She stands up from behind her desk, rounding it and coming to stand in front of me. I flinch jokingly as she all but shoves the paperwork into my hands. “The Wilson merger. They want a higher percentage than originally agreed on.”
I nod as I take the contract. “I’ll call them this morning.”
“Make sure you do,” she says, turning on her heel and walking toward the kitchen.
“Rebecca?” I call to her retreating form. She stops but doesn’t turn around. Knowing that I’ve royally fucked off the one person who keeps my life in order, I say, “I’m sorry, I’ll do better.”
She says nothing, only giving me the middle finger as she leaves, causing me to chuckle at her attitude as I head into my office.
While I wait for my computer to warm up, I remove my suit jacket and roll my sleeves up. Having a quick glance at the paperwork, I can see what Rebecca was saying. I slump down in my chair, rubbing my temples, knowing it's going to be a long ass day.
I’ve been sitting staring at this merger for fucking hours. The constant back and forth between me and Wilson has driven an even bigger wedge between us than there already was—apparently, I’d fucked his daughter and didn’t know, so his frosty attitude was already an issue before we’d even started. The only problem is, I couldn’t remember her. I’d like to say I apologized, but I didn’t, just laughed it off and carried on. Might explain why he’s been such an asshole.
Wilson’s a doggery old fool that should’ve retired years ago, but refused to give up the reins, meaning the company suffered more for it. I’ll get him to agree one way or another; it’s just how much it’s going to cost me in the meantime. To be fair, it’s not even about the money for me, Christ, I’ve got more money than I know what to do with, it’s the people that would lose their jobs, their homes if this merger falls through. So many people depend on this working that Ihaveto make sure it works.
Pushing away from my desk, I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the city skyline. The busy streets down below are alive with people rushing from A to B. Placing my hands in my pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet, I wonder how life got away from me and when it stopped being fun.
I’d met Drew when I was eighteen and he was twenty-three. After a rough start in life, he was working himself through college. We were taking the same business course and hit it off after being assigned a project to work on.
When I moved out here years ago, following Caleb, Noah, and Theo, Andrew stayed behind. We’d just started the company from his run-down apartment, but I didn’t want to stay. Drew had Raven totake care of, after Sophia, his first wife, tragically died in a car accident, so I worked remotely with him until it took off. Neither one of us knew that it would turn into the multi-billion-dollar tech company that it is now.
The irritatingbuzzof my phone on the desk tells me the group chat’s going off. It's usually one of two things—Theo’s having an existential crisis, or it’s a real emergency.
Theo
I need help.
Noah
Tell me something I don’t know.
Theo
That was rude *sad face emoji* I thought you loved me?
Noah
Debatable.
Caleb
Dare I ask why you need help, Theo?
Theo
It’s important, guys.
Noah
I’m still waiting.
Theo
Vanilla or mint chocolate chip?
Caleb
…
