Page 13 of Scrooge

“So how's business?” Leaning back, he waves to the blond woman behind the bar to bring him another.

“Growing. Rapidly.” As I take another sip, the anxiety I feel at being bigger, better, and more for my father's legacy almost causes me heart palpitations.

“No shit,” he huffs, and I watch him as he sips the whiskey the bartender just set down for him. I notice him looking at her ass, clearly interested. Her finger traces the wood grain on the table until it hits my hand where I grip the whiskey glass. I look up at her, her gaze solely on me.

“Can I get you anything… sir?” she purrs, and I lean back, looking at her. Her lips are pouty, her body amazingly curvy, exactly the kind of woman I would usually take home.

“No. I’m fine,” I tell her, shifting my attention back to my friend. I don’t entertain her. Yet another thing that is different for me today. She gets the hint and walks away, swaying her hips as Logan continues to stare at her ass, and I wait for him to look back at me.

“Shit, been here for two seconds, and there is already a woman willing to drop to her knees. You’re such a lucky bastard,” Logan murmurs as he shakes his head, laughing. I remain quiet and take another sip. He knows the deal. I don’t commit and neither does he.

“Rumor has it that you are looking at expanding into Asia?” he asks, and I nod.

“Our European footprint is growing. Expansion is the key word for Jackson Enterprises for the next eighteen to twenty-four months, and Asia is firmly in sight.”

“You know I read somewhere that the Rothschilds down in Baltimore had some success in Singapore,” Logan mentions, and I nod, already knowing this information.

“I spoke to Tennyson the other day. He gave me some insight,” I tell him, although I give nothing away. I am not close with many people in my life, but I do keep a few key contacts, and I would never refer to them publicly. “How about you?” I ask him, rolling my shoulders, the whiskey now starting to have the desired effect of relaxing my muscles. Logan works in his father’s legal firm, a small firm in Brooklyn.

“Busy. Dad is thinking of retiring soon. I’m looking at taking over and it is a big step.”

It is small-fry compared to what I deal with on a daily basis, but to him, it is big, and I don’t want to diminish his career.

“Am I an asshole?” I ask Logan. Clearly surprised by my question, he looks like a rabbit caught in headlights before blinking and coming back to life and giving me a smirk.

“Yep. A grade-A asshole,” he says, laughing, and I have to hold back a groan. I knew what he was going to say, but it’s not what I wanted to hear. “Not always. In college, you were great. Remember those frat parties we used to have? The girls? The booze.” Those days feel like a lifetime ago.

“I remember. My father wasn’t a fan of those,” I say, feeling melancholy as I think of the past.

“But you went to Europe, did your thing, and the older you got, the more entrenched into business you were, the bigger the asshole you have become. Since your father passed, you’ve kinda lost yourself…” Logan says honestly, looking at me as I push my empty glass on the table, the taste turning sour as I take in what he’s said.

“What’s with the question anyway? Starting to get a heart now? Is your ruthless persona starting to fall a little?” he teases when I don’t respond.

“My team thinks I need to change due to my personal brand being… detrimental to the business,” I admit.

“Fuck ’em. That is why you are at the top and they are at the bottom. You need to be ruthless. You didn’t get to where you are today by being nice, Alexander,” he says with a wave of his hand, and I nod, because it is true. You need a thick skin in this world, and over the years, mine has become impenetrable.

“They tell me I need to be nicer to staff, to stakeholders,” I elaborate.

“Hmmm… maybe, maybe not. Probably depends on who you are dealing with.”

I nod again, liking his selective approach to things.

“They also are telling me I need to commit in my personal life.”

“Shit, like get married or something?” he asks, head rearing back a bit.

“Or something?” I murmur, thinking about the girl in the toy store again. Her giggle, the way she was with the kids. The complete opposite of me.

“So what? Like an agreement with someone? Not actually for love?” Logan presses, and I frown.

“I am a businessman. I do what needs to be done for success,” I tell him. I still don’t like the idea, but I understand it a little more. My father remained single for years after my mother passed. He believed that you only got one true love in life, and he had his and wasn't interested in finding another companion after that.

“Pretty ruthless, but you got to where you are by being ruthless, Alexander, so I don’t see any point in stopping that now. Let’s eat. I’m starving,” Logan says, slapping the table, and we grab a bite as he tells me what he has in store for his takeover, the legal firm now all but his.

* * *

I walk to the park,needing to clear my head before I go home. I like the evenings. While New York is always busy, Central Park is less so. A few people are like me and walk in the night air. But it is cold, and while the rain has stopped, it is still a little damp.

---