“Sadly, you’re right,” he smirked, shooting me a wink.
The rest of the day was spent doing our jobs, and no more was said about Leandra’s need for attention or Dalton’s need to protect me from the world.The rest of the day had been spent doing our jobs and loving on all the animals that had appointments today.
When I finally got home to my little one-bedroom loft apartment, I ate, took a shower, then got dressed.Even though it was a Friday night, I opted for my customary jeans and t-shirt, proving to Dalton that I really did plan on going home alone tonight.
Chapter 2
Koen~
Even though I was only twenty-seven, I felt ninety whenever my head hit the pillow at night.As my parents’ only son, I’d been raised to take over Wilder Technologies one day, and that one day felt like it had started the day of my high school graduation.
Seriously, I was too young to feel this damn old.
Now, while it might sound like I was bemoaning my life, I wasn’t.My father, Ashford Wilder, had built Wilder Technologies from the ground up, and I’d never known a more hardworking man.My mother, Patricia Wilder, was a pediatrician, and she’d also been a great example of doing whatever she’d needed to in order to get things done.Together, they’d given me and my sister, Nixi, a childhood worth bragging about, and I liked to believe that they hadn’t raised two spoiled children.I liked to believe that we’d gotten the best of both worlds, meaning that we’d had more than enough growing up, but had also been raised to take note of how much work it took to provide those things for your family.
At any rate, there’d never been a question on whether or not I’d be taking over Wilder Technologies one day.Though Nixi had also gone to college and had gotten her degree in business management, two years after graduating with that degree, she ended up meeting her husband, Curt Hamilton, and since he was a criminal attorney, Nixi got to stay home to raise their daughter, Francis.Her plan was to go back to work one day, but I could see her choosing motherhood for the next few years.Nixi had a way with children, and Curt wanted four kids total.
As for me, Wilder Technologies had begun taking over my life my freshman year of college, and the company was still making me its bitch.Yeah, I went on dates if I had the time, and I’d even had my fair share of one-night stands, but when I was lucky enough to carve out five hours of sleep on a good day, my life didn’t have much time for a serious relationship.I knew that things would get easier later down the line, but as long as my father still ran the ship like a man that needed no sleep, I was expected to keep the same pace.At this stage in the game, I could run WT if something unfortunate were to happen to my father, and I supposed that I should be proud of that.
Still, I was tired.
Really fucking tired.
However, even if I was dead on my feet, there was no way that I was going to back out tonight.My best friend, Ivan Kepler, was celebrating his one-year anniversary, and I’d be an asshole not to show.Ivan worked for WT as one of our top three app developers, and his wife, Netti, was an ER nurse, so with their schedules just as busy, it wasn’t often that they both had the same nights off where they didn’t have to work the next morning.So, they had arranged for a small celebration at Liquid IV, and it really was just going to be a few friends having drinks, and I knew how lucky I was that I was part of their close circle of friends.Ivan and Netti were good people, and they were worth losing a few hours of sleep for.
There was also the selfish reason for going, and that was the fact that I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d gotten laid.If my memory served me correctly, then I’d have to say that the last time had been almost two months ago.The company’s new fiscal year started in two weeks, so all the top executives had spent these past few weeks getting ready for the end of another successful year.
Now, while my mother brought in her own paycheck, and while Curt took care of Nixi comfortably, my father was a family man, meaning that my mother and sister owned equal shares of WT.So, in my father’s eyes, a successful year meant that he was taking care of his family in the way a man was supposed to, so it was kind of hard to criticize his work pace when his intent came from a good place.Needless to say, because my sister and I owned equal shares of the company, we were already millionaires, and even though I felt ninety-years-old most days, no twenty-something needed millions of dollars.Still, it was what it was, and I understood how very blessed I was.
I was also lucky to be able to say that my looks were enough to help me score more often than not.Though lots of females knew that my last name came with some pretty hefty dollar signs, I was six-foot-one, had black hair, grey eyes, and WT had a gym on the first floor that was open to employees.My sister and I had both taken after our father in looks, and Nixi really was just a five-foot-three petite version of me and our father.
So, with a fat wallet and decent enough looks, one-night stands weren’t that hard to snag.In fact, there were a lot of women that were up for one night only as long as you paid the tab and showed them a good time.Contrary to what people believed, not all women were looking for husbands or life partners.Some women were perfectly happy being single and just enjoying life.
“You still gonna make it tonight?”
I looked up to see Ivan poking his head into my office.“Of course.”
