Page 1 of Pick Me This Time

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STERLING

The view from my office was the kind of shit dreams were made of. The Brooklyn Bridge jutted from the sparkling water in the distance. The modern, iconic skyscrapers of Wall Street and the smaller, much more historic buildings stood proudly in between. And all of it was my playground.

It was a far cry from the miles of green farmland and open spaces where I’d grown up.

Leaning back in my chair, I let out a deep breath and scrubbed my palms over my jaw, groaning at the prospect of being away from here for the next six weeks. Beyond my windows, the sun had begun to set. Lights were slowly blinking to life in the buildings around me and on the vibrant streets below.

For the first time in years, I wouldn’t be back here on Monday morning and I was not excited about it. I sighed again, hit the button on my computer to shut it down, and got up to grab my jacket once the screen went black. As I slid my arms into the sleeves that had been tailored to my exact specifications, I took one last look around the office.

Half a wall of TV screens showed me real-time updates of every important financial market on the planet. Thick carpet stretched out beneath my feet. A sleek, glass-topped desk faced the view, a conference table sat next to one of the solid walls, and in the corner, there was a little coffee nook with a couch my assistant had insisted upon so I had somewhere to take a break every once in a while.

I practically lived here.

Ever since I’d been hired as an investment banker at Josh Meadows Inc, the most badass brokerage firm in the city, I’d gone balls to the wall, hardly even sleeping for the first few years while I’d been cementing my position here.

These days, I still spent most of my time working, but at least I grabbed a few hours’ of shut-eye every night. Well, most nights anyway.

For the next six weeks, however, I wouldn’t be working at all.

It was a mind-shift of note.

It felt like the computer sitting on my desk was calling to me as I strode across the expanse of my office to my door. Like it was judging me for leaving it behind.

I gritted my teeth, opened my door, and ran smack into Henry, a particularly obnoxious coworker of mine. He was one of those dude-bros who always wore his collar popped up and was completely unaware of his own overgrown sense of entitlement.

“Sterling!” He said the last syllable of my name in a much deeper tone and grinned when he saw me, his strawberry-blonde hair slicked back and his top buttons already undone. Reaching out, he clasped my shoulder and pumped his eyebrows at me. “We’re meeting at Nova to celebrate another awesome week. You in?”

I grimaced and shook my head. “I can’t, man. I’m catching an early morning flight in a few hours.”

“That gives you a few hours to party with us,” he said, undeterred by my declining his invitation. “Come on, bro. It’s just a few beers. We’ll let you go when you have to.”

As he said it, Bryant and Jenna came around the corner, both fixing me with expectant looks of their own. Henry, Bryant, Jenna, and I were all on the same level here at the moment, but I was up for a promotion.

My boss wasn’t too happy about my extended leave of absence to go back to my hometown, but I wasn’t happy about it either. I hadn’t been back there since my mom died, and even then, it’d only been for a few days to tie up her loose ends because my dad had been incapable of doing it himself.

I hadn’t taken time off work since and I believed that was one of the reasons I was first in line for the promotion. The people inviting me out for drinks now would be here while I was gone, and that was why I finally returned Henry’s grin and lifted my chin in a nod.

“Sure, yeah. One won’t hurt. Let’s do it.”

I would be damned if one of them went after my promotion while I was gone, and the only way to prevent it would be to make sure they knew I would be back—and that when I got here, I didn’t want to hear about anyone trying to steal it out from underneath me.

They were all a little bit afraid of me and I planned on using that to my advantage. They also all owed me for various favors I’d done for them or messes I’d cleaned up on their behalf over the years.

I just had to give them a reminder of all that.

Henry smirked like he’d known all along that I would cave, and the others fell into step behind us. As we made our way to the elevator and walked to the preppy, after-work watering hole they favored, they bantered about the deals they’d lost or closed this week, but I didn’t join in.

I wasn’t in the mood for banter. I was too annoyed by having to go home. Of all the fucking times to have to leave.

“What’s up with you?” Bryant asked as we sipped our drinks at our usual table. “I heard you’re going away. That’s not like you.”

“No, it’s not.” I’d been tight-lipped about my life back home, and I didn’t really care to share too much. Keeping it vague, I swallowed a sip of my beer and shrugged. “My ten-year high school reunion is coming up and I’ve got some family shit to work out, but I’ll be back.”

Henry scoffed. “You’re leaving now because of some reunion? I wouldn’t turn my back for a second if I was you right now. You must really have loved high school.”

I had, but that wasn’t why I was obliged to go. The obligation stemmed from the fact that I had been the graduating class president, but I might’ve overlooked even that if I hadn’t wanted to go talk to my dad about the family business.