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She nodded. “I haven’t been back since I started here.”
“All right, then. Consider Wednesday a day off in Chicago to do whatever you want. That’s what I’m going to do. See friends, family, that sort of thing.” I wasn’t looking forward to visiting my mother, but it was unavoidable.
Samantha smiled. I’d never seen her smile like that—a full, open, genuine smile of happiness. “Thank you, Aidan. That’s sweet of you.”
Sweet. No one ever called me that.
But if it made her smile, I would take it.
Four
Aidan
* * *
“Dane, I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”
It was five minutes to ten, and I was on my way to the meeting with the Egerton brothers. I’d sent Dane Scotland, the Chicago partner, the briefing notes and he was trying to tell me how to handle the meeting.
“Just ask them about the API,” Dane said, his voice its usual pissed-off growl. “It doesn’t look like it’s been fully tested. I want to know the plan for that. No API means no integration and no product.”
I closed my office door behind me and walked through the open space toward the glassed-in meeting room. The phone to my ear, I glanced around for Samantha and saw her leaving her own office, heading toward the front desk. She gave me a nod and a lifted eyebrow, which meant, They’re here and I’m going to get them. Okay? I nodded at her and turned back toward the meeting room.
“I can ask them, but the answer will mostly be over my head,” I told Dane frankly. “You know how I am with web guys. These internet startups are all based in New York. I don’t know why we don’t switch offices.”
“Because I hate New York,” Dane reminded me. “It’s a city full of fakers and assholes.”
“I live here, you know.”
“You’re only there because the company sent you there.”
“Ava lives here, too.” My sister lived in Brooklyn. Since Dane and I had been friends since we were fifteen, he was well acquainted with Ava. “She actually chooses to be here.”
“Fine, then,” Dane said. “Ava’s the exception. Everyone else in New York is an asshole.”
I pulled the meeting room door closed behind me. “I’m telling you, Dane, real estate is my expertise. I should be in Chicago while you handle the New York stuff.”
“Talk to Noah and see if you can get him to trade with you. It’s time he left L.A. I think his dick is going to break if he fucks any more models.”
I sighed. Dane’s way with words was one of the reasons I hadn’t pushed him to come to New York before now. He needed a little polish first. “Noah would be useless in New York, and I’d be useless at the entertainment deals,” I said. “And Alex works best in Dallas, doing the oil and ranching deals. No, it has to be you and me trading places.”
“You’re just sick of New York and want to come back,” Dane said.
“I like New York.” Through the glass, I could see Samantha leading two men to the meeting room. She was probably what I liked most about New York, but I wasn’t about to say that. “You’re just stuck in your ways.”
“Chicago is home.”
“The women are better here.”
“That’s a fucking lie, and you know it. You’re not even dating anyone.”
“How the hell do you know about my sex life? No, scratch that. How the hell does everyone know about my sex life?”
“I don’t know about everyone, but I’ve known you since we were fifteen. The story is always the same. Women try to get into Aidan’s pants, and Aidan says no. Are you telling me it’s different in New York?”
Fuck, sometimes it was hard to work with people who knew everything about you. “Piss off, Dane,” I said. “I have to take a meeting now. The meeting you should be at.”
“Like I say, ask about the API. And don’t screw it up.” He hung up.
