His brow lifts in shock. “You think I can make her interesting?”
“Whenever a woman nearing thirty has the audacity to date a hot, sexy man in their early twenties, people lose their shit. Her name will be on everyone’s lips, and by association, yours will too.”
“Heck, yeah!”
“But there are conditions.”
“Whatever you want.”
“During the time you are seeing her, you must remain faithful, and for at least six months after your eventual breakup, you can’t take another girlfriend or do anything that would lead to speculation that you have. You can fuck, but there can be no strings.”
He nods. “I can do that.”
“You’ll probably have to take a month or two off from the Hunks, but you’ll be expected to return. This doesn’t just benefit you, me, and my client. An obligation to the Hunks will be included in your contract as well.”
“Sure thing.”
“No one can know about this until I give the go-ahead to release the information. Not even the Hunks. You’ll be expected to sign an NDA, and so help me, if you break it, I’ll bring the full weight of my father’s law firm down on you.”
“Got it.”
“And, most importantly, you’re to stop being a petulant child around Toxic. From now on, you treat him as you did before I came onto the bus, and anyone that acts a fool around him and myself, you’ll give the cold shoulder to.”
His mouth opens, but he hesitates.
“Is being a decent human being so fucking hard?” Taking a step forward, I poke my finger into his chest. “I understand you have your little click, but we’ve done nothing wrong and I don’t appreciate the hostile reception.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want the whole damn bus to hate me.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Eventually, they’ll know about the good work I’m doing, and my popularity will skyrocket.”
What I don’t tell him is that I’m going to fucking war, and I aim to get every mother fucking Hunk that’s not sucking Natasha and Bianca’s teats on my side.
Toxic
The whole reason I’m called Toxic is because, even in the most dire of times, I tend to look on the bright side. More than one person has accused me of having toxic positivity, and I can see how that can be annoying.
But if Star Wars has taught me anything, it’s that hope resides in places you never think to look.
Samantha is my hope.
After showering, I walk back from the gym alone because every other Hunk has sided with Slay and Natasha.
This cold standoff is childish, but I try not to rock the boat because I don’t want what little time I have with Samantha to be tainted. Hopefully, when I finally announce that we’re having a baby together, they’ll chill.
Approaching the bus, I see Samantha poking her finger into Jacek’s chest, which sends a surge of fury coursing through my veins.
But as I rush to throttle the bastard, I see they’re both smiling.
“Hey, man!” Jacek says, sounding chipper.
A million thoughts race through my mind, and not a single one makes sense. Being the youngest of us, Jacek tends to follow the herd, and breaking from it to be friendly with Samantha is…suspicious.
I cross my arms over my chest, making sure my biceps bulge. “What’s up?”
Jacek scratches the back of his head, looking clearly uncomfortable. “Just chattin’.”
“About?” I ask, taking a brazen step forward.
