Page 1 of The Influencer

1

asher

My girlfriend Olivia grazes her fingertips across the high collar of her black cocktail dress. “Are you sure I’m not underdressed?”

She’s been thinking about what to wear tonight for more than a week and maxed out her credit card to put her look together. She’s far from underdressed, but I get where she’s coming from.

The Malibu mansion all lit up for a party can make anyone who isn’t a card-carrying member of the Hollywood glitterati feel like a peasant, but Liv looks nice. “You look perfect,” I assure her as I close the car door behind her.

“Maybe I should have worn the red…”

“I like you in black,” I say.

She gives me a shy smile but averts her gaze quickly. She does that a lot. And then she usually says something like what she says now. “Don’t go getting any ideas.” As though my compliment had been too suggestive.

My returning smile, which she doesn’t see because she’s looking up at the house, is tight. “Of course not.”

We walk up the steep steps to the mansion my twin brother shares with his boyfriend whenever they’re in town. Sawyer’s birthday party is in full swing. If my brother Adam weren’t already the ultimate golden boy, being the boyfriend of the most influential music manager in the world would certainly earn him the title of “one lucky son of a bitch.” Except our mom’s not really that big of a bitch, and I know in my heart that Adam’s success has been hard fought and hard won. He deserves to be the golden boy. Always has.

Adam opens the door for Olivia and me with a broad smile. “I had a feeling it was you.”

Maybe it’s the twin thing because I had a feeling he’d be the one opening the door, too. We’re not identical. Far from it, really, but we are best friends. We hug, and I smile at him. I missed his face.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen him—he’s been in Seattle with his baseball team. Having him just up the coast in Seattle is better than when he was living across the country in Philly, but the distance and his impossible schedule still mean I don’t get to see him as much as I’d like to. He looks great as usual. Glowing. Happy.

“Olivia,” he gives my girlfriend of two years a curt nod. No hug.

“Hi Adam!” she chirps. She tries with him, but he’s been beefing with her for the last year and a half. In the two years she and I have been together, he’s never really cared for her.

I mean, she’s not exactly the best girlfriend ever, but he never gave her much of a chance. I attributed that to his own issues at the time. She and I started dating back when he and Sawyer were getting together. Adam was newly sober, having a gay awakening, and sneaking around with his team owner.

Still, he adamantly believes that Olivia isn’t right for me, and I know this because not a single conversation between us goes by without him mentioning that. It’s made things between us a little tense, but I want to put all of that on the back burner tonight, and I hope he does the same.

“Come on in,” Adam says. “There’s an open bar on the terrace. Olivia, go grab yourself something.”

Her smile fades as she takes the hint. Adam links an arm with mine and pulls me toward the kitchen where a few people I don’t recognize mingle around the island. “You’ve lost more weight,” he tells me.

“Yep.”

He tugs at the lapels of my suit and snaps my jacket tight around my shoulders. “You need a new suit.”

He’s older than I am by a few minutes—eleven to be exact—but he takes his first child role seriously. “I don’t have to dress up as often as you do,” I remind him.

“I’ll get you one before I head back to Seattle.”

“I don’t need a handout, Adam. I’m doing fine.”

“Just let me. Jesus. You know I like dressing you up.” His mouth quirks in a devious grin.

I roll my eyes. We all know by now that Adam loves a man in a nice suit. Speaking of which…

“Asher!”

My brother and I turn to find the birthday boy himself walking toward us. He offers me a stiffer hug than Adam had, but Sawyer is kind of reserved and stiff in general. Although, his hugs have improved the longer he’s been with my brother. Sawyer’s suit, unlike mine, is immaculate. Gray and slim fitting, it shows off his broad shoulders and lean lines. He’s a very handsome man. Way older than me and Adam, but he wears his age—and everything—well. “I saw Olivia,” he says.

“Yeah,” I nod.

“She looks nice.”

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