My face flushes. “I was not ‘getting laid.’”
“No? But youwerewith this new guy.”
I keep my mouth closed.
He sighs and rests his hands on the desk. “At least tell me you finished the financial reports for this quarter for the meeting tonight.”
“Shit.”
This time, there’s no sigh. Just pure fury in his eyes as he pushes off the desk, nostrils flaring. “I’m not being the bad guy here, Nathan. This isn’t fuckingRomeo and Juliet.I already told you I don’t give a shit about who you fuck, but when it starts getting in the way of your duties here, that’s when I have to step in.”
“What are you going to do?”
“This time, I’m going to give you a chance to get the report finished. Ask Harris for help, he’s good at that stuff. But next time, you won’t get another chance. I’ll have no choice but to relieve you of your duties.”
My stomach drops. I hadn’t realized howimportant this was until Priestley threatened to take it away. I imagine Bryce’s reaction when he finds out I’ve been stripped of my VP duties. I’m about to thank him for giving me another chance when he interrupts me.
“Nathan, you know I’m only hard on you because I believe you have potential, right? I can’t understand why you’d want to throw all of this away for some hookup.”
“Evan is not a hookup.”
He stares me down for a second. I hope he can see the challenge in my eyes. Eventually, he backs down, sighing.
“Whatever, you’re dismissed.”
I find Ben and spend the rest of the afternoon going over the financial reports for the quarter. Ben does most of the work. It usually takes me days to sort all these spreadsheets out and make sense of them, but Ben is a financial whiz and does it all in a couple of hours. When he’s finished, we sit back and look at the results, feeling proud of ourselves. Well, Ben should feel proud of himself, I was a liability as usual.
“Thank you.”
Ben blushes.
“And Ben, I’m sorry for being so caught up in my own shit that I’ve neglected you.”
“It’s okay.”
An awkward silence follows and I’m desperate to fill it.
“By the way, Priestley told me to get you to help because you’re good at this stuff.”
“Priestley said I’m good at something?”
I laugh and he joins me. For a second, it’s almost like nothing awkward has happened.
“I get the feeling he’s hardest on the people he thinks have the most potential.”
Ben rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know about that.”
“You do know you’re insanely smart and really good at all this stuff, right? That’s exactly why I need you for our business. I couldn’t do it without you.”
He nods.
“And I’m also going to be the best wingman you’ve ever seen, this summer, it’s going to be all about you getting laid.”
His face flushes and he looks away. “I think I might be busy this summer.”
I punch him lightly in the arm. “Whatever happens, Ben Harris will lose his virginity by the end of senior year.”
I drive straight overto my mom and Bryce’s house after the meeting at the frat, stopping the car out on the street so whatever car is taking my mom and Bryce to the airport can get in and out. Heaven forbid I hinder their escape. I want them gone just as much as they want to be gone.
