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I smile, realizing something. “You don’t call him Diggy.”
“I only use his nickname to his face,” Connor says and then studies me like he’s adding something up. “You remember Faust?”
Faust…
I couldn’t forget that place even if I tried. I lasted a good four months before being kicked out. But that boarding school—that’s the same one Connor attended, long before I graced their doors.
“Fortunately for me,” I say dryly, “Faust is embedded in my brain.”
It’s an all-boys school. And I mostly hated it for that reason.
I lean my head back and stare up at the limo’s ceiling. “You were something like a legend there,” I add. “Everyone talked about you.” And these were students that didn’t even go to school with Connor. Just heard the same old stories passed down.
“I’d ask if they said good things, but I already know that answer,” Connor says, confidence laced in arrogance. He sets his water bottle in the cup holder. “You flunked out of Faust for a reason, Garrison.”
“Yeah,” I snort. “Because I wasn’t smart enough.” Those guys all spoke three different languages, were tutored in math before they could talk, and had proficiency in at least one musical instrument. They were blue-blooded social climbers with something to prove, and I couldn’t hack it.
“No,” Connor refutes. “It has nothing to do with intelligence. More than a few idiots stood beside me at graduation.” He props an arm on the seat cushion, facing me. “You flunked because you didn’t belong there. That school isn’t designed to uphold boys who love things other than themselves.”
I loved Willow.
I missed Willow.
Every day I was there.
I think about how Faust is a boarding school, cut off from friends and family in the middle of fucking nowhere New York. Most of the guys I met seemed perfectly happy being away. No one missed for anything.
They just wanted for everything. They wanted money and prestige and that billion-dollar glory.
I just wanted my girl.
My best friend, the only friend I came to care about. Who’d turn into the single most important person in my entire life.
It’s funny because if I asked Connor what he wanted when he was at Faust, I think I’d know what he’d tell me.
“I wanted it all.”
I’m not sure where Connor is going with this, and honestly, I’m too in my head to even stare at his blue eyes. So I divert my gaze to the window.
Lamplight from Philly streets glows softly outside in the dark night.
Connor continues, “Cobalt Inc. isn’t Faust. The things I value now are not the things I valued when I was seventeen. You belong at my company.”
I know Cobalt Inc. is different than Faust. I don’t feel miserable at work. The people are okay. Keith is annoying but harmless. Being around people who are driven and care about their goals is good motivation to keep going. And it’s kind of nice seeing the same faces every day.
But I’m going to change that with what I’m about to ask Connor.
I’m going to change everything.
My chest tightens. Maybe Connor knows something is wrong and he’s trying to prevent me from quitting. I won’t quit…not unless he says “no.”
The quiet only lasts a couple seconds before I break it. “Before I ask you what I need to ask,” I say, caging a breath. “I need to know something.”
He waves me on.
“Your kids are cute now, but they’re going to get older and not be perfect, you know. So what happens if one of your sons grows up to be something like me: flunks out of two prep schools, inks his body up, smokes and vandalizes houses in your neighborhood?”
Connor doesn’t break his gaze from mine, but he’s stone-faced, nothing passing through his calm, impassive exterior. And then he says, “I think we already know how that story plays out.”
I just shake my head, thoughts spinning.
“You hired me because I can code,” I say. “Because I was Willow’s boyfriend.”
“I hired you because I saw potential,” he refutes. “If you believe anything else then you’re wrong. Not uncommon. I’m sure it’s a natural state that you’re learning to live with.” He runs a cool hand through his wavy brown hair. “You’re in my limo right now because I like you. Despite the fact that you can’t seem to enjoy your own company.”
Fuck, man.
I rub at my eyes. “I have to ask you something.”
He grins a blinding grin that makes me feel the size of Skittle. “So you’ve already said.” His calming gaze softens. “I’m still waiting.”
I take a tighter breath. Let’s go, Garrison. “Willow’s everything to me.” Her name brings comfort and strength and I continue on. “She’s more than a girlfriend. It’s like code. She’s the script on the program, and I’m nothing but a blank screen without her.” I exhale a sharper breath. “And it’s not like I haven’t learned to be happy on my own in Philly and persevere or whatever. I have. I know I have, but she’s still all the way in London. She’ll be there for years, and the longer we’re apart, the more I get in my head and ruin things. So I just need to see her more.” I extend my arm to the limo window. “I can program over there. It’s not a problem. I’m just asking for like one week every month to telecommute. That’s all.”
