It's Just Business by Lauren Landish & Willow Winters

Author:Lauren Landish & Willow Winters [Landish, Lauren & Winters, Willow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

DYLAN

Sometimes, I’m still a little shocked at how far I’ve come. I grew up not having a bed to myself until I was in college, and the first pair of brand-new, off the rack jeans I ever owned came during my sophomore year. Until then, everything I owned was a hand me down or thrift store special.

There was a time when my apartment wasn’t much bigger than your average fast food restaurant bathroom, and I could cook dinner without getting out of bed. Heat was a luxury, and in the summer, I cooled myself off as I slept by using a single electric fan, smog or air quality be damned.

Now, my pantry’s bigger than that first apartment, and I sit in the ‘games room’ of my eight thousand square feet, two-floor penthouse. With a touch of a button, I can make this entire place any temperature I want, including the floor. And if I feel like it, at a moment’s notice, I can hop on a private plane and go anywhere in the world in less time than it used to take me to get across town.

And that’s only some of the many things that have changed in my life.

The list could stretch from my balcony all the way down to the street, most likely. But it can all be encapsulated by the fact that I can look at a thousand dollars sitting on the table in between me and the four other men who are joining me tonight and not even blink as Austin takes another small stack of chips and pushes it into the middle. As he said when we talked about setting tonight up, a thousand dollars is pocket change to us. Currently, we’re playing hold ’em, and it’s Austin’s bet. “Raise five hundred.”

“Check, check, check, raise,” Teddy, who’s the dealer this round, complains. “Every fucking hand, he’s the same way. Check his way through unless he has to see someone else’s bet, and only then raise. Never fold, never call. You would think he’s got ice in his veins.”

“Maybe I do, Teddy,” Austin says casually, leaning back in his chair. Teddy’s grumbling is more than likely an act, but Austin’s not going to get baited into revealing his strategy. “But it’ll cost you five hundred to find out.”

Teddy, who’s a mutual acquaintance but not quite a friend to Austin and me, peeks at his cards again and sighs. “Not this time,” he says, tossing his cards toward the muck. “Claire would kill me if I did.”

We all laugh. Teddy is fairly recently married, and his being here tonight is a bit of a surprise considering his first child is on the way in a couple of months. But I suspect that while he loves his wife, Claire, more than life itself, they both needed a few hours to themselves. I’m actually jealous of Teddy in some ways. He wasn’t stabbed in the back by someone he loves and has achieved it all—wife, baby, generational wealth, and most importantly, he seems truly happy.

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