Page 2 of The Boyfriend Experience

“Did they dump a drink in your lap? Or slap you in the face?”

He shrugs. “Both.”

“So,” I say, feeling smug and not trying to hide it. “My warnings were right.” I lean forward and point at him. “I told you to stop fucking around last year, but did you listen?”

“I don’t need the lecture, OK? I just need help. I want this deal. No… I need this deal. I’m bored, Jordan. Fucking bored of this shit and I’m not even thirty years old yet. I can’t just sell real estate for the rest of my life. It’s depressing to even think about it. I need more. I want this show. We’re in the final stages of negotiation. I’m this far away,” he says, holding his thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart, “from getting what I want. I just gotta close.”

“And then what? What if you do get the deal and they like her? What then?”

“I give her a cut. She shows up when I need her and disappears when I don’t. I won’t screw her over. This is business.”

I pause for a moment. To make him think I might say no. Of course, I’d never say no to a game. Especially when it involves one of my best friends. But this game is a little tricky, so I gotta tread carefully.

And the truth is… I accepted his invite for coffee at the Tea Room this afternoon because I was gonna ask him for a favor. It’s like the stars have aligned.

“I have a game,” I say. “In play. Well, about to be. And a girl. The perfect girl for your little business venture.”

“Who?” he asks.

But this is where it gets tricky. Oaklee Ryan is a handful. I’ve already given her profile to six other men and they’ve politely backed away. She’s beautiful, so it’s not her looks. And she’s successful, so it’s not her drive.

But her personality is… well, she’s what I like to call unpredictable. Or crazy, if I’m being honest. She’s fuckin’ crazy.

But I only have one more day to get this game started or she gets a refund. And she paid seventy grand for a twenty-four-seven two-week stint. Seventy grand of liquid cash that I already have plans for. That I need. In fact, I need Lawton for that as well. I need both of them on board to get what I want.

So maybe I can get two games and the money all done in one deal?

“If I help you, I need a favor in return.”

“Shoot,” Law says.

“You know the Club?”

“Turning Point? What about it?”

“I need you to find out who bought it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s been sitting empty for more than a year now and… and… well, what the fuck is going on over there?”

“Why do you care?”

“I just do. Can you find out?”

“Probably.” Law shrugs. “Shouldn’t be too hard. It’s all public record.”

“I know, but it’s just a shell company. I need you to find out.”

“Shouldn’t your guy be doing this?”

“I don’t want this inquiry to be traced back to me. So I need you to do it.”

“You thinking about buying it?”

I am thinking about buying it. But that’s a conversation for another day because there’s a lot of baggage that comes packed with that admission and I don’t feel like talking about it yet. So I just shrug and change the subject back to him. “You ever go to that brewhouse over on Wynkoop?”

He laughs. “Which fucking one? There’s like a million of them down there now.”