Page 34 of For One Night

“From where I sit, it looks as though you get everything you want.”

He scratches his beard. “I fucking wish. It’s nothing like that. I work constantly to get anywhere. Most think I’ve been given everything, so therefore, I don’t work hard enough to get what I have. So, I work even harder. You know this.”

“Morgan made it all sound so easy. Get in, cause confusion at work and in your personal life, and you would just fold. I knew better, but damn if I didn’t want to see you squirm.”

“Do you hate me so much you’d rather see my world crumble, lose everything?”

My hands are sweaty. This topic is harder than the one about women. “What can I say? I was jealous. No, that’s not right. I am jealous.”

“Come again?” His brows rise to his hairline.

I walk over to the chairs, sitting before my knees go weak. “I’m jealous of you. You have to know that.”

“I didn’t mean to say it again. I’m asking why you would be?” He sits in the seat next to me. “I’ve worked my life away, for what? Money? We’ve always had money. The last relationship I had before Maisyn, it took me three weeks to call her by the right name.”

“Damn, that’s cruel, man.”

“That’s what she said.” He glances at me, and we both laugh out loud. “Seriously, I know you think I was handed everything in life, but that’s not the way it happened.”

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I know, honestly, I do. When we were in college, I had this dream. We were working together at O’Daly’s. I had no doubt you would work the money side of the business, but I thought I brought something to the table too.

“I’m ashamed of how I handled it once I had control. It was more than I ever imagined, and I didn’t have the faintest clue how to balance a budget. Once it got out of control, I’d leave for a couple of weeks.” I close my eyes, thinking how ignorant I was, I am.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come up and helped any way I could, no judgment.”

I fall back, staring at the sky. “Like I wanted you to come rescue me! I’d waited so long to get the chance to run it, then I fucked it up. I thought of nothing except the fact that you wouldn’t have screwed it up.”

“Brother, I screwed up so many times on my own. I wanted, no that’s not true, I needed you with me. The things you can do, I can’t.” He shifts in his seat. “I’m straight forward—business is business, and let’s do it by the book. You, on the other hand, are a people person. You sell the whole damn thing, where I handle the money better.”

I sit here, dazed. “How in the hell did we get here?”

“You tried to hit on my lady!” He reaches over, sucker punching my thigh, causing me to fall out of my chair.

“Dickhead!”

He stands, groping his crotch. “Damn straight, stay away from my woman.”

“Fuck you.” I flip him off as he holds his hand out for me. “Have you ever noticed that you’re always hitting me?”

He cocks his brow. “Your point?”

“Just saying, you’re an ass.” I bag tag him as I run to the back door.

He doubles over, holding his nuts. “You little shit!”

After he pulls himself together, Lachlan finally joins me inside. I slide him a beer across the counter. “For the record, I am sorry. I was so fucking ridiculous. I bet Maisyn really does hate me.”

“No, she doesn’t.” He tilts the bottle up, pausing. “But I bet you’ll never cross her ass again.”

“Hell no!”

“I can’t believe she tased you.” He chuckles.

I shrug. “I deserved it.”

“So are we calling a truce?” He side eyes me.

“Don’t you think it’s time?”