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Jay frowned. “Anthony went to a club for boring lawyers? Poor soul.”
Chris shook his head, hating to relive his time at The Gentlemen’s Club, but not because it had all been bad—it most definitely hadn’t. It was there that Chris had gotten to engage in the most thrilling conversations with the city’s top lawyers, people he’d been dreaming of someday working with. That hadn’t stopped those brilliant minds from taking advantage of men they deemed inferior. He allowed himself to believe it was all in consent, but with time, it became clear that many were being blackmailed and manipulated into submission.
“Hey.” Jay nudged him with his elbow. “Focus.”
“Or what, you’ll hit me?”
“I might.”
“Go ahead. I have bigger problems than your stupid grudge. And so you know, Mickey’s an asshole, but not as bad asyou.”
He fully expected pain to follow, but Jay nibbled on nachos before saying, “You’re drunk and scared, so I’m going to let that one slide. And that Mickey guy doesn’t look all that dangerous.”
“That makes it worse.”
“Does he have a problem with Anthony because of something that happened in that club?”
“No, Mickey doesn’t have a problem with Anthony. I just got a bad vibe when he mentioned him. I may just be overreacting.”
“You’re not known to overreact.”
True.
Jay chewed loudly on the nachos, scattering crumbs everywhere. Ethan and Anthony used to laugh about how different Chris and Jay’s table manners were.
Jay slid the nacho plate to Chris. “You’re drinking too much. Eat.”
He did, his stomach burning from too much alcohol and not enough food. His relationship with alcohol had started when he was sixteen. Robert Mitchell had been a wine expert, aside from being a sadist.“No son of mine will grow up not knowing how to tell the difference between a great wine and a cheap one. Drink up, boy.”
Chris reached for more nachos, but the plate was empty. “You ate everything.”
Jay shrugged. “My nachos.”
“Will you pay for them?”
“Unlikely.”
Chris signaled the waitress to bring more nachos.
Jay leaned closer. “The minute Mickey tells you what he wants, you talk to me. Don’t agree to anything.”
Chris eyed him suspiciously. “How are you a part of this?”
“I’m the dumbass who didn’t do a background check on the guy. And if there’s a chance it might affect Anthony, I’ll show Mickey I can also play dirty.”
It was odd hearing a threat from Jay that wasn’t directed at Chris. A part of him was curious to see how a showdown between those two would play out, but Mickey would likely eat and spit out Jay with little effort.
“Okay, I’ll let you know when he speaks with me.”
As they waited for the nachos to arrive, Chris, too anxious to keep quiet, asked, “Have you moved into your new place yet?”
“Moved in two days ago.” There was a subtle pride in Jay’s voice. “I won’t miss my brother’s couch, that’s for damn sure. Anthony said he’d come to help with some repairs this weekend.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah, but it’s a bit weird having my own place.”
“You lived alone before.”
