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“I will just be happy when I can say I tried everything I could, and it just didn’t work out, so we can get a divorce and still keep up our end of the contract,” I said, taking a sip from my can of beer again. Seth shook his head and flipped the steak.
“You’re so sure this isn’t going to work out? What if you two really hit it off? Maybe she’s exactly what you are looking for.”
“What I’m looking for,” I pointed out, “is a woman who keeps to herself, does what she’s told to do, and doesn’t mind me sleeping with other women. Do you really think that’s her?”
“You never know,” Seth laughed, coming back to sit in his chair after putting the lid of the grill back down. “Maybe that’s exactly who she is. Or maybe that really isn’t what you are looking for. Or what you need. You are a nicer guy than you give yourself credit for.”
“I’m sorry, have you met me?” I snorted. “I go where I want, do what I want, and I don’t answer to anyone. I like my life that way. Besides, I work far too much to have an actual wife.”
“Well, if you don’t want to have a family someday, what do you work so hard for?” he asked, and I shrugged.
“To be able to do what I want, when I want. If I want to spend a weekend in Aruba, I want to have the money to go. If they come out with a new car I like, I want to be able to buy it.”
“You’re such a liar,” Seth accused, and I shot him a threatening look which he ignored. We had been friends almost our entire lives, having met in third grade when his family moved into town. The other kids picked on him because of his red hair and freckles, and I kicked their asses on the playground for bullying him. Now we just bullied each other.
“I am not.”
“You are too! When’s the last time you even thought about taking a vacation?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but he waved a dismissive hand at me. “You haven't. You’ve never even mentioned it to me, and let’s face it—if you were going to go somewhere, you would be taking me with you. You don’t take vacations, and you don't spend your money on fancy cars. You hoard your money in a savings account that you don’t touch and only use what you need for your everyday expenses. Maybe you are saving it all for Casper, but I doubt that too because you have enough money to put him through college about eleven times over.”
I shrugged. Actually, if Casper ever wanted to go to college, I could get him into Brown, Yale, or Princeton for free. Harvard would be a little more difficult, but I was sure if I had to, I could get him in. My son would want for nothing, even if his mother and I didn’t get along.
“You could use someone in your life to do things with or spend time with—other than me,” he stressed the last part of his sentence. “You need a woman in your life to take care of and someone to take care of you. You’ll be amazed at how that changes your perspective.”
I could see him looking down at Tania, and I was glad he had her. They had been together a long time, and they were good for each other despite their differences. I had no doubt that he loved her and she made him a better man. I just didn’t think there was a woman out there for me and, frankly, I didn’t want one. I liked my life the way it was; it didn’t need to change. Natalia was a bump in the road, but if she really wanted to stay married, there were rules she would have to follow, and there would be things she would just have to deal with.
Seth laughed and got up to throw his empty beer can in the recycling bin. Then, he grabbed a fresh one from the thirty-six-pack in the cooler by the door.
“Your face right now, man, is so serious. You would giveThe Thinkerstatue a run for his money. I’m just saying to keep an open mind. This might be a blessing in disguise. Don’t go into it telling her all this crap about how it’s going to be when you don’t even know yourself. Maybe you’ll like her once you get to know her.”
He sat back down and smacked my shoulder with the back of his hand. “You said she’s hot, right? Well, focus on that. Try to be nice to the hot girl in your home. Focus on the fact that you want to bang her, and your brain might become more agreeable, which will lead to you actually liking each other, which then might lead to actually fucking her. See? I’m a genius. You should just listen to me on everything.”
His plan wasn’t bad, so I let it go. I would at least keep it in mind when dealing with her. So far, the “nice guy” thing had worked pretty well. She was at least moving in. That was a huge step. Our parents would be happy, which was important, seeing as this was their contract to begin with.
“How is Casper doing?” Seth asked. “He’s like what, four now?”
“He just turned five a few months ago.”
“Has the bitch finally lightened up, or are your visitations still limited to once a month?”
“Every two weeks now, but with supervision,” I scowled. I hated thinking about everything going on. I hated Casper’s mother and what she had decided to do. Just because I hadn’t wanted to have a child with her, didn’t mean that I didn’t want him. I loved my son, but she made it so hard. I had to push the situation out of my head and focus on the present. Otherwise, I got dangerous thoughts. Thoughts like I had connections that would make her no longer an issue. But then I would have to fight her whole family in order to try to get custody, and I wasn’t even sure I would be a good father. I was barely a good part-time father.
“That’s shit, dude. Especially when I know you have the means of fixing it.”
“Yeah, but I have to play by her rules for now. I’ll win in the end, I’m not worried.”
“Oh, I know you're not. Hey, let's go shoot some pool in the basement. I just had it fixed up. I’ll even let you go first.”
Seth led the way through his house to the basement, and I followed, happy for the day of relaxation. Things were certainly going my way. Hopefully, things stayed that way for a little while.
Chapter 8
Natalia
WhenIsawtheplace I was going to be living in for the foreseeable future, I almost fainted.
First of all, I had no idea he lived in one of the ritziest buildings in the city. It was the kind of place that had a doorman who greeted people as they walked in and wished everyone a good day when they left. He was an older gentleman with gray hair and a mustache, dressed in a very nice suit that fit him perfectly. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been custom made for him.
