Page 6 of Ex-SEAL Bad Boy

Ruining lives or careers out of pure spite or personal ambition is something different. I don’t know if I could bring myself to do that.

I pull into the parking lot atRoughy’sa fairly nice seafood restaurant whose name is a reference to the species of fish, not the ambiance of the place. Graham’s Audi is already parked out front.

As I exit my car, a flash of movement to my left catches my eye, and I turn to see an attractive woman exiting a shop calledBelle Couture. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize I’m looking at Sophia.

Fortunately, she’s focusing on something in her hand and hadn’t seen me arrive. I wonder if she works at the store or is just shopping. Probably the former since she’s not carrying any purchases.

I don’t believe in karma or signs or any of that supernatural nonsense, but why am I constantly encountering this girl?

Shaking my head, I enter the restaurant. The salty smell of fresh seafood fills my nostrils, and I spot Graham sitting alone at a table in the back. He’s a few years older than me, and his family is connected as well. That’s one reason we had become friends in the first place: shared trauma.

I’m able to joke about it because, while there is no realtraumainvolved, I’ve noticed that people who come from families who exist in this sort of alternate reality of obscene wealth aren’t like everyone else. Living outside of that bubble involves a profound sense of culture shock.

I take a seat and order a beer while Graham and I engage in small talk.

“So, listen, I’m really interested in this position you have at your company, what more can you tell me about the role?” I ask.

He looks at me curiously. “What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, what am I talking about? That’s why I’m here.”

He’s shaking his head. “Aw man, I’m sorry, I thought you had heard.”

“Heard what?” I ask. I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“Your dad. He called me yesterday. He said he was going to talk to you,” he explains.

Tell me what?” I ask. Why would my dad call Graham? I have no idea he even knows who Graham is.

“I can’t tell you more than he told me, but he called and said that he knew you were interested in working for our firm, but that you wouldn’t be able to do it because you were going to be working in the family business. He was quite clear that I wasn’t to offer you a position. And I know your family’s reputation well enough to know that it was not just a request.”

Furious, I stomp out of the bar, the blood rushing to my brain. I think maybe it’s time I have a little talk with my father.

4

SOPHIA

I see him.

It’s hard to miss a sports car like that.

I didn’t know it was his car at first, but when he steps out, I recognize him immediately.

I try to act like I’m not paying attention by referring to the lunch order we placed at the deli at the end of the strip mall, and I think he buys it.

Why am I doing this?

Why am I trying to hide? I have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m just doing my job. If anyone is out of place, it’s him.

I hold my head up high and cast a quick glance in his direction, but he’s already entering the restaurant.

Like a lot of “bad boys,” I sense Ethan is "broken”.

Maybe it’s because of his family, maybe he’s just like that. Like a lot of women, I have the urge to fix him.

That whole idea gets a bad rap. It’s not like we’re masochists who are drawn to men who will only bring us heartache. It’s just that we’re empathetic, and we only want to make people’s lives better.

Maybe we also have an innate maternal streak to where we have the impulse to care for people who are hurting.

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