Episode 619: What's My Name

Part of him just wanted to get the hell out of there, but the rest of him wanted to satisfy his boss’ curiosity. He was tired. He was tired of living in the shadows. He knew that was probably where he belonged, but he was tired of having no one in his life. He liked his boss and the guy’s kid. He liked having a job, it was something to do, something to contribute, some reason to exist.

He cleared his throat. "A girl I dated used to work as your mother-in-law’s assistant. She brought me to the party. It wasn’t really my scene. It wasn’t really hers either." He couldn’t believe that idiot had been dragging her back into that lately. Couldn’t he see that no matter who her mother may be that wasn’t who she was? Wasn’t the guy supposed to be in love with her? Wasn’t he supposed to know these things?

"Are we talking about Avalon Lubin?" Quent asked.

He nodded.

"She’s the one you had that sort of anniversary with? The one you were tempted to go see."

"Yeah." He scrubbed a hand over the lower half of his face and slumped lower in his chair. "We were supposed to get married on that day a few years ago. I didn’t show up. I thought that was the best thing for her."

"So you’re that Xavier guy? That rock star who fell off the face of the planet." The realization appeared to trouble the boss.

"I know there are a lot of stories out there about me, but I promise you my work ethic is sound. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I did in the music industry if I was a slacker. I’ll do a good job here."

"I’m not event thinking about that right now." Quent shook his head. "I’m thinking about my brother-in-law. Ava’s engaged to him. My wife may not be on the best terms with him at the moment, but she’d want me to look out for him. I can’t employ a guy who’s planning to make a play for Sebastian’s fiancée."

"That’s not what I’m doing," Xavier insisted. "I came back to the city to make sure Ava’s doing okay. I don’t want her to know I’m around, so I don’t want anyone to know I’m around, okay. I don’t want to mess up her life. I need you to keep my identity as private as you possibly can."

Episode 620: Didn't I Blow Your Mind