SF Chapter 114: New House III
People had split off into several groups while Greg, one of Daniel's bodyguards, grilled the meat.
"Great bodyguard you found, Dad," Dani commented, nodding toward his bodyguard-turned-grillmaster.
Jay didn't look too pleased. He said in an admonishing tone, "Daniel, when are you going to learn how to grill meat properly?"
[Jay commentary]
"My old man was the one who taught me how to grill a good piece of meat," Jay made a rare melancholic face.
"He had this idea that the man of the house ought to know how to do that." He added proudly.
[Commentary ends]
"Why should I?" Dani dismissed his father's point.
"Greg can do it way better than I ever possibly could. He made it exactly the way I like it, so that's a win for me. He gets a generous bonus, so that's a win for him."
But Jay went on, "That's not the point. A man of the house ought to know how to grill meat properly," he lectured with all the wisdom he could muster.
Claire, who was also nearby, gave her father a judgmental look, while Phil nodded along.
Dani patted his dad on the shoulder. "Come on, old man, don't sell yourself short. You're an awesome man of the house, even if your medium-rare steak looks like a hard rock comet."
"What??" Jay made a very annoyed face.
Claire nearly choked on what she had just heard.
"Claire, are you listening to what your clown of a brother just said?" Jay turned to his daughter.
Caught off guard, the blonde opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally coming to her father's defense. "Dani, how could you say that?"
"Oh, so Dad can make your steak for you today?" Dani retorted.
Claire made a face at her brother.
"I'm out of here. I only have tasteless and ungrateful children," Jay grumbled as he walked over to his wife.
"You hurt our old man's feelings," Claire remarked, though she wasn't really scolding him.
"Hey, I'm just following his teachings about telling hard truths," Dani pointed out. "If I really wanted to hurt his feelings or his pride, I'd say he should take lessons from Phil."
He patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder. "You make awesome grilled meat."
[Claire commentary]
"It's true!" Claire agreed with her brother's opinion. "Phil makes a perfect medium-rare steak. Dad... not so much."
"Maybe Phil got inspired by my cooking," she ended up saying about herself.
[Commentary ends]
[Dani and Phil commentary]
"If I wanted to hurt my dad's and my sister's feelings and pride, I'd say she takes after Dad. Sis isn't exactly a great cook... in general..." Dani remarked.
Phil, who hadn't said anything up to that point, decided it was smarter to keep not saying anything. But obviously, deep down, he agreed with Daniel.
[Commentary ends]
[Greg - bodyguard - commentary]
"I can't say much about Daniel's daily life. My contract has some pretty strict restrictions," Greg began.
"Besides, his mother, Mrs. Harper, can be really scary," he added.
It was funny how a 6'11" (2.1-meter-tall) man with huge muscles could be afraid of a short old lady.
"But I can say that I love working for him," Greg admitted. "Unlike what his spoiled and arrogant image might suggest, he actually treats everyone really well."
"What I love most is when he goes to restaurants. We stand nearby, and he always pays for our food, even at the most expensive places."
[Commentary ends]
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In another corner, Mitchell was calling his boyfriend out.
"Cam, could you stop staring at them like a creepy uncle?" Mitchell scolded.
Cam was staring intently at the group of three girls: Haley, Mischa, and Lexi.
[Cam and Mitchell commentary]
"Cam is completely fascinated by The O.C.," Mitchell said with a little frustration. "Whenever Haley comes over, the two of them keep talking about the new episodes."
"It's because I have a youthful soul," Cam explained as the reason he liked it so much. "And I just love Marissa Cooper."
"She's the troubled beauty waiting for the white knight-"
Mitchell cut him off. "She's like Cam. A bit too dramatic sometimes."
[Commentary ends]
"Hey, bros." Dani handed them some freshly grilled meat.
"I didn't know you were friends with Mischa Barton," Cam said, fishing for gossip as he put a generous piece of meat into his mouth.
"Oh, you know my friend Lexi. I met Mischa through her, at a party," Dani explained nonchalantly.
"She got a little stuck with Lexi," he added.
Dani then headed over toward the girls.
[Haley commentary]
"My popularity skyrocketed after a photo of me with Mischa Barton and Alexandra Daddario started circulating in my school," Haley smirked.
She went on, "Mischa has even replied to a few of my texts. But I'm not dumb enough to share that with my friends.
I know it could become trouble if someone got her number because of me."
[Commentary ends]
"Hey, Dani, Haley was telling us all your dirty secrets," Mischa smirked, teasing him.
"Oh, yeah?" He squeezed his niece's cheeks. "How much did she tell? So I can decide how long she'll be banned from coming over here."
Haley gasped. "I didn't say anything bad about you. My handsome, awesome Dani," she said as she quickly hugged him.
"In fact, I want to follow in your footsteps. Be just like you," Haley spoke coyly. "How about when I turn sixteen, I come live here? Like you did, living at your brother's place."
Dani laughed. "Yeah, good luck convincing Sis. If your mom accepts it, I'll let you stay."
[Dani commentary]
Dani was sitting on the living room couch.
"I wouldn't mind Haley staying here, but hell would freeze over before Claire let her stay unsupervised, surrounded by a bunch of party spots and free to do whatever she wants."
[Commentary ends]
"No way!" Haley complained. "Come on, Dani. Mom would never agree!" She pouted. "Help me with this."
"Not a chance!" he promptly shook his head.
"This is an awesome place - I don't want it to turn into a haunted house. Sis would be the first living person whose spirit haunts someone else's house."
"That freaky evil spirit-" he cut himself off. "She's right behind me, isn't she? I can feel the impending doom." He shivered.
Dani received a scolding from his sister, even though it was his house and he had his friends around.
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