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“There’s always time for a Plutus brother,” I let him know.
“Great! Can’t wait to catch up. I hear you’re facing some roadblocks on your everlasting journey to greatness?” Aston responds.
“So, you talked to Gabe, I presume?”
“That’s correct,” he says. “And when I asked him about his thing with Ella, he was all too happy to deflect and change the topic to you.”
Rage fills me the instant I hear that name. That witch Ella had broken my friend’s heart before, and from the looks of it, she’s about to do it again. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
“He’s not still pursuing that doomed relationship, is he?” I ask. “Even Gabe cannot be that stupid—”
“Oh, but aren’t you trying to do the same right now?” Aston cuts me off. “What is it with you boys and women? We’re not in college anymore, but you guys are acting like goddamn teenagers when it comes to relationships.”
Aston sounds genuinely upset, but something tells me that this is more about him than me or Gabe. He has always been the “grownup” of our group, not only because he’s the oldest. Back in college, he was the only one of us who never skipped a class, who never smoked weed, even when everybody around him was doing it. It was him who made sure that everybody stayed hydrated when we were out drinking. He’s always been a bit more put-together and responsible than any of us has yet grown to be, but he never seemed bothered by it.
“Dude, what’s with the scolding? Are you okay?” I ask, knowing how much he hates to be called ‘dude’.
“Deflecting again?” he hisses back.
“I’m not deflecting anything,” I say. “I’m just wondering what’s got you so mad?”
He sighs at the other end of the line, and I’m pretty sure there’s some eye-rolling involved, too.
“I’m sorry, you’re right,” he admits. “Guess I was just hoping you’re not in the middle of doing something stupid like our friend Gabe is.”
“What makes you think I am?”
“Gabe told me you’re sleeping with the woman whose company you want to buy, and who fights you on it with everything she has,” he explains. “Or that you’re at least planning to do so.”
“What?!” I blurt out. “That’s bullshit! Why would he say that?”
“Yeah, I wonder. Why would he?” Aston responds pointedly.
Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. I can act all offended as much as I want, but I know that neither Aston nor Gabe are off with their assessment of my situation. There’s no use in lying to him.
“All, I told him is that—”
“She’s a fucking snake who makes your life harder than it needs to be,” Aston cuts me. “She doesn’t want to sell, but for some reason, you just can’t let it go?”
“That’s… well, yes, that’s correct. But it’s not because I’m so smitten with her, trust me,” I insist, and I wish I could believe myself. “Her company is a leading institution in the adaptation of 3D technology in this market. I’ve been working on this deal for months already, and I was misled.”
“Misled how?” he probes.
“By her uncle. He wants to sell, and he made it seem like he’s the CEO with the final word, but as it turns out, Madison is.”
“Madison, huh,” he repeats suggestively. “So, you’re on a first-name basis.”
We’re a lot further along than that, I think. But I’m not stupid enough to share that with Aston. Out of the four of us, he’s the one who’s most familiar with the consequences of shitting where you eat.
“She must be quite a strong character, to stand up to you like that,” he goes on.
“Yes, she is,” I say through gritted teeth. “Strong and stubborn as hell.”
“A challenge,” he adds. “And you love a good challenge. You have always loved a good challenge, especially when it comes to women.”
Goddammit, is he reading my fucking mind?
I move my lips as if to speak, but words escape me. Aston is right, but I didn’t need him to know what I already know: Madison embodies everything in a woman I find attractive—and then some.
