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She was not going to put up with him, even pretending he had the right to question anything she did. “I’m an adult and can go wherever I want when I want. I don’t have to check in with anyone, especially not you. You have five seconds to tell me what you want before I’m hanging up.”
“Jeez, where’s the love?” He took a deep breath. “I guess I deserve that.”
“You do. What do you want?”
Seconds ticked by and she clearly pictured him searching for the right words to get what he wanted from her.
“I need money.”
The bluntness of his words was so unlike Eric, she took some time to process them. She was so used to the excuses and stories designed to tug at her heartstrings. Jade wasn’t stupid. She knew her friend sometimes played her, even outright lied to her. But he’d worn away at her goodwill until there was nothing left. She was worried about him, but that didn’t stop her resentment at the fact that she was nothing more than a piggy bank to him anymore.
“Of course, that’s what this was about. You couldn’t just be calling to apologize. That would mean you actually cared that you’d done something wrong.”
She smacked the steering wheel in frustration, tempted to hang up on him.
“Jade–”
“We’ve talked about this.” She cut him off. “Next, check comes in three weeks. I should have the rest of the money to buy you out in four months.”
It was going to take her scrimping and saving every penny she had. But she was determined to get him out of the business. Maybe then their friendship could recover. People had warned her from the beginning that going into business with a friend was a bad idea.
In her worst imaginings, she couldn’t have pictured things turning out like this. Over a decade of friendship, torn apart. She only needed $50,000 more to buy him out. Then she would be done with him.
No more money fights. No more pretending, phone calls, to try to sucker her out of more cash. Their entire friendship flushed away because he wouldn’t live within his budget and thought she should fix all of his problems.
“Can you give me an advance on next month?” Desperation was clear in his voice, even through the car’s speakers. “I’m in a tight spot. I need you.”
Jade sighed, hardly believing she was even considering it. “How much are we talking about?”
“I need at least five grand. Ten would be better.”
Shock made her voice harsh. “Eric, your portion of the profits this month was only two-thousand dollars. That was before taxes. What you are asking for is at least three months’ worth of advances.”
She had a personal account where she’d been saving to buy Eric out that held almost thirty-eight-thousand dollars. It was her personal safety net as well for emergencies. It was possible to do it without breaking the bank, but when would it stop? Would he ever learn to handle his own finances?
“I’m desperate. You have to help me out.”
Jade tried not to grind her teeth at his demanding tone. “Tell me what you need the money for, and I’ll consider buying a couple more of your shares from you. But no more advances. Any money you get outside the regular cycle goes against the $50,000 dollars to buy you out.”
“You can’t be serious. I’m not selling any more of the business to you.”
Jade was stunned. “Did you even read our last contract? You agreed to sell the rest of your shares to me if I came up with the money within a year. I have ten months and believe me, I plan on buying you out.”
“What am I supposed to do without the dividend checks?”
The ones that he did absolutely nothing to earn. That had been part of the deal when he’d agreed to the buyout price. “That’s not my problem. If you wanted more money, you could come in and take some personal training sessions. I don’t know, earn your paycheck.”
“You don’t have to be such a bitch.”
“I’m not being a bitch, Eric. Just not letting you walk all over me anymore.”
“Fine, then give me the five grand.”
It was tempting to give in, but a part of her knew she needed to know what was going on in his life before getting any more involved than she already was. “No, you tell me what you need it for. Then I’ll get the contract drawn up, and you can stop buy in two days.”
“What do you care what it is for? You abandoned me and ruined my career with this bullshit. You owe me.”
Guilt and anger flooded her system. What he said was technically true, but she didn’t owe him the rest of her life. It was an unpleasant reality that Eric had capitalized on her story to bring them both into the limelight. She had the right to not want to be in it anymore.
