“Heard what?” I ask, sitting up higher in my chair.
“Kruger Manufacturing.” He says with a head tilt upward, as if saying the name of my competitor is explanation enough.
“What about them?” I ask, dividing my glance between both my brothers. I watch Rush scrape a hand down his face and I feel my stomach start to knot up.
“It seems that there’s been a divide in the company.” Rush offers.
“What kind of divide?”
Halen pulls up an article on his laptop and turns it so I can see it. “I know that you’ve been up to your balls in work, so you wouldn’t have noticed. But it’s my job to pay fucking attention, so here it is.”
I look at the article. I’m shocked but confused. “Shouldn’t this begoodnews? I mean, Kruger’s losing his right-hand woman. I don’t get it. Why should I fucking care, man?” I feel my stomach loosen a little, but it’s just a moment too soon, as I’ll find out more in the next five minutes.
“She leaves him he’s a loose cannon, for one.” Rush points out.
“So? Isn’t that good for me? I don’t get it. What’s the catch?”
My brothers once again exchange a look.
I’m growing frustrated. “Fucking out with it, guys. Quit fucking around. What’s the problem.”
Rush sighs. “It’ll divide your focus.”
“Why? Why the fuck should it divide my focus? I’m up to my fucking ears in work, I’m looking for like twenty new heads to help out around here, minimum, I’m bidding for the biggest opportunity that my business has had to date, so why the fuck should I care that Boston Kruger and Bowie Ritter are calling it quits?”
Rush shakes his head. “Only because Bowie was, and I quote, ‘the love of your fucking life’, and now she’s a free agent.”
I laugh out loud. “Maybe fifteen years ago, man, but not anymore. Hell, she signed her walking papers the second she went out with that douche bag back in high school. You guys are both off your rockers. I couldn’t give two shits about her anymore. As far as I’m concerned, Bowie can go hop in the sack with the goddamn CEO of the Ford Motor Company, and I wouldn’t give a shit.”
“Riiiiiight.” Rush says, unconvinced.
I give him a look like he just asked me how many balls I have in my shorts. “What the fuck is your problem, man? I haven’t even seen or spoken to Bowie in ten years, and the only reason why I spoke with her at the high school reunion is because her fucking boyfriend was too drunk to drive her home, the asshole.”
This is where Halen gets annoyed. “Please. You kept her fucking bra for five years after you porked her. You were so devastated that she chose Boston over you that you even turned down goddamn Stacey Milligan, the hottest chick in high school, for senior prom. Why the fuck she wanted to be seen with a pissant like you is beyond me, but whatever. You lost your chance with two of the sexiest girls in North Carolina, and you’ve been a mess ever since.”
A ‘v’ forms between my brows as I crane my neck backward. My voice is almost a squeak. “What is this? The fucking Sally Jesse Raphael show? Since when do you two dickwads care about my love life? And since when is any of this relevant? For all we know, this could be a fucking media ploy. You know as well as I do that Boston Kruger pulls out all the stops. That dude plays dirty. He and Bowie could be sitting in their airport-sized living room, sipping wine, clinking glasses to the beat of us idiots that are buying into the whole stupid story.”
“I doubt it, dude.” Rush guffaws, shaking his head.
“First of all, Boston isn’t smart enough to pull that shit off, even with the proper PR.” Halen points out. “I ran it past Stevie, and she agrees.”
Stevie is our sister. She owns a PR firm.
“So you know for a fact that this shit isn’t fake.” I check, half irritated, half pissed off. I hate it when I’m wrong.
“She’s still digging into the whole story, but so far everything checks out.” Halen confirms.
“Fuckoff.” I whine. “This stinks of Boston and his antics. You remember him in high school? Cheated on every fucking test, stole my fucking girlfriend, copied my goddamn assignments. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the asshole has some spy on my premises, poaching my bloody patents.”
“That’s why we’re hiring you a team of lawyers.” Rush states. “I’ve got two more on a retainer right now, as we speak.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t trust anyone.” I state, miffed.
“And that’s number three of four reasons why we’re concerned about you, Jagger.” Halen adds.
“What’s wrong with that? Hell, I’m not going to risk losing everything I’ve worked my ass off for, just for not keeping up with shit. That’s also why I have you guys. I’m aware that outside threats exist. I’m not stupid. But I think that you guys are way off base here. Look, I know Boston. We both learned from the same goddamn teachers, and we studied the same programs in almost the same fucking classes in college. If we’d gotten along better, we might have gone into business together, but since he ruined my fucking life, thanks to him, we’ve been enemies for as long as I can remember.”
“And you don’t think that if this story is true, which it is, that it’s going to affect this business?” Halen checks. “You don’t think that once the news spreads, that Boston is going to lose his shit? That he’s going to be out for blood?”
