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“I’ll probably stick with one or two,” Leo said. As she walked away, he turned to me and very gently put his hand around my mug and pulled it back away from me. “How many is this, boss?” he asked.
“Seven?” I guessed. “Eight? More than four.”
“More than four,” Leo repeated. “Maybe we hang on before we get into the double digits and wait for Sean.”
“Someone mention my name?”
The voice was directly behind me, and as I turned to see the speaker, I nearly spun so hard on the stool that I fell off.
“Sean, you made it early,” I said, surprised.
“Well, your text was alarming,” he said. “Hey, Leo.”
“Afternoon, Sean,” Leo said. “Looks like Hunter here has already had a good bit of beer. We have some catching up to do.”
“Oh, well then,” Sean said. “Is it Linda today?”
Leo nodded.
“I’ll flag her down and get me started,” Sean said. “Meanwhile, you want to get him to a booth?”
I stood, swaying just a little.
“I can get to one,” I said. “Twelve, by the way.”
“Excuse me?” Leo asked.
“Twelve. I remembered. I had twelve beers.”
“Twelve?” Sean asked.
“Eight of the dark ones. Four of the light ones. Low calorie. Less heavy.”
“He sounds like a commercial,” Leo joked.
“A terrible one,” Sean said. “Come on, bud. Let’s get you to the booth. I’m going to order us some food, too.”
“Good idea,” Leo said. “I could eat a horse.”
Leo led me toward a back corner, and while I wasn’t completely drunk, I was at least tipsy enough to not feel bad about someone else guiding me around. I knew I wasn’t in a good place, either mentally or now physically. I could let my buddies take some measure of control of my actions for now. I trusted them not to screw me over.
When Sean arrived at the table, I was staring down into the empty water glass I had brought with me. Leo insisted I get it in before I had any more alcohol. I could feel it sitting on my stomach and sloshing around.
“So, what’s causing all this?” Sean asked as he sat. “That ad campaign really doing you in?”
“No,” I slurred.
“It’s Julia, isn’t it?” Leo asked.
I nodded, then told them what happened, albeit in an abbreviated, and punctuated-by-hiccups version.
“Well, that sounds like a hell of a day,” Leo said after I was done speaking. “I think someone deserves a protein shake, a gallon of water, and a visit to the strip club tonight.”
Leo suggesting the strip club meant he was pulling out the big guns. We had been to exactly two strip clubs the entire time we had known each other, primarily because we didn’t want to be photographed at one. It wasn’t the best look for a billionaire. But both times had been at low points for either Leo or Sean. It had worked in cheering them up, if just for the night, but wasn’t a long-term solution.
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “That won’t work for me.”
“Damn,” Sean said. “That bad, eh?”
