legs waxed, and Bill and Randy were setting up some equipment on location for a video shoot.  Petey was the only one in the office with him at the moment. 

Maybe I’ll find some errand to send her on.  I don’t need my people to witness the brotherly love.

“Yes, Your Highness.  Please come grace my humble establishment with your presence.”

Tony chuckled when Jon swore and hung up.  This might be more fun that he was giving it credit for.

His hand was still resting on the phone when it rang again, and Tony answered without looking at the screen.  “Yes, Lord and Master?  Did you want a concubine waiting for you?”

“Concubine, no.  A pool boy would be okay though,” a dryly amused voice negotiated. 

“Dorothea!  Sorry, Babes, I didn’t pay attention and thought it was somebody else calling.”

“I don’t need a crystal ball to figure out who,” she laughed.

His former sister-in-law had never been blind to Jon’s faults.  Obviously, since they were now divorced.

“Some things never change,” he chuckled ruefully.  “What can I do for ya?”

She sighed deeply.  “The damn rear-projection TV is acting up.  The unit in the wall is coming on, but not the TV itself.  I’ve jiggled all the connections and made sure everything is plugged in, but it’s still not getting any juice.”

“And you want the electronic professional in the family to come check it out?”

“Would you?  If possible, today?  Within the next couple of hours?"

Tony’s eyes lifted to the ceiling in exasperation.  Why did everything have to be right now with his family? 

“I kind of have a client coming in for a meeting, and I’m not sure how long it will take.  What’s the rush?”

“Stephanie is having a group of girls over from school to watch a movie and she wants to do it on the big screen.”

“Thursday night is Ladies’ Night at the Bongiovi house?” he teased.

“Something like that,” was her amiable reply.  “They have to watch Pride and Prejudice for English class.”

Sadly, his schedule didn’t become less problematic just because it was a homework assignment.  But…  He had been looking for an errand to send Petey on.  In his mind, Dorothea’s timing went from horrific to flawless.

“I’m really sorry but I have to be here for this meeting.  How about I send one of my people over?”

Dorothea hesitated uncertainly before airing her reservations.  “Is this person as good with electronics as you are?  And am I going to feel comfortable having them in my house?”

“Better, and...” he snickered softly, “…no, probably not.  At first, anyway.  But trust me, it’s fine.  Let me just check with her and see if she’s willing to drive out there.”

“A woman?  I thought your people were a bunch of Neanderthal men with video cable instead of clubs?”

“Dorothea, I’m offended!” he feigned insult, while inwardly amused.  “I only hire those Neanderthals to fill a quota.  I know real skill when I see it, and you may be surprised to know that I employ two women at the moment.  Both of which are exceptional at what they do.”

Tony felt a little like he’d stepped through a tear in the time continuum and into another dimension.  He never thought he’d have to defend a woman’s abilities to another woman, particularly to Dorothea.  She was one of the most capable women he’d ever met, and she was teaching her daughter to be the same way.

“About time you hired someone who can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Now he got it.  Yeah.  Somehow he always ended up the bad guy.

“Very cute, but I’ve never seen her chew gum, so that may not even be true.  Hang on…”  Removing the phone from his mouth, Tony called across the room, “Petey.  I’ve got a meeting and there’s an electronic crisis of sorts.  Would you be willing to go do a quick job for one of my family members?”

Her ponytails swished when she swung her head around, and she lifted that one weird eyebrow at him.  She was a little scary when she did that. 

“As long as it’s not the same family member as last time.  Can I get there by train?”

“It’s not and I’ll loan you my SUV.  You can drive, can’t you?”

She nodded once, her cat-like irises glittering eerily at him.

There had been a few days recently where she’d reverted to something close to mainstream.  Still edgy, but more t-shirts, pants and tennis shoes rather than her assortment of dog collars and chains.  After the Thanksgiving weekend, she’d become more radical than ever.

Besides the cats’-eye contact lenses, today she was wearing some short lacy, baby-doll black dress, pink and black striped… hose, leggings, whatever they called those things – and combat boots.  Her black velvet choker sported an ornate gothic cross and she had a silver dragon wrapped around her left ear.  Studded fingerless gloves finished out the look.

Yeah, Dot’s gonna love this.

“Petey said she would come over and look at it, Dot.  I’ll fill her in on what you’ve told me.  She’s amazing with this kind of stuff.” 

“Petey is a woman?”

Pissing Dot off wasn’t nearly as fun as pissing Jon off, so he thought full disclosure would be in his best interest.

“Yeah.  She’s a sweetheart.  Don’t be scared by the zombie-like makeup.”  He gave Petey an indulgent wink, but she didn’t appear particularly amused.

Her makeup style had become more… severe lately too.  It was like she didn’t want to be pretty.  Her eyes were made up with so much black, they looked hollowed out.  So did her cheeks with the inky streaks of whatever the hell she’d swiped across them.  Her lips were the only things on her face that weren’t black, and they were a dark, dark red.  Burgundy maybe?

“Seriously?” Dot’s voice brought him back into the conversation at hand.  “Are you sure about this Tony?  I don’t want some extremist in my house going off on a materialistic tangent.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he assured confidently, aware that Petey was still listening to him talk.  “She did some work in Jon’s penthouse a couple weeks ago, and he was happy with it.”

She snorted.  “He’s happy if you plug something in for him.  That’s not exactly a raving endorsement.”

“True enough, but in this case it’s well deserved.  Trust me, Babes.”

She huffed lightly.  “The last time a Bongiovi said that to me, I ended up in a Las Vegas wedding chapel.  We all know how that ended.”

Tony laughed out loud.  His brother had screwed up by letting this one get away.