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“Not me. I’m out. I’m taking Autumn to dinner.” Luc puts his stick back in the rack and throws us a proud smile over his shoulder. “She has a new craving for French food.”
“Really? Luna loves Mexican food even more.”
“Yeah, Autumn likes that, too.”
“Let’s go on a couple of double dates next week and try a couple of different places.”
“Perfect. Let’s do that.” Luc looks like it’s the best idea in the world.
And this is where I get lost. They double date all the time and their wives are best friends even though they came into the family with their own best friends.
Outside of these meetups and work meetings I hardly see them anymore. I’m sure that if Hunter and I didn’t work at the same place weeks would go by when I wouldn’t see him.
I’m cool with it. It’s nice to see them so wrapped up in their wives and their lives, but I’m noticing it more now because I won’t have what they have. Definitely not if I’m forced to marry Portia Fairchild.
“See you guys later,” Luc says.
He leaves and Hunter points his cue at me. “Let’s grab a beer and talk.”
“Sure.”
We grab some beers and Cohiba cigars then head out to the terrace, into the cool night air.
We sit on the wicker chairs, light up and drink.
“Alright, talk to me.” Hunter takes a long drag on his cigar. “Obviously I know what’s going on but you seem extra stressed.”
“Because I am.” I pull in the woody smoke of the cigar and allow it to settle in my lungs for a few seconds before I exhale it. “Father is really pushing my buttons.”
“It’s because he likes things a certain way and his schedule is all messed up.”
“Because of me. I’m not married yet, not CFO yet, and he thinks I’m not taking this seriously enough.”
“I kind of expected this from you, to be honest. I mean the delay.”
That surprises me. “Did you?”
“Yes. Of course, you’d be delayed in finding a wife if you’ve been locked into a marriage contract all your life and you’ve just been freed from it.”
“I never planned it that way. It’s not like I’ve gone wild. And the first woman I hooked up with in months just happened to be the one to draw the wrong attention to me.”
“I didn’t expect you to go wild. But I thought you’d take the time to think—which is what you’ve done. I’m sure Father saw this coming, too. That’s why he’s acting the way he is.”
“That doesn’t exactly help me. And he’s made the situation worse with this shitty idea to marry Portia.”
Hunter frowns and bites the inside of his bottom lip. “That’s the part that worries me. That and his closeness with the Fairchilds.”
“Hunter, you’re CEO of the company. Can’t you talk to him?”
“I’ve already spoken to him but my power only lies with New York. Father still has the ruling decision over the company as a whole until he retires. I can tell you he’s not happy with either of us for ourwitch hunt, as he called it, of the Fairchilds.”
“It’s not a fucking witch hunt.”
“That’s how he sees it. And you know how he gets when he’s made up his mind about something.”
“I just don’t get why he’s so adamant. I’m pissed as fuck that I have to work with Nolan on the tech company.”
“Look Asher, take it from me. You have to focus on yourself. You have less than two weeks now to give Father a name. That’s a big deal.”
