“Fine,” I reply, and he squeezes my arm.
“Collin was a good man, I know it’s a lot.”
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“Told you he was being a little fucking bitch today,” Lincoln says. Benjamin laughs next to him as he puts his golf ball on the tee and lines his shot up.
“Something else got your panties in a twist?” Gavin says, grabbing the pitcher of beer and pouring himself a glass.
“Yeah, the fact that I’m related to you fuckers.”
“Oh you love us,” Benjamin says as he brings the club back and hits the ball in the air. We watch it fly across the field.
“No, actually. Mom and Dad should have stopped at me and never given me siblings.”
“And have our parents live with that kind of disappointment, I don’t think so,” Gavin says, taking another deep gulp of his beer.
“Leave Aiden alone. He just lost a friend,” Dad says, trying to intervene.
My brothers lay off for a little while after getting scolded until it’s my turn to drive. “Don’t fuck it up,” Linc says as I swing, slicing the driver through the air. I pretend the ball is my brother’s face as I hit it further than anyone else.
“No fucking fair,” Benjamin bitches. My dad gives me a wink as he lights up his cigar. I should slap it out of his hand, but the man makes his own choices.
I sit back down next to my dad, and he squeezes my shoulder. “Proud of you Son,” he says quietly so my brothers can’t hear and all I can think about is whether his pride is deserved.
6
BASEBALL BAT DICKS
I hadto pay forty dollars to get a ride back to the office on Saturday, but there was no way in hell I was going to ask Aiden or Penny for help—I’m already embarrassed as is. I have a feeling that I said something horrific in my intoxicated state, and I’m dreading going to work today. How did I manage to make everything even more uncomfortable than it already is?
When I open the glass door to Kemper’s, I’m greeted by Penny who waves and smiles. “Hey, Jessa. Good weekend?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Spent most of Saturday sleeping, but other than that it was great.”
Sharon walks by with a cup of coffee in her hands. “Morning,” she says with a smile. Even if I made an ass out of myself, at least I made one new friend in this office.
Tabitha drops off a stack of papers to Penny’s desk. “Put in this purchase order as soon as possible,” she says before spinning around. Penny rolls her eyes but takes the stack and smiles back at me.
“Is she always so rude to you?” I ask Penny. Sharon scoffs and glares at Tabitha’s retreating back. Her hips swishing in her tight pencil skirt and her blonde ponytail bouncing with each step.
“She thinks sucking Zach’s dick gets her special treatment,” Sharon says, and Penny snickers.
“Oh, I didn’t realize.”
“Yeah, so definitely don’t expect her to invite you to any sleep overs any time soon,” Penny says, and I nod. Tabitha doesn’t seem like the kind of friend I would want anyway. I really like Penny, and Sharon is funny in her own way. It’s better than having no one in this office, or everyone treating me like I have a disease.
Huck and Ed both give me friendly head nods as I walk to my doom—my cubicle. I sit down, turn on my monitors, and do my very best to not look into Aiden’s office. Just the idea of him talking about Friday night makes my stomach hurt. He took a risk hiring me. I mean, sure I have a stake in the company, but that doesn’t mean anything other than that. I need this job and I’ve made a complete ass out of myself the first week.
After staring at my screen, working through all the lacrosse marketing, I finally glance up to look at Aiden. He looks calm as he speaks on the phone. More than calm, he looks in control, and it’s desperate and pathetic how much I’m into it. Maybe it goes beyond him being my boss that’s triggering this gut-wrenching anxiety over what I might have said on the car ride home. He looks up at me while he speaks and he holds my gaze for a moment. God, the man has the most beautiful green eyes. He rubs his chin while he looks at me before retreating his gaze. I just stared at him like a freak.
Fucking awesome.
I’m creating a branding kit for the lacrosse line when Penny comes up. “Lunch?” she asks, and I shake my head. My stomach hurts too bad to eat right now, not to mention my depleting bank account. I need to start packing lunch, at least for the next couple of weeks. I have about four hundred dollars left in my account; it should be enough to pay for my phone, food, and gas until I get paid, or at least I hope. I do have my credit card, and I’ll charge any excess to that, but I hate using it unless I absolutely need to.
“Not hungry today, maybe tomorrow?”
