Page 55 of Unforgettable

Yeah, I was going to tear him apart.

“So sorry we kept you waiting,” I murmured, stepping into the room and leaning against my desk next to him.

Josh shut the door behind us and stopped right in front of Adam, kicking his foot out to stop the chair from spinning.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Both of you, really?”

I taunted him with an amused smile and crossed my arms over my chest. “What, New Guy, so you can do stupid shit until it’s time to answer for it?”

“Okay, wait, can you let me explain before you start jumping to conclusions?”

Josh scoffed and glanced up at me. “Do you have an explanation that isn’t absolute bullshit?”

Adam nodded convincingly.

“Go for it then.”

“You know that I smoke recreationally every now and again, and since it’s not legal yet in this fuckin’ state, I’ve gotta get it somewhere. So my guy just got back from Colorado and told me I could pick it up tonight but changed the plan on me last minute. So, he had to drop it off to me. I was going to leave it in my car, but I haven’t had a chance to go out there yet. I was going to go on my break—which is in fifteen minutes. I’m not—”

“Wait a second,” I stopped him, moving the chair so he was facing me. “You bought weed in my gym? You didn’t just bring it here, but you bought it on the premises?”

Adam shrugged, which pissed me off even more, and then tried to excuse his behavior by saying, “Well, actually, I paid for it ahead of time. Sent the guy the money, so technically, he just dropped it off.”

With that absurd excuse, I had to take a deep breath and try to tamp down the frustrated anger I could feel prickling at my skin.

“You know, Adam,” I began and watched as Josh rolled his lips to suppress a knowing smile. “Amanda told Josh and me a lot about your life growing up. We’ve been friends for so long I almost consider you like a little brother. You’re sure as fuck as annoying as one most of the fucking time. But you know what Amanda didn’t mention about your childhood inallthe years we’ve known her?”

I eyed him and raised my eyebrows until he huffed out an exasperated, “What?”

“She didn’t mention the several hundred fucking times you must have been dropped on your head to make you so insanely stupid.”

At the same time, Adam sighed, and Josh laughed and nodded in agreement. “Okay, that’s not fair—” Adam began, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

Worried that my anger and frustration would get the better of me, I took to pacing on the other side of the room near the door.

“Look, both Josh and I gave you a job, not only as a favor to your sister but to you as well. And at some point, you’ve got to get your shit together. I thought you were heading in the right direction because you’ve done well all fucking week, but then this shit happens. If you were anyone else, I would fire your ass immediately. There would be no argument about it because if someone figures out that I knew you had that shit here, I’d also have to answer for it.”

“I get it, and I’m sorry for not thinking about that. But it’s just a little weed. I didn’t think you’d have such an issue with it since I know both of you have smoked before,” Adam tried—and failed—once again to argue.

At a loss for words, I glanced over at Josh, who seemed just as surprised by Adam’s shitty attempt at arguing. His messy blond hair was sticking up in every direction as he continued to run his hands through it in frustration.

“Fucking hell, Adam,” I groaned. “I don’t give a fuck that you smoke weed, but it’s not legal in Texas. And whether you or I agree with that doesn’t matter. But I care that you bought an illegal substance at the business I own and still fucking have it here on top of that. It’s not about what you do in your free time, but what you’ve done while you’re here. So, I need to know that this is the last time we’ll be having this conversation, otherwise, you can get the fuck out now.”

Adam looked between Josh and me, probably considering if he could make another half-assed argument, but thankfully, he thought better of it when he saw the stone-cold expressions on both of our faces.

The worst part was that I’d seen Adam grow up. All of us had watched him go from a hyper kid with an overactive imagination who always wanted to be around when his sister was home from college to a classic teenager that questioned authority at every turn. But Amanda believed he would eventually grow out of it and find his way. Sadly, at twenty-one, he was still nowhere near capable of doing anything on his own.

“It won’t happen again.”

I breathed a tiny sigh of relief and let myself believe he was telling the truth for a few seconds.

“Okay, good. Now, just take your break early and get that shit out of here.”

Adam stood, and I stepped to the side so he could open the door.

“Could we agree not to tell my sister about this? She’d go ballistic.”

The last thing either of us wanted to do was lie to Amanda, but the fact that she wasn’t talking to either of us made it easier. And telling her was just going to cause more issues and that’s the last thing she needed.

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