Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
He clucks his tongue. “In the middle of Lionfish?” Austin repeats, sighing a humorless huff. “The fucking balls on that bastard.”
Austin recognizes that of everything Evan did that day, the most surprising was that he dared to enter my sanctum. For all his standing in the finance industry, Lionfish is not a place he goes, nor is welcome.
“Agreed.” I shove the memory down and focus on the event. On having her on my arm… on what could happen between the two of us. On watching that cocky smirk fall from Evan’s face when he sees me with Raven. “Anyway... she’ll be with me.”
“It sounds like there’s more to it than just trying to get her a spot with Ollie,” Austin surmises as if reading my mind.
I stop myself from answering harshly, reminding myself that he’s being cautious and looking out for me. My thoughts go back to the fact that I’ve known Austin for over a decade. We met at one of the innumerable socialization events that go on around the Financial District. I was trying to make my way in the world, a little too naive, a little too eager, when I spotted Austin standing out among the sea of suits and ties.
He was like me, hungry and not yet firmly established. His demeanor was relaxed, yet confident, and he commanded attention without trying. I envied him, if I’m honest. I had to hide every insecurity. I had to mimic a wealthy class I was very aware I wasn’t a part of.
Most of the men at that event weren’t like us. They didn’t need to network because they were born into the network. They didn’t need to hustle because their daddy or their uncle or whoever already owned a firm.
Austin wasn’t like that. I could see that he was different in the same way I was, but rather than try to forcefully fit in with the others the way I was prone to do, he made them want to be his friend. There was a rawness to him, a street-smart edge that was impossible to miss, and his charisma created a vortex that pulled everyone to him. We struck up a conversation, and I quickly discovered that Austin was a self-made man who had clawed his way to the top through sheer intelligence and willpower alone. I wasn’t the only one who envied him. But for me, it was his couldn’t-give-a-fuck attitude. For them, it was the ease of money.
In this world, there’s never enough in a bank account, never enough in the market.
Finances aside, over the years, I’ve found that I respect Austin more than I do most people.
“Can I tell you something?” I ask Austin, cutting him off from whatever the fuck he was saying and addressing his previous question about this being about more than introducing Raven and Ollie.
“You know you can,” Austin says, “but I can already guess, given what I know of her. And you. You wanted to bend her over the table and get back at him?”
“Crude, but… fairly accurate.” Sighing, I admit, “She is a good candidate, and I'm attracted to her, genuinely. The fact that she was wronged by Evan is tempting extra icing on the cake, though.”
It’s a big confession, one I wouldn’t make to anyone but Austin, who knows my backstory as well as I know his.
“To do what with?” he hedges. When I don’t answer, he puts himself in my shoes, likely coming up with some variation of my exact plan, and advises, “Be careful, Dylan. Evan might be a douche, but he’s a Faulkner. He’s powerful. We move in the same circles, and you don't want to ruffle feathers you can’t afford to soothe."
I scoff. Does he think I don’t know who the Faulkners are? I’m more aware than most of exactly what they’re capable of. "I know, but I can't let Evan get away with what he did." It dawns on me that it’s not the first time I’ve said that aloud, but he has gotten away with it for all these years. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do. Maybe now, there is.
Austin pauses for a moment. "I get it. But you've already won, Dylan. You're successful, and Evan is on the decline. He’s skating by on his family name, and by the time he’s ready to pass the torch, there won’t be a torch to pass. Just a burned-out matchstick. Don't do anything to jeopardize that. Don’t get in his way of screwing himself over. Just sit back and watch, enjoy the show. There’s no need to throw kerosene on things now."
“But it could be fun,” I reply, tapping my thumb rhythmically on the desk as I think through my plan again. If a street scrapper like Austin is saying this is a fight I don’t want to mess with, then he’s probably right, and taking Raven with me is a dangerous proposition. But deep in my gut, I want to see more of Raven. I want to show her that I wasn’t just bullshitting when I said that Evan is a dumbass who made a bad decision, and she can move on from his cruelty, succeeding despite him, not because of him. And I want to see Evan’s grin fall when he realizes that of all possible people, Raven is with me, even if only for the night.