Page 34 of Falling For My Ex's Older Brother

"I'm fine," I say.

"Your drive on seven was short. You're off."

I don't answer. He hits. Clean, long, exactly where he intended. He picks up his tee and looks at me.

Paul, who has been quiet in the way he gets when he's paying more attention than he appears to be, says:

"How's the assistant situation working out?"

I look at him. He examines the face of his club.

"She handles the role well," I say.

"Mm." He sets up his shot.

"She was at the Dallas event with you."

"It was a foundation gala. I needed someone who knew the business."

"Right." He swings. The ball lands short. He doesn't seembothered.

"Charlie said she held her own in the room."

Charlie has developed a sudden interest in the middle distance.

"She did," I say.

We walk toward the green. The conversation moves on — a mutual contact's new venture, the club's renovation plans, Charlie's youngest starting high school in the fall. The easy rhythm of men who have known each other long enough to move in and out of topics without effort.

Eighteenth hole. Paul lines up his shot and then straightens without taking it. He looks at me.

"You sleeping alright?"

"Fine," I say.

"You look like a man who's been fighting something in his own head for a while."

"Work has been demanding."

"It's always demanding," he quips, and then pauses.

"This feels different."

I look at him. He looks back without any urgency.

"It's a complicated situation," I say.

That's all I say. Paul nods once. Charlie says nothing. We finish the hole.

At lunch Paul leans back in his chair and says, conversationally:

"Whatever it is — make sure you know what you're doing before you do it."

He picks up his glass and finishes his drink. Subject closed. I think about that theentire ride home.

The following week we find our footing.

The client crisis reaches resolution — the integration timeline accepted by the client, the late nights finished, the floor returning to its normal hours. We are efficient together. We always have been. The work moves forward and neither of us gives it reason not to.