“You get mopey about two things: women and your parents.”
“Hey, that’s not fair. I also get really emotional about the Olympics. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this year’s was intense. The ice skating, man…”
Wyatt slowly shook his head. “Just keep it away from work.”
“Nobody’s breaking my heart. If anything, my love life is great, thanks.”
“Didn’t ask.”
They soon descended into a discussion about their current talks with a young start-up in dire need of some investment money. Both Wyatt and Liam were on the fence about whetherto invest, with neither Wyatt’s analytics nor Liam’s gut feelings winning out.Every time we think we should go for it, we suddenly doubt their business plan.That should have been enough, but they couldn’t deny that the start-up had a great idea that could make money… if done right.
Somebody texted him in the middle of their talk. Since it could have been work-related, Liam glanced at it, half-expecting it to be Eden.
Instead, it was Benson.
“What is it?” Wyatt asked when Liam stuttered through his last spoken sentence.
Liam put his phone down and attempted to focus on the graphs in front of him. “Nothing.”
“Just go take care of it really fast. Better than you being distracted while we talk.”
Sighing, Liam took his phone out to the lobby, where people moved through the coworking space with coffee cups, notebooks, and tablets. A few gathered on couches or at tiny cubicles that came with the standard membership. Conference rooms cost more, and Liam just left it to Wyatt to schedule and to tell him when to show up.I wonder how many other people here deal with millions of dollars in liquid cash at any moment.Looking around, it was hard to tell. This could easily be a mix of graphic designers who missed an office atmosphere and multimillionaires who did not need a traditional office. Either way, the coffee was okay, and the jigsaw puzzle that management put out at any moment for people to do was… engaging.
But still not distracting enough for Liam, who sat in a large chair and read Benson’s text.
“Come by my place later if you can. After dinner. Around nine.”
Liam replied.“Well, that’s demanding. Maybe I have plans. Work plans.”
“No, you don’t.”
Liam scrunched his face. “Really?” he muttered. “How would he know?”
“Fine. What’s this about?”
Benson didn’t reply to that. Instead, all he said was,“You’re still cleared with the front desk, so just come up. I’ve got a work breakfast thing in the morning, so we’ll keep it brief.”
Not wanting to look super desperate, Liam wandered into the men’s room, where he spent a few minutes before returning to the coworking lobby, where he finally texted that he would be by around nine. He then shoved his phone into his pocket and studied the jigsaw puzzle of a lighthouse on a cliff while some coffee brewed behind him.
“Three pieces,” he told Wyatt when he returned with coffee for them both. “I finished that stupid lighthouse for them.”
“Everything good?” Wyatt didn’t even thank him for the coffee.
“Yeah. So, what’s this graph about?”
Liam didn’t retain any of the information his business partner told him. His brain was elsewhere, thinking of the present – and the past.
Liam half-believed that Benson’s lack of creativity meant he would walk right into a similar scenario from the other night.Eden on the other end of his dick, I mean.Not that Liam would complain too much. Hot sex was hot sex. But he rather hoped Benson wasn’tthatsad…
No. The man was fully dressed and had no one else in his apartment. Not even Drew, whom Benson mentioned, was on Spring Break that week.
He offered Liam some tea, but Liam instead helped himself to Benson’s fridge and grabbed seltzer water to occupy his mouth while they talked. Benson gestured to the island counter, so Liam sat on a stool, his jacket still on and his feet awkwardly struggling to find purchase on one of the rests beneath him.
“Feels like old times.” Didn’t help that Benson hadn’t moved since Liam last knew him.Has he lived anywhere else since his divorce?Benson was so synonymous with this place that Liam could believe the man had locked in the kind of condo price that could not be overlooked.After all, he’s a money guy.So was Liam, but Benson was definitely more of a Wyatt type in this regard. “How often did I drop by right before you went to bed, Ben?”
To his credit, Benson didn’t get angry… but he also wasn’t amused. “That’s what I want to talk about.”
Liam’s heart was suddenly in his throat.Don’t even, Ben…
