Page 2 of Never Let Go

“Fuck you,” I retorted, chuckling as I shook my head at him. “I’m a massive catch. You would’ve been lucky to have me.”

“Maybe that’s true,” he joked. “It’s too bad we’ll never find out. Either way, let me know what the lawyers say. Your grandfather already lost out on having you in his life because of that grudge he held against your mother. It’d be a real pity if he screwed you over in death as well.”

“Honestly? I don’t want anything from him,” I said. “Whatever he left me is what he left me, and that’s it. There’s nothing else to it. How’s the new job going?”

We left the court side by side, our sneakers padding silently across the thick carpets beneath our feet. Kane grinned. “It’s great. If I’d known how much of a pay bump came with a big promotion, I’d have applied ages ago.”

“Everyone knows you get a pay bump with a big promotion. How did you miss it?”

“Asshole,” he said. “I knew I would be getting an increase. I just didn’t know how much it would be. Plus, finally having a whole team of people working under me definitely has its own perks.”

“I bet. And the new condo? I still can’t believe you left me to fend for myself with Mrs. Scott.”

“Ah, Mrs. Scott.” He sighed, pretending to be nostalgic for a minute before he let out a loud snort. “You should move, Foster. She’s going to be waiting naked in your bed one of these days.”

My face scrunched up, but I couldn’t argue. Kane had been my neighbor for years, but he’d moved out of our building after he’d gotten his promotion and now Mrs. Scott, our other neighbor, had set her sights firmly on me.

She was harmless, though. Just an older woman who wanted some company at times while her husband was away for work, but still, I was now the only one she could target to get that company—and it really was just to talk.

Contrary to his little joke, she’d never made a move on either of us, much less landed up naked in our beds. I glanced at him when he came to stand at the locker next to mine. “Any chance you’re thinking of moving back to slum it with us instead of staying in your fancy new condo?”

He grimaced at me. “Sorry, bro. I like the new place. Besides, you know you’re going to move out of that building soon.”

“Probably,” I agreed, though I didn’t know how soon. The truth of the matter was that it was a nice building. The apartments were decently sized and the amenities weren’t bad, but since both Porter and Kane had now moved, it kind of felt like it was time for me to do the same.

It kind of felt like I was stagnating, and no one wanted to be that guy. Kane had gotten his promotion, a better place, and even membership to the exclusive club where we played racquetball a few times a week.

Porter, my brother, had not only moved but had finally pulled his head out of his ass and told his best friend, Hope, that he’d been in love with her for the last decade.

They were now in a serious relationship and it was getting more serious by the day. Soon, they would be starting a family, and meanwhile, I was still completely single. By choice, but maybe it was time to reevaluate that decision.

Despite having gotten a promotion of my own recently, overall, it just felt like it was time for a change. A change I’d have to set in motion later, though. For now, I had to get back to the office and then I had to make it on time for my meeting with the woman settling the estate.

After grabbing a quick shower, I got dressed and said goodbye to my friend, then raced back to the Sight Unseen building and sat down behind my desk not a minute after my break had officially ended. I grinned to myself as I turned toward my computer and logged in, ready to make the next couple of hours count so I could duck out early.

Milena Kress, my boss and the owner of the dating agency I worked for, was pretty lenient on our office hours. She didn’t micromanage and she was happy with us coming and going as we pleased—as long as our work was done before we left.

As Vice President of Operations nowadays, I had even more freedom to do my own thing, but I loved my job and the last thing I wanted was to let anything slip through the cracks.

For the next ninety minutes, I hardly looked away from my computer. A lot of people—my own brother included—thought it was weird that a young, single guy could take his job working at a dating agency so seriously, but I really did love what I did for a living.

As a company, Sight Unseen was amazing to work for. Milena was a savvy businesswoman with a real knack for the industry, and I learned something from her with nearly every single interaction we had. The office environment was relaxed and supportive, the work was fun, and the way I saw it, there was nothing not to love.

After I’d worked my way through a slew of emails, Hope stuck her head into my office and smiled. “Hey. You got a minute?”

I nodded and grinned at the love of my brother’s life. “Sure. What’s up?”

As it happened, she was also now a rung above me as President of Operations, but I didn’t mind working underneath her. If anything, we were a good team and we’d known each other a long time, long enough to know and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“I just wanted to check in,” she said. “Porter’s coming by any minute and he mentioned you had a meeting with the estate people today? How are you feeling about it?”

I shrugged. “Indifferent. The man meant nothing to me. I have no idea why he’d have left me anything.”

“You were his namesake,” she said gently as she strode in and took a seat across from my desk. “That means something to that generation.”

“If it really meant something, he’d have reached out when he was still alive.” I cocked my head at her. “Is Porter really worried, or are you?”

She wrinkled her nose at me, released a heavy breath, and then chuckled. “Fine. It’s me. He told me neither of you really give a shit about any of this and to stop worrying.”