Page 55 of Home Game

Landry had picked up a little wooden candle holder at the craft stall we were standing by, but he wasn’t even looking down at it.

Instead, he peered at me, hesitating.

“Emmett,” he finally said.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I hate to ask, but…” Landry said, moving a little closer to my ear. “Are you going to fuck him again?”

“Jesus,” I said, waving my hand through the air. “I did not—I didn’tfuckhim.”

He gave me a look. “Emmett, you’ve always told me everything. I walked in on you guys naked. Sorry, though. I’ll give it a break.”

I looked down, picking up a bunch of wooden knick knacks and setting them back down again.

Landry and I hadn’t acknowledged that moment at all yet. It had been embarrassing enough at the time, but Landry was right. I usuallydidtell him everything.

“Storm and I were fighting, that night,” I said, rolling my eyes. “As usual.”

“Like an old married couple?” Landry teased.

“More like two angry idiots in a locker room,” I admitted. “But we got close to each other, and then… one thing led to another, I suppose. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Landry lifted an eyebrow. “Not a big deal at all, huh?” he said, not believing me for a second.

I groaned. “Okay, fine, it was hot. Really hot. But it’s never happening again.”

Landry patted me on the back. “Let’s get you to that apple cider donut and grab a coffee. I think you need it.”

I laughed, but Landry didn’t know just how right he was. We sauntered through the crowds of people at the market, making our way toward the donuts.

Once I had a hot coffee in hand, Landry and I found a free bench to sit on underneath a tree with all golden leaves. I took a bite of the cider donut and let the healing properties of apple-cinnamon wash over me.

“God, that’s good.”

“The best,” Landry said, eating his own donut.

“I mean it when I say it won’t happen again,” I told Landry. “The thing with Storm.”

“Why not?”

“Because I hate him,” I said, even though it felt weird to say it now that I knew Storm a little better. “He actively wants to ruin the Fixer Brothers deal with Racks stores, as far as I can tell.”

“Maybe he won’t want to ruin it if he’s too busy in bed with you,” Landry suggested.

I shook my head, taking a sip of coffee. “He sees nothing but money when he looks at me. Not like Sam, who wanted to run off with my money. But Storm thinks I’m… soulless, or something.”

“He called you soulless?”

“He despises wealth,” I said. “He has money now, but he has made it very clear that he only sees me as a generic rich guy. It’s probably all he’ll ever see me as.”

“You’re the opposite of that kind of guy, though,” Landry said. “Does Storm have any idea what you want to do with Lux Marketing, if you get the promotion?”

I shrugged, finishing off my donut. “He doesn’t care. He can’t stand that I work for someone like Cutmore.”

Landry had spent years hearing me talk about my hopes for the future of Lux Marketing. I knew I was privileged, andI wanted to use the privilege I’d been born with to eventually steer the company into something that reflected my values and honored my father. To specifically work with clients who were from underprivileged communities and so deeply deserved the spotlight. To drop clients like Rodgett like hot potatoes, as soon as I had the chance. Something Walter Cutmore would never allow.

“You’ve always been able to befriend anyone,” Landry said. “You can soften him up.”

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